hallie_day

Thank you.

I think your friend's experience illustrates the problem - the lack of consistency.
Coming from a country where every school teaches the national curriculum and teachers are monitored regularly, I didn't think there would be a need to dig deeper than the ERO report (OFSTED equivalent) but our experience of the school and the report bear little resemblance to each other.
It's not even that I agree entirely with the system at home - I think too much pressure is put on kids academically - but it feels the pendulum here has swung too far the other way and academic work is not important until 13/14.

My kids do appear to be flourishing, excellent reports and parent's evening feedback, lots of friends, love school (apart from my daughter experiencing some bullying), on all the sports teams.... It's the things that 7 and 11 year olds do not care about that worry me!!

Peter and Steph

I agree with you that consistency definitely is very important, but I have experienced just how terrible the education system has gotten here in the UK. So many kids are not getting into the high schools of there choice, not even in their 3 options as they are extremely over attended. This has seen kids with so much potential in primary school, then not get into the school they wanted and end up at a much less desirable school and totally fall off and struggle, rebel and waste a very bright future, or simply just don't reach anywhere near their potential.
if we did get offered a visa and a location we would make sure that we review everything about the schools, from junior to high to further education and if we didn't think they are what we want then.would reconsider our options.

Bo-Jangles

I agree wholeheartedly, moving for the sake of the kids future always seems bizarre to me as you never know where the kids will end up and they may not necessarily thank you for dragging them to the other side of the world; unless they're of an age when they don't know any different and likely will adapt to being little Kiwi kids living in a cold house, walking to school with no coat and shoes etc. I find it incredibly hard to countenance there being any particular 'opportunities', 'values' or lifestyle factors for them in Nelson that are not available in the UK or elsewhere. There's plenty of folks been on here over the years whose have kids that have upped sticks and gone back to the UK without their parents as soon as they became old enough to go to university or decide for themselves.

BEVS

Okays. So everyone is getting ahead of themselves here in several ways. We can all discuss the pros and cons of emigrating v relocation etc and we can all talk about being an NZ immigrant and how it is for us personally, however the fact remains that the very first step is job possibilities and whether or not NZ actually wants a person & their skill...or not. Until then everything else is moot. It is job offer first before a work visa unless someone has enough points without a job offer for a residency visa. As NZ prefers applicants to have work to come to so they can pass the 'settlement' test it is the solid long term permanent job offer that is the golden egg.

I am happy enough to talk about the Nelson and Bays area however the way it will work is that the potential immigrant goes where the work and job offer is and that could be anywhere in NZ

Okays. So there is some work to do here to get you both up to speed. With a sound knowledge of immigration visas and procedures you will be better able to look at what a possible NZ future may hold. and where in NZ that may be. As you can see I tend to come at this in a practical way. It works a bit like a monopoly board. You have to start at GO and move through the steps.

She may have but that is not how it works for NZ immigration and the Dept of Labour. NZ recruitment agencies however may be able to place one or the other of you properly which will give you the chance to successfully uplift a work visa . That would be a step forward. Any job offered needs to match your work experience and qualifications. An NZ employer is not free to offer an overseas person a job . That yay or nay comes from the Dept of Labour who will also run that by the Dept of Immigration. The exception to this is NZ employers on what is called an Accredited List.

At this moment in time all policies are suspended due to COVID.

I am sure your pals in Xch are very happy and doing well. As you will be more than aware though from the UK that does not translate to all children in NZ are all flourishing and doing well. It does not.

The Nelson and Bays area is fast becoming one long conurbation. The weather is fine enough but it is out on a limb and so can become a bit dull. However for a young family it would do just as well as anywhere else in NZ and also for many places in the UK too..

The occupation "data cable engineer," is on the Construction and Infrastructure list. It is not on the long term shortage list . However if you could find employment with maybe an accredited employer doing that work then it could see you gain an essential skills temp visa. This does not lead to a residency visa however being with an accredited employer could help perhaps. I will leave that there for now.
Qualifications and to what level?

Peter and Steph

My children are 2 and 5, I'm sure they will adapt. I'm almost 100% positive that all children don't walk to school with no shoes on. What I'm finding it hard to understand on here is all the doom and gloom, the worst case scenario, the it won't work attitude. I'm of a responsible age that I can make a decision, along with my fiancee and with the support of my family. We have spoken to a number of people ow who have said that NZ has been amazing for them, that their children have loved it, that have been there for a number of years and couldn't recommend it enough.
I get the feeling that alot of the doom and gloom on here is from people that it hasn't succeeded for and that come from a more wealthy background. I'm from a small working class town in the north of England, we work extremely hard for what we get, we don't have or live in luxury, we are people that just want to succeed in life and better ourselves. I come from a place that has high crime rate, poor education and now love in a country run by idiots.
We asked for some advice on how to get into the country, on what things we could do to help our cause etc. Not on whether we should or not.
Although we appreciate all replies this has become a very blatant attack on all aspects of going to NZ.

