Sugo

Well its been a month already, living in the hutt near Wellington and to put it simply its great. Slight homesickness is coming on for friends and family but im not missing anything else. here are some of my findings

People have said the weather in wellington is terrible, well in the month ive been here ive developed my first tan (never had one before lol) and have only had 3 or 4 days of rain, today was fantastic sun blazing and people out on the beach along oriental parade, big advice is buy lots of suncream, i cant go out unless i have my factor 60 sunblock on and my sunglasses. the sun is extremely strong here and very bright, its not even summer yet so that will be something to look forward to.

The people on the whole are very friendly, people in the street say hello to strangers and shop workers are very friendly many chat to pass the time rather than get a sale, i have been advised to go to other shops on occasion cos they had a better deal. Wouldnt happen in the UK. Kids here are on the whole repectful of their elders, even at 25 yrs of age they asy hi to me in the street and dont end up swearing or looking like chavs. The only negative on the people front is the lack of pedestrian values, the drivers here seem to wan to wear pedestrians as bumper stickers, it almost feels like they speed up if you cross the road in front of them.

Setting up house has been easy, got a rental in the first 2 weeks, got a nice 2 bed house, the quality of housing is very variable so dont take the first thing you see and shop around, the dominion is a good source when the paper comes out on saturday. Also check trademe. Ive been told the only expensive thing is the power but chat with your electic company and sometimes you can get a deal, im on the kiwi saver which cuts my bill down a little, i still dont think its more than home, there is no council tax, and you dont pay for the water which is kewl. Many houses dont have central heating and in the hutt valley a dehumidifier is a must buy, i got one and the drum was filled with water after one night. The excess damp in the valley makes it not an ideal place to live for asthma sufferers, asthma and breathing problems are very prevalent in the hutt valley. The internet is expensive ish, im getting 10mb broadband which is amazing compared to my 2mb in the uk, this coupled with saturn cable tv and the phone rental costs 134 NZD per a month, which isnt too bad, some electrical items are very cheap here, bought a 32 inch sony wega tv for 999nzd which is 338gbp, in the uk the same tv costs around 700gbp, im doing all the big purchases with my uk money, which is very kewl but it wont last.

Furniture can be found at good prices, shops such as freedom furniture, briscoes, warehouse and radfords are well worth a look. Also remember the shope here always have offers on, i havnt paid full price for any of my big buys, solid wood furniture is fairly cheap here too, i have a reclaimed timber slay bed which is great, got it 30% off the price and 50% off the mattress. Kind of enjoyed the shopping bit lol. If your well loaded look at Kadima they make sofas and some well nice leather onew, they make them to order and are tailormade. Excellent but pricey in NZ terms but not too expensive compaired to some of the tat you get in UK shops. Many other stores make there in furniture right here in new zealand, i got a futon from inhabit and had the mattress made to my specs which is very kewl, could never afford that in the UK.

Wages. mine is very bizzarre im a nurse and here after tax i am getting paid the same as what i used to get in the UK, not sure if that is beacause of the high tax and NI contributions but its weird. Especially when my rent is cheap compaired to the UK. The kiwis have a work ethic that seems very different to the UK. Many in my dept volunteer in their spare time to work on the ambulances, they also come in and do study in their free time too. Ive been on loads of study days and courses on my first month on the second week weven did advanced life support (ALS and ATLS) and trauma, amazingly i passed the assessment even with jet lag. I have been reluctant to spend any time in work unless im being paid and it is no more than the 40 hour working week. Im a bit mercenary and feel that to be good at my job i need to play hard too so i wont be volunteering for any unpaid shifts or ambulance work. The people on the whole have been great you get a few to**ers wherever you go, and ive found a few, but the majority have been very friendly. People here are not as politically correct as they in the UK which in my view is no bad thing, but the country is still very liberal.

Clothes and shoes. Shoes are expensive bring as many from home as you can a pair of merrels mens trainers cost around 250nzd which is arounds 75 nzd, i got mine in the UK for 50. Clothes here in the city are very similar to home, not sure what its like in more remote areas, some things are very cheap compaired to the UK. Oh and yeah people here do walk around without shoes, not sure if its a expensive shoe thing or what but i dont see why its a bad thing. The streets are clean havnt seen smashed bottles or needles, and the climate is warm, however i wouldnt do it cos the tarmac is far too hot. They say i havnt toughened up yet. Most guys just wear shorts tshirt and flip flops, thats what im going to wear for the whole of the summer.

