‘Feel the energy’: Move over Auckland and Wellington, this city is the place to be

Sunday, 12 October 2025

Which is the best city? Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland? Stuff reporter Phoebe Utteridge took to the streets of Christchurch for a perhaps not all that unexpected verdict.

Seemingly endless business closures, dirty streets and a cost of living crisis have left New Zealand’s most populated North Island CBDs languishing.

News coverage about Auckland and Wellington can leave you almost imagining tumbleweeds blowing down streets once packed with people.

Wellington’s had a number of cafés and restaurants close their doors, while a recent report found one in eight of Auckland’s central city retail stores were sitting empty.

In Auckland, a recent Heart of the City survey found 81% of business owners who responded believed the city centre was “not in a good state to attract significantly more people and investment”.

Jamie Williams warns that Wellington's status as the 'Culture Capital' is at risk. He highlights a lack of entrepreneurial talent, struggling hospitality, and a need for a long-term vision to improve the city.

Many felt the city streets were unclean, while one said there were people defecating in the street daily.

But a walk through Christchurch in 2025 reveals there’s quite the buzz about town.

Census data shows there has been an influx of people moving south in recent years, so a higher population must have something to do with it.

But those who have lived in the city all their life also said there was just… more of a vibe.

Juliet Speedy provides an update on the anchor projects happening in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

The city had a unique opportunity, in the wake of tragedy, to reinvent itself after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes that decimated much of the CBD.

That rebuild has been slow going but now, nearly 14 years on, the city has started to shape up.

Defeated mayoralty candidate Sara Templeton said Christchurch went through its own “slump” pre-quake, with the council bringing in a Copenhagen-based urban strategy firm to look at how to revitalise it.

But after the earthquakes, Templeton said community feedback showed broad support for a people-centred, greener city centre.

“And that’s what’s been built.

“We have more pedestrian and shared spaces, we're making the most of the Ōtākaro Avon River instead of ignoring it, we've got the amazing Margaret Mahy playground too.”

The re-elected mayor, Phil Mauger, said he could “really feel the energy” in Christchurch at the moment.

“The city is alive with people, events, and new businesses… You see it on the streets, hospitality is busy, the Riverside Market is thriving, and people are proud to be here.”

Auckland and Wellington need to learn from the Garden City's positive outlook.

That much was clear when Stuff visited Oxford Terrace, the “strip”, on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

It was bustling with people lunching and laughing, as buskers entertained and buzzers rang out across the picnic tables to let people know their food was ready.

Every 10 minutes or so a tram would come around the corner, almost always packed with patrons.

Even born and bred North Islander Paddy Gower said he thought Christchurch had it going on - labelling it the “best city by far”.

“A city’s CBD is of course its symbolic heart - and Christchurch’s is thumping,” he wrote in May.

“Compare it to Queen St that is barely breathing and Lambton Quay which has pretty much stopped.”

The most recent census data showed a large number of people had migrated from the North Island to the South Island.

So what’s Christchurch got that its North Island counterparts are missing out on?

There’s no doubt more people are around these days, with census data showing almost 43,000 people moved from the North Island to Canterbury between 2018 and 2023.

2023 Census spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear said that was likely because of cheaper houses and study opportunities in Canterbury – with 15 to 29-year-olds making up one third of people who moved from the North Island.

Christchurch’s Riverside Market is almost always bustling.

Around 86,000 people moved from the North Island to the Mainland, around 30,000 more than went in the opposite direction.

Hospitality NZ Canterbury branch president Jeremy Stevens said the hospitality offerings in Christchurch were “world-class”.

Christchurch’s Electric Avenue is the biggest music festival in Australasia.

Investment in the post-quake rebuild had helped the city “remain resilient, even during recent global economic headwinds over the past few years”, he said.

And then there were events like Electric Avenue, Australasia’s largest music festival.

Stuff spoke to people in the central city on Friday and asked them if they’d rather be in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Some were local, others were visiting.

Tee, 66, prefers Wellington to Christchurch because of the capital's creative scene.

Caleb Barber, 23, said he thought Christchurch was cleaner. “There’s probably more to do in Auckland, but Christchurch is just better.”

Nicola Lassen, 57, also said Christchurch was the place to be. “The city’s really looking great,” she said.

But Wellington still got kudos for being the arts and culture capital.

Oxford Terrace in Christchurch’s CBD on Thursday.

Tee, 66, lives in Nelson now, but firmly preferred Wellington over Christchurch.

“It’s got more open flow about it. People are more open about the artistic way they want to live their lives.

“I love the energy of the city,” he said.

And Christchurch still has a way to go.

Cathedral Square, once known as the heart of the city, has long been languishing, with low foot traffic and vacant buildings.

It’s been dubbed “the last piece of the puzzle”.

But a fresh plan to reopen the Christ Church Cathedral by 2030 may well breathe life back into the square too.