Hello from Coventry UK
 

Hi all my name is rachel and i am 30 yrs old, myself and hubby are seriously looking into moving to new zealand within the next 12 months and rellocating orselves and our 2 boys age 17 months and 10. would be really helpful to get as much info before we commit ourselves so thought id join to discuss with others that have already done or are looking into it. i have joined a few sites so far but have had no response from any so im hoping u guys are a bit more responsive. i currently work as an occupational therapist and have been in touch with a few employers re jobs in nz (which look quite promising)
any info any one has re areas to live
visa options
lifestyle would be ideal, i would like to live somewhere near the beach
thanks
for your help
rachel

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

Kia Ora and welcome to the site Rachel,

Just ask away with any question you have, we've all been through it! There's plenty of helpful information available. As for opportunites and places to live, I'd imagine you'd have to concentrate around the three major cities with your line of work - Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Haven't been to Christchurch yet, but to me Auckland and Wellington are like Chalk and Cheese - Too different spectrums, so it will depend on what you what for your new life before you decide on an area in which to focus. But anyway have some karma for joining in and saying hello.

Simon

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

i dont really want to be based in aukland as i think it will be to big and to much traffic, whats wellington like? i have been looking at jobs in whangarai, hamilton and gisbourne any advice on these areas? i come from a city so dont really want to be to isolated.
rachel

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

You won't be isolated in Wellington, it's a great city and five minutes out of town you feel in the Country. I live out in Porirua 30 minutes drive into the city or 25 mins on the train and that's considered a long way out. Commuting is so much easier than in the UK. Hamilton's a good area too, have a word with our moderator Karonious as she hails from there but is now in Wellington, but you'd probably find good work there as Auckland isn't too far for clients. As for the other's I haven't vetured to them yet, but I will.

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

thats great thanks for the info. is wellington near the beach? another thing would you know if theres much soccer out there for the kids my son is footy mad (not into rugby at all) also it jobs would the bigger citys you mentioned be the best place for these (for my hubby chris)
how long have you been out there and had you visited before you moved?
rach

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

There are plenty of beaches in and around Wellington as there are all the major cities. At present there are loads of IT jobs going in Wellington, best for your hubby to have a look on seek.co.nz and look at the companies who are recruiting for his line of expertise, then contact them direct by phone to discuss opportunities. Candle IT Recruitment for me were great. Soccer? Wellington is the home of the Wellington Phoenix, the only professional team in NZ that play in the Hyundai A League, a league comprised on 11 Aussie teams and 1 NZ team - It's the best you can get over here and probably equates to the same as Div 1 in the UK. Loads of kids play football here as well. We first visited in 2006 for a month and like all others landed in Auckland and for the first week we were here, wondered what we were doing thinking of moving all this way - Auckland to us was too much like the UK - too much an urban metropolis, but as soon as we left Auckland and started exploring more the more we fell in love with the place and in particular for us Wellington. We jumped ship in August of last year and have settled really well, don't regret it one minute havibg come back out here as visitors, we just haven't gone back and don't into to. Anyway our container turns up this week.

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

oh thats cool, wellington sounds like quite a good place then, whats the driving like out there and how about rental costs, initially we are looking at comingfor 6 -12 months just to check we like it and to try to convince my son that its a good idea (thats the reason for the footy question) therefore i will need to rent as i will still have my house here in uk then if all works out and we decide that we want to stop permenantly then i figure looking at house prices out there id get alot more for my money there although i did here that mortgage rates are a lot higher. new zealand has got to have more to offer us all than the grim cold uk. do you have cold winters out there? what did you do for furniture if your things are only being shipped now? i read that most places are rented unfurnished? do you have residency in new zealand? i am looking at initially coming on a work permit and then take it from there (costly buisness though)
thanks again for the info any random info you may have would be appreciated in particular living costs, in the meantime ill check out some of those job websites
thanks
again
rach

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

For a decent property your looking at around $450 a week which in a lot of areas gets you a 3-4 bedroomed place (unfurnished). Mortgage rates over here are high at present so it can pinch a bit, but having money from a UK house sale definately helps. You don't get the harshness of the UK winters over here, it can be cold, windy and wet at times, but also you can get the most fantastic days as well, right in the middle of winter. When we got here, we rented unfurnished and then rented everything we needed form dtr.co.nz for six months apart from beds which we bought. They do everything you'll need and are not too dear either, everything else you can just add to by buying on trademe or other places. For a good indication on rental costs look in the property section of www.trademe.co.nz.

