An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
Dec 5th 2012, 11:23 pm
#16
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Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Posts: 2,744
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
Fair comment.
Dec 5th 2012, 11:25 pm
#17
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Joined: May 2008
Location: Up in dem hills.........
Posts: 1,458
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
I not in any way implying criticism of anyone that takes the same profession here, you do not have to do anything radically different to enjoy living here.
Just in the case I highlighted, the reality was a long way off from the expectation, Especially if you don't do anything to move toward that expectation.
Just in the case I highlighted, the reality was a long way off from the expectation, Especially if you don't do anything to move toward that expectation.
Dec 5th 2012, 11:31 pm
#18
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Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Posts: 2,744
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
Interesting points raised
I think what the OP has highlighted is some of the misconceptions or down right fantasy ideals that people think is going to happen when you emigrate.
A good example was a guy I used to work with in Auckland, he had been here over ten years and worked as a service engineer, looking after industrial machinery all round Auckland. Pretty much exactly the same thing he did when he was in the UK, except it was in Leeds. His life was pretty much the same and he complained....a lot.
Eventually I got round to asking him why he came to NZ,
"the wife and I wanted a new start in life"
"Ok, so is this what you imagined?" (We were in East Tamaki)
"No, we wanted to have a orchard on the South Island, around Nelson"
"Oh, sounds cool, why didn't you?"
"This job came up."
"Oh, did you ever go to Nelson?"
"Nah, been to Raglan though"
And there you have it. You do all the hard work of moving halfway round the world, just to do the same thing you did back at home.
I think what the OP has highlighted is some of the misconceptions or down right fantasy ideals that people think is going to happen when you emigrate.
A good example was a guy I used to work with in Auckland, he had been here over ten years and worked as a service engineer, looking after industrial machinery all round Auckland. Pretty much exactly the same thing he did when he was in the UK, except it was in Leeds. His life was pretty much the same and he complained....a lot.
Eventually I got round to asking him why he came to NZ,
"the wife and I wanted a new start in life"
"Ok, so is this what you imagined?" (We were in East Tamaki)
"No, we wanted to have a orchard on the South Island, around Nelson"
"Oh, sounds cool, why didn't you?"
"This job came up."
"Oh, did you ever go to Nelson?"
"Nah, been to Raglan though"
And there you have it. You do all the hard work of moving halfway round the world, just to do the same thing you did back at home.
One of my comments re: emigrate/don't emigrate is that you don't have to leave the country to start a new career. Someone can emigrate in their own head i.e. change their thought processes to make a positive change in their lives.
Last edited by Snap Shot; Dec 5th 2012 at 11:37 pm.
Dec 6th 2012, 6:52 pm
#19
My word is my bond.
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 75
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
Hi forum, my name is Alex and I have lived in New Zealand since I was 17, in 2005.
Having been here for 7 years, I feel I have become so used to it, that I can give some insight into the positive and negative sides of New Zealand.
When we were first going to move out here, my parents fed me a fantastical story about a land of wonder and beauty. And while there is some truth to that, it doesn't paint the full picture.
The main advantage New Zealand has is the weather, which obviously is a lot better than that of the UK. This is especially true for people who like to do a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, watersports etc, itself a great place for that. Be warned though, this is not Australia, not even close. Mid 20's is what you get for the most part.
The other main advantage is the laid back atmosphere. While this does tend to get exaggerated quite a bit, it is true that work tends to be less stressful, and you will have a more laid back lifestyle. Again though, for some people this might actually be a disadvantage, especially if you are an ambitious and productive person. An example of this would be a company that is satisfied easily, and doesn't take on board suggestions of how to improve productivity. Most frustrating.
One more advantage is the relative safety of the environment, to bring up children and things like that. However in my experience this is relative. If you moved from the lake district to South Auckland, obviously SA is more dangerous, dirty and horrible. So generally this is in relation to moving from inner city UK to small town NZ.
Ok and now for the negatives.
First and foremost is the isolation. You are not only a long way from your family, you are a long way from..... Everything. It's going to cost you a minimum of 2000 dollars to get off this island for a holiday, and even then I sure hope you like Australia, because that's where you will be going. If you are a person who likes to explore the different cultures that Europe and North Africa has to offer, you can forget anything like that, unless you want to spend an extortionate amount you are limited to Australasia. And it gets old, real fast. Culture in general is in short supply, world class musical acts and sports events don't come here very often, so I hope you like rugby and kiwi music a lot.
The second disadvantage applies only to small town New Zealand, Auckland is a little bit better. And that is making friends and meeting people. Kiwis have a reputation for being a friendly, open and welcoming people, and I'm not sure where this has come from. I have a good group of friends, but fitting in is hard. Most kiwis I have met in the last 7 years are happy to hang round with the people they went to school with, and aren't fussed about meeting new people, or doing anything other than drink at the weekends. It may seem a generalising statement, but it's what I have found. You need to be very persistent to make any friends. Auckland is different because it's more open minded, I made friends easy there.
So really that's all there is to it. It can be a great place, but it might not be the paradise you have in your mind.
