londonescapee

*climbs onto soapbox*

As you've mentioned already NZ is a Westernised nation with the same issues faced by all those countries. For some reason the media in all of these countries (particularly America) seems determined to drive fear into the hearts of everyone.

NZ is the same as everywhere else in the world - it depends on where you live. If you move to a gang-ridden suburb of Auckland then sure, you'll see an awful lot more crime then you would say somewhere like Parnell or Mission Bay. I say that hopefully as Parnell is where I will be working and it looks pretty nice and Mission Bay is where I hope to live But this is just the same as pretty much any location in the Western world.

My brother and sister in law and my 2 year old niece are in Porirua and she roams free, much more so than she could in the UK. They certainly feel she is so much better off there than over here and absolutely love it. Contrary to some of the very negative posts I've seen on here about midwifery and nursing, my sis in law had no complaints at all and they were excellent during her maternity and post maternity - unlike what lots of my friends are going through in the UK at the moment (postcode lotteries in both countries sadly). Both of them have been amazed at the excellent levels of healthcare they've received too and the childcare and nursery that she is in is great. Under no circmstances would either my OH or I want to be bringing kids up in the UK, not young'uns anyway.

But it is up to you at the end of the day and I mean this in the nicest possible way - I don't think you can let a few people's positive and negative opinions be the determining factor in such a massive decision to move. It would be a bit different if all 4 million-odd people in NZ were posting, or even every single expat in NZ giving their opinion because then of course you'd have a more balanced view obviosly

*climbs off soapbox*

Hans-S

Thank you for climbing on your soapbox - it's good to hear that your brother and sister-in-law are getting the kind of life for your niece that we are looking for our son. With regards to people opinions, I am just trying to gather as much information as possible really. We were in NZ for a couple of months 4 years ago now and we fell in love the place. As it's been a while since our trip I suppose some confirmation of how we remember it is reassuring. Over time views/memories can become distorted but we still firmly believe NZ is for us and peoples positive/negative comments will not deter us - I am just someone who likes to be fully informed - not always a good thing tho as I might not always get the answers I am looking for.

Best of luck to you both with your move.

londonescapee

We got married earlier this year and brother and sis in law and niece came back for it. They hadn't been back to the UK since they'd left 3 years before and couldn't wait to get back onto the plane home to Welly! Whilst they had fun over here it just reinforced for them why they left in the first place.

And then you of course have people with the opposite thing happening too it is just horses for courses isn't it.

I say 'roam free' in the loosest sense by the way, my niece is not pounding the streets of Porirua on her ownesome of course

Best of luck with your move too we are off at the end of next month

Genesis

I think life in NZ is way better than life in the UK..but many disagree and I fully understand why. In lots of ways NZ is a tin pot little country. I just love it though (mainly because it is so sparsely populated) and because it affords my kids a quality of life they could not have in the UK. I came here with 2 x 2 year olds and a 4 year old. Can't think of a better place to raise kids inspite of all NZs problems.