I love Groupon.  It’s probably one of the easier ways to find out about new restaurants/activities/stores/salons/gyms and more in your city.  When we moved to New Zealand, I was pretty excited to find that there was a Groupon site for Auckland (and Wellington and Christchurch, too!).

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I signed up and we’ve been able to take advantage of several different deals while simultaneously learning about lots of things to do in Auckland.  I’ve also signed up for the Welly and Ch’ch ones, just to give me an idea of what’s available down there for when we next visit.

Chris and I used a Groupon to go out on a date night about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  Groupons are great for date nights – at least for people like us – because they “force” us to go out (not that we mind spending time with each other – it just has a tendency to get pushed to the back burner behind work and taking care of Joe).  Suddenly, the voucher’s expiry date looms and we’re scrambling to find a sitter, not wanting our money to go to waste.  And it doesn’t go to waste.  Last time, we went out to an Italian restaurant in Auckland that – surprise, surprise – is actually run by Italians.  For $29, we each got a main, drinks, and dessert.  That’s pretty amazing for dining out in AKL.  More importantly, we had a wonderful time reconnecting, talking, and sharing a meal.

We’ve used Groupon for other restaurants, activities, and (Chris’ favourite) coffee.  Chris has purchased several coffee vouchers from them, both for ready-made drinks and for  beans.  I lovingly refer to Chris a coffee snob, so if he’s buying several Groupon vouchers for coffee, then it must be good.

If you’re thinking about moving to New Zealand, are moving to New Zealand, live in New Zealand, or are just thinking about visiting New Zealand, then you should check out GrouponNZ.  It’s been a great way for us to save money while also showing us what things are available to do in our town 🙂