I would advise NZ to married couples with very young children, I would advise younger people under the age of 40 to consider alternative options like Australia or the states, as you will get bored here.
If anyone has any questions, ask away
Having been here for 7 years, I feel I have become so used to it, that I can give some insight into the positive and negative sides of New Zealand.
When we were first going to move out here, my parents fed me a fantastical story about a land of wonder and beauty. And while there is some truth to that, it doesn't paint the full picture.
The main advantage New Zealand has is the weather, which obviously is a lot better than that of the UK. This is especially true for people who like to do a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, watersports etc, itself a great place for that. Be warned though, this is not Australia, not even close. Mid 20's is what you get for the most part.
The other main advantage is the laid back atmosphere. While this does tend to get exaggerated quite a bit, it is true that work tends to be less stressful, and you will have a more laid back lifestyle. Again though, for some people this might actually be a disadvantage, especially if you are an ambitious and productive person. An example of this would be a company that is satisfied easily, and doesn't take on board suggestions of how to improve productivity. Most frustrating.
One more advantage is the relative safety of the environment, to bring up children and things like that. However in my experience this is relative. If you moved from the lake district to South Auckland, obviously SA is more dangerous, dirty and horrible. So generally this is in relation to moving from inner city UK to small town NZ.
Ok and now for the negatives.
First and foremost is the isolation. You are not only a long way from your family, you are a long way from..... Everything. It's going to cost you a minimum of 2000 dollars to get off this island for a holiday, and even then I sure hope you like Australia, because that's where you will be going. If you are a person who likes to explore the different cultures that Europe and North Africa has to offer, you can forget anything like that, unless you want to spend an extortionate amount you are limited to Australasia. And it gets old, real fast. Culture in general is in short supply, world class musical acts and sports events don't come here very often, so I hope you like rugby and kiwi music a lot.
The second disadvantage applies only to small town New Zealand, Auckland is a little bit better. And that is making friends and meeting people. Kiwis have a reputation for being a friendly, open and welcoming people, and I'm not sure where this has come from. I have a good group of friends, but fitting in is hard. Most kiwis I have met in the last 7 years are happy to hang round with the people they went to school with, and aren't fussed about meeting new people, or doing anything other than drink at the weekends. It may seem a generalising statement, but it's what I have found. You need to be very persistent to make any friends. Auckland is different because it's more open minded, I made friends easy there.
So really that's all there is to it. It can be a great place, but it might not be the paradise you have in your mind.
I would advise NZ to married couples with very young children, I would advise younger people under the age of 40 to consider alternative options like Australia or the states, as you will get bored here.
If anyone has any questions, ask away
Your post is an interesting one in that it confirms my belief that sucess in NZ can depend on the life you had before you arrived and to certain extent your age. NZ can be a very mundane and boring place at times especially for 17 - 24 year olds - an age group that you have been in since your arrival.
For an old-ish fart like me (50 next year!!) that has been around the world more times than a satelitte, that has seen and been just about everywhere that he wanted to go and that has ticked just about every item on his bucket list......NZ was just the ticket.
As an old fart I wanted to settle in a place that I felt safe, a place that was easy on the eye, reasonably easy on the pocket and where I could grow older gracefully. Like you I have been here 7 years and it has not always been easy but generally I feel I made the right decision.
If I were in your shoes - a much younger person with a huge life wishlist and youthful ambitions, then I would have to explore as many options that this wonderful world has to offer.
Best of luck with your journey Alex
Dec 17th 2012, 6:52 am
#20
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Porirua, Wellington
Posts: 207
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
We left our son behind (he's 23). He came on holiday and found it dull and I can understand that.
Kayaking, cycling, dining out, peace and quiet, sun, sea, sand...it's our idea of heaven but not his. Understandable.
I would argue that it's easy to make friends here though - Wellington is full of 40-something empty nesters who like a vino.
We've been here nearly two years and had 23 people at our barbie...two of them were expats.
Kayaking, cycling, dining out, peace and quiet, sun, sea, sand...it's our idea of heaven but not his. Understandable.
I would argue that it's easy to make friends here though - Wellington is full of 40-something empty nesters who like a vino.
We've been here nearly two years and had 23 people at our barbie...two of them were expats.
Dec 17th 2012, 12:02 pm
#21
Banned
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
Hi all, I am glad to see both sides of the coin when it comes to living in NZ. I had previously seen the ENZ expat forum and thought that site to be a little ridiculous as all the comments were positive and rosey as if all the negative comments had been removed in order to beef up the NZ image. On the other habd there is another site which gives nothing but bad comments, both in my opinion are a waste of time if you are moving to NZ. You need to know that not everything is paradise but also if NZ is your thing then great.
Dec 17th 2012, 11:11 pm
#22
221b Baker Street
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Miles from anywhere, Victoria, Australia.
