Another Hello from Auckland
Apr 13th 2014, 11:50 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2013
Location: Devonport, Auckland
Posts: 40
Another Hello from Auckland
Well, we are finally here ..... although I still have to go back to UK for 3 months to finish my work contract and get our UK house ready to rent/sell (still undecided).
I've not been on here much since my first questions about visas etc - so a quick update: Back in early January Hubby helped pack the 'good stuff' from our UK home and then hopped on a plane and left me, our 3 year old lad and 2 dogs, in UK to tie up all the loose ends and follow him out later.
Me and our lad popped out for February Half Term (I work in a school and can't have any time off other than school holidays .. boo!) - we had a little over a week staying with Hubby in his temporary rental - managed to view a rental house in Devonport and made a final decision to take it. It was a whistle-stop visit, and many said we were mad, but it was definitely the right thing to do as far as our 3 year old is concerned - it settled his mind greatly to see where is Daddy is - and he's now better able to understand the mad concepts we were talking about!
Our container arrived, almost dead on the day we had been given at the beginning - cleared into the country very easily - all thanks to Sterling Movers - and was delivered to our rental house 3 days after our rental period started, and 5 days before Hubby's temporary rental ended ... phew! MAF visited on unpacking day to view our Christmas Tree and 'Tent' - that was the only slight glitch in the proceedings - the 'Tent' is actually a kids pop-up circus tent from Ikea, used in the playroom only - wish I'd noticed the packers had put it as 'Tent' on our inventory as I'd have got them to clarify it ... but a very minor thing and didn't cause an issue in the end.
So, now, on our Easter Holidays visit back to NZ, I'm sat in our rental house, a stone's throw from the beach, with a garage full of empty boxes (ready for the packers to collect) and our furniture arranged and cupboards organised - just in time for our flights back to UK on Wednesday (stopping off for a few days with my sister in HK on the way back!). It's been great to get over here and get everything organised - and do a bit of sight-seeing - oh, and the scary bit .... learning to drive our NZ car!!!!! I'm not used to automatics and still keep wanting to wiggle the gearstick before starting the engine and wanting to put it in first gear at traffic lights .... eeek!
We aren't coming back again until our final departure at the end of July - it's going to be a long wait ... but I've got lots to do to our UK house (how did the walls get so grubby!!!) to keep me busy; and I need to get on top of the dog's preparations .. they've had their Rabies jabs and passed the blood test that follows it .. so their clock is ticking now!
Our first impressions of NZ are all positive .. we have met some really friendly people, love where we are living, looking forward to exploring the city some more and getting out further afield.
Looking forward to updating later in the year to see how things develop
I've not been on here much since my first questions about visas etc - so a quick update: Back in early January Hubby helped pack the 'good stuff' from our UK home and then hopped on a plane and left me, our 3 year old lad and 2 dogs, in UK to tie up all the loose ends and follow him out later.
Me and our lad popped out for February Half Term (I work in a school and can't have any time off other than school holidays .. boo!) - we had a little over a week staying with Hubby in his temporary rental - managed to view a rental house in Devonport and made a final decision to take it. It was a whistle-stop visit, and many said we were mad, but it was definitely the right thing to do as far as our 3 year old is concerned - it settled his mind greatly to see where is Daddy is - and he's now better able to understand the mad concepts we were talking about!
Our container arrived, almost dead on the day we had been given at the beginning - cleared into the country very easily - all thanks to Sterling Movers - and was delivered to our rental house 3 days after our rental period started, and 5 days before Hubby's temporary rental ended ... phew! MAF visited on unpacking day to view our Christmas Tree and 'Tent' - that was the only slight glitch in the proceedings - the 'Tent' is actually a kids pop-up circus tent from Ikea, used in the playroom only - wish I'd noticed the packers had put it as 'Tent' on our inventory as I'd have got them to clarify it ... but a very minor thing and didn't cause an issue in the end.
So, now, on our Easter Holidays visit back to NZ, I'm sat in our rental house, a stone's throw from the beach, with a garage full of empty boxes (ready for the packers to collect) and our furniture arranged and cupboards organised - just in time for our flights back to UK on Wednesday (stopping off for a few days with my sister in HK on the way back!). It's been great to get over here and get everything organised - and do a bit of sight-seeing - oh, and the scary bit .... learning to drive our NZ car!!!!! I'm not used to automatics and still keep wanting to wiggle the gearstick before starting the engine and wanting to put it in first gear at traffic lights .... eeek!
We aren't coming back again until our final departure at the end of July - it's going to be a long wait ... but I've got lots to do to our UK house (how did the walls get so grubby!!!) to keep me busy; and I need to get on top of the dog's preparations .. they've had their Rabies jabs and passed the blood test that follows it .. so their clock is ticking now!
Our first impressions of NZ are all positive .. we have met some really friendly people, love where we are living, looking forward to exploring the city some more and getting out further afield.
Looking forward to updating later in the year to see how things develop
Apr 20th 2014, 8:54 pm
#3
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 9
Re: Another Hello from Auckland
Devo best place to live in NZ..Welcome and Enjoy!
