karonious

I came for the adventure of trying somewhere new. We had moved extensively round Britain with the RAF and were used to managing on our own without the immediate back-up of relatives and long-term friends in the locality, which gave us some self-reliance when we moved. I have loved being in New Zealand. I am well aware of the drawbacks and the problems here but this is the choice I made and overall, I don't regret it.
In spite of the major upheavals in my personal life, I still love it here. I have made the most fantastic friends via this forum and I hold them very dear: they have meant the world to me when things got too much to bear on my own:
Cheers people!!

Dustybin

we came for the extensive shopping, crowds, high speed internet, huge wages and excellent local driving skills.

Lived up to everything and so much more..

Andrew Cross

I always knew you had a sense of humour...driving skills

SarahB

We didnt really have a reason to come here....or to leave UK for that matter. We came as OH was head-hunted and was offered a job here.... it seemed like an adventure and absolutely everyone we knew told us we were "lucky sods" and to "go for it". We filled in all the forms, got PR in 2 days and were here a few months later.... still love it here now.

littleal

Oh Happy, I always like to hear you ramble on

Alison

mallard

Many thanks for that post! "Not emigrating but going on an exciting adventure".......brilliant!

Regards
Mallard (the adventurer!)

happynz

If I wanted an adventure I would have applied for a job in Tashkent, Myanmar or Azerbaijan. New Zealand ain't exactly exotic. New Zealand has worked out OK though.

garryhg

you don't need EXOTIC for an adventure.....its broken us away from our safe little lives and given us a taste of life in another country.....(living that is not just holidaying)....

its given myself and my kids a new found confidence,to know that you can do something like this and overcome the many hurdles that await you when you get here....
and while we are here we are going to see ,figi,australia,some of the pacific islands,all places that we probably would never have gone to had we still been in scotland....so it is a huge adventure for us......jacky

happynz

I hope I wasn't coming off as being negative towards anyone. I was speaking of my own experience.

Cool.
Aussie ain't exactly a big leap into the unknown (speaking for myself, mind you). Many of the Pacific Islands can be an enjoyable foray outside your comfort zone if you are willing to stray into the lesser developed destinations. Southeast Asia isn't that far away and can provide some grand adventures.
Have fun!

jca69

Like garryhg, I think we don't need to go find Livingstone to live an adventure. For a family trying to live a new experience, with people that speak another language, have other eating habits, other ways of spending free time, thinking, etc, it's already an adventure.
For us our adventure has brought to Calgary (too cold!) but we want to move to NZ. Ok, we can call it a western country or 1st world country, but it's different either way to Spain. For some, even moving to another district is an adventure. It's all relative.

Maybe the term "adventure" related to migration refers more to migrating not because of political, economical or social reasons, like third world countries' people migrating to the 1st world.

happynz

Exactly!

lapsed kiwi

Lower population density
Better Climate
Ability to afford a nice house in a great area near a beach and a big city without a mortgage (well the last bit at least when we sell up in UK)
Living in the sort of place I used to pay good money to go on holiday to

karonious

I have to disagree with that, happynz. Starting life again in your 40's in a new country, halfway round the world from everything you have ever known, IS an adventure. So it's not exotic, they drive on the same side of the road (mostly!) but you have left your comfort zone to boldly go where you have never been before. It has been an adventure and I don't regret it all

happynz

I'm not sure what we are agreeing or disagreeing about. I was speaking of my own circumstances and experiences.

whitesand

We came to NZ for the experience as we have lived in several places overseas. What NZ has done is focus us on what we think important to us, and I don't think NZ will satisfy us long term.

The money problem is a big one, and I'm not talking about saving - I'm talking about day to day living and paying bills. It's just so difficult to keep ahead here and we are sinking. Our sights get smaller and smaller the longer we are here.