Auckland or Canterbury?

My brother studies engineering at Auckland university and seems to enjoy it (he's not a city person though so hates having to live in the city), but I think it's pretty much the top Uni in NZ for studying engineering in. I have no idea about the international recognition, but Auckland is the bigger of the two universities which might make it more recognisable to overseas countries.

I'm not sure about the campus life, the Auckland university is located right in the centre of Auckland city, so it's very close to everything, and the campus is spread over a bit of an area I think. I think the campus living isn't too bad, some of the hostels are a bit dodgy, but a lot of people live in flatting situations which gives you more control.

Auckland is a pretty expensive place to live, so the living expenses will be higher there than they would be in Canterbury, accommodation I think is probably the most expensive thing, Auckland is the most expensive place to live.

Because the uni is located in central Auckland there are heaps of gyms nearby, I think the uni might have one, I'm not sure, but my brother goes to a gym down there. And there are quite a lot of places to run in Auckland, although a lot of the good trail running you would have to go out of the city centre for.

There's also less earthquakes in Auckland...I don't know anything about Canterbury uni though so can't help you there, I think they might be having a bit of difficulty in attracting students atm though so are offering quite a lot of scholarships etc.

google compare the city to look into the financials, but keep in mind maybe u will need to visit both to decide where u feel more comfortable at

Which do you prefer, volcanos or earthquakes?

I love Christchurch, it's one of my favourite places. The university campus is beautiful and the student 'way of life' is a big part of the culture there. Christchurch has beautiful architecture and is very 'arty' and cultured. Great coffee and food.