Mdgey

Hi

Well here goes I my OH and three chidren are considering emmigrating to NZ.My inlaws moved there in 1996 and are now happily NZ Citizens in Franklyn District North Island. They love NZ and would never return to England. My OH and the kids visited for a Holiday/Recce in 2006 and also where suitably impressed.We have looked into it and know its not going to be easy and have also looked at forums at good/bad etc to get a wider prospective.

Reasons for wanting to leave the UK, England perhaps more than Scotland can best be descibed a a complete "toilet" a yob culture exists with sleazy politicians, a George Orwell 1984 culture in existence already with CCTV everywhere, overcrowding, horrendous consumerism and materialism which we don't susbcribe to. Ageism is awful here and anyone passed 45 is at serious risk of never working in a career again as the country is obsessed with youth. House Prices are ridiculous with little affordable alternatives and the country is just a service industry with now no traditional Industrial base anymore. I don't recognise the UK from my childhood of the 60's and 70's and like my inlaws want a better quality of life for I and more importantly my childrens away from the culture of Playstation, and Anti-Social Behaviour etc.

Thats where I come in our life here is now an utter mess my career sadly has gone,for now, I was made redundant in 2006 and now at 46 I face a series of Temping work for the forseeable future as some employers see me as now too old ,or Managers half my age feel threatened by my skills and experience and work ethic.

Sadly we don't qualify under the normal rules ie reserved occupation,
skill shortage etc so would have to come over on the basis of a holiday and then seek a work permit and attempt to obtain work with a view to staying and then selling up back here. Their is obviously a massive risk and probably a period when I will be separated from my family, although I will at least have the help of my inlaws which perhaps others would not. We are fortunate to have some savings to help us live in the short term in NZ, but most of our money is tied up in property which would have to be released before we could buy there.

What we are looking for is a new quality of life, none of us are particularly materialistic, we don't crave for the latest Plasma TV, Designer Clothes, or latest badge on the Car, perhaps thats why we feel out of place in the "must have at any cost society" of the UK today.We are looking for a more relaxed way of life, more fresh air/outdoor pursuits, to some extent we have that as we live in semi rural Staffordshire, and a more understated way of life, where experiences and people are more important than material objects. We are not looking for Utopia and I don't think even NZ fits into that as like most countries it has its problems, perhaps lesser than the UK.

We are all fairly flexible and willing to adapt to new surroundings, although the thought of turning my life upside down fills me with fear and excitement in equal portions, however my life has already been turned inside out from the events of redundancy in 2006.

So as indicated prevously what we/I am considering doing is coming over and searching for work, perhaps renting our house out here in the UK, to later sell,or the Family bar me returning after a month with me staying with my inlaws.

What I need to know is am I mad on contemplating such a venture, but if not seriously I would need to know when's the best time to come, whose the best people to approach for work,should we sell up beforehand,( we have no mortgage, pure profit after expenses ). One things for sure at this juncture The North Island and being near to my in-laws due the need for their help will be the starting point.

Opinions good, bad indifferent will be most appeciated.

Don't be frightened to speak you mind

Best Wishes

Warren
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wimpy

Dont be put off just because you feel that you have no skills required. We are in exactly the same position as you and have been planning our move for the past 8 months or so. We are selling up and taking that huge leap but feel its well worth the gamble. Everyone on here has been so helpful and I am sure they will be able to put your mind at rest.

Someone once advised me "the biggest risk in life is not taking any"

Good luck and I am sure all will work out for you.......

jjthefridge

Hi Guys.

I don't if they do it in nz but i remember from reading in australia and new zealand magazine about applying for courses in aus,to train for a job, may be the same in nz.

If you could afford to do it see if you get a job as a trainee to learn a skill, or find out whats in demand and see if you can do a course then see if you can get work experience in nz. Can you get sponsored by in-laws

j.j.

St George Six

Hmmmmm I live NZ, but you must live in a differant England, I lived in South an it was and still is beautiful an a great palce to live.

Don't think NZ is paradise it is not , but it is a good place to live but so is England they both have good an bad poinrts.

spoonguy

I'd tend to agree NZ doesn’t have any less problems some the same some different. I say making the change seems to be the important step; however NZ is very close to British culture.

Maybe less ageism here, I don’t know but I’ve certainly seen more sexism and racism. Less drunken chavs loitering in town but a larger drug problem, dangerous driving issues and a high suicide rate. I'd say if you don’t like England you won’t like NZ the cultural links are no doubt a big reason why so many Brits move here in the first place.

Moving here isn’t going to fix any problems, any more than moving somewhere else the UK. You may find the change is better if you moved to somewhere like France or Holland if you’re looking to get away from British culture.

