Originally Posted by shirl

Nice post Batty and totally agree that people should take a trip back and live there for a while before making such a big decision. It really is a case of those of us who have made the leap to move to another part of the world making a change in our lives and expectations and those others left home still doing the same thing on the same day, going to the same pub, club etc, seeing the same old same old. It is like going back in time isn't it! Like we have all done something and they are all stood still!

Originally Posted by shirl

Hello Expats

Well I have returned from a 3 week holiday to the UK for the first time in 4.5 years and I can honestly say I don't think I will be homesick anymore! My first impression after arriving there at 6am on a cold wet Saturday morning was that the weather was just as I remember it! It rained all the way down to Devon and then the sun did come out for a while.

My next negative was the state of the roadside in the towns and villages, weeds knee high, when I asked rellies about why the verges looked so scruffy they said that the council's were making cutbacks and this included not keeping the verges trimmed so often which makes it look really scruffy. A big difference to NZ where the owner is responsible for the whole of the front including the bit by the path! The cars were parked on the roadsides both sides which made getting down streets very dodgy, now I know I grew up with this but I had forgotten how narrow the streets seemed to be after our wide streets and most people parking in driveways or in their own garages here. Garages in the UK seemed to be used for storage and not vehicles which of course I also was guilty of back in the day when we lived there! In the turning part of my daughter's close the cars were parked 2 abreast!!! Very dangerous should there be an emergency situation. You had to do a very tight 3 point turn if you wanted to turn around

Parking charges were a rip off, we paid a pound to park every time we went to somewhere like The Range or Matalan but you could get this back if you bought something. It cost us 3.80 GBP to park in Cornwall and Sidmouth car parks. However, I did get to see them filming the latest series of Doc Martin with Martin Clunes in Port Isaac in Cornwall also known in the series as Port Wenn

Fish and Chips we bought in Devon cost us 11.50GBP for 2 lots, we pay $6 for 2 fish and a scoop of chips here! Eating out was expensive and supermarket shopping in general was expensive. However there was more variety of bread and meat and vegetable products. Cornish pasties were still delicious though

OH took the grandchildren to the pics to watch a 3D movie and paid 36GBP for one adult 2 children and a bucket of popcorn!

I loved the greenery of the countryside and the way the trees form a curve over the lanes, however the country lanes scared me! After driving on our big roads I was freaked out at having to pull over to pass a car coming in the opposite direction. I loved the closeness of the towns and villages and always coming across something that I had forgotten was there, a lovely old church or a country pub and lots of history.

We had a week in Majorca, that was just as scruffy, lots of weeds everywhere we went! Graffiti clad buildings and unmade roads. Abandoned buildings and buildings with no planning permission left to decay etc.

The motorways were packed full of cars and I had forgotten how stressful being stuck in traffic was. It was a pleasure to drive off the beaten track in Devon and Cornwall.

It was however great to catch up with friends and relatives, the one thing that seemed strange was walking in my local town and seeing people from way back when doing the same things, going to the same places and generally being stuck in the same life and not trying anything new. Aren't we all brave embracing life in a new country, at least if you are reading this you have either achieved it or are thinking about changing your life in some way.

I think it has been good for me to make this trip, it has given me a new perspective on life in NZ. I was so pleased to see the snow covered southern alps from the plane window yesterday after that horrendous 24 hour straight through flight! I thought to myself, yes I am HOME! Whereas before I thought the UK was HOME, it has made me realise how priveledged we are to live in such a spacious house and environment such as NZ.

Forget Rip Off Britain I for the time being will be happy just to be here in the open space of NZ.

Originally Posted by shirl

. . . the one thing that seemed strange was walking in my local town and seeing people from way back when doing the same things, going to the same places and generally being stuck in the same life and not trying anything new. Aren't we all brave embracing life in a new country, at least if you are reading this you have either achieved it or are thinking about changing your life in some way. . .

. . . . I thought to myself, yes I am HOME! Whereas before I thought the UK was HOME, it has made me realise how priveledged we are to live in such a spacious house and environment such as NZ.

Originally Posted by Jan n Neil

Shirl: we have just come back from the UK after a 2 week visit. I could have written every word of this Will call you re catch up drink one evening to compare notes

Oh, and the weather in the UK (summer) was colder than Christchurch (winter). But there weren't any earthquakes.......

Jan

Originally Posted by jackthehat

I find the same thing! - You were certainly a 'Glutton for Punishment!' - I get to the end of my first week, and I think 'I want to go home now!' - But I am home? It's almost surreal!

The same applies to meeting friends and relatives. Despite the fact that you have travelled half way around the world, you always have to drive miles to visit them! - Never the other way around! Sometimes, you can even pick-up on conversations from your last visit!

My last trip was 2007 and I was astonished not only at how expensive things were, but at people begging on the streets, and living in Cardboard Cities at the Railway Stations! - Admittedly, Bristol, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton are not Devon and Cornwall.

Thank God that you did not get on a train! - Second Mortgage required!

In contrast, I have recently returned from The Philippines. I took a couple of friends and my nephew to watch 'Thor' in 3D The whole deal was GBP 9.00 for all of us (3 Adults and an 11 year-old), and there was Free Coke and Bucket of Popcorn. The taxi from the house to the Cinema (10Kms) was GBP 1.85 each way.

Have we really got things so wrong?

It is a big upheaval in moving from the UK, but I am glad that I did, and just like you, have no plans to return permanently.