Cindyf67

Hi All,

I am very new to this forum, and very glad I have found it . Hello to you all. I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on their personal views on moving to NZ from the UK. I have a partner and 3 year old daughter, my partner holds every license HGV wise including hazards, and has good experience of training and assessing. I am a legal secretary (this is where we would get our PR from). What are people's thoughts on us coming to NZ to live? I have a good job in London, and my partner currently works for a large firm (but is v happy to move to NZ). I am very worried we will be making the wrong move as a family, I want a better quality of life, and a brighter future for our daughter, we struggle here tremendously. We have to make a decision to stay in the UK (moving towards Devon/Dorset way if we do) or to make the big move to NZ before my little one starts school, so we don't have a lot of time to make our decision. I also have a niece in NZ and another in Sydney. My sister will eventually come to Australia from the UK, and I am frightened of being stuck in the UK without much family. Sorry to have gone on, just would like some views and experience from you lovely people. Thank you

Bo-Jangles

Assuming when you say that 'you struggle' that you mean financially, I don't think this would change greatly by moving to NZ - your job kind of dictates that you need to be close to one of the main centres where housing can be notoriously expensive relative to salaries.

What draws you to Devon and Dorset? Like many I expect it seems you are wanting the idyllic and lovely Devon / Dorset holiday location to bring up the kids and you see NZ as offering same / similar idyllic landscapes and lifestyle. The reality of that will greatly depend on your ability to secure work there - the same as it would be in picture postcard areas of NZ.

Yes we have in abundance the far flung green pastures, wall to wall sheep and cows, empty beaches and views (much as you'll find on the South Coast of England too) but that generally is not enough to keep one in the lifestyle we are accustomed to.

I think what you really need to determine is whether you do want the simpler out of town life out on the meadow: achieving something in between close to a major city is still very costly.

Then decide if you want that to be in NZ or UK and look at the affordability of both scenarios. You need to start doing some analysis - look at the salaries you would earn and the cost of housing etc. I can't imagine you would be financially any better off in NZ (few are) and you are guaranteed to be stuck here with very little family.

Nieces don't generally want to hang with their Aunties and Uncles and Australia is still quite a long way away; distance, costs, time and availability of annual leave would prohibit any regular face to face contact with any rellies there. Same with family here, unless you plan to be on the same Island and in very close proximity I wouldn't expect them to provide much comfort or support for you and your family in your normal day to day.

sazzle1979

My goodness your story sounds very similar to ours, whilst admittedly in the UK we had a good life with a London wage and a house in the south east. we left because my brother had moved to Australia as had my husbands brother so our nieces and nephews were in Aus and we thought... what if when we are all older ... we will be stuck in the UK and them in OZ.

So we decided to sell up and move to NZ.

Everyone's story is different and I wouldn't want our experiences to deter you, however please please please do your research first.

The cost of living is high here and wages not that great. It depend where you live of course. Holidays to Australia are few and far between as it isn't cheap. Where my husband and I used to enjoy our travels, to travel anywhere from NZ is expensive.

NZ is a wonderful place to explore but so is the UK, perhaps just a change of scene would work for you? It is such a big move please if you are thinking of it research and even come here for an extended period to test it first.

I am Exec Assistant/HR Manager and I had a busy job in London, I cursed the commute everyday and thought I wanted the quiet life..... I now miss London, miss the buzz, I even miss the commute..... odd I know.

If I could put my life back I would. However some people come here and love it.

Just think very hard first.

If you want to PM me I am happy to talk off line about salary and cost of living etc as we are in a similar role and we too got PR from my employment.

Whilst We have not had the best experience there are many plus points , but personally if I were talking to myself with what I know now I wouldn't move I would relocate in the UK. I want my children to grow up in a country where access to history and culture is at your finger tips. I know the UK has many many down sides too but for us we will be coming home.

Like I said happy to talk via email if you wish, and there will be some people that love life here and wouldn't swap it for the world however I think it is good for you to have both sides of the story so that you can make a truly informed decision.

Cindyf67

Thank you so much for your honest replies. Sazzle I would definitely like to talk more offline it is such a hard decision and I'm terrified of making a wrong move. Thank you.

Cindyf67

Sazzle I can't pm you, is there a way you can start the thread and it may let me reply. Thank you.

MrsFychan

now you have 3 posts you should be able to pm

GoingIn2011

Beware: generally speaking, you don't move to NZ to put yourself on a better footing financially. In some cases, you may however - you may be lucky to find better paid work, but I would say that would be rare. NZ is so expensive, and this is not surprising - its geographical location dictates as much.
It is a great place to move to if you are looking for a better place to raise a family however if you can stomach the financial impact. If money would be tight, then you need to think long and hard. We cannot prioritize ever going back to the UK to visit family because as a family that would cost us 20k NZD. This money would always be prioritized for other things - so we have effectively said goodbye to certain family members for good, to never see them again in the flesh. It all comes down to money. We are ok financially over here but cannot save very much, hence not having funds to go back. And we are on very decent salaries by NZ standards. So, unless you can get very well paid jobs then you need to think hard about it.