All that said England isn’t a toilet, you seem to be having a bad time of it but can happen anywhere. Only when you leave the UK do you realise all the great things about it that you take for granted.

Spacecake799

Hi Warren,

What job did you do? What qualifications do you have? Due to your age you need to make sure that you can get enough points elsewhere to get in.
Why cant your inlaws sponser you on the family quota?

As for selling up and just arriving. We did just that in 2006. We sold everything, came here as visitors and hoped hubby could get a job to keep us here. One year on the 3 children are happily in school and we have residency so yes it can be done.

Feel free to ask anything and i'll help in i can.

Good Luck

Carole

Maz

Hi Warren,

Wherever you end up, do make sure it's because you want to be in that place, not just because you think England is a cess-pit (it's not).

Wiz'n'Ton

Hi there, and welcome to the forum!

I have to echo Maz's comments. Coming here as a way to escape the "cesspit" of the UK is probably jumping from the frying pan into the fire - and this is coming from someone who thought he was doing exactly the same thing a year ago!

The things you state do exist here too, especially in the cities where many of us expat folks live. Crime, drunks, high house prices and incredible mortgage rates, consumerism, the 'have-it-now-pay-for-it-in-10-years' culture - it's all going on here too.

This is not being negative, just realistic. From the second part of your post it's clear that you are also realistic about what you are looking for, and what you expect.

I just want you to know that we'll be here to answer the questions you have about the topics that concern you. You may start some lively debate, you may not, but make sure you ask to avoid the disappointment of arriving to something that doesn't fulfill your dreams.

Kato33 is a classic example of making it happen if you want it to happen - and if we can help then we will.

To answer your first questions: No, you're not mad to just come here and then sort something out - many have done exactly the same. For some it works, for some it doesn't, but at the very least you'll have tried and it'll be something to tell your grand kids about!

Best time to come? As soon as you are ready. I would say avoid Christmas as the whole place effectively closes for 2 months (December & Jan), but other than that whenever you're ready. Definately sell the house first - I (against my wife's advice) insisted on keeping the house as a safety net and although I am pleased I did we are now trying to sell it from 12000 miles away and it is proving to be a nightmare! As well as lower UK prices, the exchange rate is now really poor and so overall if we'd have sold first off we would have had well over $30k more than we will end up now and that's a lot of $$$'s!

Best people to approach for work are recruitment agencies first off, and then directly approach any company you like the look of here. NZ seems much more relaxed, and if you see a firm you like the look of then just walk in and ask to speak to the decision maker - 9 times out of 10 you will get them - not like the UK there at all. What do you/ do you want to do?

Good luck!

Nerine

I agree with Maz too, especially as NZ has many of the problems that you mentioned the UK has. It's a nice place and all...... but no utopia by any means.

You also said that you have no mortgage, are you sure you'll be able to afford to buy a house outright in NZ or will you have to take on a 20/25 year mortgage? As you may be aware it's not a cheap country to buy a house in.

Over 45? you're going to loose points on the EOI straight off, ageism exists in NZ too I'm afraid .

If you're keen to give it a go stay with the inlaws for a while and try to find a job, then look at whether you want to make the move and if you need to sell your house to do it.

Being on holiday and living in a country are two different things entirely, good luck to you.

Genesis

I don't think NZ is ANYTHING like the UK, well the UK I left 3 yeaqrs ago and the NZ I find myself here in Palmerston North, never ever could 2 things be so DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats why I like it. I was escaping a barrow load of shite from my particular neck of the woods but I had been to NZ and always wanted to live here....or somewhere else that took my fancy..anything to escape living in the UK.

England is an awesome place...I just didn't/don't want to live there anymore. Been here 3 years and it is all I ever dreamed of, I have the life, lifestyle and everything else I could not get in the UK.

Sure NZ has a whole gamut of issues and problems, but here in Palmy they are of a different ilk to what I suffered in Northants. I am frankly surprised at the amount of problems little NZ has...perchance poor politics??????

Life is but a brief sojurn, if it takes your fancy just do it. Even if you don't like it (because LOADS don't) WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best of luck!!!!

spid

As my brother said when I told we were thinkng of emigrating

'You only regret what you don't do in life, not what you do do.'

Now I agree with the sentiment, if not the logic (there are things I did i do regret - like selling the first house I had (at a £10K loss) just before the housing boom and losing out on £100K+ had I kept it another year. But then hindsight is a wretched thing and should be banned! We are looking at the doing something similar - except we will hopefully be coming over with a job - have no house to sell, but just upping sticks and doing it. In a way we are used to it - the froces send you where they want all the time - often no time for a reccee and even if you did no chance to say no - you take what you get and you make the best of it. Been doing that all my life.

