Hey dude, I'm from NZ but currently on a working holiday in Canada.
The best place to start for real estate is
trademe.co.nz - most if not all real estate agencies will put their listings on this website, rentals as well. It is basically our go-to website for the entire country for anything you want, there are no real competitors.
Cost of living is higher in Auckland than most other cities or towns in NZ but still cheaper than places like Toronto and Vancouver. A pretty good website is
http://preview.tinyurl.com/7m5h2px It's in Canadian dollars (you can change it to most other currencies) Just select the city you want to compare in the dropdown box. Palmerston North is the city closest (25km) to Ohakea (fellow aircraft engineer?) and where you would most likely live if you were to be working there unless you are airforce and living on base.
Info on both cities is probably best found at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmerston_North I have never lived in either so I cant give you any local tips.
You will find that in NZ life in general is much more laid back. Its fairly common for even the most affluent people to walk down the street barefoot. The people on the whole are just as friendly as in Canada.
* Cell phone plans are competitive and less confusing than in North America. A cell number has no region, works anywhere in the country, there is no roaming with cells, it costs the same to ring your neighbour as it does someone at the other end of the country and there is never a charge for incoming calls or texts.
* Banks will pay you, instead of charging you fees, for having an account with them. There is no limit to how many times you can use your bank card per month. Banks are only open from 9am till 4:30 or 5pm weekdays and do not open on the weekend.
* Food:fresh produce, meat etc is cheaper (and much more plentiful and in more variety) but eating out is more expensive. Takeouts are about the same. Booze is cheaper if you buy it at a super market or bottle store, but about the same if you buy it at a pub or bar. One important thing here is that there is
no tipping in NZ, or at least it is very uncommon to tip. Saving you 10-20% each time you eat out or go for a drink.
* Tax is always included/built into the price of all goods and services and is 15%. You don't have to work it out and it wont get when you go to pay.
* Vehicles are the same to buy new but much more expensive used. Fuel is slightly more expensive. Every vehicle must have a Warrant of Fitness (NZ$30-50 per 6 months) and a valid registration, the cost of which depends on what sort of vehicle you have and the period of time you buy it for (3, 6, or 12months) it ranges from NZ$160 per year for a petrol sedan to around NZ$600 per year for a 4WD diesel truck. Diesel vehicles are also subject to road user charges because diesel is not taxed. You buy these by the KM and its normally about NZ$50 per 1000KM. Obviously we drive on the other side of the road.
* Here's the important part: Bikes. I'm unsure about the laws regarding transferral of foreign motorcycle licenses. The NZ Transport Authority website
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/residents-visitors/driving-nz.html should have everything you need to know, but the website (and the NZTA) are notoriously useless at clearly stating the rules. Modifications to motorcyles are heavily restricted. For example any welding done to the frame must be carried out by a qualified welder and certified by what's called an LVVT engineer. Heaps more info can be found here:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/virm-in-service-certification/virm-in-service-certification.html#motorcycles
Anyway that's about all I can think of just now. Any questions just ask!
