Divine Comedy

Hello to everyone, So as we are nearing our household going off in that big old container, What do you miss now, and wish you had packed and what do you think you dont really need there or cant use and could have left behind? Debborah.x

tinytiger

Hey, anyone coming to Ohakea you are in for such a treat. Thursday it was really sunny and clear, from the quarters in Bulls you could see Mt Taranaki out towards the sea as clear as anything and if you turned around you could see a snow capped Mt Ruapehu so so clearly that it could have been down the road. It was truly a "this is why I came to NZ" moment.

Just a quick one about quarters, my last reply might have seemed a bit negative towards the quarter, they are fine really, I have been in a small house in Coltishall to a huge house in Bruggen, the quarters here are in the middle size wise. They have a kitchen/diner, lounge with woodburner, bedrooms ! a bathroom with a bath with overhead shower (some have a shower and bath) and a sink, a sep W.C and a laundry room. They have a garage and a wood shed. Most of them have wood floors ... or delightful varnished chipboard ! so bring rugs. The quarters don't have curtains so you can bring your own or buy them here, out here they sell thermal ones. Wait until the sales, they are always on somewhere. Briscoes is good when there is a sale on and Warehouse .... where everyone gets a bargain !

Lou x

rickg37

To all those going throughout the motions stresses and strains have a look at these two clips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ASfekJRTtA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_MGRpV0Sqs



Took a weekend away from the house and it is quite easy to forget all those worries when you zip down a mountainside attached to a piece of plastic with three skateboard wheels under you

See you all soon

Rick Tracy Tom & Mary Lou

rickg37

Hi Debborah as you can see we had a great time away. I wish i had left loads behind as we still have boxes to unpack and im not sure where to put them .

I wish i had packed tetly teabags aquafresh toothpaste and lots of suntan and aftersun lotion. Still as you can see if thats all we are missing its not to bad.

I know some people think that bedding is expensive over here so i did stock up before we came out.

Well hope your not to stressed like i said if you want to email me with anything i really dont mind.

Keep smiling it will all be worth it in the end.

Tracy

Divine Comedy

Well Tracy that looked like great fun!! and weather looked nice also? Yes about sunlotin someone had told me over factor 20 was hard to get hold of, so got loads! Looks like Ann and myself will have to pack plenty of tetley to keep you all happy for a while longer!!
Let me know any other tips you can think of, it all helps!! Debborah.x.

annbee

Hi Tracy

Looked at your films, my girls were facinated by the dancing. Lucy was under the impression that you would have to dance like that (she is 8). As i think that we are the last people on the thread to come over, please feel free to put your order in for things that you need from the uk. My container wont go until the begining of sept, so you have plenty of time to get a list together, I already have a good supply of T Bags and School skirts. Starting on the sun cream next.

tinytiger

Hi
I have been reading with interest the suncream requests, I have found suncream everywhere, all the supermarkets, chemist etc. I have found the exact brand I used at home for the kids, Nivea colour change. The Cancer Society do a whole range of creams, lotions and aftersun. Most of them are factor 30 +. I bought it on special with aftersun free !!
Most festivals have free suncream stands with factor 30 pump bottles. It is a huge thing in schools with the "slip, slap, slop" My kids are not allowed outside to play in school if they don't have their hat with them, school policy. With a great wacking hole in the ozone above us, I suppose they have to be hot on it .. get it .."hot" on it !!
Sorry, don't mean to jump on my soap box but my mum died of skin cancer so I am quite keen on the suncream issue ! NZ has a 8 min burn time in summer, that is incredible and very scary. Keep slappin the cream on everyone.
Lou x

rickg37

Hi All
Im glad you liked the film i thought it would keep you smiling.

As you can see through the stress there is time to smile.

I think i have been through every emotion since I have been here. When we first started the course some of the girls where having down days and I thought I was great until the second week when everyone had heard about there housepack delivery and when I rang vanlines they said there was a problem at customs so the next 24 hours where filled with tears only to learn the phrase they had used was wrong and what they had really meant was someone hadnt done the paperwork and the delivery was definitely on time.

I also had a few tears when my container left and after speaking to the wives we came over with so did they so I wasnt all that mad.

So im sure as the weeks go on you will still go through loads of ups and downs and think you are going mad and when you get here you might feel the same somedays.

But we have been to the beach again today the sun was shining the beach had a handful of people on it not an icecream man or an arcade in sight and it was bliss.


Keep writing and we will see you both soon.

Regards
Tracy

dmcewan

Sorry to butt in here somewhat late in the thread but I have just been told by lateral recruiting that my OOS from the RNZN is inbound and any advice I can get would be greatly rec'd.
How do I go about getting a letter from the RN ref reserve liability?
Are things in the NZDF as bad as Bens thread suggests, will my family really be on the breadline?

