1kiwibird

I just love listening to the broad Kiwi accents, they are great!

I think you have a point about being a new mum, as I have been obsessed with moving back to NZ both times when off on maternity leave. When I went back to work last time I stopped thinking about it and got on with the daily grind in London working again. But I think it is a good sign - when we are able to sit back from work and evaluate our lives, as you inevitably do with a new baby, we appreciate the life that NZ has to offer and feel homesick for that life.

Personally, I would welcome living in a country where children are respected and not treated as little nuisances. I want to be able to go out with my children and not get evil looks from people (and my children are not badly behaved, just unwelcome in so many places in the UK). Children should be allowed to be children and I wish people would remember that they were children once!

Living in Karori was great, and actually I have a sister living there, so may well end up there again. Other good thing about Karori is it seems to have it's own microclimate, so that it is often still and sunny when it is cloudy and blowy down in Wellington city.

I too worry about how my husband will deal with the smallness of NZ, he really likes the buzz of London - although personally I can't see the point of it now that we have to be at home to put children to bed in the evenings and can't be out enjoying all it has to offer any more. I sometimes worry that he may later blame me or feel angry with me for dragging him to NZ if things don't work out well.

ExKiwilass

I wish there were some kiwi mums near me. I'm jealous. I also listen to internet radio, it's my secret vice. HA! Glad I'm not the only one!

My old friend is coming today. Can't wait. She lives in Welly. According to her, the up and coming 'burb in Welly for young families is Island Bay, due to price increases on the other side of the city.

Another fan of Welly here. I lived there for 5 years in my 20's after leaving Palmy. It's where my family was from, originally, so it's always had a special place in my heart. Just the ruddy wind.

Mgee

This has been a great thread to read! Very informative posts with lots of insight. Kudos to all posters!

I'd like to add that a lot of the points about life in NZ are the same in any other small nation (population-wise), except maybe for a few Central European countries. I recognise quite a few similarities between NZ (4.1 million people) and my home country (5.3 million)... A lot of the discussion on this forum really boils down to big country vs. small country, like the limited shopping possibilities and need for imported goods. Moving to a smaller country is a bit like moving from a big city to a village: a lot of things are on a smaller scale and it is really up to any individual whether s/he likes it or not.

Anyway, a good thread that gave me a lot of food for thought! I wish all the threads were as informative and balanced as this one...

Mgee

janek

What an odd world, I sit here in Nelson listening to Radio 4 or 5 Live on the internet, NZ accent I can live with but I am not in love with....National Radio is not for me but my British OH likes it!

dannigirl

Ha ha lol Janek, not sure if you read the whole thread. We are some lost kiwi's in London listening to NZ radio on the internet...same as you are I suppose just the other way around!!!

Bo-Jangles

I agree a lovely thread and I have been very touched by it and much enjoyed reading the dilemmas from the other-side, seeing the downsides of NZ being discussed in a balanced and pragmatic way without somebody chiming in and saying you are wrong, it's not like that for me blah blah, you're a whinger or a moaner.

I feel sometimes for those with partners of either / or country that have the potential to feel the pull one way or the other and feel guilt on either side for taking one half away from what they know. It's probably a whole lot easier when the new country is neutral to both parties.

I guess all I can say is at some point no matter how happy we are we all share a common bond as migrants or long-term settlers elsewhere, that we all get those displaced feelings from time to time and hanker for the way things used to be, wherever we started out in life. To be able express those thoughts is not wrong, to compare one with another is not wrong, and you are not a whinger or a whiner if you cling to some bits or keep some attachment to elements of your old life, no matter how small or big; listening to your favourite radio programs or seeking out something simple as a childhood favourite biscuit. If it gives you comfort and makes you feel better about where you are, then it is all good. I love seeing films with bits of London in and seeing the iconic buildings that I have known and loved for a large part of my life.

If only we had a time machine that could transport is back and forth at will? An afternoon visit for a few hours once in a while would be great.

Good luck to you all with your decisions and future plans.

slippery

my sis is single and has a well paid job

Well I live in Dunedin as well and if she has all her own teeth I would love to meet her

dannigirl

She does indeed have all her own teeth......and two brothers and a big, burly hard southern man dad all living in Dunedin!!! ha ha still keen?

dannigirl

Oh Bo-Jangles what a lovely post. Thank you!! I totally agree with you. Can I just make it clear that Newstalk ZB is definitely not my favourite radio station in NZ (not sure I have one) but it is more to do with hearing people's accents If I ever live in NZ, I expect I will listen to various radio stations in the UK for nostalgia!!

I hope it doesn't seem like I (we) have been bashing England or the UK. I really love it here in many ways, and am so grateful for all the opportunities I have been given. I have met my husband and had a beautiful daughter, but home is where my heart is. I really miss my family but (strangely) it is the land I miss the most. I just feel a real connection to it. I grew up on Otago Harbour so to not live by or even near the sea is hard for me.

Anyways, thanks again for your nice post!

Sorry to everyone if this has been a bit of self indulgent thread (however there appears to be few of 'me' around), it has been really great getting other opinions and perspectives.

