Catchafire

Come on guys, 5 reasons please. Lots of fodder for separate threads.

britsinnz

Emigrating anywhere is tough and I would say that the following five things are vital to think about before taking the plunge.

1) Self sufficiency, in bucket loads. By this I mean the ability to be on your own, without family or friends and starting again. Building a brand new life from the bottom up, it can get tough at times. I underestimated how exhausting this can be. You are always the newbie, it's b****y knackering.

2) As others have said, financial sufficiency at the beginning, a good deposit gives you choice, without it, it could be really difficult.

3) Family relationships could take a big hit, it's not fair and it's not right, but it happens and it's painful. If you have close family relationships in your home country, be prepared for the grief you will feel. Also be prepared for the news of a close family member's sudden death, it's really tough to be so far away.

4) You'll need BE or something similar, sign up. Whatever your experience, someone on BE has been there before, and it's good to know that you're not going loopy, it's just the expat life.

5) Come with an explorer's attitude, explore, enjoy, even if it's temporary, but know that it's a different culture and learn to embrace that difference. It gets lonely here at times and it can get tough, but if you can't settle just tell yourself that you're here for now and you'll make the best of the time here. Don't have regrets, life is too short.

BEVS

BooHoo. To refocus .

I have moved some of the posts to HERE. (with apologies to those of you trying to get the balance and topic back on track)

I don't know what is so hard to understand about this thread. I actually think it is a stroke of genius . Even the title and opening line.
Simple and effective and I don't say that coz it is Catcha but this is precisely a reason why he is a mod for this NZ forum. That and his commitment to the country .

I really think he is looking to see the wood from the trees with this thread and I have not PMd with him on this at all.

This gives an opportunity to list those things that cam blight an emigrant/immigrant life simply and then collate the common factors.

To re-iterate . It is simply to give 5 reasons why a move to NZ could take the edge off a new life or make it difficult for whatever reason. Nothing more or less.

Right ! Out of puff now.


note - i will have to edit to make the link in a bit.

MrsFychan

1) trying to get things done properly is an up hill struggle.

2) the "she'll be right" attitude is NOT a good thing

3) the wind in Wellington is seriously frightening

4) If you have kids that have been in UK education for some years they may well get bored until they move onto college at 13yrs.

5) Customer service on the whole is abysmal, be prepared to right a lot of complaint emails

Assanah

1. Missing family and friends
2. Work culture - best if you are self employed here
3. She'll be right-attitude as an excuse to give a s***
4. Limited intellectual stimulation, limited job opportunities, limited travel opportunities, limited cultural stimulation
5. Dreadful housing which is extremely expensive at least in Auckland - bring lots of money

MrsFychan

can't believe I wrote right instead of write

Caryatid

With all these concierges and moderators around I'm scared to blow my nose. This is a but a bit of a personal summary which relates directly to the lists of 5 put forward. Hopefully it will be appreciated by those experiencing these things and those thinking of stepping into the fray. Please don't move this or it will loose it's context.

The reason I read and contribute to this site is because the comments so often confirm my feelings and experiences of NZ (as does this list). I was born and raised in NZ. My parents emigrated there from the UK; my father with adventurous enthusiasm at 42 and my mother looking on it as a duty to follow her husband. The only things I remember her appreciating were the beaches, sea, sea food and hot pools! She pined for stone buildings, history, family and real community.
I always felt like the place had been imposed on me. I don’t like; competitive sport, the bush, the tortured farming landscape, the almost incessant wind, the solar UV at a level double that of Europe, the poor moral standards that the population readily accepts, the pathetically inadequate sense of humour, the she’ll be right attitude, the cliques, nepotism, beer drinking (and beer advertising), swearing and vandalism and propensity for producing large numbers of children out of any kind of stable family situation, born again American Baptist type Christians, cults and sects, the ticky-tacky houses that look like they are going to fall over and give little or no sense of or real security, dislike of anything old and little respect for history or others. eg…
Pave Zupan Ruskovic lost her job as a tourism minister in the Croatian government and destination manager for Dubrovnik, after saying she would prefer if Australians and New Zealanders avoided the ancient city. ''Already when entering the city they are drunk and crazy. And that's absolutely not appropriate for any city, and in particular for Dubrovnik,'' she told the Dubrovacki List.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-...#ixzz2nLtS8RcC

For the most part from a very young age I found the ‘culture’ strange or non-existent; the square peg in the round hole. The teachers had little interest in their students as individuals, openly displayed favouritism or were trapped in stressful situations where they weren’t appreciated and couldn’t help students or themselves to develop their full potential. I went though my entire schooling with a quite prominent problem of gait that was never remarked by the visiting school doctor or teachers or GP! This is now causing me considerable health problems.

