Hi All

We have been wanting to move back from NZ to the UK for the last few years, what with one thing or another keep putting it off.

People keep on scare mongering us with how bad the UK is, people are miserable, it’s unsafe, won’t find work etc!

We left in 2007and haven’t been back honestly can you please let me know what it is like?

Thanks

Hi I am in the same boat as you and am hoping to go back in a couple of months tops so would be quite interested, as I am from Auckland (also spend 3 years in OZ and have been away 10 years). I went back for a holiday last August and it was great but it was a holiday! I have been looking at the very low NHS salaries and that does really worry me. I have applied for a couple of jobs in clinical trials and no interviews so really concerned as mine is a specialist niche and still they are not interested. It isnt going to stop me though!

Hi Kat

So you're a Kiwi wanting to move back to the UK? How long were you there for?

Yep job situation worries me

We're hoping to make the move towards end of year!

Hi NZ4Now, I left the UK in 2003 for NZ, then spent approx 3 years in between in Oz. I keep looking at the lovely view from my window in East Auckland as we are near the beach, especially on a day like today and ask myself do I really want to leave this. But in the end, I want the British work ethic, chance to make real friends and to visit the historic places I have missed. I know the weather will be awful and bitterly cold, but I have put on 4 stone in 10 years here so its not healthy for me. Like I said though, the salaries are really worrying.

Hiya

OMG you sound just like me with my thoughts will send you message

We Moved to Wellington in 2008 from the UK we went back in 2010 and did not find work so returned 7 months later to Auckland. Last November I secured a role in Oxford so we moved back at the beginning of this month. The cold weather was the first shock and the additional red tape to do anything has been hard, everything we set up, apply for needs an extra effort, we were prepared for this but it has been frustrating, We have hung in there and found eventually several places who ignore the red tape and say your British Citizens so no worries.
Examples include doubling of car insurance because we have not been in the country, setting up of bank accounts and some rental places demanding 6 months up front as we have no credit history regardless of having a good paid job.
In some ways things have not changed, others they have but not in a bad way, if you ignore the Daily Mail and go and enjoy life you will have fun.
My son (12) starts secondary school this week it will be interesting to see how far behind he is, we are well impressed with the school and all it has to offer in fact I on paper it looks far better than the NZ school only time will tell.

We went into Milton Keynes to buy School Uniform and were surprised how quite the road was and the shopping centre before lunch it did get busier in the afternoon mostly females but I put that down to the 6 nations being on!

We have also visited Banbury, Stow, Bourton and Bicester Village all pleseant all thriving clean places.

Can wait for our things to arrive we are currently in a cold holiday cottage a 2 up 2 down for 3 or us and a dog space is tight but this will not be for long

regards
Jane

It is grey, it is miserable, the people are grey and miserable. You will get sick to death of people asking you why you left paradise to come back here, you will get sick to death of asking yourselves why you left paradise to come back to this. Your tans will rapidly fade to a faint shade of grey. The only thing not grey will be the black moods and of course the inevitable black dog in the corner

On the plus side you will be back home, you will get to see friends of old on odd occasions etc

Of course on a beautiful sunny day there are few finer places in the world

We moved back after 12 years overseas (in Aus) nearly 3 years ago, moving is never always plain sailing. Car insurance, rental properties, bank accounts, education were some of the things I was dreading but it was easy. I brought over with us documents for our insurance in Aus and our insurance company excepted that so went straight to full no claims bonus. Bank accounts we opened while in Aus and had the bank cards delivered to us while still in Aus. Rentals were fine, we just needed references from friends etc and put down a deposit and that was all we needed. Education was not a problem and had excellent help and advice from the Colleges & Uni's. Not seen or witneswitnessediolence, on the whole most people are very pleasant/helpful and friendly. Workwise, well our families have not struggled with work at all, our two sons found work when they started to look for employment around their studies. My OH works overseas but he also did in Aus, not something I enjoy at all but I have to cope with that..gulp... You really have to be where you are happiest and where it works for all of you, no matter where it is, making these type of decisions are some of the hardest we make but in the end if it's right you'll never regret it. All the best.

Wow janeyk - having to pay 6 months rent upfront! I could not afford that so dont know what I will do for a rental. That is really depressing. I really hope not every place is like that.

