RobClubley

Oops sorry, dodgy copy and paste. Can't edit now either

Tom1983

a) how has life changed for you?
Marriage, new born - quite a few changes since we arrived 2 years ago. Added another club championship to the golf trophy collections. I'd say the wife is very happy now. The big change is becoming parents, no more late nights, no more megathon drinking sessons etc etc

b) has it just stayed the same but different scenary?
Unsure what you mean?

c) has it changed financially
At the moment, yes! Imagine living in London with a kid and no child benefit. That's how it is for us. It will get better once we stop having to send money over to England and become residents so that we can get tax credits and hours free at the nursery. Until then, more months of struggle and last week of desperation for pay day.

d) how did you find the transition from UK to NZ
Very easy. The wife wanted to have a life away since she was getting fed up of what we were seeing in Barking. I was deeply unhappy in England and was desperate to get out. To us NZ has similar characteristics but much more laid back. 20 minute car journeys to work, not being in a rat race etc. We're also very impressed with the birthing system here. Then again, given the horror stories of Queens Hospital in Romford, anywhere would be better

e) how did your children take to the move.
Our son wasn't born then

f) the weather is it different from the UK.....really?
Yes! 5 minutes outside in the Christchurch sun and you'll be sunburned. Winters generally much more midler.

g) How easy it was it to make friends?
Wife made friends at work and then we met up with a couple off here. Wife now has plenty of mums and bubs, I have a group at the golf club. Depends on the type of person you are I suppose. Just to warn you, whilst the Kiwis come across very friendly, that is true but don't try to get too close. That's when they distance themselves

shocked kiwi

Life has changed drastically for me - I can no longer afford to travel as the uk is closer to everywhere, from Nz it is very isolated and expensive and once you are earning Nz dollars you are at a disadvantage due to the exchange rate.

Financially I am not doing so well - living costs in Nz are high so you do need to be on a very high wage to cover your basic living costs- Auckland is now one of the most expensive cities in the world for houses but if you are coming from the uk is might be ok. Groceries are very expensive here - I don't honestly know how some families do it.

The weather has extremes here - I am a walker and also find the constant wind a pain in the neck - I get lots of sinus and allergies from the weather in Auckland - however it does get better summers than uk so you can go to the beach sometimes - but it quite wild weather in nz.

It is easy to make friends and if you have kids, nz is very family friendly and there are good schools etc with large grounds and lots of the community is based around schools and school activities so you would meet other parents etc through that.
Lots of people love nz and everyone's situation is different. eg some people said to me - don't move to london - are you mad? and yet I loved everything about it.
Good luck

scrubbedexpat094

a) Husband works just as many hours as he did in the UK & sometimes more but he enjoys his job. We have kayaks, OH has been out fishing (for dinner) & we are heavily involved in our local theatre. I've done various things, such as crewing, making props, helping with dressing the actors, ushering, catering etc.

I really didn't get on with the NZ maternity system, so gave up my job as a midwife 4 years ago. I miss my NHS job. I can't seem to get back into the workforce despite taking courses at my own expense & being well-qualified.

b) The scenery is fabulous & I love living near the sea. However, day-to-day life is much the same.

c) Yes, we are much worse off financially. Only one income & a huge mortgage. In the UK our mortgage was small & would have been paid off by now. We also had two incomes coming in. Life was much cheaper in the UK.

d) We've done it twice. OH has found it easy but then he has lived in NZ & Aussie in his youth. I hated NZ the first time around, coped better this time around (been here for 6.5 years now). I feel torn between the two countries TBH.

e) We've got children Why didn't someone tell me

f) Yes the weather is different. NZ has a maritime climate. Auckland is just teetering on the edge of being in a sub-tropical region. It can be very warm & humid in the summer. Winter is usually very wet, cold & damp. When the sun comes out it can be very warm though. Spring is a mixture of sunny or wet days & often both, as is Autumn. It can get very windy & we can get hit by weather 'bombs' from time to time. You can burn very quickly in the sun & even on a cloudy day, so bring high spf sun cream with you.

g) Living in Pommyparaoa it was very easy to make Brit friends quickly, Kiwis took a wee bit longer but have quite a few now, either through our work or our local theatre that we volunteer at. I don't have friendships like the UK, were friends popped-in for a coffee & I miss that. Everyone seems to make coffee dates here You do have to put yourself 'out there' when you first arrive to make friends. Accept all invitations. Some people you'll get on with, others you won't but you've got to try.

I have very mixed feelings about living in NZ. If I had an enjoyable job & we could afford to build our own home I think I'd find life much better here. Told OH that I didn't want to stay here forever t'other day BUT it is winter & I loathe winter. It always affects my mood. However, not having a job is a real biggy for me. I feel like life is passing me by, when I know I have so much to offer. It's very frustrating.

elk1973

you sound a bit like me here in Dubai. I love Dubai have made lots of friends, but I can't get work, here so financially its not working for us and we will never make a home of it because you can never get proper residency here. so we're coming to NZ. My biggest fear is the weather though. I hate winter anything below 25 is too cold for me, this has been one of the reasons I loved Dubai - mainly the weather.

lapsed kiwi

I think it's important to remember that NZ has some huge variations in climate. For instance, overnight lows in Auckland this week are forecast to be between 7 and 12 C. This is pretty much the same as the overnight lows in Manchester this week. So, if you find Manchester in mid June to be freezing cold at night, you'll feel the same in Auckland, in mid winter.
Personally, I don't own pyjamas or wear anything in bed; I sleep under a warm duvet and have an electric blanket to take the chill off the bed before we get in. I never left the heating on at night in UK, and never do here.
One of the first things we did to our house here was to fit heat pumps; it is now warm and comfortable and we have reasonable power bills.

Posted on wrong thread

Assanah

Oh, it rarely gets over 25 degrees here in Auckland. 24 degrees and windy that is a hot summer day for an Aucklander

elk1973

Really I hate the colder so its going to be difficult for me

MrsFychan

think you need to have a look at the weather sites

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/...:00000.1.93119

not above 17 degrees this week with thunderstorms

jmh

Crikey - having just defended NZ housing (sort of) in the other thread, I'm a bit worried for you. The are quite a few months when the peak temps are below that, even up here in Auckland. Have you considered Australia?

elk1973

well yes we have, Australia is a lot harder to get into as we're not on the skills shortage list, but we are for NZ. Hubby seems to think going to NZ is a good route to OZ.

MrsFychan

Think you have to be in NZ and get Citizenship for that and that takes minimum of 5 years

could be wrong

Perry Groves

We're about to move Auckland in the next month.
I'm interested to know,
a) how has life changed for you? More sun
b) has it just stayed the same but different scenary? sort of
c) has it changed financially No
d) how did you find the transition from UK to NZ easy
e) how did your children take to the move. liked it
f) the weather is it different from the UK.....really? in the BoP yes
g) How easy it was it to make friends? Not so easy