Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Hello,
My wife and I are at the start of planning a move to Hawke's Bay. We have a long way to go but we are going for 2 weeks in June to have a look at the area. We like the look of Napier and it has a good internet presence but don't know much about Hastings or any other surrounding towns.

I am a dentist and my wife is a renal dialysis specialst nurse. We have been told that finding jobs shouldn't be a problem is this the case?

I own a practice here in Glasgow is there the same shortage of dentists in NZ as in the UK? Are all the areas well served dentally? Ideally i would like to work in a practice until we find our feet with a view to partership in the future.

We have no kids as yet but they are in our plans we have heard good things about the education system in NZ. Is the system better than the Uk or similar? Are schools state funded or private? I assume that Universities are in the bigger cities eg Auckland or Wellington or am i wrong?

Sorry for so many questions at once but once i started they all came out at once :D

One last question. The biggest hold for me here is Celtic Football Club are there any supporters clubs in the area and is there Scottish football shown on satellite tv?

Thanks

Stevie

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Hastings has much more the feel of a large country town than a city, which Napier just about pulls off in NZ terms. That's not to say I don't like Hastings, because I do. It has many good features: beautiful parks and gardens, a pleasantly laid out centre, is flat so great for cycling around, has Hawkes Bay Opera house, which is reasonable and a laid back cafe culture. It has some fabulous suburbs to live in that should be very affordable for a dentist and specialist nurse- I'd strongly suggest you check out Havelock North and Frimley- the former is beautiful, at the foot of mighty Te Mata Peak and between Hastings and Ocean Beach and the latter is in Hastings within a very easy walk to the hospital. Havelock North is often described as little Britain because of the large number of British expats there- although this is a little unfair as there are many more Kiwis! Has a lovely 'village feel' boutique shopping ambiance and is only 3 mins from Hastings and you have the whole of Te Mata Peak to explore right on your doorstep (lots of people run, walk and cycle up and down it and through the woods on the slopes around it after work and at weekends).

I'm not sure about you but I've no doubt your wife won't have any problems finding a job here in Hawkes Bay. In fact, it's worth contacting the DHB as soon as possible as they seem quite flexible about holding jobs for some time while people get over here and the DHB offer a fair relocation package including money toward flights, a couple of weeks in a very reasonable motel opposite the hospital and a couple of weeks hire car.

I'm sure you've been made aware of this from your research thus far, but nursing in NZ is somewhat different to the UK, possibly particularly for someone used to working in a specialist autonomous position.



I can only answer for my own experiences: education was a driving factor in our emigration- both for moving out of the UK and to NZ. We're both passionate about education but not the way it's served in the UK. We wanted a more holistic approach to education- one that nurtured the whole child. We also wanted a move away from a rigid curriculum that in our view had robbed the classroom of natural spontaneity and driven excellent teachers from teaching. We desperately wanted more sport for our kids as we were enormously dissatisfied with the UK's 2 PE sessions a week that could be reduced to 'dance in the hall' at the first sniff or bad weather. I am 100% against testing for testings sake- I think it's impossible for even the most enlightened teacher to resist teaching to the test and this turns education into a complete nonsense in my view- because we should be 'lighting fires' for children not just ticking boxes.

So, what have we achieved? My kids attend a rural small school, which I have been privileged to get a job in- they love school and I know are doing very well indeed (I home schooled my oldest daughter for 18 months in the UK so feel quite knowledgeable about her abilities, strengths and weaknesses). My five year old completed her first mini-triathlon this am with the whole community out cheering- she was very, very exhausted at the end of it and LOVED it- the achievement, pushing herself physically etc. I have also found the school very academically focused- so it's not one at the expense of the other. My oldest is doing very well indeed academically- but I won't elaborate- doesn't do to brag ;) :rofl:

There are state funded and private school in NZ- some of the best of both here in Hawkes Bay. Nearest university to Hawkes Bay would be Massey in Palmerston North (just over 2 hours), although they offer some course here in the bay and there is also the Eastern Institute of Technology, which offers various post-grad nursing courses

http://www.massey.ac.nz/
http://www.eit.ac.nz/home/home_default.aspx

No idea :) But I'll ask my husband who is rather fond of football and has skyTV :)

HTH, BB

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Hi Steviebhoy

As a dentist who emigrated two and a half years ago I can confirm that there are at least three practices looking for dentists in the area at the moment, at least one looking for someone to buy in.