Divine Comedy

things in the NZDF as bad as Bens thread suggests, will my family really be on the breadline?[/QUOTE]

Hello, i think it is a matter of making up your own mind on this one.
My hubby went out last year on a 3 week trip and he seemed to think everything was a similar price to the UK, but being on a lower NZ wage will mean we will have to tighten our belts. Lots of home cooking!!
Everyone is going for their own reasons, so personally i would look at it from an angle of what you want you want out if . All the best .x.
Im sure everyone on here who is there already will help you out with NZ living!!

rickg37

Hi

As for living on the breadline that is going to depend on what you are used to, vegetables are cheap here from local stores pork is the most expensive meat but we shop around the shops have offers just the same as UK and even on our meagre wages we have the Friday takeout from a local chinese (fill a tub enough for 4 for $16)or the closer local takeaway doing good old fish & chips to Lamb shanks or beef goulash.

On reserve liability I copied my OOS and sent that to the admin section and received a letter back releasing me to send to the RNZAF

Rick

jonesey

[QUOTE=rickg37;4696765]Hi

As for living on the breadline that is going to depend on what you are used to, vegetables are cheap here from local stores pork is the most expensive meat but we shop around the shops have offers just the same as UK and even on our meagre wages we have the Friday takeout from a local chinese (fill a tub enough for 4 for $16)or the closer local takeaway doing good old fish & chips to Lamb shanks or beef goulash.

On reserve liability I copied my OOS and sent that to the admin section and received a letter back releasing me to send to the RNZAF

Rick[/QUOTE
Well ricks right money is alot less here than england but like he said you can get cheap veg and takeaways, but when you know you can drive 10mins to the beach that just says it all. we came out here the first time with 5 of are children, working for a civvi bank we had know help with flights or hotels, we payed all that ourselves. we rented a house for 450 dollars aweek and with my husbands wage being low we still managed to feed 5 kids and still have a good lifestyle, we only went back to england for family reasons as you do,but still nothing changed and needed to come back here,OUR HOME: We were so glad for mick to get back into the forces it all seemed like fate playing apart, and now here we are 7 months into it again, and now i can say i wont be going back at all, my to boys have also said there coming back and joining up which im pleased about.we manage quite well here as some may not know being on a small wage here, you can claim working benifit for those who do not have a pension in england, which tops your husband wages up, which i say its like another wage coming in, Thats why im not working HA HA. not to sure if you get it with a overseas pension, but hey its worth a try, so for people worried about money there are ways, and at the end of the day its what you have here LIFESTYLE that matters,but if you dont try it then youll always say to yourself WHAT IF
We know not all people are the same , but from the jonesey family we love it here, im the same as everybody else ive left my mum 4 sisters and a brother also 2 grankids ,but at the end of the day my children come first and if i can give them a better life here, then thats what ive done,hope this helps anyonexxxxx

tinytiger

Well said Jonesey !!
Really pleased someone has said something so positive about moving here. Although we have only been here a couple of months we could not imagine going back to the U.K already. We are on the bottom rung of the earnings for the family assistance but I have friends with 4 kids and a joint earnings of $90000 and they still get some family assistance ! Like you said, it means I don't have to work and gives us more freedom to do stuff when my hubby is off. If you are on the lower end of wages then you can claim the community card which helps with doctor and prescription charges and you can get rent allowance to help with rent or mortgage. The RNZAF also runs a scheme that pays a part of your mortgage while you serve.You can opt in for the 4 years tax relief on pensions and savings but you can't claim the family assistance for those 4 years so you need to weigh up which will make you more, family assistance or interest on your savings. This is all explained on the induction course. Yes the wages are low but the RNZAF offers holiday homes around NZ for $30 ish a night, you can hire a motorhome for touring, trailers just about anything so the poor wage is made up with the perks !
We love it here, the scenery is breathtaking and amount of stuff to do is fantastic and it does not have to cost the earth, pack up a lunch and go and explore.
Have fun !
Lou x

lapsed kiwi

Congrats on getting your OOS, the RNZN are crying out for MTs (I think you're a MEA?) so we'll be pleased to see you. I didn't get very far on the reserve liability before I left; I emailed the relevant WO at 2SL and got no reply, then his Cdr boss, also no reply, so have kept the emails and consider myself free from liability.
NZDF isn't a big payer and there is no guaranteed pay rise like with UK (although the buzz is there will be one this year) but provided you know what your salary will be and what you need for a house etc there should be no surprises. If you have family, then to live comfortably on a RNZN salary you really one or two out of three of:
- capital from UK
- pension from UK
- partner to be earning
Don't get too disheartened by some of the stuff you read on here, there are glass-half-empty types wherever you go! NZ has some fantastic opportunities and advantages compared with UK.
PM me if you've got any specific questions about RNZN I can help with

dmcewan

Thanks for all your input guys,
I am now reassured that we are making the right decision. It is the lifestyle my wife and I are after, especially now I have a month old daughter to think about. What is the education system/life for kids like out there?
I have an induction briefing next week in Portsmouth so hopefully I will leave that even more positive.

Thx.