UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Mar 21st 2005, 10:58 pm
#16
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Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
[QUOTE=Damages]Hi Clarkies
you gotta be kidding nz has huge problems generating enough electricity , only last winter we were threatened with rolling power cuts.
you gotta be kidding nz has huge problems generating enough electricity , only last winter we were threatened with rolling power cuts.
Mar 21st 2005, 11:21 pm
#17
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 43
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
other costs which surprised me included paying to see the family doctor, children are free up to the age of 6. large families here and I still think one reason is the poorest in society cannot afford birth control. school fees a 'donation'every term that you have to pay, payment for school books pens everything in fact. there was an article in the paper stating the average teacher would be about 2500 better off in aus - child benefit, higher pension contributions and general wage. better go gonna talk myself in to a move.
Mar 21st 2005, 11:32 pm
#18
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Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
-
But how long do you have to be resident in Aus to qualify?
child benefit, higher pension contributions and general wage. better go gonna talk myself in to a move
Mar 21st 2005, 11:37 pm
#19
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Posts: n/a
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
[QUOTE=salmey]
So what has power resource got to do with human resource? Rolling power cuts is a human resource problem and not based on a sudden drop in geothermal or hydro energy. Unless the earth protests at being used for our frivolous needs!!!!
Regards
Ali
Originally Posted by Damages
Hi Clarkies
you gotta be kidding nz has huge problems generating enough electricity , only last winter we were threatened with rolling power cuts.
you gotta be kidding nz has huge problems generating enough electricity , only last winter we were threatened with rolling power cuts.
Regards
Ali
Mar 21st 2005, 11:42 pm
#20
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
trust no one family included
PARANOIA!!!
At the mountains of madness!!
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:06 am
#21
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 43
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
[QUOTE=Damages]-
as soon as you enter the country
as soon as you enter the country
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:08 am
#22
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 43
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Originally Posted by Damages
So what has power resource got to do with human resource? Rolling power cuts is a human resource problem and not based on a sudden drop in geothermal or hydro energy. Unless the earth protests at being used for our frivolous needs!!!!
Regards
Ali
Regards
Ali
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:11 am
#23
Inverted Firkin Inventor
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 757
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Originally Posted by Cassa
Plenty of comments. Has your family told you about the huge problem New Zealand has with Boy racers and their drag racing? They are killing people. Only this weekend in Christchurch another drag racing death. There is a lack of support for anyone trying to stop the huge problem of these young girls and boys (some as young as 15). They drive with no insurance (its not required) and the law is not tough here so they do not suffer in any way for their destruction. They gather in groups of up to a hundred at a time and you have no idea the noise the cars make. 3 times the world health guide lines for noise. The mufflers they have are not illegal and the country is to bloody pC to ban them so we all live in fear for the weekends when they take to the roads and keep us awake for hours.
The roads are a death trap and I think it has a lot to do with the fact kids can have a driving licence at 15. Way too young.
Drugs,
I have lived all over the world and have never, ever seen so may drug problems. This is a small country (population)and the amount of drug related crime is HUGE in comparison to a larger populated country. I lived in Edinburgh, which is supposed to be one of the worsed places in the UK for drugs and was neve aware of it. Here I am. All the time.
We live in a really good area in Christchurch. Twice this month I have had to scrub graffiti of my fence. I never did that once in the centre of Edinburgh. I also know for a fact that some of the boy racer problems are so big that even the police are intimidated by them. They think nothing of throwing bottles at the police. There are not the resources to deal with it. The police are stretched as it is.
So, please don't come here expecting a land of no crime, a land of saftey for your children and a land of plenty. It has its problems just like everywhere. For a country of a small population, they have more than there fair share of problems.
The eduction system is now really bad and it used to be good. All my husbands family were privately educated here and I have to say my sister and I did far better out of the Scottish School system.
Yes, you can get a house for £100K but it all depends on what you are coming out to NZ for. We struggled to find anything we would want to live in for less than $500K. It has no pool, no drive on access, so its not all roses here.
The family who live next door to me are Kiwi, they are moving to Australia next month as they are sick of the liberal way this country is going. I know what they mean. I have never seen so many sex shops, whore houses, whores on the street, massage parlors, strip bars in my life. again, I am from Edinburgh, known for its liberal approach at sex but this is way worse.
The only thing I can say is that this is a funny place. It is wonderful, pretty, green, clean (other than the cars - never seen such a dirty country in terms of car polution) and the people are lovely BUT it is not heaven. Its New Zealand and it has its problems and they are not that different than in the UK. Suggest you see the film 'Once we were Warriers' (think that is what it is called) will give you an idea of the other side of NZ. Its not all the beauty Billy Connelly showed on his tour.
