Six months in - I KNOW - we can't believe it either!

Posted on Monday 16 July 2007 at 09:40 - Post Comment

Sunday was the anniversary of our arrival here in New Zealand.  Six whole months have passed since we first stepped foot onto Kiwi soil. To celebrate we are going to go to have a meal in a restaurant that we walk past every time we go into town. Each time we pass we say to each other 'We should go there sometime' and now that time has come. I am going to book it for us for Friday night!

WOW - where has all the time gone!?

So.... has it been worth it?  I mean, we left solid jobs in the UK, we had a bit of disposable income, our friends to spend it with, lived in our own house - all in all life was rosy enough.  So why up sticks to the other end of the world!?  Well, the adventure has been full of ups - getting a decent job, buying our own piece of NZ, getting a flat in a great location, and city living to name a few, as well as the inevitable downs - Toni still to secure permanent work, the price of our dream house being raised and cold rental houses, but overall we definately feel that we have done the right thing for us.

On the face of it we live similar lives to our last year in the UK, only we spend about twice as much time together as we could in the UK.  My hours are shorter, the daylight hours longer and days brighter, and the weather pretty dry. (I can't say drier than Southend, but certainly on a par with it I would say)  This means that we spend loads of this additional time outside, walking around from place to place, cycling around the park, walking to see friends.  It's just so easy!  There are still so many things to explore, that we are really looking forward to spring to venture further afield.  We have both lost a considerable amount of weight too - which can only be a bonus.

Our prospects here are very good, with a team leader position at my work just having come available which I will be applying for.  Toni is working hard on her job application, so we hope that this will pay dividends and get her in the frame for a job.  Our visa application no longer relies on this so that's now going ahead through my work - will save us a few bob there too.

The rental property in the UK is (touch wood) running just fine, and should break even which is just ideal, with the tenants keen to stay there for the forseeable future.  I hope I haven't jinxed it now though by saying that!!!

We've gone through a fair bit of homesickness, but nothing that has been too terrible.  We both miss seeing our nieces and nephews growing up, but pictures and phone calls certainly help.  The news that T's sister and her family are planning to be out here themselves after Christmas is another massive plus, and really keeps us working hard to make a success of things here.

Overall - yep, it's all good in the Wiz'n'Ton hood.

In more mundane news, we have completed the lounge ceiling this evening and it looks SO much better for a lick of paint.  The edging and cutting in has let me with a cricked neck, but the rollering only took a couple of hours and the place looks much smarter.  We'll not be so embarressed inviting people around here now!

Remember I mentioned about Yams in my 'Weird Fruit' post a few months back?  Well, I ate some tonight for tea, and they were blimmin lovely.  Highly reccommended to the house.

Nothing else to report really - so that's all for now.  Pretty boring then, but still - we feel that 6 months is a milestone worth celebrating, so 'cheers'   and here's to the next 6 months!