Like you say NZ isn't Utopia - and from what i've read on here can be similar to UK in lots of ways. CHeck out wages (hubby will be on 40% less than UK) and the cost of living (i reckon only 25% less than UK - others will correct me if i'm wrong) and see if you can afford it. Mortgage rates are really high at the mo. ANd the exchange rates appalling. I'm hoping in the 18 months before we go the 1st comes down and the 2nd goes up, but i have based all my workings out on a worst case senario so we won't get unpleasantly surprised. There is a good spread sheet on the forum about the cost of living - do a search for it as i'm useless with this technology and can't work out how to post a link - that was extremely helpful.

NZ won't solve your problems only you can do that. You just have to decide whether you want to solve them on an island 12,000 miles away. That's what we decided. Good luck.

Mdgey

Hi Everyone,

Well perhaps my discription of England being a "toilet" was a bit harsh, but it certainly could do with a dose of Domestos. I think some folk have got a wee bit stuck on that comment which is fair enough, I was honest and i asked people to be the same. Yes England perhaps isn't that bad but it has changed markedly in the last 10 years and in the main not for the better, which as someone born and bred here is very sad. Where I live is probably quite nice compared to some other parts and crime is relatively low, however I originate form a large city and have worked for many years in the inner cities and some of the most deprived areas of the West Midlands in recent times. My previous occupations brought me into contact with some very challenging individuals and in general their is a decline in moral standards and respect for others in the UK. Yes it varies and having been seconded o the North West for a short while I could see it was even worse there than here in the Midlands. The general problem of Anti Social Behaviour, binge drinking by and large is an English disease, Europe just dosen't have some of these issues. The UK is not a major Industrial base anymore and the levels of bureacracy have swelled over the last decade rather than declined. Yes the UK is still an okay place to be compared to a great deal of other countries some very close to these shores, although their are still vast differences between parts of the UK, to some extent the North/South divide is still with us, here in the Midlands we are caught between the two .

But the point for I and my family is we want something different now which Ii don't feel these Isle's can offer.I am very worried about my childrens future here, and their future prospects. The standards of education is okay but their is too much red tape and a lack of discipline in schools although the schools my kids attend are pretty okay.

Whilst I am pretty fed up with my lot here I still recognise the good things about the UK and will be sad to some extent to leave, however I will also want to be able to look back fondly to the old country, whch has given us so much.

I am the sought of person who would come to NZ and embrace the country attempting to leave my Englishness behind me, as an Australian said to a friend of mine who was considering moving to AUS, as long as you leave your English attitude in England you will be fine here.

I recognise we have some issues to resolve here before we can make that leap to Kiwiland but we will be working on them over the next couple of months.

As indicated in the latter part of my original post we are inviting advice and opinions to help us get a varied prospective towards our decsion process in addition to all the research we are undertaking. This will obviously at least help us to prepare as much as we can before we get there of what to expect, I know its not the same but as they say "knowledge is power".

As i said before keep the info coming and the dialogue, I hope I haven't offended anyone and have now put the record straight about blighty.
and no I don't thinkNZ is a paradise and the "grass is greener" etc, I anticipate and have read about some of its problems which are similar to the UK.

Take Care and keep the communication coming

Warren

j19fmm

Hi Warren, don't think you offended anyone, we all like to have a rant!! This morning i sat in bed with my kids and tried to decide what would be different if/when we move to NZ...the biggest worry to my 8 year old was the cruddy chocolate, and that he would need a whole field to himself for his BMX...the innocence of youth... Good luck

saritabear

Hi,
I live in the North West of the UK and its a beautiful place....school is great, good circle of friends etc, plenty to see and do....but we are moving for different reasons - most of family is in NZ now, rest on way next year after us, OH spends about 90 minutes commute each way to a job he hates and so hardly sees the kids. We're hoping he's going to be working in Wellington and then can commute on the metro thingy so at least will have a shorter commute and not be so stressed and tired every day. Also we'll be in the relatively lucky position of being mortgage free (bought current house before boom so have quite a lot of equity to bring).
We want to have a bit of an adventure and live somewhere different for a while - somewhere where we can all do outsidey things together. Grow our own veg etc. We're very much a make do and mend family which lots of our friends find a bit weird. But hey ho!
I suppose we all have our own reasons for wanting to make the leap and as long as you're true to yourself for those reasons, no reason not to try I think.
Good luck to you Warren if thats what you decide to do....

notlob1

i think the uk is very different to the 60s a 70s with which i grew up yes it still is a beautiful place but with 60 million + people and rising its hard to imagine things improving from the current problems, i like most just think NZ may be a better alternative to the uk, if it isnt then we will go back and make the best of it, but like mdgey dont want to spend another 5 years in uk wishing i had the bottle to at least give it a go