lousco

Hi all;
Abit about our situation;my name is Laura 28 married to Scott 31 with two children Joshua 8 and Mia 3.We live in nottinghamshire uk,and are currently looking into relocating to the Auckland area.It wont be until next year hopefully wouldve been sooner only Joshua was born with a cleft lip and palate already had two operations and having his third and final one next spring,so staying in the uk for that.Scott is a printer by trade and has 15 years experience i understand that there are a few printing jobs available in the Auckland area,infact we are currently talking to someone in Auckland that is a print consultant that says he could get Scott a job easily,should we be wary?were going into this blind because neither of us have been to new zealand before,but are hoping for a better life for our young family,we dont want anything flash,were just a loving family that think we could do better for ourselves.what are the best suburbs in Auckland to live and where to stay away from?and the same schools aswell?as i say were partially blind to the whole situation so any advice or help will be gladly appreciated.Another pathetic question that youve all probably got sick and tired of hearing is the spider thing again - please no pictures or links,id appreciate honesty here what the hell is a "white tail" and are the spiders big big monsters,do they venture into the house and if so what the hell do you do?Thanks for any help that anyone can give
Laura

happynz

Hi there Laura and family:

Where you will live very much depends on what you can afford and what you feel is necessary for your everyday lifestyle. There are heaps of variables. My advice is that if you decide to take the plunge and come out to New Zealand that you rent first. This will allow you the time to get a feel for the different areas and become more knowledgeable about the benefits or drawbacks of certain suburbs.

All the best and good luck.

sarahw

We've been here 2 years and I think the only time I've had spiders in the house is when I've brought wood in for the fire. Even then they're no bigger than the UK in fact usually smaller. Apparently there is one spider in NZ - the white tail - which people seem to worry about but living in Auckland I don't know anyone that's seen one. Also the bite can be painful but isn't poisonous from what I've researched (from mild paranoia!!)

happynz

Spiders? I've never seen one and I've been here almost five-and-a-half years.

A much more dangerous critter is a teenage boy in a souped-up car.

planty

Hey, they must all be living in Timaru, we've seen (killed) loads of white tails, some as big as an English 50p coin, the older bigger one, but what about the white huntsman? That one lives near to Auckland I believe, I know its not dangerous, but the size is enough to give you a heart attack.

RobClubley

We see the odd white tail in or near the house. The black tunnelwebs are freakier looking I think.

Bellasmum

I agree about renting first lusco. The Auckland region covers quite a large area and transport to work is not what you would be used to.

I am a Kiwi and until recently working as a Reg Nurse and I have yet to see or hear dire outcomes from spider bites. In fact I don't know anyone who has been bitten by one. Spiders tend to be rather shy creatures and the only dangerous ones I have seen in this part of NZ (Auckland) were at the Zoo. We do have a rather large insect called a Weta (endangered species) who love to make their home in dark places including firewood and tend to wonder out when the fire gets too hot. They can nip and it does hurt I believe but they don't attack (even new immigrants)

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/A4E65BC46E3E9C38CC256D750010F8FB/$File/spidersinnewzealand.pdf

http://weta.boarsnest.net/

I would say to anyone considering a move to NZ to remember ....

NZ is not a mini UK and if you try to compare the two you may well be disappointed. You need to be mindful that NZ is made up of small and somewhat remote Pacific Islands with a rather small diverse multi cultural population best suited to an more laid back "outdoorsy" lifestyle.

If you think you can pick up all that you love about your homeland and come to a mini UK with all the bells and whistles you may well be disappointed.

I guess what I am saying is, if you prefer to live in a UK style home, with all your UK brand products available at UK prices, get a UK wage and live your UK lifestyle then NZ may not be the place for you.

Typing this I can't help thinking about some of my own "olds" who sailed off into the sunset with no clue of what lay ahead for them in NZ with no idea where they would sleep, what they would eat etc.

We have it pretty good wherever we chose to live

danny.f

Nice one Rob! That should settle her!

RobClubley

Hehe.

We've only ever seen a couple of small (1.5cm) white tails inside the house, and you only see the tunnelwebs if you go digging in certain plants in the garden. Sometimes they come into the garage but are easily spotted and squished.

We have an automatic bug spray thingy that sprays every 5 or 7 minutes and that seems to keep them out of the house.

BEVS

I can understand your concerns. It can be a bit daunting coming out 'blind'.
It is a big adventure too and very exciting for you all. Any of us who make that life changing decision and manage to fetch ourselves and our families to the other side of the world have much to be proud of IMHO.

Make sure that your husband gets the very best deal he can with any prospective job offer . There is no need to just accept any terms and conditions.
Personally, I would like to read that you have more than one job offer to consider but I can appreciate it is a specialist field. If this agent states he can get your husband work easily then one would hope he can give you a good choice of job offers and quality terms and conditions.

Have you tried the NZ yellow pages for printing firms and sent them his CV?

Auckland, being a city, will be more expensive than other areas of New Zealand to settle.

Wherever you finally end up, do rent for a while. You give yourself time to know a place and get a feel for what might suit you as a family.

Yes. There are white tailed spiders here and yes, we do know of two people that have been bitten by them. One chap became severely ill and nearly lost his leg [tauranga] , the other was off work for weeks after being bitten on his hand [nelson].
Both were tradesmen whose work entailed them crawling under buildings.

Our house which is 30 years old is partially up on piles. When I go under the house for wood I put on gloves. My plumbing husband states this is only sensible. I happen to agree with him.

It's like any living creature, it will attack if it feels threatened. It doesn't go out looking to be a hooligan. We live with adders in the UK and don't particularly worry about them when out walking. We are just mindful. Same with the white-tails.

If you buy or build a new house on a concrete base, I would think you have even less chance of seeing one. They like spidery things. Not people things.

It is possible to bring a firm in once a year or so to have your home sprayed for bugs, spiders and insects. you could choose to simply do that on a regular basis. Or you could buy one of the automatic bug spray devices and fix that up. You can buy these in the supermarkets.

RobClubley

Well said

bro69

With the jobs, there are definately a shortage of good printers in Christchurch, not sure about the situation in Christchurch try e-mailing [email protected], she is a recruitment manager working in that area in Auckland, she might be able to offer some advice.

All this spider talk is rubbish, you will very rarely see any big ones, no more than in the UK. I got bitten by a white tail I was given antibiotics and I was fine. If you don't get it treated it can cause problems some people don't realise they have been bitten.

I've missed out on the soup cars they sound delicious.

julesnye

There is also a red back which is from the same family as the Australian one but isn't lethal although painful,

lousco

Blimey;did,nt think id get such a response thanks to each and every one of you for replying to answer some of the questionsrinters in the nz yellow pages theres over a thousand and ive sent mail to probably a quater of them so far,ever since i mentioned to the print consultant that my son needs another op here in the uk hes gone very quiet (understandable i know) but sat at the computor last night and the phone went it was only a printers in tauranga asking if we could move there in 4wks and he would sponser us - WOW!!!! we explained our situation and he was going to email the information on to us,but has,nt so far (understandable again) new developments mother in law has offered to remortgage her house for £20,000 for us to go and said she wil sell our house in britain for us,new dilemma for us (its alot to take on) she says we could always come back for josh,s op,how much is a return flight to nz?i know its expensive.
No,one has yet to explain what a weta is (or is it to scary to describe?)
Thanks again everyone this forum is great one more question how do the nz people feel about us brits moving over there ive heard australians dont like us to much?
Laura

simonmarkellis

bugger the australians, kiwi's are far nicer