andyjmcm

Hi,

im not really sure how to use these forum pages so im needing help with this and in regards to moving to New Zealand.

I have recently been in talks for a job position in Invercargill on the South island, im 27 year old Single Male, and im considering the move for career prospects and a better way of life compaired to the extremly stressful and long hours of work currently in Scotland.

I have never been to New Zealand but know lots of people who have and compair it alot to Scotland which is great. i have a few things that are worrying me about a possible move and im hopeing this forum may help.

i can be very shy and retiring until im forced into situations where i have t speack with people ut after that im fine, usualy a small drink helps. my fear is that im coming over myself and dont know anyone or the area. Can anyone help me in regards to the Invercargill area, is it lively, does it have a age group similar to mine 25- 30 that are out and about and doing things.

Basicly i want to know if there are things set up for expats and are the locals friendly in that a wont have a problem finding friends.

As i say this is the only thing holding me back, i dont want to travel to the other side of the world leaving friends and family to go out there and not make new friends.

Andy x

scrubbedexpat094

Hi Andy & to our friendly NZ forums. You've started correctly by posting in the Introductions forum, so you're on the right track . You should put any questions that relate to the Immigration process (ie. obtaining visas, police checks etc.) in the Immigration forum, funnies in the Sheep Dip, arranging meeting other expats in the Meet-ups forum & anything else will generally go in the Main forum.

If either myself or BEVS think something is in the wrong place we will move it . Sometimes we move some threads into the main forum for more members to see.

I understand your concerns as it's a huge decision to move to the other side of the world & is very daunting. But many of us have done the same. You will have to put yourself 'out there' to make friends & this can take a little time. The more you get involved with the easier it is.

I can't answer your questions on Invercagill as we live just north of Auckland.

The normal working week in NZ is 40hrs as opposed to 37.5hrs in the UK. You will have fewer days annual leave (20 days), just so you are aware.

As you are looking at specific information about Invercargill, I shall move this thread to the main forum , so that more people will see it. Also the Introduction threads close after a week.

Good luck with your plans

DandJMay

Hi Andy

I live in Invers, when I get in from work tonight, I will write a proper reply to your thread. There are a fair few Brits down here so yow will not be lonely.

Where will you be working??

Chat soon Jo

andyjmcm

Hey Jo,

The job would be with a company called Fulton Hogan, not sure of the location etc, but trying to find out a bit more about the area, as from what i can see on here there is a bit of a mixed view, you will know what it is like, im not wanting to move to the other side of the world do somewhere i may not settle into.

Thanks for your response and i look forward to hearing from you.

Andy

luvwelly

I have been there...didn't Billy Connolly say sth rude about it once?
Fulton Hogan seem to do all the road repair work in Wellington. Look up 'Stop and Go' man though....bit of a primitive NZ thing.

theghostofdustybin

F&H are on a big recruitment at the mo. Seems to be a good company (i do some 'stuff' for them all over the place, including invergiggle) lots of people who have been with them a long time. They are countrywide and also have australian operations so I'm guessing if you are any good at what you do there would be opportunities to move within the company if invercargill isnt for you.

As for invercargill, well it wouldn't be for me, but then again I'm not you.

DandJMay

Hi Andy

I have lived in Invers since May 11; my husband joined me August 11. When I lived here by myself not once did I feel frightened or lonely, I suppose I am very grateful that I have amazing colleagues who included me in everything. I also made a promise to myself that I would say yes everything; it helped me settle in and meet people I would not have meet through work etc.

We came out to NZ twice before we emigrated, I will say that we didn’t come down to Invers during our holidays, we felt it was too far away and couldn’t justify the travel time. The closest city to Invers is Dunedin which is a three hour drive away.

I suppose it really does depend what your life style is and/or what you want it to be. If you want pub’s, clubs, shopping etc, then seriously only use Invers as a way into NZ as you will not like it here. If you want the outdoor life style of walking, tramping etc then here is great.

There is a vast range of people living in Invers, we have Zero Fee’s College here, so we are a sort of a mini uni town, there are also loads of ex pats, from all over the world and all far flung places of the UK. Invers has all the normal stuff, leisure centre, theatre, cinema museums etc, but we do only have one of each. With so few people living here there really is no reason for two swimming pools.

You will make friends, but it will take time, the people here are set in their ways, and whilst they are extremely friendly you will mostly find that you spend your time with other expats.

