The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Somebody suggested a "positive experiences" thread elsewhere, so I'm picking up the idea and running with it.

People with an axe to grind generally tend to be more vocal so it's no surprise that there are plenty of negative postings appearing. However, I suspect (and hope!) that there are some people out there with more positive feelings about their move to NZ who are a bit busy enjoying themselves, or who don't feel like being flamed by some of the more "assertive" members of this community. If you are one of these people, here is your chance !

Please no negative experiences, put-downs, flaming or general bitterness on this one thread - there are plenty of other threads for that!

If yours is a happy story, please tell us about it !!

Cheers,
Steve

PS if this has been done recently then sorry, I've only recently started to follw this forum regularly

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Positive experiences:

1. My work was a 2min walk from the beach. I would go for a swim or if possible - a surf in my lunch hour!
2. My work was 5 mins from the golf course.....(which cost equiv. of 300quid a year for membership)
3. My house was 10 min drive from work...A lovely 2 bdrm house with 180deg seaviews and beach access / boatramp at end of 1/4 acrea section for $280 a week.

All of that was within 20-30mins of the CBD of auckland.

I love it all and look forward to returning one day.

I know people like to paint rosy pictures and make it all sound good - but none of the above is rose-tinted....it was my reailty.
I miss it.

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Sounds great....obvious question ..why did you leave? (if its not too personal a question). :beer:

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

I've been living here nearly two months, nearly all of my expierences have been positive, i am less well payed than in the UK and we can't afford a PC or Sky at the minute, but it doesn't really matter when every friday night we are a two hour drive away from an idyllic paradise where we can stay for free

the internet is full of negative people, most people i've met who've moved from the uk love it our here. they just get on with things instead of posting on a messageboard about how well things are going, while if things don't go well some people love nothing better than a good moan online, so it's understandable if most posts on here are negative

the weather is getting better all the time so get your boardies out and the barbie on and enjoy yourself!

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Hi there - brill idea Steve.

We've been here three weeks - we came with nothing arranged but a holiday let for 1 month.

The cottage is delightful, well furnished, plenty of heaters for the colder evenings (and power is included in the price!), close to central chch for getting a feel of where we want to be.

In the three weeks we've:
set up our bank accounts in about 40mins with no pre applications (ASB),

found a lovely house to rent on the hills with a most spectacular view, 2 huge bedrooms (and 1 smaller one), 2 huge living rooms, all of which look like they will be full of sunshine (have been each time we've visited) and there was no hassle with this - we were waiting for our money to come over before we could pay our bond etc and that was no probs as far as the agent (Harcourts) were concerned.

Hubby's found a job - family run company who understand what it's like to have young kids and have said they will be flexible (and no the pay is not brill but we knew what to expect through the forum and have got what we expected!). They are being really relaxed about it all - getting IRD forms, getting overalls, allowing part time while we settle into the area / new home, really lovely people.

All the people we have met have been lovely - the kids can't get used to people wanting to speak to them, put stamps on their hands etc etc

So - so far so good - no regrets yet, however we are greatful to all the posters on here - it has given us a real sense of what to expect and the difficulties that may lie ahead - forewarned is forearmed and all that jazz.
Vicki

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Life would be dull if I stayed in one place all my life.

To answer simply

1. Travel
2. Life experience (and work experience)
3. Money

In that order.
Will def. be back within a couple of years. Once i've saved enough to get on that damn housing ladder!

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Come on lets keep this thread going there has to be more positive experiences than this....i'm getting all depressed again now :(

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Me too, I started it with the hope of getting some reassurance!!

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Hello
Well we have had nothing but positive experiences of living in NZ and have been in NZ for 2 and a half years.

Kids, much more active, done loads of things they just would not have had the opportunity to do in the UK. Keen swimmers, kayakers, involved with loads of sports. Love their schools and both doing well academically.

House, much bigger than UK. Room for kids to have sleepovers and their own lounge.

Garden, well it's fabulous to have a garden that isn't overlooked by neighbours as in the UK. Have had the chance to grow veges. Room for a trampoline. Garden big enough to have chickens in it !!!

Work, all UK skills recognised. Off to OZ for a business trip again next month.

Have met some great new friends {still looking for a Bob and Bev, but we know we'll never be able to replace them}.

Family from UK have visited and having seen where we are and what we have been able to do, totally understand our decision to be here.

