new zealand scenery
#31
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2013
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Re: new zealand scenery
Many of us don't fully appreciate our home country until we leave it. I agree, Ireland is a beautiful country. I've lived in Ulster and holidayed in Eire.
When we first visited NZ in 2004 it was because both of our children and 8 grandchildren - aged 3 to 14 years - had just immigrated here. We came every year for a month during the christmas period until 2009 and after each visit we went home and raved about NZ. We were granted Residency in 2011 as sponsored parents . 10 years on and we've seen much of New Zealand, both North and South. Some of the family have spread out and grown up and 2 have gone back to England . We still go back to UK every couple of years and explore some of the places we hadn't seen and had brilliant weather every time. and wondered why we raved about NZ as much as we did. I suppose because it was new . There is no question New Zealand is beautiful. I wouldn't deny it but for me it lacks the charm of the United Kingdom.
When we first visited NZ in 2004 it was because both of our children and 8 grandchildren - aged 3 to 14 years - had just immigrated here. We came every year for a month during the christmas period until 2009 and after each visit we went home and raved about NZ. We were granted Residency in 2011 as sponsored parents . 10 years on and we've seen much of New Zealand, both North and South. Some of the family have spread out and grown up and 2 have gone back to England . We still go back to UK every couple of years and explore some of the places we hadn't seen and had brilliant weather every time. and wondered why we raved about NZ as much as we did. I suppose because it was new . There is no question New Zealand is beautiful. I wouldn't deny it but for me it lacks the charm of the United Kingdom.
#32
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 15
Re: new zealand scenery
Traffic is getting a bit like that here in NZ though. in 2004 when we first came as visitors we wondered where all the cars were and beauty spots could be accessed without the crowds or parking fees. there are many more tourists now and the population has grown so getting around isn't as easy as it was . We did a bit of touring in UK last year in July and didn't find it too bad.
Regardless, it's horses for courses. If you're unhappy and feel trapped over there my heart goes out to you. I hope you find a resolution soon.
#33
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Joined: Jun 2005
Location: In a large village called Auckland
Posts: 5,249
Re: new zealand scenery
NZ has a little way to go before it hits a population of 67 million though! And the Lake District (where I live) gets about 19 million tourists a year. Crowds and high parking fees (I'm looking at you National Trust) is all part of the life here.
Regardless, it's horses for courses. If you're unhappy and feel trapped over there my heart goes out to you. I hope you find a resolution soon.
Regardless, it's horses for courses. If you're unhappy and feel trapped over there my heart goes out to you. I hope you find a resolution soon.
#34
Re: new zealand scenery
I think a couple of folk need to read this lady's opening post again. They seem to have bypassed the words, point & meaning to just jump straight in with the rather unpleasant , very old and tired routines .
I read it & I did not get any sense at all of complain or unhappiness.
BTW - It is OK to post as she has done so maybe some could stop bitterly complaining about that. Thanks.
I read it & I did not get any sense at all of complain or unhappiness.
BTW - It is OK to post as she has done so maybe some could stop bitterly complaining about that. Thanks.
#35
Re: new zealand scenery
The term "Wash your mouth out" is a jovial English expression when someone disagrees with a statement......well it is where I come from anyways and to back the funny side of it up I placed a ROFL emoji. Seems it was lost on you there and you appear to completely contradict yourself more than once in your original post.
#36
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Joined: Oct 2010
Location: tauranga NZ
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Re: new zealand scenery
Never heard anyone say it's unparalleled ,but you'd have to have a huge bee in your bonnet or a be extremely bitter to say it's not got some beautiful and really quite stunning scenery. It's not really a, my countries prettier than your country competition is it. If you like somewhere else that's fine
#37
Re: new zealand scenery
For example :- I could use that to you now for the "Eff Off" profile pic message which you now felt was OK for BE . It isn't . I have removed and archived it.
#38
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Re: new zealand scenery
Jay and Bill, I have to agree with you. I miss the scenery in the UK and around Europe too, for me, things like drystone walls, old buildings, chalets etc just add to the ambience of the scenery. The history of much of the land just seems to make it far more interesting to me. This is something that I have only really started to appreciate more as I've reached middle-age. When my friends and I were running around the battlements of Beaumaris, Conwy or Caernarvon Castle or sat having our lunch next to the Roman walls of Chester on a school outing, it didn't cross my mind to think of the people who had built those walls or lived there all those years ago. Now I'm in awe of such things and feel a great sense of privilege to have been born into a world with such things.
Yes some of the scenery in NZ is equally stunning, I mean Milford Sound etc. is just awesome in the true sense of the word. Some days I feel very lucky to live in Whangaparaoa and I love the Auckland skyline on a sunny day. But there's always a 'but' there for me. I find the geology very interesting here with the geothermal and seismic activity but again it's not quite enough for me.
So I get were you are coming from. And of course NZ has only been inhabited for 800 years and is therefore short on history, I get that.
