Yup,

This last week has completely turned us around from loving to leaving. The wife has been stress related ill since we got here almost 6 weeks ago, and ended up in hospital last week following a really bad turn. Despite all the excitement of arriving and sorting out rental, buying a car, scoring a job offer and thus having the fast route to residency via the GSC (until yesterdays announcement pulled the rug from under us) we have decided that we'll now only stay 6 months for the cat to qualify a return to the UK (no rabies vaccine needed to get to NZ, but needed to get back to UK- 6 months time span). We'll see as much of NZ as we can in the interim, as with the 15 days holidays and overall low wages I doubt many Kiwi's will get to see as much as we will, go back via Oz, Hawaii, Pittsburgh (visit my Brother) and onto the UK.

I had an LTBV application in, but as I am looking at another 6 months to process, the money we have as capital will be whittled away, so we won't have the qualifying criteria should it come through. To be honest, seeing how the wife has suffered (and thus probably wont be fit to work for a while - hence the whittling of the funds), I'm going to cut my losses and pick up my guitar repair business where I left it off in the UK - at least there it was up and running and I'm not subject to a dozen or more rules to start it up again. I have a good customer base there too, so I'm probably better off in the long run.

Nz really knows how to put skilled people off....good luck to em..

Dream - big open beautiful country
Reality - out of the cities (where you need to live and work), it exists
Dream - everything costs a lot less than the UK
Reality - it doesn't
Dream - People are friendly
Reality - they are very much so
Dream - friends & family will love to visit and are only a phone call away
Reality - they are still 12,000 miles away and will rarely visit, the phone calls help, but not much

At the end of the day, if we could combine the best of NZ with the best of the UK, we'd be laughing, but we can't so back to blighty we go......at least at this point.

Rich

Oh I am sorry about your wife, does she have the stress related illness because you moved to NZ? Is this the reason you are moving back or do you have other reasons?

We to have to wait for our pets to have the blood test clearance, they had the Rabies vaccines two weeks ago, just waiting for the blood test part and then the 6 month wait!

Good luck to you and your wife on your return to the UK.

Home is where you heart is

Rich - how sad ,

Your poor wife must be feeling awful and I hope she gets better soon. I hope you make the most of the rest of your stay there.

Just out of interest, did you go to Auckland? How far out of the city would you need to go to buy a place for say $250K (a decent family home on a good sized block)

Best regards
Diane

NO DIANE DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!:scared:

It's not for me you nana It's for my mate in Leicester who's making the jump :scared:

About 12 KM from the City Centre

I am sure you will receive lots of supportive responses to the dilemma you have faced and the decision you have taken. Hopefully now you have made the decision it will make you feel so much more 'in control' of things.

Enjoy your travels, the worlds your oyster!!

Sorry to here that you're not happy. We almost jacked it in three days after arriving in Wellington. However didn't like it and moved onto Hawkes Bay which is more like the dream. Beautiful, great weather, vineyards, space to stretch out. Come up and take a look.

Yep the pay is poor and prices for goods not necessarily in ratio. I was earning over $5400 a month (after pension paid) as at charge nurse level in UK, but in NZ on $2800 (no pension) with more hours and more unsocial shifts. However labour for jobs is cheap (like my own). I think we can only just afford to live here with quality of life, pension, trips home etc.

However if the Kiwi dollar keeps getting stronger and houses prices too it would put off most Brits unless they can afford to buy out right.

We're wiped out with buying new cars (a bit extravagant) and a house for $477K. You can buy houses for $200K here but don't expect the neighbourhood/views/quality etc. Passed through a town called Woodville near Palmerston North - no prices above $60K in estate agents, but heck who would want to live there.

Roger

Best of luck Rich, I'm sure you'll enjoy your holiday around NZ.

All your dreams/realities sounded pretty accurate- especially the last - I often see people on here saying "my family can/will come and visit - 24 hours on a plane is not that far...."

It's a lot further than most people think (especially with kids or elderly) - and not many would want to do much more than once a year at most.

No wife has a history of stress related illness - didn't quite expect it to put her in hospital here though....

Moved to Wellington, not Auckland, but would imagine some distance away for $250K if Welly is anything to go by.

regards, Rich.

Rich

All the best and hope things work out for you.

I must say it's a bit of a turn-around from your earlier posts where you were sounding very happy.



Take care

Simon & Janet

Good luck to you both, i hope things work out for you when you return to the Uk and also that your wifes health will improve.

footie chick

Give it the full 6 months and you might feel different as you'd have had longer to adapt and settle, you never know you could be wanting to stay after all

You should look up firing1(Paul) on you travels up to Tauranga, he was starting up a studio for musicians, PM him and meet up, could help give you some insight into the music scene in NZ

Chin up you pair, theres only one way to go now and thats UP!

Yes they had just spent the last of their cash on a recording studio. They seem to be really enjoying life now was the impression I got from their last post. I asked him about Christchurch and he said they had visited and it was a beautiful place.
They had a rough time at first and were a bit cash strapped because their house hadnt sold but I think it has now and they were getting more settled

Thanks, the previous posts were positive, but I think the shock has put the wife off ..... in her words, all her NZ memories are bad ones so far. I can't force her to stay, but am hoping that maybe after a chill period then things will improve and maybe minds will be changed etc. At the end of the day, we'll probably see more of NZ than most Kiwi's ever do and then go back....both countries have their own set of problems, so it's whatever the lesser of the 2 evils is in the long run. As a self employed person I am financially better off in the UK, but the lifestyle and where I have to live is less appealing than NZ...then family and friends are a long way away, but we will make new ones here....it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other, so I'll swing the easiest way. I just feel sorry for our cat - he has to go on anothe 24 hour flight if the wife wants to return to the UK....

Poor cat,
Rich