[sitharus]

It really depends on where you are. There is a lot of gang activity in the more impoverished areas - even though NZ is a welfare state the benefits are set at a starvation level, which leads to the associated crime.

It would pay to ask locals what they think of an area before moving there. In general it's fairly safe though, the big gangs are more interested in selling pot than getting locked up. The youth gangs are full of angry teenagers as usual, but they're not a big issue. You can walk down the nightlife areas at 3am and not get mugged unless you go down a dark alley.

My background - expat brit who moved here for high school, been here for 16 years now. Lived in the lower north island for all of that time.