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off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Old Feb 6th 2011, 1:28 am
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Default off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

for anyone wanting help or info or just general info on the experieance of emmigrating to nz and 4 yrs out here .. just a quick run down of what we did but for anybody with questions just ask away i,ll answer what i can honestly otherwise i,ll be writing a novel on here lol...
we arrived here on 2 yr work visa,s with my job (truck driver) a mate who was here sorted me the job out. we arrived with 15 suitcases to our name (sold everything in the uk) bit scary lol,,, stayed at my mates for 4 days ..and within them 4 days we rented a house fully furnished it moved in,opened bank accounts ,registerd at the doctors sorted schools,driving licences etc, all very easy to do and a breath of fresh air compared to the uk ..if your wondering we did this on a a very tight budget £12,000 ,this coverd visa,s,flights,fully furnished the house bought 2 cheap cars ,school uniforms basiccly everything we needed to get set up .(must admit i had to start work after 2 weeks as funds were getting low but surprising how little you can do it on ).. first impressions whilst travelling from the airport ..was (i,m being honest) oh my god what have we done ..everything looked so old and rough looking (just my opinion). soon got over that though after at trip around auckland especially over the north shore beaches galore and a lovely place to be ..we moved there a month lata and we stayed . we are a family of 5 me the wife and 3 teenage kids 17 and twins at 15 when we arrived .wife didnt have a job sorted at all ..she spent 6 weeks looking around ,,this is a mistake biggest killler out here first of is man off to work kids in school and wife sat at home loads of people who have done this say the same and my wife really struggled with this (nearly went home).but she got a job sorted and that was it much better ...so advice for any1 get into work asap ..we got permanent residency through the wifes job a year or so lata ..this cost $6000 through a immigration lawyer we knew but was well worth it just for the piece of mind ..on a work visa your very restricted to what you can get finacially or otherwise ..with residency everything is a lot easyier .first 6 months here absoluote nitemare emotionally for all ..kids struggled ,wife and me ..lost my mum 2 months in nz is a very very long way away when stuff like that goes on ..you tell yourself its only a flight away but when stuff like thats goin on it seems a very long way ...the first 12months over here there were many occasions when 1 of us would have a wobble (as we called it ) think every1 ive spoke to says the same . but i does get easier .we made a pact to stay for 2 yrs whatever happend i think you have to give it at least 2 yrs before making any rash desicions .so in nutshell in my opinion the financial side and practical side is easy enough the emotional side is not and surprised us all didnt think it would bother me but it did many a time .... the place itself is fantastic scenery everywhere you go ..but now its a bit like "theres only so much scenery you can see" we miss the little things in life that we had in the uk stuff you take for granted ..we do love nz but its not home ...christmas is a very wierd time here ..its to hot (lol) and compared to the uk they havent got a clue lol but each to there own i suppose doesnt feel like christmas at all to us ..pet hates in nz: boyracers .. there actually quite comical out here i think ..they seem to buy a complete wreck of a car for $200 and spend $5000 putting rims ( thats the phrase here lol) and a bloody truck exhaust on it ,saw the suspension off (and i,m not joking they do) and do burn outs everywhere and are very annoying ..sad part off this is ive seen many 40 yrs olds doin the same thing over here lol.. driving : ive drove everywhere all over europe,uk turkey,greece,spain,tunisia, hands down auckland has the worst drivers on the planet even the police here agree spoke to a few coppers about it ,,its really is horrendous ..wages: wages are lower than the uk and we think grocery shopping is in some cases cheaper in the uk ..petrol cheaper here ..house prices in auckland are not rent is expensive in auckland and to buy is aswell we bought our house abt 2 yrs ago as it worked out cheaper than renting quite a lot cheaper .....getting sick of typing now lol .so any queestions please ask..in a nutshell coming out here was the best thing we ever did ,fantastic place,great weather,and have no regrets at all ...its hard to get into a group of friends at our age (both 40) out here they seem very clicky the kiwis .so socially its a bit crap ,but i can honestly say weve loved it here its been very hard at times and very good at times so a bit off a roller coaster .. but its a bit like well weve done it loved it dont feel settled enough and miss a lot of things in the uk ..so weve all made the desicion to return as for wether thats the right desicion ..only time will tell ....
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 8:57 am
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

thanks. Kind of you , and really generous and honest. I would be interested to know how you feel in six month's time back in the UK. I really would. please get in touch !
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 1:53 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Thanks for the honest post. Are you all going back to UK? Sorry got confused about kids ages
Wish you lots of luck
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 2:10 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Thanks for taking the time to post ctb......well....you've given it a good try and although we didn't stay for as long as you I can understand your feelings, good luck on your return .....spring is around the corner so its a good time of year to be here
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 3:31 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Thanks for that .we dont look at it like we gave it a good go its more like weve dun it enjoyed it got rid off the what if,s etc.but as said its not home.and kids ages are eldest was 17 and twins at 15. The eldest is stayin she.s goin uni in march and has lived with her boyfriend for the last year. Bit of a major stumbling block with our desicion.but she,s adamant she wants to stay so good on her.and as we got pr the doors always open for us to cum back for hols etc.
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 6:53 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Originally Posted by mudblood21
thanks. Kind of you , and really generous and honest. I would be interested to know how you feel in six month's time back in the UK. I really would. please get in touch !

