A general question for british expats
 

A question that my mum would like to put to you all....for those of you who have made the move to new zealand...do any of you regret it in any way?

I have read articles on other websites that born and bred kiwis have attempted to live in the UK and have moved back to NZ they miss it that much.


Stacey

Re: A general question for british expats
 

I consider my regrets to be the rather tardy arrivals of much needed foresight :D.

Re: A general question for british expats
 

The only regret we have is that we didn't do it years ago.....

Re: A general question for british expats
 

Ditto!

No regrets.......but if we had any and didn't like it, at least we could say we tried it.....

Re: A general question for british expats
 

That's what I keep telling my mum, she doesn't want to be 10 years down the line and wishing she had given it a go at least. You don't know if you don'tr try.

We were out buying holiday stuff today, which is hard to do since it's almsot winter in the UK now! I think that once we get our passports, we are booking a 2 week holiday at the end of november! So excited.


Stacey

Re: A general question for british expats
 

Yes some have regrets and some move back, some move back then immediately re-emigrate, plenty of stories on here just browse/search...

Re: A general question for british expats
 

Very nicely put..very nicely. Yes you and me both. I mainly regret losing $80k in the NZ finance house bastarding rip off. Other than that our 1st 5 years have met all our expectations in the local, day to day, life in Palmy hamster wheely life area. However there is much about NZ as a nation that is ugly. The trick is to ensure that the majority of the latter does not impact upon your day to day life. Fortunately other than the aforementioned 'theft' of my money and the totally crap driving standards here in NZ (and the rubbish service attitude by builders and the like) very little else of the NZ shite I mentioned earlier touches our lives. In precis the quality of our NZ lives is huge in comparison to the crap we left in Northampton. Job done= success, on the whole. Which is nice.

Re: A general question for british expats
 

The only things that concern me is when i hear my folks are in hospital in Poole UK and i cant just fly back just like that.

Only regret is that we should have done a move like this years ago, as life needs variety, we have great contrast in our lives here as we both work for Corrections, we both work with Prisoners, but once out of the high wall its home to our house in the countryside, no nighbours, no streetlights and pure peace and quiet mmmm Probably wouldnt have achieved this much if we had stayed in UK.

LIfes to short for some, if there is an ounce of wanting change, then go for it, a chance to see, learn, travel a new country, live a new life, lots of challenges,its for the taking, dont be one of those who look back in a few years time and say " we were going to do that ! "

Nige, Dunedin since May 05

Re: A general question for british expats
 

I felt exactley the same but knew that my only regret in life would be not doing it:)
nearly 6 months since we left the Uk its not been easy and certainly been a rollercoaster ride, however its now more like a mono rail which allows you to take everything in more comfortably and at an easier pace:p
Now i can take in everything at my pace and get to know the beautiful place in which my children are having a 'childhood ' that dreams are made of!
:thumbsup:

Re: A general question for british expats
 

I have regrets
My life is good enough here for sure
but to me it's like making a deal with the devil
The gains I made are balanced by the losses.
At the end of the day, what I value most in my life are security, friends and family.
I have a greater sense of security here. It seems like the colour of my skin is less of an issue here. And I generally feel comfortable although Chch gives me the heebegeebees even before the quake.

But my major loss is my friends, and family and my shared history, and people who get me. I miss my culture.

So certainly there are a lot of regrets and in all honesty, I wouldn't recommend it.
I would try to find a place that gave me things I desired and valued closer to home first.

Re: A general question for british expats
 

yeah i agree totally!:)

Re: A general question for british expats
 

No regrets but still miss my family and it doesnt get any easier ! Its great to have made such a big move and never having to say what if !!!!!

Re: A general question for british expats
 

No regrets whatsoever, we absolutly love our life here , have made amazing friends, infact i spent 6 days in hospital this last week with lucy and it actually showed just how many friends we have made, so many came to visit her, offering to bring stuff in etc. yes our family isnt here but that doesnt bother me atall, theres always facebook/skye/phones etc we probably talk more to family now than we did when we lived in the uk, cos we make the effort now

Re: A general question for british expats
 

Very well put, agree totally, Bevissa

Re: A general question for british expats
 

Ditto all the comments re: family etc.

Also, with hindsight, I wish I'd really thought about how likely we were to go back to the UK at the end of our one year experience. We've never been back in the 7.5+ years we've been here, and I feel like I never properly said goodbye to my homeland, so kind of feel a bit in limbo. In fact, in all honesty, if I'd realised at the time that we wouldn't go back I don't think I'd have come out in the first place.

I guess what I'm saying is that I regret not thinking through what would happen/how I'd feel if we decided to stay longer than one year, even though at the time I did acknowledge that there was a chance that we would stay longer than one year.