Dannigirl

southerner

Hi Dannigirl,

Its a lovely day here in Dunedin.
Crisp blue sky, the trees all have their autumn colours and the harbour (which I can see form my office) is looking stunning with the rolling green hills of the peninsular forming a great backdrop. The tuis and waxeyes are out in abundance today.

Thought I'd share that just in case Cardiff was looking too tempting!

I too have a Southland heritage, although have now and truly lost the rrr's. Only eat swede very occasionally now , but always try to get my fill of Bluff oysters (they have been especially good this year).

dannigirl

[QUOTE=southerner;7547347]Hi Dannigirl,

Its a lovely day here in Dunedin.
Crisp blue sky, the trees all have their autumn colours and the harbour (which I can see form my office) is looking stunning with the rolling green hills of the peninsular forming a great backdrop. The tuis and waxeyes are out in abundance today.

Thought I'd share that just in case Cardiff was looking too tempting!

I too have a Southland heritage, although have now and truly lost the rrr's. Only eat swede very occasionally now , but always try to get my fill of Bluff oysters (they have been especially good this year).[/QUO

Lovely harbour and green hills....awesome!

Can't say I love oysters...in fact, not a big fan of shellfish at all really (shame). Wonder if you get battered oysters here, haven't seen them in our local chippy I don't mind the occasional mussel now and then.

Swede.... that's it Southerner, I'm coming home for the swede!!! YAY.

Give the harbour a big wave for me (....Southerner then gets dragged off to Wakari Hospital for waving at the harbour)

bourbon-biscuit

This thread has been a fabulous read

Met quite a few Kiwis returning from UK/overseas to raise a family in NZ- not hard to see why when you see the childhood experiences on offer Good luck with your decision making and planning!

Jay-Producer

Danni why don't you just go for a holiday? that's surely the best way to do it instead of risky on the actual move? Enjoy yourself, have a few drinks, have a look at a different few places, see if you prefer them etc.

All the best in what you decide to do.

lapsed kiwi

Yes, add me as one of those. 22 years of OE but hopefully now back for good

Bo-Jangles

Thank you!! I don't feel any of you have been bashing the UK at all. your just telling it like it is and I fully understand your comments and where you are coming from. It's perfectly clear to me, that there's a time and a place for us all and all of you guys have done your time in London and hearing y'all chat about it reminds me of myself in a lot of ways. I was brought up in small town England where everyone knew each other, it was idyllic as a child, and much the same lifestyle as I see people seeking for their children in a move to NZ. However, once I reached about 16 I so craved anonymity, I wanted to be me, I wanted to be free, to have a good job and not work in the local factory or shop and be able to go out and misbehave without causing the neighbours curtains to twitch.

Living in a small town, so cramped my style, everyone knew my parents and would tell on me for smoking or whatever stupid things I was up to. We would go to the pub and would know every single person there, no international men of mystery or tall dark strangers. Every eligible lad, was some twerp you went to school with and every girl thought you were after their man.

So one day I packed my bag and headed to London, my parents were horrified, why ever did I want to go to that big stinky place when they lived in such a green and pleasant land by the sea with the Rotary Club, a few village pubs and Saturday night discos in the community hall. I dared to leave that place and never returned for two years, because I was simply having a ball and had no time for such boring things or boring people. I fooled around, for a few years and ended up staying in and around London for twenty years before deciding to move to NZ. No really big reasons why, we didn't hate London or the UK or anything. Sure I had a guts full of commuting and forever having colds from being stuffed into a train twice a day with a million snuffly souls on their way to work, It was a life I loved, for all it's downsides, I loved all the wierd and whacky random people, I never encountered any problems with crime, had a good job etc. It was purely itchy feet that brought us here.

Twenty years ago I would have died of boredom in NZ, even ten years ago iI would not have coped, but as we get older I think our priorities change. Twenty years ago I could have cared less about having a nice house with a garden, I mean what on earth would I have done with dahlias and pansies and I certainly wouldn't have been outside digging up worms and getting dirty. I couldn't have cared less about nice views and trees and simple things.

But gradually you rein yourself in and settle down, we bought a house in the burbs and became boring old farts, paying everything we earned on a mortgage and doing DIY on the house every weekend, steering ourselves into middle age at the grand age of 39. So time to move on do something different, I ain't going back to some old retirement village by the sea just yet. We'll go to Auckland!!

Ha ha, and ironically by comparison to London, even Auckland can sometimes feel like that retirement village by the sea. But you've all said the same things, you wouldn't want to come back to NZ without a comfort zone and some serious amounts of quids in the bank. I know we couldn't and were fortunate enough to have a good bit of equity in our house. Careers wise NZ can be very limited, depending of course on what jobs we do and it can be very difficult to find your niche, as well as blooming hard to find someone here who has faith in your overseas experience. I think that's a common thread for migrants and returning Kiwis.

Anyway I've rambled enough, nice to think about these things from time to time; the meaning of life and why we end up where we do. I'm sure somewhere out there's another place for us, another stage in life before we come full circle end up settling for some Grey Power seaside retirement town.