After 5 years in NZ
Mar 6th 2008, 10:34 am
#76
you dewty owld maan!
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: is practically perfect in every way
Posts: 5,565
Re: After 5 years in NZ
thanks, but I am stuck in my rumpus generally trolling around - I really can't understand why some discussions just polarise people and lead to this sort of comment:
the substantive bits of your post were exactly what I was thinking.........
fools seldom differ....
off to bed now, lots of grass awaits me in the morning - its been raining nicely!
fools seldom differ....
off to bed now, lots of grass awaits me in the morning - its been raining nicely!
Last edited by lardyl; Mar 6th 2008 at 10:38 am.
Mar 6th 2008, 10:41 am
#77
conquering the world!
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Puatahanui, Porirua
Posts: 4,905
Re: After 5 years in NZ
^ Oh, give over!! 
Mar 6th 2008, 10:51 am
#78
you dewty owld maan!
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: is practically perfect in every way
Posts: 5,565
Mar 6th 2008, 11:24 am
#79
Banned
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: No more bloody flies.
Posts: 1,084
Re: After 5 years in NZ
exactly - very well put Karen and good on ya for being strong hun.
totally......apart from the "always come back" bit (qv).....we are lucky we could (if we wanted to) but lots can't
and please people don't take every negative post about individuals' experiences of life in NZ as a personal insult to you, your decision about where to live and/or your native country - this is not how it is intended; nor is it intended to be a warning to anyone thinking of NZ as their next place in life to forget it and stay where they are...........its someone's considered view of how they have got to where they are and what they think about that place - it's an opinion as part of a discussion and as Karen/others say lets have as much as we can get of these views as long as they add something to the discssion, be it a new experience or a new way of looking at a not-so-new one.......
and please, please, please, don't keep rolling out the "if you hate it so much then why not sod off home/over to Oz" cause that (and all the snide derivatives and cheap jibes about whinging this and that) drives me nuts and if you read the OP's comments you'd find that they can't rally afford to leave so it's just rubbing their noses in it....and having read their posts that is the last thing that I'd like to see going on here.......
rant over..........
totally......apart from the "always come back" bit (qv).....we are lucky we could (if we wanted to) but lots can't
and please people don't take every negative post about individuals' experiences of life in NZ as a personal insult to you, your decision about where to live and/or your native country - this is not how it is intended; nor is it intended to be a warning to anyone thinking of NZ as their next place in life to forget it and stay where they are...........its someone's considered view of how they have got to where they are and what they think about that place - it's an opinion as part of a discussion and as Karen/others say lets have as much as we can get of these views as long as they add something to the discssion, be it a new experience or a new way of looking at a not-so-new one.......
and please, please, please, don't keep rolling out the "if you hate it so much then why not sod off home/over to Oz" cause that (and all the snide derivatives and cheap jibes about whinging this and that) drives me nuts and if you read the OP's comments you'd find that they can't rally afford to leave so it's just rubbing their noses in it....and having read their posts that is the last thing that I'd like to see going on here.......
rant over..........
is that rant for me? I am actually agreeing with the original poster.
Mar 6th 2008, 5:36 pm
#80
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Orewa
Posts: 237
Re: After 5 years in NZ
Well said Poppy2....How can I say this without repeating myself too much.
NZ has been really good to us...We have two sucessful businesses, a nice house by the sea and two beautiful kids....all from NZ....all that we didnot have/did not think we could have when we came here.
This stuff that I said is MY opinion...I should have known already that if anyone on here posts something that does not make NZ look like a file of rose petals then you get shot down in flames for it...B*gger!
I am TRYING to open peoples eyes...6 years ago when I came here nobody on British Expats posted anything negative about NZ so when I arrived I was not expecting to encounter all the stuff that I did. And no I did not have any money to come over here to do a Reccie before we came out before someone tells me I should have.
Don't get me wrong guys...NZ is a great place. It really is great but as Poppy said 28 hours on a plane is a long time so the folks who promised they would come out probably won't and unless you have bundles of money you probably won't be able to afford the trip back. So guess what you feel lonely and isolated...
......and to Dave and LIsa...Yes my life has changed since adopting the kids...but for gods sake we did not do anything BEFORE the kids anyway in NZ...The stuff we always did we could have included the kids in anyway like fishing and BBQ'ing. We've only had the kids for 1 year and I sure as hell felt this way about NZ before they came along.
