scottishstacey

Yeah thats definitely something that puts me off a lot. We've spoke to quite a lot of people over there who are still getting on with life and enjoy it even after the earthquakes but i think the general message is if you have no ties to the area then why move there. We also started looking at Nelson and one or two other areas but all daves type of work seems to be in christchurch and this is where he's most likely to find sponsorship.

We've really started to look seriously at Canada now but still have to find out what our chances are of finding someone who will help with the visa and LMO. His job definitely is on the expo list but our experience with expos before have been rubbish, we've been to a few for australia and came back with no relevant info although we did get chatting to a canadian company called North american construction who said they were looking for operators so i've got back in touch with them and looking for other companies to try.

The NZ company was meant to get back to us last week with the job offer info but so far we've had nothing

sliam37

I continue to be amazed at the people who come over to Christchurch. At least operators / demolition people / road builders make some sense. But professionals are coming too, which I just don't understand. I would love not to be here if i could, but since CIO have managed to lose our FSW application while sending it back, it looks like we're stuck here for at least another year. Hopefully my daughter's school will get rid of the portaloos by then!

scottishstacey

I hope you manage to get out if thats what you want. How long have you been over there? I get a mixed response when i say we're thinking of moving, some people think we're a bit crazy (some of them on here in the nz section) and others say that the city will be better than ever once it starts to rebuild and they seem to be happy to continue living there. its a bit of a mix. There does seem to be quite a lot of construction people coming from the uk, i guess it doesnt help that the construction industry here is very bleak which seems to be encouraging people to go.

Just trying to keep our options open at the moment

Pine Cone

Agree! NZ is a fantastic place to bring up younger children, but there are limited opportunities for young adults which is why soooo many end up heading overseas. That is one of the downsides with living somewhere with such a small isolated economy.

Housing is very poor quality compared to pretty much all other modern countries, and I don't relish the thought of retiring in a freezing kiwi house, with a knackered old body that can't take the cold and damp anymore. Canadian houses are positively toasty by comparison, and much cheaper to heat.

We love the laidback lifestyle here, and we loved living in Christchurch before being caught up in the quakes, but the city will never be the same again and the economy of the whole country is going to take a generation to recover. Fingers crossed Wellington doesn't bite the dust next. Now we are considering other options and Canada was always one of our back up options.

Consumerism is what you make of it. You can choose to fritter your money away of stuff, or not! NZ has less consumerism because people don't have much money to splash around, and being so isolated, imported goods like books, CD's, DVD's and electrical items are really expensive compared to other countries.

scottishstacey

Great post pinecone. I think we're going to give canada a serious try to see if we can get a work permit. We're just looking to try out a new country for a few years and then if we like it then settle if they'll let us stay! A sort of adventure while we're young and have no kids to consider

BEVS

Ok. The problem Scottish Stacey has is that her husbands work wouldn't offer enough $$ to gain them NZ residency & it may be the same for Oz. I've suggested they come to Nz for a couple of years for the adventure and see where it leads with the thought that if it didn't pan out at least they tried something different. It seems from the posts that no firm NZ job offer has emerged & if I am honest, I am not that surprised. contacting the main contractors direct is the way to go and if they don't need overseas people there isn't a lot one can do.

Before too much hope is raised for this BE user, what are the chances for her OH to gain a Canadian visa as a plant operator.

BEVS

Noo. The whole place has earthquakes and shakes. It's just how shallow and what size.
We've felt a few and we're not in Xch.


... edit to add..


and can I just say that consumerism is alive and well here in NZ. It's just that they can't get their hands on the stuff as quick as everywhere else. I Pads anyone ?

scottishstacey

boyfriend not husband yet! lol. Thanks bevs. We feel we're being mucked around by NZ big time, we were told the job offer would materialize sometime last week and it hasnt. Maybe we're just being impatient because we know companies can be slow, who knows. So just trying to find out what are chances are of getting a canadian visa! from the occupation list on the next canadian expo his job is on it and also read articles saying there is a shortage of them because of all the construction going on over there especially in BC but who knows how much of this is true!

scottishstacey

Yeah thats what i thought, most areas can get earthquakes cant they? its just that chch seems to of had all the bad luck. Hopefully they dont get any worse so that the people over there can get on with their lifes

ExKiwilass

I meant big earthquakes - sorry for not being clear. I did live in NZ for 23 long boring years, I remember the tremors.

scottishstacey

Are you glad you moved to canada then? im just doing some research the now to see how hard it'll be for us to get a work permit and if so will there be any chance of us getting PR after a few years. going to give some companies a ring this week and see if they have any info for us

ExKiwilass

yes. Lots of kiwis in Van and none of them are leaving. But, I don't think NZ is necessarily a bad place to live it just wasn't for me. I really liked Pine Cone's post, I think he/she nailed some of the issues (especially with kids - I left at 23 and wanted to leave from about 16) but if you're just looking for an adventure for a few years I can think of much worse places.

scottishstacey

cheers! we're looking for a adventure but would also like to find somewhere where we could stay long term if they'll have us! :P

i think BC is definitely the part of canada we want to head to if the opportunity ever comes along

fletcher m

I take it you know there are earthquakes and tsunami along the BC coast, not surprising considering vancouver Island has a very unstable and active meeting of the tectonic plates. There are also volcano nearby that some say are overdue a pop. Do your homework on the area.

scottishstacey

Yeah I already knew about the earthquakes there