Wellington is one of the finest mid-sized cities in the world for remote workers — compact, walkable, genuinely cultured, and cheaper than most comparable cities. The catch is real: cold damp housing, relentless wind, and a social scene that takes six months of patience before it pays off. Go in knowing that and you will love it.
The Vibe
The Deal Wellington Offers
Wellington gives you a very specific trade: proper metropolitan life, good restaurants, real cafe culture, live music, an arts scene, politics, universities, all compressed into something so walkable that most people who live here never bother owning a car. In exchange, you accept the wind, a winter that is genuinely demoralising, and a social scene that requires patience before it starts paying off.
Expats who have made the move consistently say the same thing: once you stop mentally comparing it to wherever you came from and start taking the city on its own terms, it becomes one of the highest quality-of-life cities in the world for the money. An American who relocated from a major US city reported halving rent, cutting his commute by an hour each way, and spending a tenth of what he had spent on transport. A London mover reported renting a 4-bedroom house for what a shoebox in south London had cost her.
Culture and Daily Life
The cultural heart of the city is Cuba Street, a five-block stretch of independent shops, cafes, galleries, and bars that draws consistent comparisons to Portland, Oregon from people who have lived in both places. It is not manufactured. CubaDupa (the annual street festival) regularly pulls off events that rival cities ten times the size. Eyegum Wednesdays music nights at San Fran are routinely sold out. Newtown's multicultural festival is genuinely beloved. For a city of 440,000, Wellington over-delivers on culture.
Nature access is extraordinary in a way that is hard to communicate until you experience it. Zealandia bird sanctuary is fifteen minutes from the CBD and has species found almost nowhere else on earth. The Town Belt, a protected strip of forested land running right through the inner suburbs, means serious trail running and mountain biking accessible on a lunch break. The combination of proper city and genuine wilderness, ten minutes apart in either direction, is what converts most expats from "I am here for two years" to "I do not know how I would leave."
What Catches Newcomers Off Guard
What tends to shock newcomers most is not the cost or even the weather. It is the housing quality. Wellington's rental stock is old, and much of it is cold, poorly insulated, and prone to mould. This is not a city where spending more money reliably buys you a warm dry home. Expensive rentals can be just as damp as cheap ones. Apartments tend to be better than houses. This is the single most consistent complaint from every expat community that has discussed Wellington online, and it is worth treating seriously before you sign a lease.
The economic picture has shifted since 2023. The government's public sector job cuts have visibly affected the CBD. Restaurants and shops that were local institutions have closed. Long-term residents describe it as the quietest the city has felt in a decade. New arrivals should be prepared for a capital in a down cycle rather than a peak one. The cafe culture, the music scene, the nature access, Zealandia, the waterfront, those remain. The froth has come off.
Neighborhoods
Photo by Shriram Nagarajan on Unsplash
Te Aro / Cuba Street
The closest thing to a real city neighbourhood Wellington has
- Who lives here
- New arrivals, young professionals, creatives, the LGBTQ+ community, anyone who wants to walk to everything
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,600–2,200/month
- Walk to center
- 0–10 min
This is the default recommendation for new expats for good reason, it is the most walkable, most culturally dense, and most socially active part of the city. Cuba Street itself is the spine: cafes, bars, independent shops, street art. Thursday to Saturday nights near Courtenay Place get loud and occasionally rough around the edges. Some rough sleepers in the area. But as a landing zone for someone who doesn't know anyone yet, it beats everything else.
Newtown
Diverse, affordable, the most genuinely local-feeling suburb
- Who lives here
- Healthcare workers (Wellington Hospital is here), families, young adults, people who want multicultural day-to-day life
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,500–1,900/month
- Walk to center
- 15–20 min
One long-term resident calls it 'the most Welly' suburb, and that's fair. It has real character rather than just proximity to the CBD. Good bus connections, a strong community feel, and some of the best cheap eats in the city. Slightly noisier and rougher around the edges than Te Aro but most people who live here prefer it for exactly that reason.
