Living in Queenstown, New Zealand

Hi there, welcome to my blog - I’ve just moved in! My name’s Mat, I’m a twenty-something year old web-developer living and working in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Honestly, Queenstown has to be one of the best places in the world to live in, it’s definitely the best place in New Zealand to call home. I was lured here 5 years ago to work as a web developer, and whilst most people wouldn’t think of Queenstown as being a mecca for web development, we all know that you can build websites from anywhere in the world, so why not in one of the most amazing places?

Home to a relatively small resident population of 18,000, Queenstown hustles and bustles like a small city with its popularity amongst tourists - over 1.8 million of them per year! Queenstown is famous for being the ‘adventure capital of the world,’ being home to the world’s first commercial bungy operation (and a few others), numerous jet boating operations and everything from swings to zip lines and snowboarding and skiing!

Queenstown is busiest and most amazing during summer and winter. Situated in Central Otago, Summer days are long, dry and hot with daylight extending out to 11pm. Popular summer activities include mountain biking and watersports on Lake Wakatipu. Winters in Queenstown see the town transform into a mountain resort with mountain biking and outdoor shops transforming into ski and snow shops. With easy access to ski mountains, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Cardrona, Queenstown’s the ideal place to situate yourself (and myself) to take advantage of the snow. An annual party, the Queenstown Winter Festival, sees the winter in with style at the end of each June, with events spanning 10 days of action and partying. The shoulder seasons are spring and autumn and the town’s visitors dwindle. Not the best time to visit but you’ll find deals aplenty.

Planning a visit? Give me a shout and say hi. And if you’re looking for somewhere to stay, check out my Mum’s Queenstown holiday homes website.

Living and working in Queenstown is a dream. Never before have I had an office in the middle of town with such easy access to snowy mountains. It’s just 30 minutes drive to the top of Coronet Peak so we regularly get an hour or two of snowboarding in before work. Whilst I make websites, there are plenty of job opportunities, especially in the tourism and hospitality industries. And if you’re interested in living in Queenstown and you’re a rockstar developer - get in touch, we’re always looking for talented geeks.

Don’t know much about Queenstown? You’ve probably seen it on the big screen before, the area having featured in movies such as The Lord of the Rings, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.