love30stm

QUOTE=colandros;9124273]You will have to meet some kiwis eventually you know.[/QUOTE]

kmthor

rural meets sea.. and if they ever get that rail through there it will take off

yep agreed ...when i stayed by riverhead forest Kumeu was the closest shop you didnt want to fordet anything 40km round trip lol

clairepete

I'm not alone then...Not many seem to have a good word to say about NZ. I was having a wobbly moment and thinking 'what the heck am I doing'. Yet a friend of ours has just come back from Oz and NZ for a hol and said he preferred NZ. Suppose it's different living there tho. Think I will just take it all with a pinch of salt

UKNZAUS

I have both good and bad things to say about NZ. I have been here for nearly 4 years now. I suppose you have to try it. I would never have not emigrated because of things people say on here. You just take the warnings and arrive pre-armed and pre-warned. Only YOU know if you can cope with all the stuff NZ has to throw at you. It isn't perfect, far from it, but it's a world away from where we lived in the UK (literally ). We have 3 children who have much better lives out here, and I took them back to the UK for a visit 3 years ago - NEVER again!

Come out and try it, if you don't like it then at least you tried and you know what to expect with the whole process

If you come out with the attitude that you will have everything you have in the UK, you're going to get a massive shock to the system. If you arrive open-minded and determined to make it work, then you will succeed.

clairepete

The 2 things that bother me the most are the gangs and the damp houses. This is info that I have read on here!! BUT I know that there will be gangs in all countries and you just gotta hunt for a dry house I guess lol

UKNZAUS

The best thing to do is try and find a house with a heatpump/HRV/DVS - most other houses will be damp/cold at some point. It's a sad fact that Kiwi houses really are crap!

scrubbedexpat094

I concur!

I think the gang thing gets over-stated on here. Been here just over 4 years now & not had any problems with gangs whatsoever.

Like Michelle says, NZ has its good & bad points & yes it's scary to emigrate from the UK but you have to follow your own path. It may be the best thing you've ever done, it may not meet your expectations but you won't know if you don't try.

Good luck with your decision.

sirplug

I'm at a loss.......what gangs??

I live on the peninsula, work on the North Shore and do head South of the bridge and sometimes South Auckland and have yet to find a 'gang' or the feeling of intimidation........not sure what I'm doing differently to miss it all.......

scrubbedexpat094

Perhaps we should start our own gang on the Peninsula We are obviously missing out on gang culture

P18PPS

Gangs.... I think Grant Mitchell has a lot to answer for on his post Eastenders career as documentary maker.

We had more gang problems in our upper-middle class suburb of Birmingham where the average age of them was probably twelve and three-quarters and they all wandered around with kappa tracksuits and hoodies - a la 'Vicki Pollard'.

The gangs really aren't a problem unless you choose to live in either a poor (excuse my colour-ism) "brown" suburb, or alternatively some extremely rural and isolated spots mostly around the north island where there is no work anyway and everyone lives hand to mouth off the land or handouts.

Damp homes - are a problem, but as far as Auckland goes, you stay away from houses in dips or southern slopes (where sunlight is non-existent for 6 months of the year). From October to May the weather is good enough to have windows and doors open anyway so the houses get nice and aired. June to September are the months when you probably will benefit from good heating and de-humidifiers.

Neither of these issues IMHO should anyway influence you coming to NZ ....

UKNZAUS

The Peninsula Mob I can say that now I'm on here too!

I have been lucky to have had 2 houses with heatpumps and HRV. The last house I was in didn't and we were so sick all the time! I wouldn't give this house up for the world, as much as I miss Orewa, as it's big and private, warm and dry

Gangs - I've worked in a school in the south of the North Shore, rampant with 'wannabe gangsters' and I've heard stories that would make your toes curl. I have never actually witnessed it first-hand though. I have maybe seen a 'gang-patch' 2-3 times and the guys are normally pushing their little ones around doing the shopping!!

You stay away from gang culture, it stays away from you - simple

UKNZAUS

Totally blown out of all proportion.

simonsi

Best thing to do is find a watertight house. Buy/view/inspect houses after rain, not in summer after a dry spell, if there isnt any water in the air then you wont find any leaks....

Then add DRY heating as desired (heat pump, log burner, electric), and dont use any form of open gas heater that puts huge amounts of water vapour into the air inside the house...

Expat Kiwi

I'm not sure of that, it depends on where you go and who you come into contact with.

If you have kids at high school, or older, their experience of Gangs and gang culture is going to be different to yours. Its not just patched members that are the problem.

When they're out at night how do you know who they're coming into contact with?

When they're offered drugs (Cannabis, P, Ecstasy) where do you think those drugs come from?

simonsi

Agreed but for someone in the UK to be worried about their daily life involving gangs on the Shore shows it is blown out of proportion. As with most things, their impact will depend on a number of parameters depending on personal circumstances, they aren´t all-prevailing.