We have been back in UK for just over a month now, having spent a year in New Zealand. Being back has made me realise just how wrong for us New Zealand was (if you see what I mean) - we are as skint here as we ended up being in NZ, but somehow here it doesn't seem to feel so bad. We have hopefully secured a rental from the beginning of July, and all our worldly possessions were due to arrive back in Southampton this weekend, so fingers crossed the kids will be reunited with all their toys very very soon and I can have more clothes than just my half suitcase full!!!

Its going to sound really materialistic and shallow but the things that have given me the greatest enjoyment since we got back have been things like being able to go into a supermarket and to have a choice of quality products, being able to afford organic produce even on a limited budget, finding kids clothes that are good value and don't fall apart the first time I wash them, having a decent Chinese and Indian takeout, gosh I could go on and on....

Its also great to be able to see friends and family again, though to be honest they weren't one of the reasons we decided to come back - no-one has judged us on our decision to return, and everyone is just pleased that we were a) brave enough to give it a go, and b) we were brave enough to come back!!

I would not put anyone off giving New Zealand a go, its a wonderful country, and I know it "works" for so many people, we just weren't one of the families that it worked for.

Best wishes to you all

Maggie xx

Welcome back, we too returned from NZ after 14 months, and same as you it wasnt that anything was especially wrong with the place, just not right for us, maybe another point in our lives it may have been, but we have lived and learnt so much from it, take the good points of your experience and forget the rest, onwards and upwards. Good luck

Welcome home Maggie - so glad that you are enjoying life here - it's surprising how it takes a year away to make us appreciate the little things that we took for granted isn't it?

Enjoy

Great post,

I too am looking forward to all those things you listed about being home, i think our family think its mainly for them, but we found its not for us here in aus. I hope when we get back in a few weeks they will not be too judgemental with us. Keep us posted and good luck with rental.

sj x

Hi Maggie,

We (the four of us), came back from NZ 6 years ago and reading your message, it could have been us writing it! We loved living in NZ, the outdoor life, less traffic, weather (temperate climate in Auckland). We did not even mind being apart from family. The major problem (and all our friends at the time had this in common with us), was the cost of living v wages.

I had a very good job whilst in NZ, but we were always budgeting - even on takeaways. Since being back in the UK, we have never once questioned whether we could afford to do or buy something which is a superb feeling. I can even remember when we had to raid our UK savings just to fund a long weekend in Rotorua.

When we came back in 2001, financially we were virtually 'wiped out'. Although I rant and rave about the UK, 6 years on (and a lot of hard work), we are miles and miles ahead financially.

We came back with heavy hearts, but for a change, our heads led us the correct way forward - like yourselves.

Best of luck.

Michael