Cindyf67

Thank you, I have now been able to pm. That's my worry I still have a lot of family here, whom I am close to, but my immediate family (I.e. my sister and nieces), will be living this way. It's such a hard decision but it must be the right decision as we have a 3 year old. The country is beautiful but it's financial that is my concern. My partner holds every driving licence and is also a driver/trainer in the UK for class 1&2 in the UK. Your replies are great, thank you.

BEVS

Hi there Cindyf67.

As you will see I have tweaked your thread title a little to better reflect your situation in the UK.

You came into my focus because I have become a little weeny bit concerned for you.

Before one thinks about where to move and where. What the houses are like and all that sorta stuff, one really needs to know about the practicals. The main practical being employment prospects. Now, this may have been covered somewhere else that I haven't seen but I haven't seen any mention yet of how you guys would actually uplift a visa to live and work in NZ.

This is not to pour rain on any parade but rather it is to re-focus this quest for you. Ensure there is reason to believe in the possibility if you like.

BEVS

So. To start.

I have read that you have written you will gain NZ Residency through your occupation as a Legal Secretary. This would indeed be possible but first you need to gain a job offer in your occupation. The reason I write this is because to uplift any form of temp entry / work/ family visa one of you would need a job offer. Of course it could be your husband that gains this.

However, in order to start an application for NZ residency you need enough points to do so. Automatic selection is at 140 points and those favoured are with the job offers, as this shows an ability to settle because there is already an income in place.

NZIS OFFICIAL POINTS INDICATOR

Legal secretaries are not in shortage here so anyone offering you a position needs to prove there is no NZ citizen or resident that could take up that post or be trained for that post OR it be from an NZIS accredited employer . An accredited employer is someone who pays NZIS for the ease and privilege of employing overseas people regardless . One such eployer is Wellington City Council

Poss salary is between $40K - $70K and NZ careers puts job possibilities in the 'poor' category.

HGV Drivers are also not considered to be in shortage here , although some companies are mourning the loss of cheaper drivers from overseas. It is also not seen as a skilled occupation.

Poss wage is actually pegged at as between $16 - $25. However maybe someone with tanker driver experience may earn a little better hourly rate.

Again, anyone offering your OH a job needs to be able to prove there is no NZ resident or citizen be available to take or train for that work OR it be from an NZIS accredited employer.

Please can you be aware that you are competing with born and bred Kiwis and those already on the ground in NZ. Much may be made of NZ work environment experience.

You can perhaps think to avail yourself of customs , culture, traiditons and rights here in NZ to give yourself a better chance.

UktoNZ2016

Good post

Cindyf67

Hi BEVS, thank you for renaming this post and your info. We have been told by a migration agent that we could come over on a "years holiday" after selling our house we would have enough to prove to NZ Govt that we can afford to stay this time. He said he would then get my partner a work visa to work in NZ, then get me a working visa - I used to work for a partner in London who is now back in NZ and hoping he can help me (not get a job but I was his PA so he'd give me a reference) but I know still risky. Christchurch is an option as my partner could work easily there but he's currently training jetting, cctv etc for major public sector company here, so will have another string to his bow. I would prefer Wellington or Auckland as my niece is there. Do you think this is feasible? Thanks in advance for the great comments.

MrsFychan

THAT IS NOT GOOD - the agent should be referred to the appropriate authorities and have their licence removed.

How will he get your OH a work visa, you need a job offer and to do that you would need to have the right skills that NZ is looking for or a job offer from an accredited company.

you have no right of abode coming over on a visitors visa, you would have to get return flights out of the country to enable you to even board a plane in the UK if immigration/customs at the airport even have an inkling you will not leave you will not be allowed entry. NZ govt do not really care how much you can afford to stay here unless you are coming over with millions on an investors visa, you have to come over through on a relevant visa that is set out on the Immigration website.

This post is making me very nervous - please please do not sell up in the UK, if needs be get your OH over here looking for a job and only if he is offered one then think about selling up.

Cindyf67

Thank you MrsFychan. He said to get a return flight (1 year) and he has a recruitment agency in NZ. He said he could place my partner almost immediately due to his advanced driving experience, he would then get a working visa for me to enable me to work. It is very frightening seeing your post as we are very naive to it all. He said it would be no problem at all. We would always work and never scrounge for anything - but seeing your post has really concerned me. I think I need to speak to him.

MrsFychan

I have flagged this up with a couple of people more knowledgeable than me so hopefully they will come along and possibly give you some more positive spin but I think BEVS has already said the job is not on the skills list?
sorry got to run, will check back in in a couple of hours