......Oh go on then Shoot me down AGAIN!
NZ has been really good to us...We have two sucessful businesses, a nice house by the sea and two beautiful kids....all from NZ....all that we didnot have/did not think we could have when we came here.
This stuff that I said is MY opinion...I should have known already that if anyone on here posts something that does not make NZ look like a file of rose petals then you get shot down in flames for it...B*gger!
I am TRYING to open peoples eyes...6 years ago when I came here nobody on British Expats posted anything negative about NZ so when I arrived I was not expecting to encounter all the stuff that I did. And no I did not have any money to come over here to do a Reccie before we came out before someone tells me I should have.
Don't get me wrong guys...NZ is a great place. It really is great but as Poppy said 28 hours on a plane is a long time so the folks who promised they would come out probably won't and unless you have bundles of money you probably won't be able to afford the trip back. So guess what you feel lonely and isolated...
......and to Dave and LIsa...Yes my life has changed since adopting the kids...but for gods sake we did not do anything BEFORE the kids anyway in NZ...The stuff we always did we could have included the kids in anyway like fishing and BBQ'ing. We've only had the kids for 1 year and I sure as hell felt this way about NZ before they came along.
......Oh go on then Shoot me down AGAIN!
Mar 6th 2008, 5:52 pm
#81
---
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,994
Re: After 5 years in NZ
[QUOTE=Backhomeatlast;6025140]
Unless you move to Hawkes Bay, natch 
I don't think you were shot down NZgrl- I think you just started a lively discussion, which is good. Apologies if I missed the posts you were referring to 
Mar 6th 2008, 6:25 pm
#82
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 440
Re: How nice!!
Who asked you.........moron.
Mar 6th 2008, 6:31 pm
#83
NS covern member #1
Joined: May 2007
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Posts: 968
Re: After 5 years in NZ
Well said Poppy2....How can I say this without repeating myself too much.
NZ has been really good to us...We have two sucessful businesses, a nice house by the sea and two beautiful kids....all from NZ....all that we didnot have/did not think we could have when we came here.
This stuff that I said is MY opinion...I should have known already that if anyone on here posts something that does not make NZ look like a file of rose petals then you get shot down in flames for it...B*gger!
I am TRYING to open peoples eyes...6 years ago when I came here nobody on British Expats posted anything negative about NZ so when I arrived I was not expecting to encounter all the stuff that I did. And no I did not have any money to come over here to do a Reccie before we came out before someone tells me I should have.
Don't get me wrong guys...NZ is a great place. It really is great but as Poppy said 28 hours on a plane is a long time so the folks who promised they would come out probably won't and unless you have bundles of money you probably won't be able to afford the trip back. So guess what you feel lonely and isolated...
......and to Dave and LIsa...Yes my life has changed since adopting the kids...but for gods sake we did not do anything BEFORE the kids anyway in NZ...The stuff we always did we could have included the kids in anyway like fishing and BBQ'ing. We've only had the kids for 1 year and I sure as hell felt this way about NZ before they came along.
......Oh go on then Shoot me down AGAIN!
NZ has been really good to us...We have two sucessful businesses, a nice house by the sea and two beautiful kids....all from NZ....all that we didnot have/did not think we could have when we came here.
This stuff that I said is MY opinion...I should have known already that if anyone on here posts something that does not make NZ look like a file of rose petals then you get shot down in flames for it...B*gger!
I am TRYING to open peoples eyes...6 years ago when I came here nobody on British Expats posted anything negative about NZ so when I arrived I was not expecting to encounter all the stuff that I did. And no I did not have any money to come over here to do a Reccie before we came out before someone tells me I should have.
Don't get me wrong guys...NZ is a great place. It really is great but as Poppy said 28 hours on a plane is a long time so the folks who promised they would come out probably won't and unless you have bundles of money you probably won't be able to afford the trip back. So guess what you feel lonely and isolated...
......and to Dave and LIsa...Yes my life has changed since adopting the kids...but for gods sake we did not do anything BEFORE the kids anyway in NZ...The stuff we always did we could have included the kids in anyway like fishing and BBQ'ing. We've only had the kids for 1 year and I sure as hell felt this way about NZ before they came along.
......Oh go on then Shoot me down AGAIN!
We didnt do a reccie either. Neither did we do one to Nova Scotia, though we did a lot more research into housing and had a far better understanding of what a small population was. I naively thought very much in terms of the UK when we landed in NZ. I couldnt imagine that there would be limited toy shops, clothes shops, food selection and that there was little there in the way of retail therapy. And I dont think anyone can prepare for the political state of the place - everyone bending over backwards trying to appease the minority who contribute little to the running of the nation. I feel that in maybe 50 years NZ will be up to speed, everyone will be on equal footing and people will be welcomed because they bring skills and variety.
In fairness, it is somewhere that people want to take children to show them freedom and have safety etc. But unless you want your kids to work locally doing a manual job, or move abroad with the degree they get, its best to leave before that happens. That was our opinion, we could see our 10 year old starting to aspire to an apprenticeship with his best mate's grandad and we knew it was time to move.
Dont start me on the 1950's attitude to women and their place that occaissionally you can meet. I was one of the few women I knew who had a husband that was an equal parent and hugged his kids. Most of the kiwi men we knew, but of course not all, were finishing work at 5pm, and coming home at 8pm when they knew the kids were bathed and in bed. One of my *friends* had the most transparent crush on my OH because he was a *new* man by comparison to her grunting, mullet wearing kiwi kev.
I am not sure what my point is there, shouldnt add fuel to the fire really, but the overwhelming sense of us wanting to escape either us or our kids becoming like the locals spurred us to move on. We did of course consider moving within NZ to a more cosmopolitain community, but in truth the death of my father crystalized for me just how far away we were and NZ had long lost its charm. I spent that year preparing myself for missing the places we cherished (notice I say places and not people, thats sad) like the beach, the mountain and the places we went at the weekend. And I am not missing them. obviously, give it a year or 2 and maybe looking back on my 8000 pictures of our 4 years might bring some emotion. But right now I am glad to be back in the more contemporary world of a small province in Canada, with even less population - but buckets of culture, age, beauty and great people who want us here. Its home, most definately.
Last edited by Poppy2; Mar 6th 2008 at 6:33 pm.
Mar 6th 2008, 6:38 pm
#84
Banned
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: No more bloody flies.
Posts: 1,084
Re: After 5 years in NZ
We didnt do a reccie either. Neither did we do one to Nova Scotia, though we did a lot more research into housing and had a far better understanding of what a small population was. I naively thought very much in terms of the UK when we landed in NZ. I couldnt imagine that there would be limited toy shops, clothes shops, food selection and that there was little there in the way of retail therapy. And I dont think anyone can prepare for the political state of the place - everyone bending over backwards trying to appease the minority who contribute little to the running of the nation. I feel that in maybe 50 years NZ will be up to speed, everyone will be on equal footing and people will be welcomed because they bring skills and variety.
In fairness, it is somewhere that people want to take children to show them freedom and have safety etc. But unless you want your kids to work locally doing a manual job, or move abroad with the degree they get, its best to leave before that happens. That was our opinion, we could see our 10 year old starting to aspire to an apprenticeship with his best mate's grandad and we knew it was time to move.
Dont start me on the 1950's attitude to women and their place that occaissionally you can meet. I was one of the few women I knew who had a husband that was an equal parent and hugged his kids. Most of the kiwi men we knew, but of course not all, were finishing work at 5pm, and coming home at 8pm when they knew the kids were bathed and in bed. One of my *friends* had the most transparent crush on my OH because he was a *new* man by comparison to her grunting, mullet wearing kiwi kev.
I am not sure what my point is there, shouldnt add fuel to the fire really, but the overwhelming sense of us wanting to escape either us or our kids becoming like the locals spurred us to move on. We did of course consider moving within NZ to a more cosmopolitain community, but in truth the death of my father crystalized for me just how far away we were and NZ had long lost its charm. I spent that year preparing myself for missing the places we cherished (notice I say places and not people, thats sad) like the beach, the mountain and the places we went at the weekend. And I am not missing them. obviously, give it a year or 2 and maybe looking back on my 8000 pictures of our 4 years might bring some emotion. But right now I am glad to be back in the more contemporary world of a small province in Canada, with even less population - but buckets of culture, age, beauty and great people who want us here. Its home, most definately.
In fairness, it is somewhere that people want to take children to show them freedom and have safety etc. But unless you want your kids to work locally doing a manual job, or move abroad with the degree they get, its best to leave before that happens. That was our opinion, we could see our 10 year old starting to aspire to an apprenticeship with his best mate's grandad and we knew it was time to move.
