6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

Been here 7 months now and thought I'd give my perspective since arriving in June 2007. I gave a three months update and said I'd do one at 6 months hence the title!:blink:

Bought our house quite soon after arriving and have been in for three months now:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teresa_green/1390350913/

We went back at Christmas as part of the deal when we moved over to prove to family and friends they'd see us again. It was great to catch up with everyone but it really did feel like coming home at the end of the holiday.

Work

Work is good and we have a comfortable life with both of us working and no kids, although we also had to make adjustments to the freefall spending we used to do in the UK. We do budget and watch what we spend but part of the enjoyment is seeing places and enjoying the fresh air and scenery.

OH now has a full time job and enjoys getting the ferry from Gulf Harbour to CBD. I drive 35 mins to Albany and never have a problem with traffic although the road of the peninsula can be slow. Occasionally have to go to CBD on business and the bridge can be a bit of a chokepoint depending on the time of day.

Worst trip was arriving back at the airport from a trip to Wellington at 3pm and it took me 3 hours to get back to Gulf Harbour!!:eek:

Won't do that again:blink:

Cost of Living

Really is a lot different to the UK. Things can be cheaper and the fruit is often much much better, but the costs change regularly so you have to be on your guard and not just drag everything off the shelves and throw it into a trolley. Most supermarkets offer 4 cents off a litre petrol (currently $1.70 a litre) and sometimes that is 10 cents on occasion (Foodtown) although in Pak and Save it is normally 10 cents if you buy certain products.

Health

Medical insurance is reasonably cheap, and I have to admit I've not exactly been on a diet since I've been here so need to improve the fitness levels but the gulf harbour region is superb with lots of beaches and pleasant walks on the doorstep.

Hayfever - I suffered badly in the UK right through the season and had begun to use an inhaler at dusk and dawn when I was getting a bit wheezy. I understand some people get hayfever worse when they arrive here, but I haven't even sneezed all summer so far and I don't even know where my inhaler is so fingers crossed!!

Crime

I have dealings with the police through my work and so am exposed to the darker side of NZ life regularly, however, I believe it is no better or worse than anywhere else I've been around the world. I know someone will give a statistic to highlight the problem might be worse that the UK etc... but like everything, if you don't go looking for it and can choose to live in a reasonable area then do the research and you should be fine. Of course there are always the random attacks which nobody can predict, but thats true everywhere. (I grew up in Moss Side, Manchester by the way and can appreciate living in a socially deprived area!).

Life overall:thumbup:

Good. And pleased to have made the move. Financially not as free flowing as I used to be but do know what? I feel better for being a bit more frugal than I used to.

If anyone would like more info please ask. I apologise for not being a regular contributer since I arrived, but there's a lot to see out there. I remember how useful it was to get feedback like this so I hope it is of some use to people thinking of making the move.

Good luck everyone...:cool:

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

Please by all means give us more details. The more we can read from you guys over here the better for our overall state of mind when we get serious on the subject of moving. I was very keen but have put my decision on hold till I come back from Auckland in December. I might/might not be over there shortly but love hearing about you guys that moved and how things are turning out.

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

Lovely post Dash. We've been here since end of May 07, although we're just outside Christchurch. Would agree with a lot of what you've found too, like fluctuating fruit prices, less free cash, but we too love the freedom from not having to be so materialistic to keep up; the kids especially have benefitted from this. We now enjoy a lot more simple pleasures in life and are so much happier for it!

Congratulations :thumbsup: be interesting to see if things remain the same after being here 1 year!

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

Pleased you are enjoying life too.

We haven't been to the south island yet but we hope to do a bit of a tour this year.

One problem has been OH leave entitlement which is 4 weeks a year. I am lucky that I need to travel with work but that means we can only do some trips together. I am lucking forward to visiting Christchurch as it seems to be similar to Cambridge UK where we lived before we came over.

My post was positive I suppose buy we certainly haven't been looking at things through rose tinted glasses. We have adjusted to those things that we are not to keen on a appreciate those things that we really like, and that gives us (we believe) an objective view.

To add to my earlier post...

Driving

Driving standards does get my goat a little. Many people I see who drive at dusk and dawn or weather conditions with poor visability without any lights on:eek: And they still drive like its an empty road with no braking distance (Crazy)

And of course the illogical law allowing children (15) to drive. No wonder there are so many deaths on the road here. Not sure of the stats but there seem to be lots considering the population.

But like I said, I don't get worked up any more and just accept those things you can't change.

Cheers

Dash

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

Great post. Glad you are enjoying life in Auckland.

We are coming to Auck. next month for hubby to have a job interview followed by a Kiri Te Kanawa charity concert (all part of interview to meet the bosses) then we see our son off at Airport the next day- (he's coming for a 2 week trip to validate his visa. )I'm just checking the 'what's on' in Auckland for Feb to see what we can do for 3 days.

Re hayfever. I'm suffering badly here in BOP. the pharmacy say it's the pollen from the local conifer trees. I've been congested for the 6 weeks we've lived in this house. A nasal spray and box of 10 Claratyne cost $44! :ohmy:

Local produce does vary here too.
My neighbours are very generous ... runner beans , lemons , tangelos, and avocados appear over the fence at regular intervals:)

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

That all sounds good to me - I'm currently living in Bolton (which is getting more like Moss Side every day!) but used to live in Longsight so I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised too.
I'm hoping we'll be ok with the money thing cos we should have either a v small mortgage or be mortgage free but on the other hand my OH is sooooo mean he is MR FRUGAL anyway. Loves his budget lists more than me sometimes I'm sure!!!
Hope the next six months are just as good for you and best wishes to everyone else in the middle/start/end of the move out.

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

That's a really good post Dash ;) Will see you both at 09.30 tomorrow.
A x :D

Re: 6 Months in (well 7 actually)
 

Great post:thumbsup:Thanks for sharing!!!