I went to a hugely oversubscribed high school of 1,500 students! Education didn’t seem to have much value to many people around me. I remember looking at school leavers and thinking; they should be doing something more than that! There seemed to be little true intellectual stimulation even at university and I didn’t go on to do masters because the NZ prof. that I would have had to work under was such a boring individual. Only the UK lecturers seemed to have some character. At school there was a debating club…but what was there to debate?; MP’s just yelled at each other in Parliament. I remember being criticised for enjoying listening to National Radio by people who had had a university education. I remember the remark that there was too much ‘talk’ on this station! What helped me greatly as a youngster was our fortnightly trip to the library. I got much more from this habit than from school! Home schooling (6,473 children in 2007) is very popular in NZ because of the standard of primary education, distances to be travelled and social problems. I realised way too late that NZ is hugely limited in relation to employment; no choice, no room to move (intellectually and professionally).

In my experience the doctors think they are God. I don’t know what they teach them in Otago but it isn’t humility or humanity. Growing up without extended family was very debilitating especially when my mother and brother were very ill with cancer. No one stepped in to help or act as a mentor. I ended up as a ward of the state and I don’t have anything good to say about social services.

I remember a short period when NZ’rs almost had a real identity but then there was a large influx of Asian people and influence and this was lost. Too many White South Africans let loose as well.
The place is still very macho. During my last stay of 6 months I was bullied and I was shocked by the attitude towards women of my own brother. Sadly for humanity there is a lot of this everywhere. I found it difficult to get beyond a more than superficial friendship with so many people (in large part because I don’t drink beer). I’m sure life could be different in Wellington or parts of Auckland but this would depend on which social circles you can access. Depression is very common in NZ and it’s not new; too many people in isolated situations with little to hope for.
Stuff 07/2011: Research published in the international journal BMC Medicine yesterday shows that of 18 countries, New Zealand consistently ranked in the top 25 per cent on nearly every measure of depression. Among the 10 high-income countries included, New Zealanders ranked second for people experiencing a major depressive episode in the 12 months before the survey and fourth for people having suffered a depressive episode in their lifetime.

A kiwi once mentioned to me how they had missed the support system of family and close friends while abroad and I thought “Well, I never noticed anything, I’ve always been on my own!”

No where is perfect but I’m afraid the lovely beaches and sea can’t make up for what’s missing in this society. Certainly very much has changed in NZ but from the remarks I read on this site made by those who are sensitive to such things I see that old prejudices and attitudes remain and I am not alone in my impressions.

luvwelly

right is correct?

MrsFychan

not on number 5 it isn't

gazmac

1-5, You frequent sites like this and read threads that make you depressed.

Arthur Daley

Sorry but I feel that your thread title is just a tad depressing and over the top, the ruin your life bit I mean.
Although I am sure it was not your intention to put off potential migrants rather it being just a hard hitting title for a thread that would promote interest - and it certainly worked with me.
Something as devastating as a serious illness could well ruin your life but the fact the NZ has not got a Marks and Spencer is hardly going to ruin anybody's life is it?

If your thread was - name 5 negative things about NZ that people should know before they arrive - then mine would be -

1. If you don't like rugby, netball or watching Vauxhall's race Fords all day long then you are not going to enjoy watching NZ TV very much.
2. NZ's hunting culture. Sticking a pig after it has been ripped to shreds by dogs and shooting ducks while getting pissed out of your head is not on my bucket list.
3. NZ Healthcare. Dental charges are a joke, doctors in my experience are not as good as in the UK and the least said about ACC the better. It encourages people to lie basically.
4. Public transport or rather lack of it. I have had people making fun of the fact that I would rather catch the bus than drink and drive. True.
5. The ridiculous price of certain things due to a lack of competition in NZ such as the Interislander Ferry, the internet, mobile phone contracts, air fares and the list goes on. Could even be a separate thread in fact. If you are thinking of buying a cheap house to do up, think again. DIY is a pricey experience. A simple lick of paint might mean that you have to sell one of your kidneys.

However I still love it here despite all of the above and is why I am still here after 8 years. If by chance I didn't then I would not let it ruin my life, I would simply move back to the UK or somewhere else for that matter.

BEVS

Argh !

I'll edit the title to summat similar .

Meanwhile , by way of an interlude, would you like to add to this opposing thread HERE

bourbon-biscuit

Erm, did you read some of the responses? Moving to NZ could ruin lives, not because of the TV or lack of M&S, but because if how many families split post- emigrating, or how many families end up in dire financial circumstances, or suffering from severe stress from the separation with family left behind, etc, etc. it's not that far-fetched to state that emigrating has the potential to ruin lives.