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Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Old May 15th 2008, 3:12 pm
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Default Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Although not originally British, I have been reading the forums for the last months and decided to "expose" myself by finally registering.

I'll be moving to Wellington in June after receiving a job offer in the ICT sector (HP) - we (my girlfriend, the dog and myself) have gotten our residence visa's, dog papers etc and we're now packing our stuff for the big move from Germany to New Zealand. (We moved from Holland to Germany a few years ago).

So.... we're about to make the big giant leap, filled with excitement, enthusiasm, positive energy and a healthy dose of "Oh my gosh, what did we get ourselves into???"

We hope to make some new friends downthere - hopefully a nice mixture of "locals" and "expats", especially as the latter might be able to give us some tips and help us blow off steam when we need to

Erik
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Old May 16th 2008, 7:55 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

welcome to the forum Erik

Phyllis
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Old May 16th 2008, 9:47 am
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Question Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Welcome
There is a Dutch Shop in Petone (Wellington). What were your reasons for leaving the Netherlands and then also Germany? NB We ask very nosey questions on here.
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Old May 16th 2008, 9:54 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by luvwelly
Welcome
There is a Dutch Shop in Petone (Wellington). What were your reasons for leaving the Netherlands and then also Germany? NB We ask very nosey questions on here.
You don't need a good reason to leave Germany
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Old May 16th 2008, 7:13 pm
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

@Phyllis: Thanks for the welcome

Originally Posted by luvwelly
Welcome
There is a Dutch Shop in Petone (Wellington). What were your reasons for leaving the Netherlands and then also Germany? NB We ask very nosey questions on here.
Oh a Dutch Shop? We'll definitely check that out No worries, I don't mind the nosey questions at all My girlfriend is German and when we met she was still a flight attendent, making it easy for us to have a relationship while living in two different countries. Then she moved to Holland and we lived there for a few years until we were ready for a change of scenery. And the country also slowly started to go downhill.... Harry Potter as Prime Minster, the country becoming increasingly right winged, more and more taxes but less benefits etc.

So we moved (back) to Germany where we enjoyed more living space, a slightly more relaxed life style and although the Germans are a bit... German .. I think the country overall is doing better than the Netherlands in terms of political climate.

However, we're both still young and decided after a few years we still wanted to do something else... I have been to Australia, USA and Canada (which I liked all three) but never New Zealand. She actually lived in Wellington for 6 months and loved it so.... we booked a recce vacation to NZ and I really liked it there. So.. we just going to give it a try!


Originally Posted by Ted Logan
You don't need a good reason to leave Germany
Hush!! She saw that!! Don't worry, she has a very good sense of humor and enjoys Faulty Towers as much as I do... "Don't mention the war!"
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Old May 17th 2008, 8:22 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by ErikR
And the country also slowly started to go downhill.... Harry Potter as Prime Minster, the country becoming increasingly right winged, more and more taxes but less benefits etc.
Not a Balkenende/Verdonk fan then!... NZ Labour Government badly trailing in the opinion polls with an election due later this year. (I have no vote)
But as your girlfriend has lived here before and you've done a recce...at least you know you like the feel of the place, so chances are your move will be a great success. Also no kids to complicate matters. Good luck with it all.
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Old May 18th 2008, 12:14 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by luvwelly
Not a Balkenende/Verdonk fan then!... NZ Labour Government badly trailing in the opinion polls with an election due later this year. (I have no vote)
But as your girlfriend has lived here before and you've done a recce...at least you know you like the feel of the place, so chances are your move will be a great success. Also no kids to complicate matters. Good luck with it all.
Balkenende, Verdonk, Wilders and basically rest of that right winged lot should be put on a raft and let them drift to sea... Hmm, no better not - they might get lucky and land in NZ!!

If that raft would sink, it wouldn't be a great loss for Holland though!

