headtothehills

Hi all,
Apols if this has been raised already on this site, I'm new here and I had a quick look round but couldn't find anything on it. Here goes...
I'm a Brit, married to a Japanese lady and living in Japan. I've just started to look around for jobs in NZ as we fancy a change of scene, and luckily for me it seems there might well be some chances, mainly in government organisations in Wellington.
I'm a little concerned about my wife though - we speak in Japanese 90% of the time, and her English is not so good. This being the case, do you think she would be able to make friends with Japanese people or find part-time work in Wellington whilst she polishes up her English skills? Are there many Japanese people living in the city?
Any advice is very gratefully received!
HTTH

bakedbean

Just to say Hello and welcome to BE As you can see, I'm not in New Zealand but just loiter around here sometimes

BEVS or one of the Concierges in NZ will undoubtedly give you a proper welcome and more information than I can tell you. All I can say is, good choice of country. A lot of folks love it there. All the best in your planning.

headtothehills

Thanks very much for the warm welcome BB! Yep, the more I've been looking at New Zealand, the more I like the look of it! Here's hoping the jobs I've got my eye on materialise...

bakedbean

Ya all the best. A bit late in N.Z. right now. They'll all probably be tucked up in bed or propping up a bar somewhere. Probably the latter

shaza64

you will do well,all races are welcome and the Japanese embassy staff are very supportive.

Debbie2NZ

There's a huge asian population in New Zealand. Mostly Auckland though. A word to the wise: the arrival of many asians to NZ is known as the asian invasion. Hope your wife is not on the receiving end of any racism.

BEVS

That's interesting. Tell us and the OP more please.

BEVS

Hi there and welcome to our wee forum. I can't help with Wellington at all as I live outside of Nelson.

Maybe start a new topic and thread in the main NZ forum to ask about expat groups in Welly.

shaza64

I lived in Wellington for more than 10 years and had no difficulty running around with different race girlfriends.Newtown Brooklyn,are good suburbs to live with good quality accommodation.
The few times I had to see Japanese people in an emergency the embassy staff turned up and helped out.Cant say more !

Anyway if you are planning to live in NZ it will be good to learn English and perhaps teach japanese to Kiwis

headtothehills

Hi all,
Thanks for the comments, I think I will follow Bevs' advice and start a new thread if this intro section is not the right place.
My misses will certainly hammer her English studies should we move, she'll need to fully integrate and make her own friends, find work etc. Just means that I won't speak so much Japanese around the house any more!
Good to hear you enjoyed your time in Wellington Shaza! Yeah, it's handy the Japanese Embassy is in Wellington, maybe we'll contact them and see if they need any work doing...
Cheers again,
Mike

dreadsoc

Hi Mike

Just popped over for a quick visit and saw your post.
I see lots of the friendly folks on here are already chipping in with useful suggestions and support so I think you are being well looked after.
You know how the saying goes....anything is possible.
Just wanted to say welcome, go for it, enjoy the forum, and all the best with your plans

Dread - x

headtothehills

Hi Dread, thanks for your post. Yep, I am indeed being well looked after, people here are very friendly and helpful and I'm glad I stumbled across the site! As far as moving over to NZ goes, I'm all for it, I will hear back about my job application in the next week or so...
All the best
Mike