Stuee

Hiya

Yes we do like NZ but we are toying with the idea of going back to the UK, I have been offered a job with an English Brigade but still not decided if we will go.

Yes I do too look like a pommegranite in the sun and I am a sad git cause I looked it up again and it seems to be either my first theory or there is some suggestion its ryhming slang. IE Immigrant / Pommegranite but certainly not prisoners of her majesty.

I live in Greenhithe but currently stationed at Titirangi on permanent Day shifts, yipeeeee!

thebears

Sorry if it seems like that. Guess its just we spend alot of time between countrys and have a wide spread network of family, friends and business connections.

thebears

Lucky B###d Titirangi is lovely - never lived there but its got a nice golf course from memory and lovely bush sections to hide from the neighbours

thebears

St Pats day was the biggest piss up and excuse to not bother coming into work - guess it is all over the world, but in NZ it is much more noticeable when there is no one in the office

Kitty Obriens used to be my local (not as authentic as the real thing, but none the less was full fun loving kiwi/irish).

Buttercracks

Coming from a kiwi such as yourself who is living in Australia thats a very interesting comment.

Please tell us your experiences as a kiwi in Australia - and what made you leave new zealand? I am interested in moving but not sure where, and your insight into Aussie/Pom bashing in NZ or Pom bashing in Australia would be interesting.

thebears

We moved to Melbourne from the UK for our daugher to attend a specific private school. Having found Melbourne such lovely place has been a bonus.

What made me leave NZ? The police No the world beckoned and once you get used to a certain level NZ no longer offers enough career stimulation - most NZ companies now are based in Oz (better access to funding etc).
Nice to go back for a holiday but too many exgirlfriends to avoid (and its a small country )

Don't really see the point in getting too hung up on "bashing" whether it Pommy or Kiwi/Aussie. There will always be idiots who take the good natured badgering too far. I don't judge people on the basis of where they come from ,and just don't expect others to be particulary bothered by where I come from.

After being called an Aussie in the UK for past 12 years its ironic that now in Oz I'm been called a Pom.

If you are thinking of moving don't dwell too much on worrying about this - there is much more important things to consider.

hazeandsteve

Didn't expect this level of response, and thankfully it appears to be positive.
I'm an ex squaddie, and my father was in the prison service. Moving, settling and meeting new people is something I've done all my life, so holds no fears for me.
On the work front, as I said before, I've been contracting a while, and again it's a lot of new faces. One of my many jobs was in Switzerland, and it was here I met a Kiwi mate called Dion. He's the one that told me of steak and cheese pies.......reason enough to emigrate I found when we came and tried 'em.

cottageinthesky

The first time I went to Sydney, a shop assistant asked me where I came from - when I said Wellington, she looked really surprised and asked "how come I can understand you then?"

sky

But all of us must surely have worked for quite a few different employers in the UK.
Kiwi work colleagues seem to take real offence if you mentioned work practices in the UK. Some of the work practices here are ridiculously complicated just to do one simple task ... and as I found out, if you try to share your past experiences to them and make it simpler they get all insulted.

sky

And so will ours very soon
A lovely four bed, two bath, double glazed house with a huge veranda to sit on and sip wine and watch the sun go down of an evening. It's going to be clad in rustic batten and board just like Biddys but quite a bit smaller
All that space around us and it's all ours! it's a bloody fantastic feeling

thebears

Don't take it personally its the same all over the world. Its why some companies get ahead and others flounder (ie taking on board new ideas and ways of doing things).

sky

It's a bit worrying when it's the kiwi health service though isn't it :scared:
I have a nurse friend who came across the same as me and another physiotherapist friend who's been here ten years and still comes up against it :scared:

I know what you're saying though bears

Buttercracks

I wouldnt take offense to the anti British comments if I were you - youll just be as bad as they are by saying that.

I am personally worried about the remoteness that NZers have because of their location and small population - and I am wondering about how this is demonsrated - a bonus if you like to be by yourself and like the pastures and wilds but not good if you like to interact with other people.

And this brings me to what I have heard and read is a big problem and would like to hear peoples experiences - there appears to be a lot of strong nationalism in NZ and while it appears to be a beautiful country I fear that unlike Australia the fact that its such a small country with nothing but sheep and pastures and mountains (I mean come on -- you cant compare the cities of NZ with Australia or US or UK - NZ doesnt really have any big cities), there are a lot of young men in NZ who dont really like people from outside NZ (taking their space, women, food, jobs etc) and the strong USD against the NZD means that they are even more bitter.

So this is one factor that is important for me and others in deciding where to move even more than the location is - its the people there. Neighbours have to be intelligent and welcoming - not country bumpkins who are just bitter with big chips on both shoulders - so tell us - what are your experiences with this?

One thing I heard from a friend of mine from New York is that Australians put the jumbucks in the tucker bag but NZers put the jumbucks into the sleeping bag. What is that all about?

Apple12

I am wondering if you are reading too much into all this... People who like to live in cities might find Auckland or Wellie to their taste, if not they will live in Sydney or NY or London or whatever.
Around 4 million people live in NZ, granted many of them are under 20 so don't have any option to move, but of the 3 or so million others they may be quite happy living in their little piece of the world and have in fact *chosen* to do so. NZers are big travellers, many have travelled overseas and returned, and have *chosen* to do so.
For some people NZ isn't the place for them, but hey, life is for living and taking risks, isn't it?

I live in ChCh, a city of 400,000 (I think). In 90 mins drive I can be at a skifield, or in 15 min walk I can be in Hagley Park in the city centre with hundreds of other people admiring the daffodils. You make it sound as though I live in a hut in a valley 50 miles from the nearest neighbour... I am not, although if I wanted to I could... (dunno what I would do for work though? )

And I have no idea where you got that comment about the young NZ men??? I thought we had tried to convince you in an earlier thread that you might have met some idiots, why would you judge an entire population on that...?

thebears

I have come to the conclusion that Buttercracks is not searching for balanced experiences but stirring.

The appeal for people immigrating to NZ is not the cities and if you check the flight times you should understand before buying your ticket how isolated it is in terms of distance.
Silly comments about stealing the women? where is this coming from the women out number the men - we need all the help we can get Personally and after talking with a few of me mates back in NZ no one has a problem with immigrants coming as long as they are coming to participate and not to take the piss with the welfare system.

Kiwi