Mount Victoria
Beautiful historic homes, nature on your doorstep, higher price tag
- Who lives here
- Young professionals and families with bigger budgets, people who want charm and urban access simultaneously
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,800–2,600/month
- Walk to center
- 10–15 min
Consistently rated the nicest area to actually live in Wellington, hilly, full of character villas, excellent walkable access to the Botanic Gardens and trail network. You pay for it. The housing stock has the same cold/damp issues as anywhere else in Wellington, so don't assume the higher rent buys you a warm house. Check every rental carefully.
Thorndon / Pipitea
Quiet government quarter, Botanic Gardens next door, watch the sun
- Who lives here
- Public servants, older professionals, people who commute north on the train
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,600–2,100/month
- Walk to center
- 10–15 min
A solid, calm option that consistently gets overlooked. Good food and bar options exist without the Courtenay Place noise. One important caveat that comes up repeatedly: some streets in Thorndon get very little direct sunlight due to the terrain. In a city with difficult winters, this matters more than you'd think, check sun exposure before you sign.
Aro Valley
Bohemian, hilly, village-in-the-city feel with a serious sun warning
- Who lives here
- Artists, academics, Victoria University students, people who like community notice boards
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,500–1,900/month
- Walk to center
- 10–15 min
Aro Valley has a genuine neighbourhood character that most Wellington suburbs lack, it has local events, a community hall, craft beer culture, and good nature access. The warning that comes up consistently: depending on exactly where in the valley you rent, you can get very little sunlight in winter. This is not a small thing when you're already dealing with Wellington's weather. Research the specific street before committing.
Lyall Bay / Island Bay
Beach suburbs unfairly written off as too far, they're not
- Who lives here
- Families, surfers, people who want suburban scale with beach access
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,400–1,850/month
- Walk to center
- 25–35 min (bus)
The south coast suburbs have a reputation for being remote that isn't really deserved, there are high-frequency bus routes into the city and the local community feel is strong. Lyall Bay has a surf culture. Island Bay has an Italian heritage community and a good local strip. Recommended by long-term residents as consistently underrated. Worth looking at if you want value and space.
Petone / Lower Hutt
Across the harbour, noticeably cheaper, train makes it easy
- Who lives here
- Families, budget-conscious expats, people who want space and parks
- Rent (1BR)
- NZD $1,100–1,600/month
- Walk to center
- 20–25 min (train)
The go-to recommendation for families and anyone for whom cost is a primary concern. Jackson Street has a good local strip, there's beach access, parks, and the train commute is easy and reliable. You are not in Wellington proper, and some people find that line hard to cross. But the savings are real, you're looking at NZD $400–600/month less rent for a comparable apartment.
Cost of Living
Wellington costs roughly what New York City costs for Americans, and broadly what London costs for British expats, but you get significantly better quality of life per dollar spent. Shorter commutes, better work-life balance, and nature on your doorstep offset the numbers.
| Category | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Rent (1BR, decent area) | NZD $1,600–2,200 (inner city) / NZD $1,200–1,600 (suburbs) |
| Groceries | NZD $400–700/month |
| Eating out (3×/week) | NZD $300–500/month |
| Transport pass | NZD $0–200/month (most inner-city residents spend near zero) |
| Total (comfortable) | NZD $3,000–4,500/month single person |
All figures in NZD. At current rates approx 0.58 USD / 0.47 GBP. Note: NZ rentals are quoted weekly, multiply by 4.33 to get monthly.
On a NZD $100,000 salary (roughly NZD $6,500/month take-home), you live comfortably as a single person but you're not accumulating savings quickly. Pack N Save is your friend for groceries, Mediterranean and imported goods are expensive everywhere.
