theguitardoctor

Before I go negative, Wellington is amazing, and depsite the slight hiccups, I love the place and will gnaw off my own leg before I leave !!!

However....

Beware people - make sure that all the loose ends are tied up well in advance in the UK before you come to NZ.....the reason I say this is that I have had to make several reverse charge (collect) calls to the UK to speak to my credit card company, who have seriously messed me about - they told me a dipsute from 12 months ago was sorted, now they keep sending letters to my old address in the UK, to announce that it is still ongoing. Each time I call the UK it costs $3.50 + there is a caller levy per minute...aaarggh...seems it's cost me about £40 to date to sort out their mistake and it's still not sorted as they keep cutting me off !!! Damn you MBNA.
Operator charges are not something I believe we had to pay in the UK, neither are bank charges - both are prevalant in NZ. Also, if you have a mobile phone. get it unlocked BEFORE you get to NZ as there's no-one here that can do it. Mobiles are not that cheap either - the cheapest PAYG are $170 which is about right, but if you like the latest handsets, there are no "free phones with a contract" deals over here.....our phones have had to go back to the UK - T-Mobile had supposedly unlocked them, but on arrival we found they were still locked, thus useless. Wireless broadband is easy to get - although it costs in the city and I haven't found a hotspot yet....hence I'm on dial up at present.
Food is quite pricey in the city - better to get out to the "Woolworths" and "Pak n Save" if you want discounts as the city "New World Metro" is typically high priced as it's so convenient.

Still, all the negatives pale into existence when campared to the positives, and I've really only pointed them out to save a few of you a few dollars here and there.....

all the best, Rich.

Ben.M

Hi Rich, was wondering when you'd re-surface!

Good advice re tying up loose ends although I suppose however well prepared you think you are there will always be some things that don't go according to plan.

Anyway glad you got there all right and are enjoying Wellington. Let's hope you don't have to gnaw your leg off...

Ben
www.benz1.com

theguitardoctor

Hi Ben,

Have only posted a couple of times since arriving as we have only just sorted out a permanent net connection - I've been using an internet cafe' for the last 2 weeks in order to collect my mails...I haven't really been coming to the expat site. Buggery long flight and a day of hallucinations and dizziness (we tried to stay up - it was about 48 hours in total without sleep). Still, we arrived safe and sound. I've discovered that visiting the NZIS business migration unit (they are about 500 yds from our rental apartment), does nothing to help an application - still, I had nothing to lose, so I went to see them anyway. It was driven by the fact that my competition (another luthier in Wellington area), has shut up shop and stopped repairing, so the approximate 50% share I had of the local market is now 100%, and the contacts I have made, desperately want me to work, so that they can pass repairs to me. At present they are being passed to Auckland.....This is what gets me - the 9 months it akes for an LTBV application to go through effectively renders the business plan out of date before the NZIS even gets to it. I realise there is a backlog and they are overstretched, but the business market changes so quickly, that there should be a better way....

Oh well, we have a few up our sleeves, so there's no way we are stopping now - we are trying every avenue to get ourselves sorted...

all the best, Rich.

Ben.M

Rich, as I keep saying you have the right attitude. Keep doing what you're doing as I'm sure things will work out for you. If it makes you feel better, apparently it's going to turn cold this week and there's a chance of snow so I know where I'd rather be...

Take it easy matey,
Ben
www.benz1.com

theguitardoctor

Cheers Ben,

It's 18 degrees today and has been scorching for the last couple of days - I had to lash on the sunscreen to stop my face burning !! Bizarre for October, but something I'll easily get used to. We went down to the beach yesterday and it was amazing...clear blue water, no overcrowding, no litter in the sand. Best thing - I bought a piece of Maori carved jewellery the other day, then left the box (not the jewellery) down by the harbour on a wall....completely forgot about it. Went back after an hour (when I realised it was missing), and it was exactly where I left it !!! Never in the UK......

Absolutely love the place.....

all the best, Rich.