hi there mudblood.....
interesting post, we are now living back in the uk in cornwall which i would not be anywhere else in the uk, however,,,, we have been back 2 years now and after 2 months we made the desision the uk is not our home anymore and we miss nz a lot, we had commitments which have been resolved and are looking forward to moving back to nz, we are one of the lucky few that have citizenship so returning is a breeze, ....... we were in nz for 5 years with 3 children, 12, 14 and 20,,,,,,
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 7:08 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

funny enough we went home to Cornwall last year but after returning we felt exactly the same, The Uk and Cornwall are great but we have moved on, I think once you have moved you may never feel settled again ever as you see the best of both worlds and never find them combined does that make sense?

We returned in Jan and after 7 months of continual job hunting I did not find work, me being the main bread winner and had never been out of work more than a week really struggled with this but it was OH who decided we should return so I applied for jobs in both countires and which ever came first we would go. We are now back in NZ returning in August to Auckland a place I never thought I would live as I am a country girl but I love it, I go to the beach at least 3 times a week something I did not have time for in the UK and wanted to avoid the 'emits' (tourists). Yes its cost us financially but you can not take it with you!

Its funny what we thought we would miss when we got home seemed irrelevant. I no longer look at NZ as permanent which has made life easier, its just where I am now and happy to be so.
Good luck and I would be intrested to hear your story from the other side!
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 7:10 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Hi Kooch
are you following me! you and I must be very similar Cornwall would be the only place I would rather be in the UK too! If and when you return perhaps we can meet for a coffee?
It seems you are not the only ones to be bouncing back KENPOM on this forum who is currently in SE cornwall ins on the return to small world huh!
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Old Feb 6th 2011, 7:25 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Originally Posted by ctb1803
Thanks for that .we dont look at it like we gave it a good go its more like weve dun it enjoyed it got rid off the what if,s etc.but as said its not home.and kids ages are eldest was 17 and twins at 15. The eldest is stayin she.s goin uni in march and has lived with her boyfriend for the last year. Bit of a major stumbling block with our desicion.but she,s adamant she wants to stay so good on her.and as we got pr the doors always open for us to cum back for hols etc.
yep....for me (us) it was an 'itch' I (we) had to scratch.....tried it ...maybe we left it too late or tried it too soon, but whatever...NZ will always be there to try again one day and we will always be grateful that we used the opportunity...no regrets!!... in the mean time we're happy where we are and the 'itch' has gone ....for now
B x
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Old Feb 8th 2011, 9:18 am
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Originally Posted by kooch
hi there mudblood.....
interesting post, we are now living back in the uk in cornwall which i would not be anywhere else in the uk, however,,,, we have been back 2 years now and after 2 months we made the desision the uk is not our home anymore and we miss nz a lot, we had commitments which have been resolved and are looking forward to moving back to nz, we are one of the lucky few that have citizenship so returning is a breeze, ....... we were in nz for 5 years with 3 children, 12, 14 and 20,,,,,,
Ditto, we too arein Cornwall and have been for 6 months and are looking forward to our return to Kiwiland in the not too distant future
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Old Feb 9th 2011, 7:08 am
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Thank you Kooch, MnB and KenPom for showing us (as if we didn't know!) that life is never so simple.


I have only been in NZ for 10 months so I haven't really had time to formulate my feelings, but so far I am very happy. Please keep us updated with these valuable posts, it would be daft for us to think that it worked out for everyone, as much as it would be for us to think we could easily go back.

Even though the world is smaller now than ever, it is the most huge step! I have a children still in the UK and when one of them is unhappy I feel every mile...

Around, and since the time that I started my application, my part of the UK went downhill drastically and maybe that is helping form a good opinion of NZ.

good luck, all
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Old Feb 9th 2011, 2:37 pm
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Default Re: off back to uk ,done nearly 4 yrs in auckland, time for home

Originally Posted by mudblood21
Thank you Kooch, MnB and KenPom for showing us (as if we didn't know!) that life is never so simple.


I have only been in NZ for 10 months so I haven't really had time to formulate my feelings, but so far I am very happy. Please keep us updated with these valuable posts, it would be daft for us to think that it worked out for everyone, as much as it would be for us to think we could easily go back.

Even though the world is smaller now than ever, it is the most huge step! I have a children still in the UK and when one of them is unhappy I feel every mile...

Around, and since the time that I started my application, my part of the UK went downhill drastically and maybe that is helping form a good opinion of NZ.

good luck, all
Glad you're feeling happy in NZ......you're right...it is a huge step! and although the world is getting smaller it's still a bloody long way away .....to far to give & receive those reassuring hugs
Coming back was easy for us.....we hadn't sold our house, which is in a lovely / convenient part of the country, we both had jobs to come back to and no prospect of work in NZ, ... we left at the start of NZ winter and came back to summer plus both our 'kids', 'old' friends and extended family welcomed us back with open arms
Please don't misunderstand our reasons for coming back though.....we both still think NZ is an awesome place and love it....warts an' all
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