Working From Here
Wellington is genuinely good for remote work in most respects. Fibre internet is widely rolled out across the city, Chorus has covered most of Wellington's suburban and inner-city areas, with gigabit plans available from Spark, Vodafone, and 2degrees. Newer apartments tend to have clean fibre connections; older character villas can have infrastructure issues worth asking about before signing a lease.
The cafe culture is real and the laptop-friendliness during morning hours is high. Cuba Street alone has a dozen independent cafes that are perfectly suited to morning working sessions. The problem is the hard stop: most Wellington cafes close between 3:30pm and 4:30pm. For remote workers used to cafes as an afternoon workspace, this is a genuine adjustment, and it is consistent enough that you should build a coworking membership into your budget from day one rather than hoping to solve it ad hoc.
BizDojo is the main established coworking operator in Wellington, with multiple CBD locations. The 2023-24 commercial real estate softening (driven by the government job cuts) has pushed coworking prices down, it's a better market for hot-desking right now than it was in 2021. The Wellington City Library is also frequently mentioned by remote workers as a free, reliable, later-hours alternative to cafes.
One thing worth planning for if you're coming from the UK or US: New Zealand's streaming catalog is significantly thinner than what you're used to. BBC iPlayer is geo-blocked. ITVX and Channel 4 are unavailable. The NZ Netflix catalog is considerably smaller than the US library. This is a consistent gripe among UK expats especially, and a VPN is the obvious and widely-used solution, https://go.nordvpn.net/actualnomad is the most common tool expats use to access home-country streaming from Wellington.
The city's walkability makes the working-from-home lifestyle particularly good, if you need a change of scene, you can be at a different cafe, the waterfront, or a park trail within ten minutes of your apartment. That low-friction access to varied environments compensates for some of the early-closing frustration.
The Honest Negatives
The number one complaint, mentioned in every expat thread without exception. Most Wellington rental housing has no double glazing, inadequate insulation, and develops active mould in winter. This is true across price brackets, an expensive rental is not guaranteed to be warm or dry. Coming from northern Europe or North America, you will be genuinely shocked that a developed country has these building standards. Always view in person, open cupboards, check for mould, ask specifically about the heating system. Apartments generally outperform houses.
Not bad in the way cold places are bad. Bad in a specific demoralising way: 0–10°C (32–50°F) plus high moisture plus relentless sideways wind. Expats from Minnesota, Vermont, Scotland, and Ireland consistently say Wellington winter is harder to tolerate than their actual cold-country winters, because it is wet and windy rather than just cold. Summers are genuinely beautiful. But winter in a poorly insulated house with the wind driving rain horizontally into your windows is an experience you need to budget for mentally. A Blunt umbrella is the standard local solution; standard umbrellas will be destroyed.
Wellington has well-documented failing water pipes, earthquake-prone buildings, and a CBD that hasn't been meaningfully upgraded in a long time. If renting in an older building, NBS (New Building Standard) earthquake ratings matter and are worth checking. Parts of the city have a worn, underinvested feel that surprises people expecting a polished modern capital.
Wellington's economy is heavily dependent on government employment, and the 2023-24 public sector job cuts have left visible scars, closed restaurants, empty shopfronts, a CBD that multiple long-term residents describe as the quietest it's been in a decade. This may improve over time. New arrivals should arrive with accurate expectations rather than arriving expecting peak-Wellington.
Shops close at 5–5:30pm. Most cafes are shut by 4pm. Weeknight evenings in the CBD feel deserted by 7pm. This is a consistent culture shock for European expats especially, and it has practical implications for remote workers who want to work from a cafe in the afternoon. The hospitality scene exists but it is concentrated in evenings and weekends, daytime, mid-week Wellington is quiet.
Quinovic property management is named explicitly and repeatedly across multiple Wellington expat threads as an agent to avoid at all costs. Oxygen Property Management also gets negative mentions. The consistent advice: use private landlords or smaller local agencies, and regardless of who you rent from, read the Residential Tenancies Act and know your rights. Wellington tenants have real legal protections, they're worth knowing.