If you have not already, have a look here

http://www.nzda.org.nz/pub/index.php?id=37

I presume you have already checked out the registration procedure etc but if you have any questions about dentistry or anything just ask away. We ( myself, Nicola and our three boys ) certainly have no regrets about our move.


peter

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

I am told that champions league is shown on sky sports (and so he has seen Celtic when playing in that) and much English premiership but no Scottish premiership :(

I've no idea if that's that- perhaps drop sky an email? Or would it be possible to download?

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Thank you for answering my many questions so fully. We are both really looking forward to seeing the Hawke's Bay area but there is no substitute for the experience of someone who has made the move themselves.

Is Hastings hospital a practical drive from Napier?
Thanks again

Thanks Peter,

I have an NHS practice in one of Glasgow's less picturesque areas with two associates but really feel the NHS is sucking the life out of me with more and more regulations and less and less treatment options. I currently see between 30 to 40 patients a day.
I don't know if you worked in England or Scotland but in Scotland we still use the SDR and get paid item of service so it's a lot like factory farming!

By my research dentistry is by and large private but what is your average workload in a day? Is your remuneration similar to the UK? Are associate agreements the same as the UK?

Thanks
Stevie

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Hopefully Peter will pop back and answer your dentistry questions but Hastings and Napier are only minutes apart- from centre of Napier to Hastings hospital- perhaps 12-15 tops and a decent road too.

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Thanks bourbon. We have been looking at property online in Napier and you certainly seem to get a lot more house for your money than the uk.

PS do they have bourbons there? :D

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Hi Peter's other half here,

Yes, you do get Bourbon biscuits here, I can buy them in New World Havelock North ocassionally in the special English food section, our eldest loves them. You can even buy Irn Bru there also.

Property wise you have to be very careful about the area. The houses may look great, but there really are some parts of Napier and Hastings that you do not want to live in. I don't want to put you off at all, it is just wise to have your eyes open.

Here is a link to my blog it is not really about our move, it is more craft and gardening inspired, but there are lots of pics of the area.

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Thanks we were looking at Hospital Hill and Bluff Hill in Napier. Any thoughts?
Don't know why we are loking at the moment but we are caught up in the excitement of deciding we are moving.
Need to sell a house and a dental practice before we can move so it'll all take time :D

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Hi Steviebhoy

Bluff hill and Hospital Hill are lovely, old houses, quite a posh area, I would say - I'll ask Nicola what she thinks ( she did all our house hunting )

Asregards NHS dentistry I know exactly what you mean :) Before coming out here my last post was a six months locumship in Edinburgh and what a conveyor belt it was, 30 to 40 patients a day like you say.

Here I see maybe 12 to 15 a day, standard appt is half an hour - checkups routine fills etc although it will vary from practice to practice of course.

Asyou say all treatment is private. Children get free treatment until eighteen, except for orthodontics and are treated by the school dental therapists until they get to High School at 12/13 I think. Treatment for children is by fee per item and the fees are pretty low, but you do not have to provide this service if you don't want to.

I am happy hereas a locum, contracts are prtty much the same I think - 40% after lab bills etc is pretty much standard I reckon. Dentists are well paid of course but you will earn less than in the Uk, although cost of living is less. You'll find quite a few threads on this forum about this ( controvertial ) subject !

Although with two of you earning, no children and a practice to sell you should be fine.

I know of one dentist from scotland who came over a few years ago, worked as a locum and has now opened his own practice. Another one came over on a years exchange with a dentist here and like it so much they have decided to stay!

Early days I know, but if you wanted to meet up on your holiday that would be cool just let me know and we could sort something out - although are you just coming to Hawkes Bay or touring round ?

peter

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

Thanks Peter,

We are only going to Hawke's Bay to try to get as good a sense of the area as possible.
It would be nice to meet you when we are over so we can pick your brains about your move :D

thanks for all the advice
Stevie

Re: Hawke's Bay Advice Please
 

No worries,

just let us know nearer the time and we can fix something up

cheers

peter