bellebellec1

Hi all

We have just arrived in Christchurch & looking to introduce ourselves and hopefully meet some other newbies around Christchurch area. We are a family of 3 (we have a 3yr old son) and we arrived on Monday 3rd June. My husband decided he wanted to work overseas some years ago so we had decided to emigrate but initially we were headed to Australia - mainly because we have spent alot of time there and have family & friends in Aus. But my husband had also spent time travelling in NZ and thought it might suit our lifestyle better than Aus, so early this year we changed tack and decided to try and find him a job in NZ. We have been very lucky as he has a specific skill which was in demand in ChCh, so he was able to secure a job via 2 phone calls. This happened in beginning of May, we left UK on 26th May and arrived here in ChCh on Monday!! This has been the most stressful few weeks of our lives but fortunately we sold our property last year and were able to move very quickly. Getting medicals & xrays in Uk with less than a week notice was very tricky but we managed it somehow..
As this was so fast, we lodged visas onshore this week, so now have to wait for the visa to be processed before OH can start work.
Now we are on a mission to find a rental in ChCh, which is looking like a bit of a needle in haystack situation but we have the visa processing time to sort this out.

Would love to hear from any other guys in Christchurch and we will be at the next available meet up!

Mark Smith

Welcome to Christchurch and New Zealand! Get on Trademe and have a look at some properties, they move fast! Its worth checking a couple of times a day. There are a few of us knocking around chch and people on here are generally very helpful.

Boopy

Welcome to NZ & best wishes for your new life in CHCH

chippy64

Welcome to ChCh . Hope you've got your thermals at the ready as it's going to be rather cold . Where are you staying at the moment?

bellebellec1

Thanks guys for the help & welcoming wishes, trade me is my new best friend !!! and fortunately we have been given a relocation agent who is busy tapping up agents for us, but boy stuff goes quick and alot of applications. One property (that the reloc agent tried to get for a brit couple recently had 25 applications!!!!!)


ah the cold doesnt bother us, we have lived in the Alps at 2500m before so Christchurch is a bit warmer, we are just hanging out waiting for the ski fields to open!!!!! We are in Parklands until tomorrow, then moving to the CBD for 4 weeks, after that a perm house (assuming we can find one!!!, but we are fairly open minded on areas...

chippy64

I am in Parklands! I really like it here - near the beach and forest, a lovely little library (which has lots of stuff going on for children and a fab cafe too), Post Office, Supermarket, gym, parks, great coffee shop (The Naked Baker) and parks. The number 7 is a great bus route - every 15 mins, to Palms and Central Bus Station.
Good luck with the house hunt. Use your 4 weeks to get an idea of what area you like and if it will work for you.

ChrisWilson7

Welcome to Christchurch! Hope you guys settle quickly and all of your initial admin goes through easily and smoothly.

The ski fields are already open thanks to snow a week or two ago, so knock yourselves out! Apparently Mt Hutt is good, though I have never skied myself so it is the recommendation of a friend.

I should add I have been in Christchurch 2 months, it is a really nice place to be even with the obvious earthquake-related mess in places (enjoy the roadworks and do not rely on your sat nav, it will lose!). Have fun and if I can help let me know.

chc4me

Welcome to Christchurch BelleBelle. Wow sounds like you had a hectic few weeks!! Christchurch is a great place with a great lifestyle. If you know where to look, there are heaps of things to do. With a 3 year old, you might like to know that many local community groups run Music and coffee mornings, a good chance to meet others in a friendly environment. Your husband might like to consider joining Freemasons to meet others and form a network of friends.
Wishing you every success in your new city

bellebellec1

Thanks to both of you - Chris we left the sat nav in the UK, we wanted to add to the fun of exploring by using maps!!!!(already discovered roads closed and works - but then thats the reason we are here) My OH is going to be working for a consultancy but seconded into ChCh council which I think is in the CBD, so we have been driving about all over the city checking our sites and offices!!!

chc4me - thanks for the advice on community groups, I will check this out once we are a bit more settled!

Tom1983

Kia Ora!

Welcome to the roadwork capital of the world

Good luck finding rentals by the way. I would also look at gumtree, realestate.co.nz as well as trademe. Prepare to spend a fair whack on a property, we're lucky we've signed the dotted line for another year at our place. We'll have the fun of house hunting next year

What job has your husband got? Good luck with yourself if you're going to try and find a job. Debbie, my wife and a few others can vouch it's almost mission impossible. There could be 20,000 jobs going within your skillset - look forward to how many interviews you'll get

If your on facebook, sign up to New Kiwis Christchurch. Please put your first post that you are offering some product for sale. Mark Smith will give you advice on products if required

Feel free to ask, we're a friendly bunch down here.

shocked kiwi

Good luck - one idea is to ask the locals - friends of friends etc, as its through these connections you will get to know about places that are going up for rent. Eg my sister that lives in chch has a granny flat attached to their garage and they didn't even have to advertise - a british guy was door knocking looking for a place so they let the flat to him without even having to advertise.

Look a bit further out of the city area too - out Tai Tapu way or even toward Little River which is approx 1 - 1.5 hours drive from the city. A lot of locals would never drive what they consider too far for a commute to live out there, but at only an hour - its not that far by world standards. You can still get a semi-rural type existance that way but commute to the city - might be cheaper but I'm guessing.

JennyV

Welcome to Christchurch bellebelle, it's a great place to be We've been here since Jan 2012 and have a 3 year old son too (as well as a 1yr old and 5yr old!). My husband has been on secondment since we arrived too, 18 months on and he still hasn't worked for his actual company We live in St Albans, just north of the CBD, nice area to live in, lots of parks etc. Let me know if you fancy a coffee, and a playmate for your son, I know what it's like to arrive with kids and not knowing anyone!

Tom1983

Good advice Shocked Kiwi

You would get more for your money rentwise if you look out of Christchurch. Kaipoi, Rangiora are only a few minutes drive away from Christchurch and you can experience what they call a motorway here. Honestly it's so much fun to drive

Mark Smith

What's this weeks special I wonder???

bellebellec1

Hi JennyV, thanks for this I will pm you once we are a bit more sorted if thats ok, just moved to CBD today, but we also applied for a house in Sumner today so might be moving again very soon!! Would really like to meet up with you though so will be in touch soon!