Practical Setup
Banking & Money
The bureaucratic trip wire for new arrivals: you cannot open a full New Zealand bank account without an IRD (Inland Revenue Department) number, which you must apply for online at ird.govt.nz after arriving. The process works but takes days to weeks. During that gap, https://wise.com/invite/actualnomad is the explicitly recommended bridge solution, multiple Wellington expat communities mention it by name as the practical way to receive money, pay rent, and function financially before your IRD number comes through. Once you have your IRD number, all the main banks (ANZ, Westpac, BNZ, ASB, and Kiwibank, the government-owned option) are straightforward to open with no minimum deposit. Wise also remains useful long-term if you're managing money across NZ and Australia or sending money to family back home.
SIM Card
Skinny Mobile is the standard recommendation for budget-conscious newcomers, approximately NZD $20–30/month for a solid data plan, and it runs on the Spark network which has the best coverage in New Zealand. 2degrees and Spark directly are also popular. Buy a SIM at any petrol station, supermarket, or phone store and port your number later once you've settled. Spark offers eSIM for iPhone users if you want to be connected before you land.
Getting Around
Get a Snapper card immediately, it covers buses and regional trains, costs nothing to get, and gives you a significant discount over cash fares. Pick one up at any Countdown supermarket or convenience store and load credit on arrival. Wellington's inner suburbs are so walkable that many residents spend almost nothing on transport. If you're in Petone or Lower Hutt, the train line is excellent. For the hills, an e-bike is strongly recommended over a regular bike. The Metlink app handles real-time bus times. You almost certainly do not need a car if you're renting centrally.
Finding a Flat
TradeMe.co.nz is the primary rental platform in New Zealand, treat it as the local equivalent of RightMove or Zillow. Also check Facebook groups ('Wellington Flatmates and Rentals' is active). Budget for an Airbnb or short-term rental for your first 3–4 weeks: do not sign a lease without viewing the property in person. The market has softened from the 2021–22 peak, which means more negotiating room. Remember that all NZ rents are quoted weekly, multiply by 4.33 for a monthly figure. Expect to pay 2 weeks rent as a bond. Written tenancy agreements are standard and legally required.
Healthcare
Most expats on work visas are entitled to subsidised public healthcare, and ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) covers all accident treatment for free, this is a genuine differentiator compared to almost anywhere else. Register with a GP immediately on arrival: enrolled patients pay approximately NZD $20–40 per consultation versus NZD $90+ as a casual (unenrolled) patient. Emergency care is universal. Elective services have waiting lists. Southern Cross is the dominant private health insurer for anyone who wants faster access to elective procedures. SafetyWing is worth considering specifically if you're on a working holiday or tourist visa during your first few weeks before confirming your public healthcare entitlements, but for settled expats on standard work visas, ACC plus a registered GP covers most of what you'll need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wellington expensive to live in?
Roughly comparable to New York City costs for Americans, and broadly similar to London costs for British expats. NZD $100,000/year is a comfortable single-person salary; below NZD $70,000 requires careful budgeting. The trade-off expats consistently cite: you're paying similar money but getting dramatically shorter commutes, better access to nature, and a noticeably lower-stress lifestyle. Eating out is considered affordable by international standards. Rent and imported groceries are where the costs accumulate.
What is it actually like living in Wellington as a foreigner?
The first 3–6 months are frequently described as isolating, particularly if you arrive without an existing social network. Locals are friendly but have established circles and limited motivation to expand them. Most expats build their social lives primarily through other immigrants and through joining clubs and groups actively. After 12 months, the overwhelming majority of long-term expats say they have no regrets, the quality of life and the city's character win people over. The honest summary: it asks more of you socially up front than it initially appears.
Is Wellington safe?
