the cost of the move. So- for me it would be Christchurch. Getting here is costing us 3500 flights, 4000 shipping, visa- medical 1500, cost of ITA (and EOI etc) must be in region of 2500 overall. I know your visa is probably costing less but, as you can see, having someone offer to pay everything is a great opportunity. In terms of moving to ChCh wrt earthquakes: NZ is active anyhow. I wouldn't be overly worried myself. I'm sure others could comment on their thoughts about this... The whole Christchurch or not debate is raging all over the internet, that is what makes it so hard. Which opinion do you decide to go with??? The smaller company said they would pay for visas and look into some kind of contribution or loan for flights and they said they would help with accommodation aswell. They couldent afford a shipping container as well though. They also said they could lend us a car for a few months until we got settled, this would be a help but I wouldent like to do it for any longer than the minimum time necessary, I would feel bad borrowing something from someone. Is the cost of living any different in a small town compared to a city? My suggestion: try to contact some of the forumites on here who live in Christchurch- Sophie (I think username is SophieD?), or Mamee&Co (hope that is right...) and ask them about how they feel living in Christchurch.