Car, we would NEVER have been able to afford a people carrier in the UK, yet here they are just your average family vehicle.

Big meat eaters and steak is inexpensive :)

Weather warmer than where we were in N E UK.

Have learned how to do mosaic tiling, make profiteroles, light an open fire and
how to clip a chickens feathers.

Gill and Rob

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

Yes Yes Yes.............

Coming up 5 years now

Kids have grown into teenagers - but they are 18/17 and 16 so probably about time.

Kids have learnt to surf, wakeboard, go bush, drive (at the age of 15!!!), holiday in Aus and Fiji, spend weekends at the beach, snowboard, mountain bike, possum hunt, get lost and not worry, Maori, catch flounders and crayfish - the list goes on.

I have learnt that you can do anything you set your mind too..........I was an accountant in the UK, since then I have worked on an Avocado Orchard, I have worked on a kiwifruit orchard, I have planted a small olive grove on my lifestyle block, I have learnt how to use a chainsaw (safely), I have been unemployed, I have worked for the local newspaper, I worked for a construction company - now I'm an accountant again.

I prefer NZ bacon though still struggle with sausages.

BBQ are a way of life - anything that can be cooked indoors can be cooked outdoors.

NZ fish and chips are the best in the world - especially snapper.

I have a house that I could of only dreamt of in the UK.

The sun does shine - a lot.

I prefer a climate to weather and nothing depresses me more than drizzle.

No crowds, no banging trolleys in the supermarket, no queing for a parking space, no people.

Thats enough for now.

Have a good day.....

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

[QUOTE=Herm]NZ fish and chips are the best in the world - especially snapper.

Yes at last, somebody that agrees with me that NZ fish and chips are the best ever, yum
We never eat them in the UK, really disgusting. Although we did find some nice ones in Scotland (Elgin) but it's a bit far to go.
KAZ

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

I haven't posted on this forum for ages - I tend to pop in every month or so to see if anything has changed with regards to the number of negative posters but it never has so I usually bugger off again but I saw this thread and so....

My husband and I moved to Taranaki just over a year and a half ago - we now have a 4 acre lifestyle block with an old villa that needs doing up and a six month old Kiwi daughter! We have a great bunch of mates (Pommies and Kiwis), the beach just down the road, a view of the mountain, a great lifestyle and are happier than we have ever been.

Money is tight as we have a big mortgage but we decided to put in the hard yards now for the benefit of our family later ( so the renovations will take YEARS!!!!). But then again money has always been tight because you always live to your means ( or just over in our case!), don't you!

We love it here - like anywhere there are good things and bad things (agree with the sausage issue - Hellers come the closest I think and why oh why don't the Chinese restaurants do crispy seaweed and prawn crackers?) - but on balance the bad things aren't as bad as they were in the UK so we feel we have done the right thing!

So put us on the 'best thing we have ever done' list!

I'll bugger off again now :D

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

We are coming to nz with kids the roughly the same age as yours when they came to nz (girl 12 and boy 14)...

did you find that they fitted into the school system and made new friends easily?? it can be a funny age!

neither of them want to leave their good friends but thankfully are happy to move to NZ.
the life sounds a lot better for them, all they do currently is msn on pc and watch tv!!

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

The kids adapted well. If I think back then the boys did adjust quicker than our daughter who had a really close group of friends in the UK who were used to getting out and about (even at the age of 12), parties, shopping, sleepovers, day trips to London etc. Here we moved into a rural envoirenment and girls of that age just did not go out. Distances between friends could be up to 30km so they couldn't just 'pop' round to each others houses. The boys however seemed happy to mix with friends at school and get on with it at weekends. And as I've said elsewhere you can drive here at the age of 15 so it wasn't long before our eldest was hijacking the car and going out on his own.

On reflection we had moved villages about 3 years before we emigrated and the move to NZ, as far as the kids were concerned, was no better or worse than that.

Kids. I have learnt, are much more adaptable than the adult version.

Cheers

Re: The Positive Experiences Thread
 

the life sounds a lot better for them, all they do currently is msn on pc and watch tv!![/QUOTE]

I'm a Kiwi and My girls are 11 & 14.
It probably won't change when they get here, LOL. My eldest daughter is 14 and that's all she does plus talk on the phone. And the music is all Hip hop(Snoop dog,Usher) etc.
If your kids want to know anything in particular then send a PM and my girls will answerany questions they have.