Unanimously described as safe by expats from high-crime US and UK cities who are often visibly surprised. Violent crime against expats is rarely mentioned. Petty theft near Courtenay Place on weekend nights and some rough sleepers in the CBD are the extent of typical concerns. Multiple people mention leaving bikes unlocked without incident. Wellington is consistently described as the most diverse and accepting city in New Zealand.
Which neighbourhood should I live in when moving to Wellington?
Te Aro and the Cuba Street area is the default recommendation for new arrivals, most walkable, most culturally active, easiest for meeting people. Newtown is the better value alternative with genuine neighbourhood character. Mount Victoria is the most sought-after for charm and nature access at a higher price point. Petone and Lower Hutt are the go-to for families and budget-conscious movers. Whatever you choose: always view in person, check for mould and sun exposure, and avoid Quinovic as a rental agent.
How hard is it to make friends in Wellington?
Harder than most expats expect. Locals are warm on the surface but their social circles are full. The path to a real social life runs through active early investment: joining a sports club, a running group, the climbing gym, a music venue scene, within the first two weeks of arriving, not the first two months. The expat community is large and active and genuinely welcoming. Most people who describe loneliness at 12 months waited for things to happen organically. Most people who describe a full social life at 12 months started joining things on week two.
Is Wellington good for remote workers?
Yes, with one specific caveat: cafes close by 4pm, so afternoon productivity needs a coworking solution. Morning cafe culture is excellent. Fibre internet is widely available and gigabit plans are accessible. BizDojo is the main coworking operator. The city's walkability and proximity to nature make the overall work-life texture very good, you can take a trail run at lunch and be back at your desk in 40 minutes. UK expats specifically note that a VPN is essential for home-country streaming, as BBC iPlayer and the main UK services are geo-blocked.
How bad is the Wellington weather really?
Worse than expected by most expats, including people from genuinely cold places. It is not the cold itself, it is the combination of wind, moisture, and temperature that creates a specific misery different from dry cold winters. Summers are genuinely lovely: mild, breezy, long evenings, the city at its best. The honest verdict from people who've lived there: if you need reliable sunshine, Wellington is wrong for you, and the rest of New Zealand offers better options. If you can tolerate difficult winters in exchange for everything else Wellington offers, most people ultimately decide the deal is worth it.
Social Scene
Photo by Shriram Nagarajan on Unsplash
Wellington's reputation for friendliness is real and also slightly misleading. Locals are warm, non-threatening, and genuinely easy to interact with day-to-day. You will not feel unwelcome. What takes longer to crack is the deeper social layer, Wellington locals tend to have established social networks from school and university that they've maintained for years, and the motivation to actively expand them by folding in a new person is limited. Multiple expats across different backgrounds and nationalities describe the same arc: surface warmth immediately, real friendship slowly.
The good news is that the expat and immigrant community is large and active. With roughly one in four New Zealand residents being migrants, Wellington has substantial British, Australian, American, South African, and Asian expat communities, and these communities skew toward people who are actively looking to meet others in exactly the same situation. The r/Wellington subreddit (130,000 members) functions as a genuine community resource, including organised meetups.
The places where real social connections happen: sports clubs are the most reliable route, football, rugby, cycling, rowing, and netball all have active club scenes with social components. Boulder Co climbing gym comes up repeatedly as a place where young professionals meet. Wellington Trail Runners gets good reviews. The music venue scene, Bodega, San Fran, Meow, is the other reliable pipeline, especially for the Eyegum Wednesdays crowd. The LGBTQ+ scene is active and welcoming, centred around S&Ms (176 Cuba St) and Ivy Bar (63 Lower Cuba St).
The universal piece of advice from people who've done it: join something within the first two weeks of arriving. Not the first month, the first two weeks. The window for building a social life in Wellington is not automatic; it requires active early investment. Most expats who describe being lonely at 12 months can trace it back to waiting for organic connection that didn't materialise. Most who describe a full social life at 12 months joined a club or group within weeks of arriving.