Posts: 14,125
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
Hi all, I am glad to see both sides of the coin when it comes to living in NZ. I had previously seen the ENZ expat forum and thought that site to be a little ridiculous as all the comments were positive and rosey as if all the negative comments had been removed in order to beef up the NZ image. On the other habd there is another site which gives nothing but bad comments, both in my opinion are a waste of time if you are moving to NZ. You need to know that not everything is paradise but also if NZ is your thing then great.
Dec 18th 2012, 1:11 am
#23
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: location location
Posts: 290
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
1. http://www.enz.org is happy slappy. if you're not orgasmic about NZ it gets deleted.
2. Expatexposed,you have to wonder how these people occupy their days?! Ok if you're stuck,if not get the ***** out. Most are sad cases from what I can see.
3. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/new...g-new-zealand/
Not looked into it a lot,reasonable enough,fairly balanced
4. This one !! Full of unbalanced nutters (me included) which equates to a fairly balanced viewpoint almost always part of the time.
2. Expatexposed,you have to wonder how these people occupy their days?! Ok if you're stuck,if not get the ***** out. Most are sad cases from what I can see.
3. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/new...g-new-zealand/
Not looked into it a lot,reasonable enough,fairly balanced
4. This one !! Full of unbalanced nutters (me included) which equates to a fairly balanced viewpoint almost always part of the time.
Dec 18th 2012, 1:21 am
#24
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,787
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
1. http://www.enz.org is happy slappy. if you're not orgasmic about NZ it gets deleted.
2. Expatexposed,you have to wonder how these people occupy their days?! Ok if you're stuck,if not get the ***** out. Most are sad cases from what I can see.
3. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/new...g-new-zealand/
Not looked into it a lot,reasonable enough,fairly balanced
4. This one !! Full of unbalanced nutters (me included) which equates to a fairly balanced viewpoint almost always part of the time.
2. Expatexposed,you have to wonder how these people occupy their days?! Ok if you're stuck,if not get the ***** out. Most are sad cases from what I can see.
3. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/new...g-new-zealand/
Not looked into it a lot,reasonable enough,fairly balanced
4. This one !! Full of unbalanced nutters (me included) which equates to a fairly balanced viewpoint almost always part of the time.
Dec 18th 2012, 1:46 am
#25
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: location location
Posts: 290
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
I can take a hint though (where is it ?)
Last edited by Droidling; Dec 18th 2012 at 1:51 am.
Dec 18th 2012, 2:10 am
#26
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,787
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
http://www.*****.co.uk/
Well it don't appear to work?? This is what it says on the site as follows :-
WELCOME TO *****
The friendly and fun New Zealand immigration Forum and British Expats Chat site.
We aim to provide you with everything that you may need to know about emigrating, finding work and living in New Zealand.
Site Currently offline
Sorry, but ***** is currently offline.
The site was recently dropped without warning by our hosting company, but we will rebuild!
***** will be back up and running very soon, so please keep checking this space
).- Mike
Last edited by love30stm; Dec 18th 2012 at 2:14 am.
Dec 18th 2012, 2:25 am
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: location location
Posts: 290
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
No I mean what happened to it?? This is the link been like this for a while
http://www.*****.co.uk/
Well it don't appear to work?? This is what it says on the site as follows :-
WELCOME TO *****
The friendly and fun New Zealand immigration Forum and British Expats Chat site.
We aim to provide you with everything that you may need to know about emigrating, finding work and living in New Zealand.
Site Currently offline
Sorry, but ***** is currently offline.
The site was recently dropped without warning by our hosting company, but we will rebuild!
***** will be back up and running very soon, so please keep checking this space).
- Mike
http://www.*****.co.uk/
Well it don't appear to work?? This is what it says on the site as follows :-
WELCOME TO *****
The friendly and fun New Zealand immigration Forum and British Expats Chat site.
We aim to provide you with everything that you may need to know about emigrating, finding work and living in New Zealand.
Site Currently offline
Sorry, but ***** is currently offline.
The site was recently dropped without warning by our hosting company, but we will rebuild!
***** will be back up and running very soon, so please keep checking this space
).- Mike
Dec 18th 2012, 10:12 am
#29
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,967
Re: An honest opinion on New Zealand for people thinking of moving here
No I mean what happened to it?? This is the link been like this for a while
http://www.*****.co.uk/
Well it don't appear to work?? This is what it says on the site as follows :-
WELCOME TO *****
The friendly and fun New Zealand immigration Forum and British Expats Chat site.
We aim to provide you with everything that you may need to know about emigrating, finding work and living in New Zealand.
Site Currently offline
Sorry, but ***** is currently offline.
The site was recently dropped without warning by our hosting company, but we will rebuild!
***** will be back up and running very soon, so please keep checking this space).
- Mike
http://www.*****.co.uk/
Well it don't appear to work?? This is what it says on the site as follows :-
WELCOME TO *****
The friendly and fun New Zealand immigration Forum and British Expats Chat site.
We aim to provide you with everything that you may need to know about emigrating, finding work and living in New Zealand.
Site Currently offline
Sorry, but ***** is currently offline.
The site was recently dropped without warning by our hosting company, but we will rebuild!
***** will be back up and running very soon, so please keep checking this space
).- Mike
