familyof006

Hi,

Thanks in advance for any help / suggestions, I'm going round in circles!

We are a family of 6 (4 children aged 15 months - 11 years) and my husband has a sabbatical coming up at the start of next year and we would love to spend 6 months in New Zealand as a family.

I've been searching for a location to be based for the 6 months - we would like to be near a vibrant town, but maybe living in a smaller village. We'd also love to be on the coast and not too far from the mountains if possible. We love to be outdoors as family, enjoy music and the arts as well at good food and wine! I keep searching places, but it's not the same as hearing what a place is like from someone who actually knows it!

I also wondered if any one had experience of school aged children being able to go to school if we were only there on a 'holiday visa'? It's just 6 months is an awful lot of school to miss!

Thanks again in advance.

jjg

Have a look at Sumner in Christchurch, lot's of expats there by the beach.
You have the Port Hills behind you with plenty of walking and biking tracks.
Christchurch is one of the few places you can surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon.

In regards to the school, I would email/contact the school in the area that you fancy and see what they say.

Cheers

Justcol

I'm not sure why you think my tax dollars should be used to pay for your childrens education while you have a holiday. How arrogant of you

BEVS

I like this idea. Travelling and experiencing the great wide world as a family is good for the mind .

For the outdoors & coast there are just so many places to pick from.

With regards to schooling , my suggestion would be that you talk to the schools your children currently attend and see about being given enough of a curriculum to perhaps home school for a few months. The curriculum & syllabus here in NZ will not necessarily be in line with that of the UK anyway .
Some state schools may be open to take your children for a few weeks or so without the correct visa in place but that would be hit and miss as schools , like anywhere, operate on a tight budget.
you could elect to enrol your children in a fee paying private school of course.

Mishclark

One of my friends in Nz did this in 2012 when their kids were in primary school. Her husband got a redundancy payout after the earthquake, he's from Scotland so they took six months off and went over and did some traveling in Europe.

The school gave them work to do. They had a great experience and came back and went to the same school.
Sounds awesome OP, enjoy your experience!

Michelle