I often see people complaining how little the current government actually does in NZ and I can understand why that would upset people. But Holland (and Germany too - but thats their culture) has gone from a progressive free country, to a society which our government desperately tries to control at all levels. Throw in an over paid EU Commission that spends days coming up with laws to tell us what diameter our garden hoses have to be.... then I can very well put up with a government that is a little slow and sluggish

Though we don't have any kids to take along, we do have a big dog... which will make it much harder to find a good rental house. I was amazed how "hostile" people are against (well behaved) dogs! But we'll manage!
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Old May 18th 2008, 3:34 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBYoontAlrQ
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Old May 18th 2008, 6:07 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by Yotty
Yes very 'Kinder, Kirche, Kueche!'
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Old May 18th 2008, 5:41 pm
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Actually Germany is very much like that in certain areas- it's a pity that the country isn't as progressive as Holland or Sweden. Women earn less than men in equal positions, sometimes up to 33% less. And there is no governmental support for single working mothers. Now Germany isn't all that bad but it would be nice if the whole of the country would join the 21st century on certain matters
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Old May 20th 2008, 9:31 pm
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by ErikR
Although not originally British, I have been reading the forums for the last months and decided to "expose" myself by finally registering.

I'll be moving to Wellington in June after receiving a job offer in the ICT sector (HP) - we (my girlfriend, the dog and myself) have gotten our residence visa's, dog papers etc and we're now packing our stuff for the big move from Germany to New Zealand. (We moved from Holland to Germany a few years ago).

So.... we're about to make the big giant leap, filled with excitement, enthusiasm, positive energy and a healthy dose of "Oh my gosh, what did we get ourselves into???"

We hope to make some new friends downthere - hopefully a nice mixture of "locals" and "expats", especially as the latter might be able to give us some tips and help us blow off steam when we need to

Erik
Hi Erik
Wie geht's? Alles klar?
Where abouts in NZ are you moving to? We are resettling in October this year probably to Auckland (still waiting for final location of the job offer). We live in the UK, but I am originally from Germany, moved here a long time ago. Will be resettling with your 2 children and like you, we can't wait to get out of here!
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Old May 20th 2008, 9:46 pm
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by thebuyerofshite
Hi Erik
Wie geht's? Alles klar?
Where abouts in NZ are you moving to? We are resettling in October this year probably to Auckland (still waiting for final location of the job offer). We live in the UK, but I am originally from Germany, moved here a long time ago. Will be resettling with your 2 children and like you, we can't wait to get out of here!
We'll be moving to Wellington. I did get a good offer in Auckland and I was seriously considering it. It's a much bigger city (or rather.. it's an actual city, whereas Wellington is more like a village ) .. but it definitely has its nice areas. But the offer in Wellington was a lot better - in pay, position and career possibilities - so I just had to take it. And I also liked Wellington a lot but I had no real preference for either city.
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Old May 21st 2008, 10:02 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Hallo buyerofshite(was bedeutet das ??) und erik !! Am from germany toooo !!! my hubs got the contract for a job in wellington on the table... its starring at me !!!!! We are wanting to make the big move !!! but... have to sell the old house and are putting it on the market and hope that it will sell..... if it doesnt, then we are screwed !! cant afford to rent in wellington and pay for this house !!! the timing is classic !!! WE HAVE to really think about it all till this weekend and then sign !!!!We wanted this for so long !! but now that it is actually happening its scary to think of the unknown in NZ !!!! One minute i am desperate and the next i am mega worried about it all !!! Hubs feels the same !! We even tossed a coin......do you feel abit like that ????? PLEASE TELL ME ITS NORMAL....
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Old May 21st 2008, 11:23 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Hey klicker,

Don't worry - even without a house to sell in Germany (it's a family house which will be looked after by my brother in law), our mental state consantly flicks from "Oh yeah, can't believe we finally going to do this! " to.. "Oh my God!! I can't believe we do this! ".
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Old May 21st 2008, 11:26 am
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Default Re: Oh no, the Dutch have invaded!

Originally Posted by ErikR
Hey klicker,

Don't worry - even without a house to sell in Germany (it's a family house which will be looked after by my brother in law), our mental state consantly flicks from "Oh yeah, can't believe we finally going to do this! " to.. "Oh my God!! I can't believe we do this! .
That makes you completely normal then .
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