It just got real
 

After a couple of years of set backs and planning it has just got real, overnight my job offer landed in inbox so the wheels are now in motion. I will be heading to the Whangarei area for an Instrumentation Technician post.
First thing we need to do is get medicals and police certs, then start the visa process
It will not be quite in at the deep end as my sister and family plus my mum are already out there all be it the other side of Auckland in Mt Maunganui. so I have somewhere to "land" and sort out a car, bank account and tax number before heading up to the Northland

Interesting times ahead....

Re: It just got real
 

Very many congrats .

Love it when there is good news. :thumbsup:

Re: It just got real
 

Congrats!

Exciting times ahead.
I like how you say Mt. Mt M is the 'other side' of Auckland Ha Ha!!! Getting to the other side from Auckland airport taking at least 2.5 hrs and from the cbd at least 3 hrs non stop driving at the speed limit.
We love it here in Tauranga / Mt. M. You'll never wanna leave, although Whangarei is a pretty nice place from what I can gather. Visited a few times on my travels up and down to Northland.

All the best.

Re: It just got real
 

Hope its all you expect it to be

Re: It just got real
 

Thanks for your replies. I realise I was being a bit flippant about distances and have both driven from Manakau to Tauranga via Waihi and taken the bus back to the airport via Hamilton.
Tauranga is nice but with the influx of Jafugees the prices are going crazy in that area and there isn't particularly a lot of work for me in that area(ex power industry E, C&I tech). On doing my research before the move I found that even for instrumentation work employers were wanting electrical registration. I used GBCT in London to do the EWRB regs and practical which I passed with flying colours, only to be knocked back at the registration stage as the EWRB did not consider my HNC to have enough electrical content, although the proof of apprenticeship and employers work history was accepted. To that end I undertook a distance learning C&G 2365 level 3 course which satisfied their requirements and my registration was accepted in May this year.
I decided to have a look on seek to see what work was about and saw an electrical company with multiple vacancies up in Whangarei, and had interviews for 2 positions of which I was successful in getting the Instrument Tech post.

Re: It just got real
 

Yep you got that right. The prices for property here (both buying and renting) is getting ridiculous. So glad we got out of the renting game 18 months ago after buying a section and building our own and it's awesome to see that investment growing astronomically.
Also agree there isn't much work for ex. power industry E's in the BOP. You're a bit restricted to Trustpower if you wanna work in Tauranga or Horizon, Powerco, Northpower if you wanna get in to working for one of the network companies / contracting divisions who operate in the BOP but your office could be Auckland/Hamilton or Whakatane. I've contemplated one of those moves, was offered but decided against it. I'm ex. UK power industry E with 25 years experience from the UK and 7 years this side. Still in the game and have to commute to Hamilton.
I was lucky in respect to the EWRB registration. It was mentioned by Immigration when I applied for RV, but after an in depth discussion with them it was decided that my speciality doesn't involve the public in any way, shape or form so they told me I didn't need to be registered.

Re: It just got real
 

It was another step closer yesterday as Mandy and I went for our visa medicals and chest X-rays. The 2 closest Panel Physicians were Birmingham or Manchester. As the Mcr one was city centre, we opted for the Brum one as it is at Sutton Coldfield, so a relatively straight forward drive for us from near Lincoln. The Spire Little Aston Hospital was pretty good, not much hanging round, with friendly and polite staff.

Re: It just got real
 

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you. We are in a similar position as I have a job offer, all the checks and paperwork completed and the visa is currently with NZ Immigration (hopefully) being processed.

Re: It just got real
 

The Work visas were lodged today, so another step closer. :)

Re: It just got real
 

just out of courtesy
how much did you guys pay for your medicals?

Re: It just got real
 

As I said above, I used The Spire Little Aston Hospital in Sutton Coldfield. They charged £425 per person. I cant say how this compares with other clinics but this was the most conveniently located one for our needs so I didn't ask for prices from London or Manchester

Re: It just got real
 

Hi Chris,

I just stumbled across your thread here.

