Stormer999

Strangely enough I had to sign the Official Secrets Act prior to leaving the UK....

BucksBoy

As did a friend of mine, I wouldn't of thought a traffic warden would be privy to anything sensitive!

BEVS

You are free to post an update . Everyone simply needs to understand that it will be your own story, not theirs.

Honestly what a repeating record around BE that is. Yet so many seldom heed that.

Those stories don't really reflect on a country en masse, yet those stories do say something about < insert country > country but they don't say ALL about a country or it's entire people. Just a fraction of the whole . Or a favoured viewpoint of a whole .

Bucksboy, you might perhaps think to also post about your return to the UK in the MBTTUK if you are moving back there.

You should also know that you replied to a serial registration . That person was banned . Not for their views but because that person just wanted to wind up other users and posted to flame & dump . It was sad really as they were given a fair old chance. To be clear to all you lot out there , we've also had trolls on the complete other side of the coin too who were also given a fair chance but chose just to dump.

Don't ask me why . I think it is daft.

Tranmere Rover

When we first moved here in 2008, the Global Financial Collapse was just happening. As an economist, I took a keen interest on arrival in the story of Hanover Finance, who had just collapsed losing many (many!) investors their life savings. Hanover was and is a fascinating tale - but that would be a whole other thread, and it's been done over and over on here already. Around the same time, a journalist writing for The Economist in New York by the name of Allan Sloan wrote a now famous article called "House of Junk" which described the Goldman Sachs CDO fund GSAMP Trust 2006-S3. This fund was, as they say on Wall Street, a dog with fleas. But, the point Sloan made was that the information about just how awful it was, was right there, if you bothered to read it. Similarly, with Hanover, and with due apologies to any on here who lost out, but the information was right there. Hanover sold capitalised interest mortgages to property developers. This is as risky as it gets, yet it was all disclosed (admittedly, some activities of Hanover were not so clear-cut, but it looks like the SFO ain't going anywhere there).

The point I'm making is this: life isn't a kindergarten, and the World doesn't care about us. It has nothing **against** us, it just doesn't **care* about us. So, if you're going to doing anything so huge as investing your life savings, or emigrating, you need to read up and do your homework. There's lots you need to understand up-front before you commit. And, like the poor old Hanover investors - if you don't do your homework, don't come crying for help later when it doesn't work out like you'd hoped.

As for BucksBoy, I am sorry whenever I hear someone's plans haven't worked out - I've been there! - but learn from the experience, look before you leap and, God forbid, if you find yourself in an unhappy situation you steered yourself into again, don't waste time and energy looking for someone to blame.

New Zealand's like any other country - suits some, not others - but there seems to be plenty of us who like it here, and they keep coming. Just don't tire yourself out trying to prove you were right.

Best of luck when you return to UK!

Tranmere Rover

I can't think why you can't settle in - you seem so nice.

BucksBoy

I am nice, I just have an intolerance of the pompous!

BEVS

I am sure you are both nice but need to be mindful of each other and the BE rules really.

No idea TBH where Hanover comes into the scheme of anything on this thread. Most of us are just Joe Soaps & try and do our best with what we have. We're not high flyers or anything.

I'm with this sentiment though.

When someone emigrates all across the world with hopes and thoughts for good new beginnings it must be so hard to realise that it is not so.
That is often not down to lack of thought or research or homework or effort or data. It can just be about what occurs after one has arrived. THose things one did not anticipate. That thing that one had not thought of in advance. That focus on arriving. A roller coaster.

I do wish some would understand that and give some grace to those that are not that perfect they got it all right in one go.

pippalonghorn

It is hard when you need some understanding of your situation. When your not sure if your the only one who feels this way and you need others opinions. I've been there myself and the last thing one needs is negative comments. BEVS has it spot on there.

The Weezer

In a world full of threads that veer off track, this one had no where to go from the start. Is it about rude cell phone use? Intolerant Kiwis? Negative comments? At any rate, I live in New Zealand because I'm married to a New Zealander. I simply give my observations about life here. We will be leaving, some of you will staying for the long term. I can see that New Zealand fits some people, not others. Who thrives here, who doesn't, and what particular challenges does life in NZ pose are interesting questions. I've lived here for a decade, and we have prospered. Wanting to leave is not always about job and money worries.

I've had plenty of headaches dealing with lack of professionalism in New Zealand business and offices, especially the postal service, which in MY experience and in my district is run by fools and incompetents. There is one experience, however, that stands out for all the right reasons. I've used the services of Archives New Zealand on many occasions, and I've found them to be exceptionally professional, knowledgeable and courteous. They have gone above and beyond to help me find what I needed, and even resent a thick stack of documents, at no charge, after someone at the post office lost (stole?) my package. I worked for years among researchers in my previous life, and they are definitely among the best in my experience.

Snap Shot

Yeah, me too, I know what that feels like.

'Me too.' Oops, I'm turning into a New Zealander !

BucksBoy

And me, my wife was born here, left at 20 for her OE, settled in UK for 20 years, met me. We moved here 8 years ago, despite having numerous holidays here over the years ( 2 with me) she has struggled to come to terms with what this country has become. You simply can't get a feel for a country with your holiday head on and you certainly can't from the good old internet. She's as keen as me to get back to mother England with all its problems.

Stormer999

Sorry BucksBoy I disagree in our case. We spent time travelling England, Wales , Scotland, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Italy looking for somewhere we might call home as we lived in the UK Midlands and felt we were so hemmed in that we couldn't breathe. We came down to NZ to have a look and other than Scotland could not gel with anywhere else. The winters in Scotland were a little too extreme so we spent a few years investigating the flaws and faults with NZ. This site and a couple of others were very helpful. We watched what EU legislation was doing to Britain and decided NZ was the place for us. During the planning years both of our cats passed away and we decided the next moggy was going to be Kiwi stock.
We have settled into NZ life in Chch very happily and made excellent friends of all denominations. Yes time plays tricks on every ones memories so I never look back as "it" has gone, only forward and onwards. I earned my living in the UK and was thankful for that but it is not the place for peace and quite. New Zealand is all we expected and wanted and is now our "home"...
hopefully you will find yours.

BucksBoy

Well done Mr Stormer999 your research was clearly spot on, can't help but feel that as you've only been here 30 months that you're probably still in the 'honeymoon period'. Mine lasted a few years, when it ends it's painful!

Stormer999

If I could not tell that I had made the correct move in my life in the period of time that i have lived in NZ then I would be a weak minded man. as I have already said I do not yearn for the past as it is time gone by and in life I have never made hasty decisions.
I can understand you don't like NZ, hence you must understand that we do.
Any man married will know that a "honeymoon period" does not extend to 2.1/2 years...

BucksBoy

Depends who you're married to!