Wessa

Right you mad lot...

Im coming to NZ, renting first!..... Cant wait to be honest but first...
I want your bullet point Do's and Don't tips...
Ive been there before for a reccie so im not fresh..
Please be as honest and as serious as you want, the more tips the better please.

This should be fun.. Off ya go..

simonsi

Don't buy a house if it hasn't rained in the 3 days previous to the building inspection.

...in other words if it hasn't rained you can't find any damp...

irnbru14

Don't move to Auckland

Do move to Wellywood

janeyk

dont panic take it easy bro!

bourbon-biscuit

Do:

• Make an agreement in advance what you'll do if opinion is divided between you and your partner about NZ in the future
• Make an agreement about how long you'll give NZ and what "giving it a go" constitutes (ie being here for two years isn't necessarily the same as giving it a go for two years).
• Remember to take up every sociable offer, no matter how bizarre it seems at first.
• Let go of your favourite foods and drinks now. Just let go; we're in the middle of the Pacific, your life will be easier and cheaper if you encourage your palate to go native.
• Decide on one new hobby or interest that you're going to take up as a couple or family that is directly related to the life you'll make in NZ. EG surfing, fishing, camping.
• Read the Penguin History of NZ before you arrive.
• Have an emergency fund but decide on advance what it will be OK to use it for. This is harsh but you need to think about whether you'd fly back for the funeral of X or whatever.
• Use sunblock almost daily for the first year.
• Wear a hat.
• Wear a rash top when swimming.
• Visit dentist, optician etc before you come out.

Don't:

• Buy a house straight away unless you are minted and can buy a dead cert house in a dead cert area.
• Rent a dump. Pay a bit more for somewhere decent.
• Swim at Piha (once you've seen Piha rescue you'll understand why- everyone drowns).
• Say or think "In England ..... "
• bother packing your own grocery bags- unless you're in Packn'Slave where they toss it all in a trolley, they'll pack it for you.
• Compare, compare, compare. You'll exhaust yourself and your family and have no time to just enjoy what is unique about here.
• Get a dog because you're homesick/ missing people. This decision may come back to bite you (haha) as having a dog in NZ is not as easy (unless you have a LSB) as in the UK.
• Expect that your kids' education (if you have any) will be just like the education they get in the UK. It won't. It'll be better but you might not realise this for a few years.

Good luck, NZ is a funny old place but it's a wonderful place to live.

MnB

Spot on!!

Wessa

Thanks All, BB, great.
Keep them coming guys..

rick78

Great thread, reading with interest

Persephone

Do
-Learn the right hand turn rule in advance- it hasn't gone yet!
-Join the library
-Learn Kiwi English so you have some chance of knowing what they're on about
-Bring an upright vacuum and a front loading washing machine if you prefer these to cylinders and toploaders
-Try different NZ wines and beers

Don't
-Eat the full size meals at Lone Star unless you want to look and feel like a beached whale for a few hours afterwards.
-Convert prices to £ when you start earning and living on NZ$, compare to your income and also what the item would normally cost in NZ


BB-what is a rash top

simonsi

Ah yes!

More info for the casual reader on the AA NZ website

Can't wait for it to be gone, and Kiwi's seem just as bad at following/interpreting/guessing what it means in some situations

Persephone

Don't know why they don't just get rid of it now instead of waiting...
Had enough near misses because of this rule- if I'm turning left I shouldn't have to determine whether someone turning right into the same road thinks they have or have not enough time to turn:curse: Nor should I have to decide whether the car turning left thinks I haven't enough time and so is going to pull out in front of me. Ridiculous rule.
And as for when I want to turn right into a road and there is someone who wants to turn right out of that road-I can't always tell whether they have a stop or give way sign...I will admit that I just assume I have right of way in these circumstances and this seems to be what most NZ drivers think too
I do know that I am wrong before anyone says anything!

Anyway lets not turn this into another driving thread

hazeandsteve

Do....wear earplugs under your headphones on the flight.
....set olds up with skype or similar.

Dustybin

Do: laugh when you want to cry

Dont: break wind in job interviews..

scrubbedexpat094

Do move to Auckland

Don't move to Wellington

bourbon-biscuit

You know, a sun protection top. What did we call them in the UK ... a sunsuit top?