We are looking to make the move to Whangarei too :)
I completed everything at GBCT last month, have already been approved for limited license as a line mechanic by EWRB and awaiting the regs exam result to apply for practicing license as sparky, all other paperwork they've accepted.

Our house goes on the market in a couple of weeks, then we start panicking lol.. I just yesterday applied for a job for the first time, we'll see how that goes.
Having family out there must be a huge relief for you, we'll be going blind with the kids having never been, ideally we'll make a visit first but we'd love to ge out there this side of Christmas, only time will tell.

Have you been to Whangarei before? Do you have any info regarding good / bad areas, perhaps from your family members already there?

Thanks in advance, and good luck with the move over :) Exciting times ahead!!!


Rob

Re: It just got real
 

Hi Rob,
I haven't been to Whangarei before, from looking at the population, although it is classed as a city it is comparable with a medium-large town over here. Using Wikipedia, population wise as a comparison local to me it is about the same size as Grantham.
As I have the job offer, I will be coming out in advance of my partner, as she has 3 months notice to work and deal with the house sale and shippers. This means I will probably end up in B&B or motel for a while until I find a rental property before Mandy arrives. We are not townies, so will be looking for something semi rural.
How did you feel you did with the regs exam? To say that my background was power stations rather than domestic/commercial. I was pleasantly surprised to find I had aced it 96% I even got "my name in lights" on the EWRB web site lol!

Re: It just got real
 

We're from the midlands, Northampton.. So not too worried about the big city living, but realistically looking to be 15-20 minutes or so out of town slightly rural maybe?, or just on the outskirts with local amenities etc.. in any case, WE'd like to be reasonably close to, or right on the coast :)
I mentioned moving over prior to my family as you are to get settled first, my gf wouldn't be happy sorting out the sale of the house etc, but if we are renting prior to going it might be a viable option, the idea of having everything set up here ready for them is good, but not travelling together and arriving together is the downside to this i guess.

The regs exam went well, I'm confident in a pass as I spent lots of time studying, and Michael at GBCT was really helpful with plenty of revision stuff sent to me to work through and completing practice exams with him.. well don't on the 96%, thats a great score!!

Re: It just got real
 

Whangarei is pretty cool. Have visited a few times on our travels around Northland. It isn't big by any stretch of the imagination, but that goes for the majority of the cities in NZ which, as you say only compare to large towns in the UK. Even the likes of Wellington, Hamilton, Christchurch etc - all pretty compact. Auckland is the largest and it is so spread out and covers such a large area.

Good luck with the move.

Re: It just got real
 

Things are really speeding up, from the visa applications being lodged on the 20th July, I got an email last night to say my work visa had been approved.
Just 12 days to process it, eek, panic mode now as I still have some loose ends to tie up here before I can fly out.
My EOI is being submitted in the next few days so it should be in the next draw from the pool.

Re: It just got real
 

Well I arrived in New Zealand on the 23rd Aug and had 10 days with my sister, sorted out my bank account, got my IRD number and bought a van for transport. I am now up in the Northland at Whangerei, 3 days into my new job. I am currently in a motel and looking for a rental property for when my partner comes out to join me. Not terribly impressed with the letting agents and the very few places that will accept a pet.

Re: It just got real
 

hope the time with your sister was good, as for rentals yes they do seem to have problems with letting to people with dogs, just say to the agent that you will obviously have all the carpet professionally cleaned when you leave, it may help?

Re: It just got real
 

Some people offer to double the deposit because they have a dog i.e. as much again because of the dog. Usual story, money talks.

Re: It just got real
 

I got lucky, I found a listing for a house in a quiet out of town area that was good for transport to work. The online application was a bit of a faf, got a call back on Friday and viewed the same afternoon. Had a call back yesterday, further chat with the owner and it looks like I have been successful. :)

Re: It just got real
 

Well done, all that's left is the small matter of actually moving in !