Simon

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

Kia Ora Rach and welcome to this NZ forum. I see you have got off to a flying start with Simon. :) Have some karma .

Can't help with the North Island as we are in beautiful Nelson on the South Island near the Abel Tasman. Kiwis come to Nelson and Tasman for their hols, so that says something about its beaches.

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

Just thought I'd say hello from Northampton,

Not much specific advise for you yet as just going through the motions ourselves. Me and hubby (both in 30's), plus two sprogs (7 weeks and 16 months) are heading over to Hamilton in May.

Welcome to the forum...you'll find people amazingly helpful on here no matter what your question :ohmy:

Tan

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

hi rachel - like you we are also from coventry and looking to move to n.z - my husband is a bricklayer but he has no qualifications - once our house is sold we are just packing up and going we have a daughter aged 13 who is very happy with the idea . my husband will go first and then we will follow on once he has a work permit so we can bring our dogs with us .

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

Hi Jenn,
Welcome to the forum. First of all, and I don't want to have to rain on your parade, but you need to be aware. Your husband may be an ace bricklayer, but he really does need some kind of documentation showing that he has qualifications or experience. Otherwise he is going to find it difficult to get a work permit. Like any bureaucracy, the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS) pushes paper and they will tend to push the papers that have all the boxes that are correctly ticked. Other harder or incomplete applications tend to languish at the bottom of the pile or they get rejected.

The point is that your husband needs evidence of his bricklaying. If he can gather documentation of his skills he will stand a better chance at getting a work permit.

I wish you the best of luck.

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

Hi Rachel, welcome to the forum. I'm actually new to this myself, although I've been in NZ for almost 3 years now. Also in our 30s, we moved here (me and hubby) from Bath. He's a kiwi from Hawkes Bay who was working in the UK when we met. When he said he was thinking of moving back to NZ, I jumped at the chance:-) We were in Auckland for 2 years, which I didn't enjoy so much, but we moved to Christchurch 9 months ago and I love it. The key I think when moving out here is to look at the main cities / towns, decide what is important to you in picking a location (jobs allowing!!) and come with no expectations. All the cities like anywhere have their pros and cons. Outside of the cities it's a beautiful country, and I'm in no hurry to return to the hustle and bustle of the UK (despite missing friends and family), but the cities are not like UK cities and it is easy to feel isolated. Its just a question of getting out there and making the most of all NZ has to offer.
RE visas, if possible I'd apply for Residency rather than a work permit if you think this is likely to be a permanent (-ish!) move. I got a work permit, then had to renew it and apply for residency about the same time, so ended up paying for 3 lots of paperwork!!
RE shipping furniture and stuff, personally I wouldn't bother as it can be just as expensive as getting everything you need here, even if it is second hand - I only shipped things that were important to me (like my coffee mugs) so it still feels like my home:) Just beware that NZers aren't, for the most part, as into their homes as we can be, so unless you are prepared to spend, the stuff you can get in your run-of-mill stores isn't all that exciting! There just isn't the same choice here as far as shopping.
Anyway hope you make it, best of luck and please ask if you want to know more about Christchurch specifically - we are currently enjoying a hot sunny summer:thumbsup:

Re: Hello from Coventry UK
 

Hello mate, and I'll just start with a good luck.
We live in the centre of the North Island, and have our beaches on the lake, but can be at the coast in an hour and a half, so don't let lack of sea stop you going somewhere.
We looked at Foxton Beach when I had a job offer in Palmy, but it was far too breezy for us, and coming from the Isle of Wight, were quite positive we'd want to be near the sea.
However, now we're here, wouldn't want to live anywhere else.:thumbsup: