Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

My family and I are migrating to NZ in July and after reading some of the threads on here lately i'm starting to fear i've made a mistake!
Seriously do any of the expats on here really believe in the country still?

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Yes!

We are very settled and happy with the decision we made. Just research as much as possible about the differences it will mean to you, average salaries etc are all irrelevant IMHO, it is YOUR earnings that will count and YOUR costs, no one elses.

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Ditto!

We've been here just over a year and are very happy with the move. We both work, are currently trying to buy our first home and aren't worried by all the doom mongering we hear. As Simonsi says, it's all about YOU.....Good luck and enjoy:thumbup:

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

I love it. We've only been here 2 months (but have lived here for 4 years previously) and we have wanted to come back for so long and even though hubby is still looking for work, we have traded in a lovely house for a fairly small apartment, we still think its the best thing we have done for ages and was the right thing for us. Fortunately I have a job so we do have one income.

I always read with interest the threads about how people are settling in and whether NZ is for them. The first time we moved over we were not sure about it but after 4 years we moved back to the UK to have our kids and we realised how much we missed the outdoor life and how nice it would be for our kids to experience that. Our kids love it here, and from day 1 of our return so have we.

Good luck with your move.:thumbsup:

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

NZ reminds me a bit of Nova Scotia and the like in Canada. It's nice, it's more rural, slower pace of life etc etc. but with a real problem of holding onto it's young and ambitious. A lot of kiwis leave for greater opportunities etc. elsewhere and that's something to consider as a parent.

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

we are still waiting on our nzqa but if that is postive i can't wait to make that move. The UK is doom and gloom also and at least in NZ you will have a better lifestyle, climate etc and that cannot be bad at all, good luck and go for it :fingerscrossed::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thu mbsup:

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

We have been here for nearly two years now and love it. I can't ever see us going back to the UK. The only thing we miss is our friends. It is not as easy making new friends when you are older as it is when you are in your teens.

Totally agree with the comment about the doing reshearch. We did all the research we could but you still get caught out occasionally.
Its taken all this time just to learn the roads that we drive on which can be frustrating when you are used to knowing where you are going.

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Yes for the time being we like it here too. Just come back from a visit to the UK and I was PLEASED to be coming back home to NZ. I was so unsure before my visit back to the UK but there is sooo much doom and gloom back there it kind of reiterated why we left in the first place:D I am not saying it will be forever and ever here but for now, we are happy to be here. :)

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

we're happy :D Six years in and we've been happy since we got here.

I think what's important to remember - the people that post here are a teeny, tiny, miniscule representation of the population of immigrants to NZ! If you're of a mind you could go back to the threads that have bothered you and count the people that have said things that have made you worried. It'll be a very small number and most likely it will be the same people that contribute.
This isnt a slur on anyone as we all have different lives here - some are happy and some aren't, it's the real world.

Do your research, but you have to remember that your experience will be yours and only yours. You might love it or you might hate it, but you won't know unless you try and you don't even have to try if you think it's not the right choice for you and yours.

In all honesty, I read things here and think I'm living on a different planet, let alone a different country to some of the posters. But it doesn't mean anyone is making stuff up, it just means we're all having different experiences and lifestyles.

Good luck in whatever you decide. :D

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Go for it!!

Now been 3 times and loved it all - including South Island October rain!!
We have lived in several countries inc Australia but reckon NZ is by far the best.
So will be moving to Picton in about 1 week :D

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Hi, we have been here over 6 years and inspite of many issues that prevail here we find life good here. But that is just us. Plenty of people hate Palmerston North and the greater country. There are lots of positives about living here and lots of negatives. You need to do lots of research and look at the 'positive/negative' threads.

The quality of housing is an issue but this can be addressed if you have the will and the way. We bought a home that needed quite a bit of upgrading. However if you are going into a rental you will be very much at the hands of your landlord and how she/he perceives what is acceptable accomodation. I think salaries are an issue because many pay less than what one is used to in the UK. Also overly inflated house prices and a low wage economy make home owning in NZ very expensive. remember we have one of the highest interest rates in the world..another reason our kiwi $ is so madly over valued. The latter is another issue for anyone coming to Oz or Nz, the fact that the pound is still weak and the dollar well, well overvalued. Alas the reserve bank will do little or nothing about the latter so in the short term you will get even less for your pound. A bit depressing when your start up capital is such an important issue eh?

But having said all that it works well for us, we are all content and would never return to the UK..well not until the kids have finished their education. Who knows what we will do avo that. You need to ask yourself why you want to come to NZ? Work out the pros and cons and most importantly look at jobs and how much you will earn agin your expenses and how much start up cash you will have. What ever you do, good luck.

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Yep, still very happy with NZ after 4+ years.

Have to agree with pixie-dust, I read some things on here and wonder if I didn't take a wrong turning out of the airport and end up in a completely different universe to some!:lol: Not belittling other's experiences, just amazed that they are suffering some intolerable scenario going on in the same country and I have no experience of it myself.

I think the plus sides for me have been the weather, the friendliness of the people, both ex-pats and Kiwis and the laidback beachy lifestyle of where I live.

For me the move has been successful and I have no intention of going anywhere else. But never say never!;)

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Also agree with pixi-dusts post.
Nearly 2 years here for us and yes we made the right decision and yes we are happy here. :thumbsup:
We are financially better off here than in the UK, buts thats us, not everyone is the same unfortunately.
We have been people sick but not homesick, That said, we have settled here and made plenty of new friends, some from BE and some locals. :thumbup:
NZ works for us and we have no intention of going anywhere else in the near future.
Good Luck in whatever you decide.

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Question:Would I advise my sister-in -law and her family to come here?
Answer: because she did ask me, No and primarily because of the low wage economy and risk of trapping yourself here.

It's fine to come here for work experience or be posted here. It's maybe not so fine to spend every last penny to get here and then feel cheated/disappointed.
A Kiwi in UK who heard we were being posted here said there was no way she was ready to 'trap herself back in NZ' yet but we as expats not permanently there with enough money we would likely 'have a ball'.

I think she had it about right. It's a quirky isolated place in a natural disaster zone with a low wage economy and more intractable social problems in certain strata of society than you would expect relative to the population size.

That doesn't mean if you have enough money that you can't have a pleasant day to day existence, you can and we do but it is getting a bit 'Groundhog Day' after x years and everywhere else is so far away which means expensive to fly to (less annual leave too in general).

People who sell up and come out here with no jobs to go to, are the bravest of the brave i.m.v.
So maybe it depends how adventurous you are, and what you are giving up to make the move here and whether it is likely worth it for you. I like my family back home too much for it ever to be longterm. I also envisage myself as a little old lady in the UK with roses round the door and scones and cups of tea at 3pm lol.

Re: Is anyone positive about NZ?
 

Yep

We have been here 4 years this year and are still positive about NZ and now happily call this place home.