I was lucky enough to be taken to Cotehele in Cornwall by some friends a few weeks back, when I was home-home! The old house was fascinating and the history behind it. And then the gardens...I was in heaven, so beautiful and so much colour. Loved it. Driving through the narrow Cornish country lanes with the hedgerows full of cow parsley, bluebells and campions was idyllic....except with a car coming in the other direction of course
Doesn't help that it's winter here of course and there's nothing much to do that we haven't done a number of times in the 12+ years we've been here!
Yes some of the scenery in NZ is equally stunning, I mean Milford Sound etc. is just awesome in the true sense of the word. Some days I feel very lucky to live in Whangaparaoa and I love the Auckland skyline on a sunny day. But there's always a 'but' there for me. I find the geology very interesting here with the geothermal and seismic activity but again it's not quite enough for me.
So I get were you are coming from. And of course NZ has only been inhabited for 800 years and is therefore short on history, I get that.
I was lucky enough to be taken to Cotehele in Cornwall by some friends a few weeks back, when I was home-home! The old house was fascinating and the history behind it. And then the gardens...I was in heaven, so beautiful and so much colour. Loved it. Driving through the narrow Cornish country lanes with the hedgerows full of cow parsley, bluebells and campions was idyllic....except with a car coming in the other direction of course
Doesn't help that it's winter here of course and there's nothing much to do that we haven't done a number of times in the 12+ years we've been here!
#39
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Re: new zealand scenery
First time back here in months- Jay and Bill, I agree with you that Aotearoa doesn't have the historical setting pf European countries nor the social setting of villages- but as it has been said above, it is illogical to think that you would find monuments such as 'castles" in a country which has a less than two centuries of European influence. To make comparisons between this country's natural environment and Europe's historical environment doesn't make sense. Surely those who immigrate from the UK for example, would be aware of this prior to actually coming out here.
#40
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Re: new zealand scenery
Originally Posted by escapedtonz
The term "Wash your mouth out" is a jovial English expression when someone disagrees with a statement......well it is where I come from anyways and to back the funny side of it up I placed a ROFL emoji. Seems it was lost on you there and you appear to completely contradict yourself more than once in your original post.
#41
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Re: new zealand scenery
I can fully understand what you mean and I get why some people rave about NZ as well:-). As you say, there is so much to explore and most people probably don't know what they have around the corner, so we all have to move away first (some stay, some return). For me personally Europe has it all and I appreciate it a lot more than I used to and there's so much I haven't seen or will never see. We can just take the car go on the overnight ferry and suddenly you are driving through Spain (different language/culture). A work colleague just went hiking around Picos de Europa and the scenery he showed me was stunning. Some poster mentioned bush. Unfortunately due to the long history of overgrazing many rain forests disappeared but we even have a temperate rainforest around the corner.
#42
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Re: new zealand scenery
Pot calling the kettle black me thinks.
#43
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Re: new zealand scenery
I think its a bit sad to read some of the responses on here to this couple. Of course they knew things about the country like lack of history etc but of course you actually only know how much this is going to be a factor to your life/mental well being, once you have actually lived in it a while. No body really knows what its like to live in a place until you do it so lets not give people a hard time for having regrets in the choices they made, a lot of how it works out for any of us in NZ is down to personality and luck.
My parents wouldn't be that much younger than this couple and similarly used to come and visit us nearly every year for a few months (they would go travelling around NZ on their trips and also we had a outhouse so it worked really well even for that long) and did often consider moving to NZ to be closer to us - but I think the outcome would have been very similar to this couples. They are big walkers/adventurers and travelled the country extensively and although they did love it for visiting but never felt it had enough there for them to move there. I think they could only make that proper evaluation after coming over many times though and if they had made the move in my early days over there I honestly do think they would be in a similar position to these guys.
I feel for them. I think you need to consider and look into their options of returning - which I know would not be the easy option. Perhaps just the mindset that you might not be there forever may take some pressure off and allow you to enjoy NZ for what it is and all the things you originally wanted to go there for. Maybe even facing the prospect you won't be there for that much longer could bring a whole new appreciation for the country and the many positives it has as well as how important being near your family is to you - even if being there makes you unhappy. If they did go back - go back to just visiting NZ and when this gets too hard due to age etch, help pay for the kids to come over instead if you can and save yourself there trip. The pound is still low if they can sell up and try get back (I know this will be dotted with big issues to make it happen - but if they wanted to enough they will).
Anyway, be nice, its obvious the original poster obviously wants a place to rant and get the opinions from people who have maybe had similar experiences to them (isn't that why we are all here!?). If they can't do that here - where can they do it?
Check out your options jayandbill, you only live once.
My parents wouldn't be that much younger than this couple and similarly used to come and visit us nearly every year for a few months (they would go travelling around NZ on their trips and also we had a outhouse so it worked really well even for that long) and did often consider moving to NZ to be closer to us - but I think the outcome would have been very similar to this couples. They are big walkers/adventurers and travelled the country extensively and although they did love it for visiting but never felt it had enough there for them to move there. I think they could only make that proper evaluation after coming over many times though and if they had made the move in my early days over there I honestly do think they would be in a similar position to these guys.
