hamiltonnz

Yes its true you must be 14 to be able to be left at home by yourself and 16 to be able to babysit anyone under 14. No one takes any notice of it though, however if theres a serious incident you could be in trouble. The education system here is very average but you can have a huge input by helping with homework and trying to encourage kids to read instead of watching TV or playing computer games. We homeschooled for about 9 years. TV is rubbish mostly but you can buy Sky TV for $39 a month and get 4 more channels plus 2 music, 1 sports(american) channels, CNN, BBC, Sky Australia, Discovery, and a science type channel. Crime here is not too bad I think but I dont have alot to compare it with. it depends on where you live and in what suburb. Some suburbs in Auckland a female or kid wouldnt go out on the street at night on youre own and youd have a dobermann in the backyard. Would be the same in UK I suppose. Other nicer areas with new housing you probably wouldnt see too much crime but you keep the doors locked at night and when youre not home. We live in the rural area and never lock our doors day or night unless we go away for a week. We have another house close by which helps. Hospitals are OK in emergencies. However theres waiting lists for semi urgent and non urgent surgery. Auckland would be warmer overall but I think Christchurch would be a nicer place to live and probably cheaper to buy a house. I live in Hamilton(central Nth island)

Dee_e56

Thanks for all that info. It was interesting to hear that you home schooled as I do that for my son. The schooling where I lived in Wales was not good and medical service not much better. When I moved to England it got better, but not good enough. My son has achieved so much since i have taught him from home, and I will continue until his education finishes. I hope with time he will attend a college but we will have to wait and see. It is a big tie but I believe in the long term for him its the best option. My daughter attends school and I will need a school with a good understanding for dyslexic children. The last two years she has done so well and in the german school she is doing very well so I want to make sure this carries on for her.
With regards to crime, yes the UK has a high crime rate, I have had 3 cars stollen and lost items from the garden, I rented my house out had the house trashed all furniture stolen and all they receved was a telling off by the police. There is also so much violence, that is one thing I dont miss.
Living here in Switzerland you never hear of it you see children as young as 5 walking to school on there own that is something I could never get used to. When I asked about children being left on there own, I talk about when the parent has to go to the super market to do the weekly shopping no child enjoys that and the parents dont enjoy the nagging child either. Each country has there own laws and I except that, we have some very strange ones here in Switzerland i.e. no loud noises (music) you cannot flush toilet after midnight as it can disturb the neighbours, no diy allowed on a sunday that includes mowing the lawns, hows bizzare is that. but I have to say its quite nice too.

thanks again
dee

Gra.B

This brings back memories.. When I was 5/6 (around '76) I would take myself to school & back. This being a walk, a bus, a ferry & another bus, (on occasion spending too much in the sweet shop so the last part of the journey being another walk). I told my oldest two this (9 & 10), they're like "Wow! All by yourself?"

You wouldn't dream of your children doing that now, not at that age anyway, but have things really changed or are we just more aware of the dangers? Surely there were dodgy folk in them days!?

Gra..

hamiltonnz

Homeschooling is hard work I agree although my wife did 95%. our kids are in school now because it got too difficult with 4 to school at home and 2 other little ones to look after. you have to have an exemption from the government here to homeschool but you also get an allowance. $ 500 per year for first child and $350 for others after that. Yes the babysitting rule applies even if you duck out for 1/2 an hour but our 14 year old babysits quite often. We basically ignore the rule. In my 45 odd years here I had my house burgled once (15 years ago) in hamilton and my car broken into once not long after that. apart from that weve had no problems apart from clothing being nicked at the local pool or a bike being taken off one of our kids by the local toughs or kids being pushed around at the pools or school. graham