Dont start me on the 1950's attitude to women and their place that occaissionally you can meet. I was one of the few women I knew who had a husband that was an equal parent and hugged his kids. Most of the kiwi men we knew, but of course not all, were finishing work at 5pm, and coming home at 8pm when they knew the kids were bathed and in bed. One of my *friends* had the most transparent crush on my OH because he was a *new* man by comparison to her grunting, mullet wearing kiwi kev.
I am not sure what my point is there, shouldnt add fuel to the fire really, but the overwhelming sense of us wanting to escape either us or our kids becoming like the locals spurred us to move on. We did of course consider moving within NZ to a more cosmopolitain community, but in truth the death of my father crystalized for me just how far away we were and NZ had long lost its charm. I spent that year preparing myself for missing the places we cherished (notice I say places and not people, thats sad) like the beach, the mountain and the places we went at the weekend. And I am not missing them. obviously, give it a year or 2 and maybe looking back on my 8000 pictures of our 4 years might bring some emotion. But right now I am glad to be back in the more contemporary world of a small province in Canada, with even less population - but buckets of culture, age, beauty and great people who want us here. Its home, most definately.
Stephen King could make a mini series about life in NZ from what I have read on this thread.
Mar 6th 2008, 6:48 pm
#85
you dewty owld maan!
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: is practically perfect in every way
Posts: 5,565
Re: After 5 years in NZ
Mar 6th 2008, 7:05 pm
#86
Banned
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: No more bloody flies.
Posts: 1,084
Re: After 5 years in NZ
Belive me or belive me not... I took a job 3 nights a week as a stripper in a local Perth nightclub that will go unnamed as I robbed the till on my last night as the wages were so poor.
Mar 6th 2008, 7:17 pm
#87
NS covern member #1
Joined: May 2007
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Posts: 968
Re: After 5 years in NZ
If not Palmerston North should definately think of getting some of them in, because it would beat the Scottish dancing groups that descend on the Square every year!
Mar 6th 2008, 7:18 pm
#88
NS covern member #1
Joined: May 2007
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Posts: 968
Re: After 5 years in NZ
I will always remember after working 6 days and 52 hours I got my first wage packet
Belive me or belive me not... I took a job 3 nights a week as a stripper in a local Perth nightclub that will go unnamed as I robbed the till on my last night as the wages were so poor.
Belive me or belive me not... I took a job 3 nights a week as a stripper in a local Perth nightclub that will go unnamed as I robbed the till on my last night as the wages were so poor.
Mar 6th 2008, 8:21 pm
#90
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2
Re: After 5 years in NZ
That is so nicely said. I feel like I am hyjacking this thread with my replies here - sorry NZGrl!
I just wanted to add, that we moved a few months ago to Canada and I havent stopped feeling great about being where we are now. I never had that in NZ. I now know how that sense of home and settlement should feel. I feel optomistic and after a dreadful year of selling a house and the loss of my father, this is a wonderful calm that we all needed. I am glad for every one who has that, and wish it for all of us who choose to try living the dream on foreign soil. New Zealand is a beautiful land and we would never regret being there, there are some real amazing highlights that we have as memories forever. My kids have learnt so much from the freedom they had there. And I had my daughter there. I shouted at the waves, during a thunder storm, at our local beach the day I heard of the death of my Dad. Strong experiences bond you in many ways to those places, and I feel that most definately. So no regrets, but I am glad to find a place that suits us so much more, though early days right? Still an All Blacks fan
I just wanted to add, that we moved a few months ago to Canada and I havent stopped feeling great about being where we are now. I never had that in NZ. I now know how that sense of home and settlement should feel. I feel optomistic and after a dreadful year of selling a house and the loss of my father, this is a wonderful calm that we all needed. I am glad for every one who has that, and wish it for all of us who choose to try living the dream on foreign soil. New Zealand is a beautiful land and we would never regret being there, there are some real amazing highlights that we have as memories forever. My kids have learnt so much from the freedom they had there. And I had my daughter there. I shouted at the waves, during a thunder storm, at our local beach the day I heard of the death of my Dad. Strong experiences bond you in many ways to those places, and I feel that most definately. So no regrets, but I am glad to find a place that suits us so much more, though early days right? Still an All Blacks fan
NZ seems to get lots of negative reports which is a shame as it seems they are crying out for workers to go there. Looking forward to hearing from you.