Tell us a little about yourself and family.

I am 38, and my partner Vince is 37. We have a son, Thomas, and he’s nearly 2 and a half. We lived in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. We still have 2 houses in Peterborough and rent them both out through a property management company.  Vince is a Software Engineer and at the moment I am a stay at home mum. 

What were your reasons for choosing New Zealand?

The company that Vince worked for in the UK also had a branch in NZ. A few years ago we were asked if we wanted to move out here… we said yes and started looking into emigrating.  Then I got pregnant and we wanted to wait until after the baby was born before moving; in that time the company got bought out and they went into a “recruitment freeze”. We forgot all about emigrating.  In December 2004 Vince got an email from the boss in NZ saying the job was back open again if he wanted it… we said yes again.

How long did the emigration process take?

I said all along that I would only emigrate with Permanent Residency so we applied using the Skilled Migrant Category.  We got together everything we needed, had the medicals, police checks etc.  We got an ITA sent to us and Vince completed it….  it was sent off Registered Post and they received it on the Tuesday morning and on the Thursday we got a phone call from them telling us it was OK, and to go and book our flights…. So 2 days!!

Where do you live in New Zealand?

In Beachlands village which is East of Auckland.  We are 20 minutes drive from Howick and Botany.

What differences have you noticed between NZ and the UK?

The weather!!  It’s so much milder here than UK.  We arrived in June 2005 which is winter here.  It was sunny and warm enough to sometimes only wear t-shirts during the day.  The coldest it got down to during the day was 13 degrees.  At night it can be cold and there can be a ground frost in the winter.  We went to one beach, (Piha), in the middle of winter and it was in the 20’s and we all caught the sun.

Because of the milder weather you spend more time out of doors.  Back in the UK I could not take my little lad to the park in the winter without him freezing… here in the winter it’s still around 15 degrees… no excuse to stay in (unless its raining of course and boy can it rain here in springtime!!)

The trees and flowers are so different. I love them. It was amazing arriving in June and seeing citrus trees laden with fruit.  Then a few weeks later there were a few daffodils and then some wild lilies everywhere.  They have trees  that seem to be covered with large flowers… they look lovely.  Even the grass is different, people who brought mowers from the UK say they wont work here as the grass is too springy and tough.

The friendliness of the people.  Everyone says hello…total strangers will stop and start conversations.  The teenagers aren’t threatening… most of them say hello to you.

Shopping is a bit different. Its best to go to a fruit shop for fruit…a butcher for your meat etc. If you buy it all in the supermarkets you pay a lot more.

Keeping a horse is cheaper, I pay the same in dollars for grass livery as I did in pounds in the UK.  My horse cost me $700 which was £280 at that time and you can buy ex racers/trotters for even cheaper than that.

What do you enjoy most about NZ?

Being able to be outside in the fresh air more.
Looking at the amazing views.
Meeting friendly people.
Seeing new places when we get a chance.
Riding my horse in the sea…. Was always one of my ambitions and I never managed it in the UK.

What do you miss from the UK?

My family and friends mostly.
Decent sausages!!
Oh and bacon… its too thin here.  Pork that tastes like pork.
Walkers crisps
Bisto Gravy!
Tescos and Sainsburys
Next
My horse who I left with my best friend.
Beautiful frosty autumn mornings
Fast Broadband
My job….. nope…  I hated it! lol
Our neighbours, they were fantastic!
Christmas celebrations and special family occasions
Having some spare money at the end of the month…. But to be fair we are trying to survive on one wage at the moment and its not quite enough to live on. Whereas we had 2 wages in the UK.

If you or your spouse work how easy was it to find employment?

Vince was offered the job before we came here.

I have tried to work part time but it hasn’t worked out.  The pay here can be very low and after I paid the babysitter and petrol money it just wasn’t worth it.  I am still looking for part time work in the travel/tourism industry but no luck at the moment.

How does the work environment differ from the UK?

Vince seems to like his job okay.

When I worked part time some of the women there spoke down to me.  I never fitted in at all.  They seem very work-orientated….all they talked about was work. There was no laughter or fun, I could not find a sense of humour in most of them.  They asked absolutely nothing about me and how it was going for me.  They obviously just wanted me to work and nothing else.  I was spoken down to several times and I got very upset over it. It has put me off working here for a while, but maybe I was just unlucky to work in such an unfriendly place, as I’ve already said most people I come across here are so friendly.  It’s a shame as it could’ve been a very good job and I would’ve probably stuck with the low wages if they had made an effort to know me and made the job enjoyable.

If you have children how easy was it to enroll them in a new school?

Thomas isn’t at school age yet but I take him to Playgroup twice a week in the next village and he’s already enrolled at Kindy for when he turns 3 and 10 months.

How different is the education system from the UK?

I don’t know that yet. But, having spoken to British friends who’ve moved here they say that their children are now very much behind their UK counterparts even after having been here a relatively short time.  Several people have said that to me.

Has your child settled?

Yes, he’s only 2 but he loves the beach and the many parks.

Has your quality of life improved, if so how?

We live in a much quieter road/village.  Although we are renting we live in a much nicer house than either of ours in the UK.  We could never afford to rent this house in the UK.  We are able to walk in 5 minutes down to the beach… it took us nearly 2 hours to get to the sea in the UK.  My partner has taken up fishing and he is now a member of the NZ Fire Service.  They wouldn’t let him join in the UK due to him wearing contact lenses… so he’s doing something he always wanted to do…not sure if that is an improved quality, just a dream come true for him.

How does the cost of living compare?

White goods are expensive.  Groceries and petrol are cheaper but wages here are lower.  Our rent here is expensive but we do rent a nice largish house!  Electricity is expensive here too.

How does NZ fit into your long term plans?

Not 100% sure.  We have permanent residency but always said we would rent for 2 years before deciding to sell either one or both of the houses. We have to be really sure that this is where we want to be.  It might take longer than 2 years to decide.  I’m not sure that Auckland is for us but at the moment we are tied as that’s where Vince’s work is.

In retrospect is there anything you would change?

Well, I would have probably brought our white goods with us, as they can be expensive to replace here.  We left certain things at home that we regret not bringing now, as we never expected it to be so expensive to replace them. Bring it all!!

Are there any final thoughts you would like to share?

I am glad we have moved here as it’s such a beautiful country but we feel that NZ was certainly more than a little oversold to us.  Yes we wanted the house overlooking the sea with the 2 acres….but we would have to win the lottery to afford it here.  There are places like that but they are in the middle of nowhere where there are no jobs.

Leaving family was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and it took weeks to get over it.  My parents visited us last month and when they left I went through it all again… its so painful saying goodbye.

I love it here and hope that one day I can call New Zealand my home but it’s not quite home at the moment.  I cannot see us moving back to the UK unless we had to.  Yes, I agree NZ seems to be a bit behind the times but that’s nice in a way… things seem more easy going here and definitely safer.

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