Moliknickers

It's 2 weeks now until we fly out of Auckland on our Journey home after living here for 14 months.We are moving back to the UK for a number of reasons. However people have asked me what I will miss the most and I can honestly say the only thing (except for a few great people) is the country's natural beauty,can't live on a view though! I'd be interested in hearing what one thing others would miss or do miss now they have returned?

lardyl

for me the attitude to the outdoors and sport, the Kiwi get up and go thing that rubs off on the expats.
I'd not be playing football twice a week in Blighty, and from what I hear the are no Saturday leagues any more.

Would also miss the beaches, space, daylight and many of the people.....but that's cheating

concretepump

good luck in your return

we miss the weather ( winter was not to bad ) we were in tauranga
and our friends, we have been back every year since we came back to uk
still have a job offer, could be back next year going again this december

BEVS

All the very best for your return to the UK. I hope everything goes smoothly and you settle back well.

I think I would miss the lack of people & the space because of the lack of people. I can see that changing here though as more and more sub-divisions appear on what were green fields.

Can't think of anything else at all right now.

Snap Shot

Good luck for your return. Hope it all goes ok. I don't know what I'd miss on leaving NZ. I miss the UK more now I'm here than I would miss NZ should we return to the UK.
We used to do out door circuit training (British Military Fitness). We don't do out door circuit training anymore . We just can't seem to find a similar thing here. Gym ? Oh purleeze ! We enjoyed Boxfit until the timetable changed. Outdoor Boxfit has yet to materialise. I miss my weekly (Rosemary Conley) diet class. I'll look into keeping up with it online. Not the same though. I could join a local diet group but it won't be the same. My husband and I are training for the local 10km run on 10 December. That should be good. Usual story with NZ, I just (or have learned to) shrug my shoulders and say, 'near enough'.

DC10

Very best of luck with the new life. Incidentally, has this proved to be an expensive experiment for you?

I am heading for Aus on Saturday and then possibly on to the UK in Jan/Feb if that doesn't work out.

(Heading for Aus, at least) it's easier to think of things I won't miss than things I will. Meathead employers and drivers with their clapped out old cars certainly spring to mind in that category.

Moliknickers

We return a little poorer but richer for the experienceI suppose we were lucky we had jobs and an income from our house (no mortgage) just became a big adventure really, managed to get to Sydney and Rarotonga and will travel to Bali on the way home.Caught up with the Kiwi cousins here and lived a different life for a while.We go back to the house and village we left.Yes it does cost a lot to do this IMO, however to me it's all about what you do with your life not what you got

whitesand

Good luck for your future travels. Did you ever consider moving to Oz from here and what did you think of Sydney?

Am Loolah

Very best wishes for your return. At least you had a different experience and hopefully take some good memories with you.

Moliknickers

Loved Sydney but to be honest we love the UK more!

Justcol

Home is where the heart is !!

Moliknickers

Expat Kiwi

All the best Molinickers, you too DC10. It's a big world and life's too short not to be happy doing what you do.

Addictedtosushi

Its 2 weeks until we leave NZ and also head back to the UK.I have so many mixed emotions after living here for nearly 8 years and having 3 babies.

I am going to miss that my kids can run round with no shoes on,the weather and the scenery and outdoor lifestyle, but like you I can not live on this stuff and thats why we are going back just cannot make ends meet here.

Bo-Jangles

Good luck to you Moliknickers, look forward to hearing your reflections when you get settled back in the UK.

Quite honestly we have nothing here that we didn't have in the UK, except for money worries.

The views from the places that we spend 99% of our life; home, garden, office, other people's house or shops, certainly ain't nothing to write home about and may as well be Milton Keynes / Basingstoke or any suburban sprawl in the world.