Justcol

Just like to say hi to everybody and introduce ourselves.
we are colin and Ros and are looking to move out to NZ with our two sons
Thomas (16 and not to keen on the idea) & Phillip (13 who cant wait).
We live in a small town between Blackburn & Burnley in lancashire.
My wife Ros is a University lecturer and trained nurse and i have just returned to enginnering
after a spell in social services.
Ros is the main applicant on the EOI, we have 130 points with no job offer and are hoping
this will get us out of the pool as her job is on the long term shortage list.
We have emigrated once before, in 1990 to Australia but lasted less than a year.
It didnt work out for lots of reasons but we are older,wiser and more independant
now so a move to nz shouldnt be a problem if we are accepted.
We have no definate plans to settle in any specific area as yet but we do like the look of
Tauranga and Christchurch, We have a contact (ex work colleague) in Cambridge nr Hamilton who
reccomends cambridge very highly but it does look a little small/remote at first glance.
Is anyone one here from the cambridge area ?
Ros is going over at the end of August for a couple of weeks to look at the areas, check out
housing, schools and meet up with some of the people at various universities. (pretty much anything she can fit in two weeks).
We still have lots of things to learn about NZ and will have many questions to ask.
Fingers crossed for us please.
cheers
col and ros

Boopy

Welcome Col & Ros. Sent you a PM.

Justcol

have to post here to get past 3 posts so i can open your pm

krissie

hiya col n ros.
which small town you from??? we're from accrington and now living in Tauranga. gorgeous place to live...our kids have settled no probs..more expensive than we thought to live in nz but quality of live outweighs this!!!! and the beach is sooooo much better than Blackpool!!!!!!drove through cambridge and it looks v nice, lots of horse studs, and yep its small. we found tauranga brilliant coz not too busy, but lots for kids to do and nice shops......and v close to beach. feel free to get in touch when ur here checkin out the place!! good luck..

littleal

Hello - we stopped in Cambridge for a coffee and thought it was lovely, but yes, a small town. Very reasonable commute to Hamilton though. I'm also hoping to move to a university area.

Good luck
Alison

Justcol

HI krissie, we are from Haslingden just up the road from accy.
Not sure she'll have time to get in touch as she's only gonna be
there for a couple of days and it looks like she's gonna be pretty busy,but thank you for your offer.
What area of Taurang are you in and what areas would you reccomend,
we'll have about 450k for housing, could we get a nice house in a good for this much?
How old are your kids? my eldest(16) isnt to keen on moving, got any tips that might sway him.
I have had my doubts about cambridge, i cant see my teenage kids wanting to live somewhere that small.

scharlonie

Hi Welcome to the site.
We are hoping to emigrate in the new year, and have trhee children, Josh 13, Dan 12 and Katie7. They all say they're keen but doubts are coming in and not just from them. Both of us now have the collywobblys. Especially after reading some threads regarding where to live.
NZ is a great place having been there on hols for six weeks. However living there will be different, but you know what they say , you only live once.


Hope the reccy goes well. Get the kids on the forum, that what i'm doing to try to give them peace of mind.
Good Luck
Sharon&john

karonious

Hi there, we have lived in Hamilton since last October and so far, it has been everything we hoped it would be. If it had a beach it would be even better, but as I wanted to work in forensic nursing once we emigrated, that really narrowed down our choices. Can't comment on Cambridge from first-hand experience but I have heard several people say it has a good community feel to it. The outskirts of Hamilton may suit you better, especially as the University would be easier to get to in the mornings! Hamilton itself has a big town feel rather than a small city. I worried about inner-city living before we moved there but my fears were groundless. It may be worth having a look at my blog (God, I always seem to be touting the sodding thing! ) especially the earlier entries as they tell our story right the way through. Good luck in whatever you choose. I don't know if the weather plays an important part in your plans - it is midwinter and we have had 3 frosts so far and sat on the deck yesterday reading in shorts and t-shirt in the early afternoon
Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions

Am Loolah

Hi Col and Ros,

We have been here in papamoa for 3 months now with our 4 kids. Yes it is daunting, but so far sooo worth it! Tauranga has so many suburbs, which can vary greatly and then this side of the bridge is the Mount and Papamoa with fabulous beaches. Depends what you're after really? $450,000 should be able to buy you something more than decent, again depending on the area.

P2L

Watch out Colandros, she's a wolf in sheeps clothing!! In more ways than one

Am Loolah

I resemble that remark ...

P2L

krissie

hiya,
we r in Ohauiti which is nice...other areas we like are Tauriko, Pyes Pa...we like this side of town, but nice areas in other side too!!!! you'll be able to buy a nice place with that money!!!my kids are 14, 12 and 6... my eldest is the one i was most worried about and shes the one thats settled right away...loves it and never wants to go back!!! the other 2 are fine too, but took them a bit longer. what sort of things does he like to do?? he can learn to drive over here (have to b 15)!!!!!!

krissie

and we r quite glad we chose to be near the coast rather than inland cos we spend loads of the summer on the beach....not too cold here cos wer quite sheltered by the Kaimais....nice 'english' pub nearby, good shoppin centre, but no hollands pies....i miss them pies!!!!!