where to live in new zealand

My family and I have lived in Wellington going on three years now, so I can pretty much only speak for this part of New Zealand. I am not sure where you are wanting to live.
We too did not want to live in the city as we love the country, although I work in the city. It’s great to travel the 31km back to our house in the hutt valley every day, out of the city. Our boys are both doing extremely well at school, and have adapted well coming from South Africa.
Houses can be a bit tricky, the older houses that are located near to streams or the hutt valley river, tend to get quite cold in the winter as most do not have proper insulation. Wood burners seem to be the preferred choice of heating although heat pumps are starting to take off. There are a lot of new areas springing up, and these houses have all got solid insulation and resemble those of the UK, boasting double insulation, double glazed windows etc. These houses generally have no problem at all in the winter and are quite easy to heat. You can have a look at http://www.redcoats.co.nz/ to get a better idea of house pricing, rentals etc.
Concerning your son, a good place to start would be this web site: http://www.careers.govt.nz/default.aspx … id1=J44121
I don’t think there is anywhere else he could study, but I am sure you will be able to contact the authorities at the above web site to find this out.
I hope you find what you are looking for, and feel free to ask anything!