I feel for them. I think you need to consider and look into their options of returning - which I know would not be the easy option. Perhaps just the mindset that you might not be there forever may take some pressure off and allow you to enjoy NZ for what it is and all the things you originally wanted to go there for. Maybe even facing the prospect you won't be there for that much longer could bring a whole new appreciation for the country and the many positives it has as well as how important being near your family is to you - even if being there makes you unhappy. If they did go back - go back to just visiting NZ and when this gets too hard due to age etch, help pay for the kids to come over instead if you can and save yourself there trip. The pound is still low if they can sell up and try get back (I know this will be dotted with big issues to make it happen - but if they wanted to enough they will).
Anyway, be nice, its obvious the original poster obviously wants a place to rant and get the opinions from people who have maybe had similar experiences to them (isn't that why we are all here!?). If they can't do that here - where can they do it?
Check out your options jayandbill, you only live once.
Last edited by BtotheR; Jul 12th 2019 at 10:06 pm.
#44
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: new zealand scenery
If its any consolation a lot of New Zealanders don't appreciate their scenery. When I lived on the West Coast of the South Island, I woke up every morning to snow-capped mountains, endless forests and crashing seas fringing dramatic cliffs. My father-in-law could not fathom for the life of him why anyone would find any of that special in any way. He particularly could not understand the mentality of people who came from overseas and actually stopped to take photos.
#45
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Joined: Oct 2010
Location: tauranga NZ
Posts: 135
Re: new zealand scenery
I think its a bit sad to read some of the responses on here to this couple. Of course they knew things about the country like lack of history etc but of course you actually only know how much this is going to be a factor to your life/mental well being, once you have actually lived in it a while. No body really knows what its like to live in a place until you do it so lets not give people a hard time for having regrets in the choices they made, a lot of how it works out for any of us in NZ is down to personality and luck.
My parents wouldn't be that much younger than this couple and similarly used to come and visit us nearly every year for a few months (they would go travelling around NZ on their trips and also we had a outhouse so it worked really well even for that long) and did often consider moving to NZ to be closer to us - but I think the outcome would have been very similar to this couples. They are big walkers/adventurers and travelled the country extensively and although they did love it for visiting but never felt it had enough there for them to move there. I think they could only make that proper evaluation after coming over many times though and if they had made the move in my early days over there I honestly do think they would be in a similar position to these guys.
I feel for them. I think you need to consider and look into their options of returning - which I know would not be the easy option. Perhaps just the mindset that you might not be there forever may take some pressure off and allow you to enjoy NZ for what it is and all the things you originally wanted to go there for. Maybe even facing the prospect you won't be there for that much longer could bring a whole new appreciation for the country and the many positives it has as well as how important being near your family is to you - even if being there makes you unhappy. If they did go back - go back to just visiting NZ and when this gets too hard due to age etch, help pay for the kids to come over instead if you can and save yourself there trip. The pound is still low if they can sell up and try get back (I know this will be dotted with big issues to make it happen - but if they wanted to enough they will).
Anyway, be nice, its obvious the original poster obviously wants a place to rant and get the opinions from people who have maybe had similar experiences to them (isn't that why we are all here!?). If they can't do that here - where can they do it?
Check out your options jayandbill, you only live once.
My parents wouldn't be that much younger than this couple and similarly used to come and visit us nearly every year for a few months (they would go travelling around NZ on their trips and also we had a outhouse so it worked really well even for that long) and did often consider moving to NZ to be closer to us - but I think the outcome would have been very similar to this couples. They are big walkers/adventurers and travelled the country extensively and although they did love it for visiting but never felt it had enough there for them to move there. I think they could only make that proper evaluation after coming over many times though and if they had made the move in my early days over there I honestly do think they would be in a similar position to these guys.
I feel for them. I think you need to consider and look into their options of returning - which I know would not be the easy option. Perhaps just the mindset that you might not be there forever may take some pressure off and allow you to enjoy NZ for what it is and all the things you originally wanted to go there for. Maybe even facing the prospect you won't be there for that much longer could bring a whole new appreciation for the country and the many positives it has as well as how important being near your family is to you - even if being there makes you unhappy. If they did go back - go back to just visiting NZ and when this gets too hard due to age etch, help pay for the kids to come over instead if you can and save yourself there trip. The pound is still low if they can sell up and try get back (I know this will be dotted with big issues to make it happen - but if they wanted to enough they will).
Anyway, be nice, its obvious the original poster obviously wants a place to rant and get the opinions from people who have maybe had similar experiences to them (isn't that why we are all here!?). If they can't do that here - where can they do it?
Check out your options jayandbill, you only live once.
I still maintain that the scenery and beaches aren't a good reason to move 12000 miles from home when it's all on the UK's doorstep. I expect there are many reasons why Brits feel discontent with their lives in UK and want to make changes but for some who do make the move the outcome is far from rosy. My family has had its share of drama and trauma in dealing with the upheaval of moving so far from home and that's why we stick together and returning is not an option for us. Emigrating is a huge step to take and not to be taken lightly, especially when children are involved. I'm sure many families have never looked back though .