Peter and Steph

My children are 2 and 5, I'm sure they will adapt. I'm almost 100% positive that all children don't walk to school with no shoes on. What I'm finding it hard to understand on here is all the doom and gloom, the worst case scenario, the it won't work attitude. I'm of a responsible age that I can make a decision, along with my fiancee and with the support of my family. We have spoken to a number of people ow who have said that NZ has been amazing for them, that their children have loved it, that have been there for a number of years and couldn't recommend it enough.
I get the feeling that alot of the doom and gloom on here is from people that it hasn't succeeded for and that come from a more wealthy background. I'm from a small working class town in the north of England, we work extremely hard for what we get, we don't have or live in luxury, we are people that just want to succeed in life and better ourselves. I come from a place that has high crime rate, poor education and now love in a country run by idiots.
We asked for some advice on how to get into the country, on what things we could do to help our cause etc. Not on whether we should or not.
Although we appreciate all replies this has become a very blatant attack on all aspects of going to NZ.

Peter and Steph

Thank you so much, this is the type of feedback we was looking for. I'm currently out at the moment but will look into properly and get back. Thank you again

hallie_day

I think it's unfair to say that you are just hearing from people who haven't 'succeeded', rather I think it's people who want to dispel some common myths about NZ and warn caution.
I responded because statements like this don't feel accurate:

The values and culture of the majority of people in NZ is one of the main reasons why we would love to move to their beautiful country, to embrace it, and to give it our all to make it work for us.

These are some of the things other than education that have surprised and/or worried me:

NZ has a socialist government who tax food, yet decided in a once in a generation referendum not to tax capital gains (Jacinda is not idolised here in the same way she is abroad!).
It is recognised as a high cost, low wage economy eg. your food bill will be double what it is in the UK.
Bullying is rife at school and in the workplace
I have witnessed more racism here than I did in London
Higher recorded incidences per capita of social problems including poverty, domestic abuse and mental health problems than in the UK (eg. it's well documented that NZ has the highest death rate for teenagers and young people amongst the 19 richest countries because of suicide and road deaths).

I honestly don't want to piss on your parade, but feel that all this is important info that I would have liked to have been told as it balances out the common perception of NZ as some kind of 1950s wholesome utopia.

Pom_Chch

Welcome to British Expats mate

Peter and Steph

We've already looked online and the UK has a overall higher crime rate that NZ as of September 2020????
Also education success rate etc are higher in NZ than in the UK as of September 2020?????

Peter and Steph

NZ is being made out to be full of uneducated, poverty stricken, thugs.

Daisyc172

Absolutely have to second this. I moved with great intentions too (my partner is kiwi, moved here 2.5 yrs ago) and don't have any children yet. However, the differences for me have been beyond anything I ever imagined, even after thorough research and hearing my partners perceptions when we lived in the UK.
I teach at an intermediate here and most of my year 7 class do not use capital letters or full stops and half the class cannot subtract, 90% cannot multiply or divide. It is shocking. Lots of kiwi kids seem to grow up thinking the NZ way is the only way and don't have much experience or exposure to other cultures. As Hallie said too, intermediate (yrs 7 & 8) is seen as a holiday camp and sports are seen as much more important than core subjects. All teachers do their own thing and are not checked upon which leads to vastly different experiences depending on whose class your child is placed in, which is massively unfair.

Again, I'm not trying to be negative at all. I've been part of this forum for a while and have read various stories of people coming over "for a better life" and have left or hated it for the above reasons. I hope you are successful in whatever you decide.

Bo-Jangles

NZ is well represented on all three counts and there's plenty of evidence based articles and statistics to support that, if you care to take a look .

NZ ranked near bottom of UNICEF child wellbeing ratings

Peter and Steph

I take that Into consideration the exact same as I do for the over the other evidence based facts that show its crime rate is lower than the UK and it's education is higher level than UK. Like I've said previously we have seen all this and taken it into consideration and realise it isn't going to be all great, there are negatives, but that goes the same for everywhere, all countries have the same problems, but as a family and me knowing how we are and how we live that NZ is the option we are going to take

Peter and Steph

Thank you and we will take that into consideration