xpat19

[Hi - We've been in Auckland for just over 2years now and have bought a house in West Auckland which we love and find it quite unique. It's all down to individual choice but probably the only area to avoid is South Auckland.
1 - Education - son aged 10 found classes really easy initialy, they seem a lot more relaxed about education here untill they start high school, a lot of emphasis is put on social skills, confidence building etc....which isn't to say he hasn't learned anything. also it made it easy for him to settle in a new country as there wasn't a lot of pressure put on him
2 - Crime, in the 2 years we've been here nither we or anyone we know has been personally affected by it, although to read the local paper ,drugs and graffitti are the major problems. In my opinion standard of driving is the biggest crime here but thats a different story !
3 - When we first arrived we thought the TV was awfull but have adapted now, theres usually something to watch and the, now 12 year old finds a lot to watch after school. but find we spend a fortune on tea bags - all those ad breaks !
4 - Health Care, friend recently got knocked off her bike, losing teeth and other problems,and if she hadn't had private health care would have been landed with huge bills( $thousands) as theres no such thing as sueing the guilty party in this country, so surgical cover is recommended. for a family of 4 paying an excess our cheapest quote was $92 a month. You pay as you go with doctors so have never had to wait more tham half an hour for an appointment which is excellent
5 - You'd have to look around and see what suited you - just avoid South Auckland as there seems to be a lot of crime centred there. We only went to Christchurch for a 4 day break and found it very English and " Nice"
6 - It is illegal to leave a child under 14 at home alone, but every one does it. A friend did get reported by a mean neigboutr when she left a 10 yr old at home while she went shopping and got a visit from a very understanding police man - there was no trouble.
you see kids of all ages playing ourside - so I don't think thats an issue.
This is just my personal experience any way - hope it helps !

Dee_e56

Thanks for all that info it really helps, it sounds a hundred times better than UK. I will look into all your surjestions. Does anyone have any photo's of Auckland and christchurch it would be interesting to see how these places really look. I have seen many photo's of the wonderful beaches, but would like to see something different, more of everyday living in these cities.
How do you find out about home schooling in NZ and where would I find the necessary resources needed for HS. Are there any internet support sites for HS in NZ and how does the system work there, my son is now be at the beginning of his studies for GCSE's in UK.

Thanks again
Dee

southerner

Xpat,

Thanks for your thoughts.

On healthcare, it is worth noting that in NZ there is a 'No fault' centrally run insurance scheme for costs arising from accidents. Its called the ACC - you probably know of it, maybe even you've wondering about the charges you get for it if you are self employed.

I thought that would have covered dental costs arising from a road accident?

Regards,

Southerner

xpat19

I can tell you, after hearing about it every day at work ! that ACC has a limit that it will pay out depending on the injury , my friend s injuries are 75 percent covered by ACC the rest she, or her medical insurance company, have to find unfortunately

Dee_e56

Yes health care is a must here it is very expensive you pay into a healthcare plan each month and for a family of 4 it costs 700 swiss which is 870 NZD each month, plus if you visit doctor u have to pay I recently had some blood tests cost me 600 swiss 745 NZD if im ill I try to avoid going to see him.
I will certainly get private insurance not worth the risk especially when you have children.

jandjuk

for photos you could try http://www.vnz.co.nz/photos/cities/
still kind of postcard type images, but it will give you a good idea

sashimi

Dee_e56, I live in CH as well, and if you have blood tests done by a doctor surely you can get it refunded by your krankenkasse minus the 10% we all have to pay of the bill?

I've just had numerous tests done, including blood, and I've got it all minus those 10% back. Unless of course it was tests in connection with your medicals for going to NZ?

Where in CH do you live?

Cheers

sashimi

Dee_e56

Here in switzerland you pay for your healthcare plan each month. then for that year you pay the 1st 1500 swiss the healthplan pay the rest. I live outside of Basel.

sashimi

Well you've obviously got the same kind of health plan my husband does here in Switzerland. He's has an equally high sum to pay himself initially, the 1500 franks, but chose that deliberately because you then get lower monthly fees. So I guess you did the same and of course then have to pay for your expensive blood tests. Fair enough, I find.

sashimi

Dee_e56

Hey thanks for the web site link for the photos. They are fantastic, not how I imagined at all. I will have a good look at them.

thanks
dee

Dee_e56

Hi

where in Basel are you, its a small world hey. Are you looking to move to NZ or OZ

dee