Not long in terms of experience etc. Cacti have long been associated with arid desert and mountain landscapes.
Succulents grow practically everywhere.
I have all my plants outside and they are growing just fine. Those that require some shade are under a canopy of sheet plastic that covers part of the veranda outside. Again this is the same for succulents in general, although there are some that can handle temperature below 10 degrees. Auckland rarely gets below 10 degrees so no worries there, although rainfall is pretty high. I tend to move my plants off the exposed sections of the veranda, onto sheltered parts where they still get light, but no water.