johnnos

have been here nearly 4 weeks- in house in crown hill
family of six-- 2 of which started campbells bay school today
all amazing , so many beaches/playgrounds
reality hitting more now - we're no longer just on holiday ! job in college hill, etc etc

would be nice to catch up with other newbies/oldies on the shore....

dave, cat et al

Rachie B

Hi Dave, Cat and fam..

Glad to hear your enjoying it out there. We're moving to North Shore area in October 07 with 2 little uns. Did you find it easy to find a place to rent? and how did you decide on which part of North Shore to live? We are moving to the area as we hope its family friendly, close to the countryside, and we like the idea of having a big city nearby.

cheers,
Rachie B

johnnos

Hi Rachie
Nice to hear from you!
We actually bought over the net - crazy eh?! but we did loads of research about areas first and have an aunt who lives on the shore who viewed for us and it's worked out really well...but TradeMe and RealEstate NZ sites do rentals as well as local papers. We started off with the book 'Where To Live In Auckland' - check out their site + guide can be ordered over net easily. It gave us a good feel - plus we checked out ex-pat site threads on the shore as you're doing and schools (good section in book above) - basically from what we can see the shore is very family orientated and there are plenty of places where you won't go wrong to choose e.g Milford/Crown Hill, the East Coast Bays, Takapuna, Devonport etc
the beaches are fantastic here plus awesome sea views and excellent playgrounds about every km! our girls' school looks over the ocean and has fantastic facilities that put the uk to shame (loads of good schools on the shore by the way - not sure if yours are school age tho')
Hope this helps and let us know how you're doing!
Cat and Dave and littlies!

Jack The Lad

Welcome to the site

Just yell if you need any help

justdreaming

Hi everyone, I have been reading some of the posts with great interest this morning. We had originally thought of going to Canada, but have been seriously put off by the ridiculous waiting time to get in. How long is the waiting time for NZ ? I would like to know how the cost of living, health, education etc compares to the UK, (although I am pretty sure it's got to be better!). We have 4 children 9,14,17, & 19, can anyone with children let me know how they settled into such a change in lifestyle - I'd like to hear the good bits & the bad ! Does anyone know the job situation around the Bay of Plenty - my husband is a youth worker who also teaches motorcycle mechanics.
It seems clear that many of us are desperate to leave the UK, we too would like to leave for the same reasons as everyone else, the UK is on a downhill slide.
Sorry this has been such a long post, but there are so many questions to ask !!
Thanks.

Avid

Let them know what time you are coming and they'll put the key under the mat.

You know, your chances of having a happy life in New Zealand might be increased if you were coming here because a) you actually liked New Zealand for itself and didn't just hate the UK, b) you wanted to live here not just because Canada is full.

Seriously, if you met a person who told you they wanted to come to England because Germany takes too long and Poland is rubbish, what would you tell them?

justdreaming

Hi, to the person who took the time to answer my post on New Zealand. Unfortunately you have completely misinterpreted my questions on NZ. We originally looked to re-locate there about 4 years ago, but as I have family in Canada we thought perhaps we should go there. Our circumstances changed so we are now in a better position to look at our original plan. I was only asking for general info, & should not have to justify my reasons for being interested in a country that I know is wonderful - we have friends there. As to the comment about the UK, most people know what this country is turning into. It is not wrong to want to provide a better, more secure future for your family. I am sorry if you felt my reasons are not right, but I can assure you that I have been researching & thinking very carefully about the possibility of making such a life changing move.

Avid

Fair enough. Your reasons are just as valid as anyone elses. But I still think what I said is valid too, it does help to want to live in a place, not just use it to escape from somewhere! If you want to hear all the 'bad' things about NZ you should search around the 'Returning to the UK' section of this site. It has some interesting viewpoints from people who are heading back. Statistics seem to show that about 40% of people who move to NZ/OZ return to the UK in 2 years so its wise to discover all the potential bad things in advance. The good things are rather more obvious!

garryhg

Hi Johnnos....We're moving out in July (me, wife & 2 Kids). We have heard so much about the North Shore and think this is where we will settle.

Could you advise me on good schools in the area? This will then assist me on where to settle.

Many Thanks

Garry & Family

Jack The Lad

Might be there same time as you guys

To be honest January would be better

Have you thought of the Hibiscus Coast?

jonesey

We arrived on the north shore in late Oct 06, this is our second journey to the Land of the Long White Cloud...Our first journey to these shores lasted 2 years and we returned to UK for family reasons and to cut a short story after 2 years in Lincoln we were lucky to gain PR and return to NZ in uniform with the RNZAF. We started the return journey and started a THREAD which is interesting for most of us and continues on with other hopeful Poms making the transition soon themselves. Take a look under:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...nzaf+transfers

This thread has all the questions and all the answers from families who have made the journey, to those who still have to make the transition.
We have answered the Negative and the Positive and we are still only 7 months in on the shore, we Didn't come here with "Rose Tinted Glasses" and transition for us back to a way of life in Kiwi Forces uniform from the RAF takes some settling in. But we are sure even from doing 2 years as a civvy in the financial CBD of Auckland and living in Devonport you can make the adjustment if you stay focussed about why lifestyle, there are + and - in all that we do. You are bound to miss some creature comforts of good old blighty, but now in hindsight we for the moment at least have no regrets moving to a country which can offer such scenery and beauty. We still work very much the same as we did in UK, but come the weekend we now transform into parents that do much more with our kids out of the normal practices we were so used to in UK. Rather than go to Asda's on a Saturday and get bogged down with shopping and normal run of the mill traffic congestion, we now find time to get it done in the weekday late at night and keep the weekend free for the beach or lifestyle....

Take a look at the thread and maybe you can gain a better perspective from others, hope this helps.

Mick

johnnos

jack--
looks like you got approvals as quick as we got ours

i like your + ive/ down to eath attitude

lots of threads boring with the +/- ive slants going on and on

big problem we have realised is our mortgage is too much and after 1 month we need to get cheaper place , still in same area in north shore auckland
suckers eh for school zone and nearby beaches, but we may need adjust to keep all that good for our kids !!

later gater

dave

where are you in nz??

johnnos

Hi

campbells bay is where our eldest 2 have started --amazing place for a primary
rangitoto college and westlake schools for secondary ages

you pay on house price to get in to a zone in the Shore --look at the where to live in auckland book--it gives all the school ratings/decile -- many like you to contribute as they get the facilities that way more than through government ( opposite in south auckland)
but you dont have to

we may need to move already!!

lower east coast bays expensive-- but brilliant if you get a place, sunnynook/glenfield cheaper

dave

Jack The Lad

Not there yet mate. End of the year maybe sooner

Just researching the areas now