Darren and I discussed the good and bad points of Invers, and maybe this will help

Good

• Isolation, not many people venture down here, (but that’s a good as for us)
• We are two hours away from Queenstown (ski fields in the winter and sailing in the summer); 90 minutes away from Te Anua (gateway to the fiord lands) and the Catlins are just perfect. Check out the southern scenic route on line
• The scenery is amazing, we have great local parks, beaches and bush walks
• Semi rural life style, you are not on top of other people
• Cheaper house prices and rent, but like most places you get what pay for
• Good restaurants, although cannot tell you about the night life as we are not that into it, however there are a few clubs (I hear)
• There is always something going on, if you take the time to look for it.
• Due to the lack of people down here, you can get from one end of the city to the other in about 15 minutes and as for parking, it generally isn’t a problem

Bad

• The driving standards (if you can call them that) are shocking, really really bad. But I think that’s a NZ thing and not limited to Invers
• The lack of choice, we only really have the major chains down here i.e. Farmers, Noel Leaming Bond and Bond (which in effect is Noel Leaming). Clothes shops are few and far between so if you are materialistic then you will not like here.
• The cost of flights to the rest of NZ, although you can drive to Dunedin or Queenstown where flights are cheaper, you then have to pay for petrol and parking. Basically it cost hundreds of dollars to fly out of Invers.
• The isolation, you are a day away from Auckland (but I consider that good ).

I suppose it depends on what type of person you are really, when I worked in London I was lonely living here I have a sense of time and freedom and most of a sense of belonging.

I have taken to living in Invers like a duck to water, but again that’s cos I have the right job with amazing colleagues. And because I am still in the honeymoon period .

Even if you use Invers as a way in NZ it’s worth a go. If you don’t like you can either move elsewhere or go back to the UK.

Give me a shout if I can help out further.

Jo

Woodlea

Invercargill has the best water tower I've ever seen and really lovely gardens, well worth leaving Scotland just for them! Burt Munro called it the the best little town in the world, in 'The World's Fastest Indian' but he was probably biased. Check the film out for a glimpse of Invercargill in the 60s, it hasn't changed much

luvwelly

You forgot to mention Stewart Island - best blue cod fish and chips I have ever eaten.

Drove through the Catlins on the way to Invercargill coming from Dunedin I think. It really was uber remote in the sense that there was little tourist infrastructure - there was one decent cafe I recall on the drive and that was in a Holiday park. We told the waitress we were driving to Invercargill and she said 'no need to rush, you haven't missed much'....which seemed a tad rich given the remote location she was in!

Invercargill itself had nice wide streets (I remember the water tower) but I saw it in the evening after most stuff was closed. It had more shops than I expected it to have but not much open in the evenings from what I could see. It was better than I expected but it wouldn't be for me and I do wonder why you would consider leaving family and good friends....for what.... a job which pays less than you have now? You say you want to cut your working hours - surely that is possible in UK without moving 10,000 miles away?

Also it gets pretty rubbish weather so that would not even be an advantage over Scotland.

If you do come, always make sure you have return airfare sitting in your bank account. If you were the son of a best friend asking my advice, I would say 'don't do it'.

Have a look on Google Earth: http://www.maplandia.com/new-zealand...gle-earth.html

andyjmcm

Thanks for all the responses folks, very much appreciated, i get a mixed feeling as to why alot of people have moved out there, my understanding was that wages thended to be higher out there in relation to Britian or the coast of living was generally alot less, this hence giving people a better quality of life?? is this the case, what was everyone elses reasons for emmigrating??

That is one reason for me wanting to emmigrate, also for the career opportunities, thing in Britain unfortuanetly are getting worse and especially within the construction industry, everything is becomeing very tight and very stressfull, and i suppose i am looking to reduce that, it that means moving to find it, well im willing to give it a go, i dont want to regret not going!

Andy

scottishstacey

Hey andy, welcome to the forum, i've not been on long either. Fellow scot here too what do you do in the construction industry? my OH is a excavator/plant operator. I've heard fulton hogan are a good company so you should be fine with them

andyjmcm

im a project manager stacey for road surfacing and road construction works. you said you where new to this forum, have you already emigrated to NZ or are you like myself and still contimplating the move??

Andy

scottishstacey

No we're just thinking of moving. At first we were going to australia but we've found it so difficult to find a sponsor for dave's job so we're going to try NZ. NZ was actually my first choice but then we had a look at wages between the two. We'll just have to see if we can find a job offer, going to try all the big guys like Fulton hogan, downer and hawkins. Hopefully get some good news!

I'd like to live on the North Island but i've got a feeling the most likely job offer he would get would be for christchurch. Have you thought more about your move to Invercargill?

e4ebs

Hi Andy

I've lived in Southland for 2.5 years now - in Invercargill for two years. I think Jo gave an excellent summary of Invercargill.

Although people comparing it to the North Island talk about the weather being colder etc. - it's better than the UK - and brighter too. I have to say I can't remember many 'dull' days like in the UK.

You will need to combat your shy-ness just a little; try to make conversation with everyone you meet. People down here are generally VERY friendly and open. Best advice I can give is to join a club - whatever you're interested in - there will be a club for it - there are clubs for everything!!!

Do you have any more specific questions? Happy to help anyway I can!

DandJMay

HAA HAA HAA How true about the clubs, did you know there is an Invercargill Herb Society and you can learn to play the bag pipes