pomikiwi

Obviously im new and so didnt 'plan' my move over to NZ on this forum, but thought id share my experience of the last 11 years.

Anyway, I married a kiwi in 2002 and moved out to Whangarei (2 hours north of Auckland) in 2003. All of my husbands family are in Whangarei even though they are not a close family. I was lucky has i already had a group of ready made friends and sort-of-a family lol!

We lived with hubbys sister and family until the tenants moved out of hubbys house. When we moved in it was AWFUL, id never experienced such an out of date looking house. 1970's weatherboard. The summer was great, warm as toast (thank god for long summers up north). But then came the winter. The house was cold and damp even though we had a fire. In Whangarei it generally doesn't get very cold, but I was surprised how little is done to heat houses in NZ. We had a wood burner thank goodness. However, I still got sick of cleaning mould from window sills and ceilings. We decided to totally renovate the house and that made a huge difference. Insulation, a new fire and a heat transfer kit woohooo!

I found NZ'ers to be down to earth and friendly and i have made some really good friends through the years. Mainly through the local gym and from playgroups etc once i had kids. I LOVED the pregnancy services here, the fact that you have the same midwife (more or less), throughout your whole pregnancy and birth. The care i received was top notch. I miss the NHS but seen as myself, hubby and kids are generally healthy we dont go to the GP that much. I fell and broke my ankle about 7 years ago and the care i received was amazing, from surgery to rehab. ACC were great. I'd never had an operation before i moved to NZ and i have now had four (2 c sections and 2 ankle ops) and i cant complain AT ALL about the care i received.

I'm not a huge fan of beaches, fishing, diving, sports etc but i do it for the kids. We go camping in January and i've learned to enjoy it. I'm very active and go to the gym most days but i am not into sports at all. On rugby match days round at friends places, you'll find me in the kitchen cleaning up, lol!

LIke all countries NZ has some major issues which most of us know about.
I try not to dwell on them and make the most of our life here. I dont miss any foods or anything from the UK, im a big believer in "when in rome do as the romans do" so i find stuff here that i like just as much. That is my attitude with everything, not just food Whittakers chocolate OMG!! yumo.
I do miss the cheapness and choice of clothes etc in the UK, but i think it is a small price to pay for the life we have here.

We built a new house 2 years ago and it is amazing, we are so lucky to have found a perfect section and built a lovely home.

I do have moments when i miss the UK and feel extremely unsettled (some of you may have seen my other post). It's happened more since having my children and i miss the support i would have if i lived in the UK near to my family. I feel guilty that my parents are getting older and i feel like im depriving them of their grandkiddies. It's tough feeling that way almost every day. I feel very torn between the 2 countries. If i didnt love it here that much the decision would be so easy. It's something to seriously think about and i've not ruled out living back in the UK for maybe a few years at some stage.

My mum also loves it here and comes out on a regular basis, she has a better social life here that in the UK as she has made her own friends on her trips here. She is amazing!

Overall my experience as been very positive and im happy i made the right dicision to move to NZ. Maybe i have had it easier marrying a NZ'er, but i have worked very hard to fit in and i'm not one to think everything will come to me. It's a beautiful country with so much to see and do, i feel lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

They say the first year is the hardest, i would agree with that looking back. I didnt want to like it at first, lol.

Sooo yeah, thats me! Sorry it's long.

Chel42uk

thanks for the update, always helps to hear how people are getting on!

j19fmm

Thank you, that was a great update

RobClubley

TommyLuck

Enjoyed reading this and have picked out two things I reckon every immigrant should remember when embarking on a new life in a new country;

On the second quote, I firmly believe that had I moved to Leicester or Bristol, (or wherever in the UK) I would have also had to put in some effort and time to find some mates and find a place to fit in and belong.

Snap Shot

I married a kiwi in Britain in 1994. All that did was get me an entitlement to a family category visa and permanent residency. Which meant nothing to me at the time.

Sorry but it's right man wrong country for me. IMO not a great deal wrong with NZ. Personally I don't find it to be so different to Britain. I just had little motivation to come here in the first place. I will one day miss the house that was once home in NZ. However, I recall missing the house that was once home in Britain terribly once we had sold it prior to our, 'adventure' to NZ.

I'm glad you've been happy for all the years you've lived here. I live in a nice house, in a decent area. I don't mind living in provincial New Zealand, well Wanganui at least, what I do mind is being out of work as frequently and for so long as I have been.