Sand flies have smelt new blood and have gone after me, if you live near the sea or wet lands pack your deet insect repellent, also try taking vitamin B suppliments if your allowed to, or eat marmite the kiwis swear by it. If you get bitten they itch like a bitch so check out the pharmacies and ask them for advice. What i got was a local aneasthetic spray called solarcaine, its lovely stuff and stops you itching. i kinda scared my new colleuges when i gave myself a local aneasthetic at work cos they got wo bad, well what can i say im a woos.

Ok long post sorry about that, any questions just ask, if anyone needs any advice. For a single fella it has been very easy, scarily straight forward.

uk+kiwi

[QUOTE=Sugo]Well its been a month already, living in the hutt near Wellington and to put it simply its great.



great post - lovely to read - glad you're having a good time

Markk

Hi Sugo,
Thanks for this great post. We are still considering Wellington and this is certainly food for thought. Great pictures too by the way!
Is it easy to make friends down there?
Cheers and hope you keep on enjoying yourself!

Mark

Sugo

its only easy if you get yourself out there, you have to meet people, although at work everyone was inviting me out to bbq and meals and stuff, had 5 bbq in the last 5 weeks, ive almost made a smalll group of non work mates, its weird people speak to strangers here, its very kewl, you get along and when people say you must come around for dinner they really mean it, not like in the uk when people say that but nevery invite you, here when people say that they mean it.

if your a clubber it might not be your scene there are dance clubs here but its different to uk ones, also alot safer, when i think on bournemouth on a friday night and how dangerous it can be here seems very safe indeed. People are just happier and more chilled, its also a safe place for kids to grow up, its kewl seeing them play and act like kids not wannabe gangsters

babybella

Great post Sugo, You make me feel really homesick for Welly. Go sit in the sun on a lovely evening and have a glass of savvy at Shed 5 for me.
KAZ

Pompey_Paul

Thanks for the update Sugo...kepp us posted

welsh213

Sugo,

Hi, nice post.

How hard did you find the move out? I have just started my application, had my EOI selected today, and will be moving out alone.

So how did you find it?
I assume you had a job to go to?

Thanks

John

duffy

hi just wondering when and how did you submit EOI sent ours by post 10 days ago but still waiting reply. how did they let you know?

welsh213

Duffy,

Put mine in about the same time, If you just log onto the immigartion website it will give you your status.

Just noticed you done it by post, I done all mine online at
http://www.immigration.govt.nz

bookemjano

Brilliant post Sugo, karma to ya! Great to hear from someone who's that enthusiastic.

Glad you're settling well, how's the homesickness doing? Mine's just starting (left six weeks ago), it's very strange isn't it?

The bare feet intrigue me - Kiwis always remove their shoes before coming into your house, I can't wait to see what someone who turns up barefoot does.

Have you picked up any phrases yet? My kids cracked up laughing last night when I replied to something with "oh ok". And they've started ending their sentences on one note higher than they started. Very disconcerting!

Our first electric bill was a bit of a shocker, even though I realised I'd written it into the budget, it still made me go . $114 for three weeks, and it's not even winter. By this time next year all the plants in my lovely garden, the fence, the deck and even the kitchen cupboards will be in the logburner to save on electricity - much cheaper in the long run!

Robbo's

[Great post Sugo. Its nice to hear some positives rather than all the negative sh#t we seem to be hearing.
Keep us updated mate !

Sugo

yeah started picking up phrases but doubt my english brain willl start letting my mouth say 'ra ra ra' for etc. Sounds far too dodgy for me lol

oooh that bill is scary mine is the kiwi saver, hope its not too high, but will have to see

fingers crossed eh

will keep you updated on how things are going

babybella

[QUOTE=bookemjano]
The bare feet intrigue me - Kiwis always remove their shoes before coming into your house, I can't wait to see what someone who turns up barefoot does.

In the Maori culture it is considered dirty to come inside wearing shoes or siting on a table. I don't know if that idea has transgressed to the Pakeha population but most people just think it is rude and dirty to wear shoes inside somebody's home.
KAZ

CWEMM02

[QUOTE=kaz Hen] In Canada we always remove shoes when entering another person's home. Could be because they are always covered with wet snow. In summer I hate it when my sister or others show up having been in sandals all day and now wanting to walk in my front room with the white rug. Maybe we should add a basin of warm water and towels to the front hall.

Michael

Robbo's

Sugo i've sent you PM