Just look at Brits post above yours, you can find rentals without the 6 months upfront, but you usually have to search round an maybe get someone to act as guarantor. There are a lot of negative comments in this thread, we moved back from Spain, and have had no problem, the paperwork etc was so simple, compared with Spain, and we had no problems accessing the NHS etc. We were fortuinate in haveing kept our UK bank accounts open, so no problems there, and therefore we did have a UK credit record, and wen I filled in the forms about things and it asked for previous UK address, I just put my old UK address from several years before, worked for me. As soon as we got back I applied for a credit card through my bank, and got listed on the electoral roll, all you need to do for that is to contact your local council and they will send a form, fill it in and return it, within the month you will be on the roll which will help in getting a credit rating

We moved back after 22 years away and have loved every minute of being back. Yes, the sky is grey sometimes but that doesn't make you miserable unless you let it. We had an absolute blast last summer while everyone else was moaning about the weather. We just took raincoats and wellies and went off exploring every weekend. Lots of time the weather ended up being nice but when it didn't, we just put on our coats and got on with it.

We found a landlord who was perfectly willing to accept us without 6 months rent in advance. We just had to provide an accountant's reference (we're self-employed).

It is hard to do some things at first just as it is when you enter any country - buying a car on credit for example is always tough when you have no local credit history. But you haven't been away as long as us, so that may not be an issue for you. You just have to come in prepared for that stuff and deal with it just as you must have dealt with it in NZ.

We've has absolutely no problem accessing the NHS - they've been fantastic actually. We set up a bank account with HSBC before we even arrived and that made all the difference in terms of being able to use debit and credit cards.

It's been lovely to be back in a place where you can strike up funny little conversations with perfect strangers, and have a good laugh with people you'll never see again. Makes life so much more worth living.

Life is what you make it - come over with a positive outlook, a well thought-out plan, and enough savings to tide you over for a little while and you'll be fine.

Absolutely agree with this 100%! I'm in Australia atm and I will be moving home in 3 months time after 5 years, its taken about a year in the planning though.

I finished up the lease on my house in Dec and I've moved into temporary accommodation. I got my tenants moved out of my UK property, set up all the bills in my name and shipped all my stuff I wanted to keep back to the UK. I've paid for a course to update my skills, which starts a few weeks after I get back, and now all I have left here is my car, a laptop and a suitcase full of clothes.

I really really REALLY want to go home right now but the flight/course and shipping costs have made a huge dent in my savings so I am currently working my butt off doing as much overtime as I can. I'm tired, I'm fed up, I'm SO over it but I want to go home with enough money for a car and to live on for at least 6 months so I am sucking it up! I've signed up with a private medic agency and I will be putting in applications for NHS jobs approx 6 weeks before I leave here.

If you really want to go home set a realistic date, make a plan, go for it and the very best of luck!

in comments to above not all letting agencies require 6 months but quite a few do like all things we have come accross some prejudice having being out of the UK but we have found work arounds its just taken a little extra time. As I said in another post we did try and get a bank account sorted before we left NZ with HSBC but on our return the branch we went into were most unhelpful so they lost our business and we went to Barclays who bent over backwards.
I have tried to use my previous address from 2 years ago but this failed (I was even on the electoral as I voted in the general election).
Our savings have been demolish but this is where I want to be regardless of the grey sky and people asking why have I returned from paradise! (usually those who have never been and when you point out things are different living in a place to being a tourist they shut up). This is home and that quite frankly is all that matters, I was not moaning above TBH I expected some red tape, the biggest issue I have had is with NZ Telecom who still owe me money which I resent!

Hi,
I've been back just over a month a love it. Yes it's been bloody cold most of that time but I don't regret for a moment. Acquired a Golden Lab puppy and out a lot with him - dog walkers are such a hardy, friendly bunch!
I have had to pay six months rent up front despite offering a couple of guarantors. BUT I did negotiate almost 10% off their original asking price (also monthly rental where I am is probably a LOT cheaper than many places in England). I was supposed to pay for a reference check too (round £100) but the owner turned out to be friend of a friend so they said this was not required.
Still had bank account with parents address so that was no problem.
Not had any issues really - got taken on by NHS dentist, £40 paid for x-ray, cleaning and replacement of amalgam filling with a white one, that would have cost about AU$400 I think.
I'm chuffed about the fantastic exchange rate this week - I'm hoping to get my capital from house sale released in the next couple of days and it's going to add quite a few thousand £.

Hi,

Well we left the midlands in 2006 for NZ. We had never been and felt it would be an adventure and surely better than England.
We finally managed to leave NZ at the end of 2012. We have picked a totally new area and are now in North Yorkshire.
We found a house on Rightmove, I contacted the agent and secured the rental without paying 6 months in advance.
Your right about looking at the views there, and the weather is fantastic there at the moment but they dont pay the bills or make the schooling better.
It is cold here, but we have heating. Things have changed, we had never afforded to visit before we returned. Hand on heart the day I left NZ I was no longer scared of the flight ahead cause I realised I was going home and I love it.
Home is where the heart is and we are glad to be back.

Carole