We came here with your kind of thoughts, we had made it something unreal in our heads. When we arrived we hit the ground with a huge bump. Made even worse by the fact my husband is Kiwi!!! He has been away for 6 years and thinks it has changed a lot.
I can put money on it now the PC ness of the country will drive you mad and don't expect news, real news. You will start after 6 months to feel cut of to the rest of the world. While your friends in the UK watch the latest on Iraq, you will be watching how a cat was stuck down a drain or how many sheep were lost in a flood. If this does not bother you then go for it. You will love it. Just don't expect too much.
Good luck, I hope it works out for you. It has not for us and we are licking our wounds and have lost a lot of money. I for one cannot wait to get back to Scotland. I will come back for vacations. I am having a baby in 6 months and it will be half Kiwi and I want him or her to know where it came from but I do not want to bring a child up here. I think I would be limiting its chances.
C
The roads are a death trap and I think it has a lot to do with the fact kids can have a driving licence at 15. Way too young.
Drugs,
I have lived all over the world and have never, ever seen so may drug problems. This is a small country (population)and the amount of drug related crime is HUGE in comparison to a larger populated country. I lived in Edinburgh, which is supposed to be one of the worsed places in the UK for drugs and was neve aware of it. Here I am. All the time.
We live in a really good area in Christchurch. Twice this month I have had to scrub graffiti of my fence. I never did that once in the centre of Edinburgh. I also know for a fact that some of the boy racer problems are so big that even the police are intimidated by them. They think nothing of throwing bottles at the police. There are not the resources to deal with it. The police are stretched as it is.
So, please don't come here expecting a land of no crime, a land of saftey for your children and a land of plenty. It has its problems just like everywhere. For a country of a small population, they have more than there fair share of problems.
The eduction system is now really bad and it used to be good. All my husbands family were privately educated here and I have to say my sister and I did far better out of the Scottish School system.
Yes, you can get a house for £100K but it all depends on what you are coming out to NZ for. We struggled to find anything we would want to live in for less than $500K. It has no pool, no drive on access, so its not all roses here.
The family who live next door to me are Kiwi, they are moving to Australia next month as they are sick of the liberal way this country is going. I know what they mean. I have never seen so many sex shops, whore houses, whores on the street, massage parlors, strip bars in my life. again, I am from Edinburgh, known for its liberal approach at sex but this is way worse.
The only thing I can say is that this is a funny place. It is wonderful, pretty, green, clean (other than the cars - never seen such a dirty country in terms of car polution) and the people are lovely BUT it is not heaven. Its New Zealand and it has its problems and they are not that different than in the UK. Suggest you see the film 'Once we were Warriers' (think that is what it is called) will give you an idea of the other side of NZ. Its not all the beauty Billy Connelly showed on his tour.
We came here with your kind of thoughts, we had made it something unreal in our heads. When we arrived we hit the ground with a huge bump. Made even worse by the fact my husband is Kiwi!!! He has been away for 6 years and thinks it has changed a lot.
I can put money on it now the PC ness of the country will drive you mad and don't expect news, real news. You will start after 6 months to feel cut of to the rest of the world. While your friends in the UK watch the latest on Iraq, you will be watching how a cat was stuck down a drain or how many sheep were lost in a flood. If this does not bother you then go for it. You will love it. Just don't expect too much.
Good luck, I hope it works out for you. It has not for us and we are licking our wounds and have lost a lot of money. I for one cannot wait to get back to Scotland. I will come back for vacations. I am having a baby in 6 months and it will be half Kiwi and I want him or her to know where it came from but I do not want to bring a child up here. I think I would be limiting its chances.
C
This kind of post is the exact reason why I don't post on here anymore. All the ram it down your throat doom and gloom merchants hack me off.
I have lived in Christchurch (well Kaiapoi 20mins north) for the past 2 1/2 years, and my advice is to take the above post with a HUGE pinch of salt. There are some threads of truth running through it but the negative slant is way over the top.
We are quite happy here, we have had hard times and I am sure we will have more, but no more or less than the Uk. Yes we have struggled for money but we did in the UK. If you sacrifice a full time 2nd income so you can put more time into raising your children then you will struggle financially here or anywhere else, its a fact of life get used to it.
If one of your reasons for comming here is because you want more space less people then don't winge when you get here that you can't get hold of this or that or that the country feels under resourced at times thats the trade off you make for coming to a country with roughly the same land mass but a fraction of the population!
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:19 am
#24
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 43
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Originally Posted by Damages
PARANOIA!!!
At the mountains of madness!!
At the mountains of madness!!
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:27 am
#25
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 266
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Watt Dabney - agree the post on NZ negatives is over the top but on the flip side so is this version of the UK. Don't you think this type of posting is just as irritating - widely generalising and over emphasising negatives without any counter balancing with the positives of UK life.
"the streets are covered in shit (litter) the sky is almost always grey. violent crime is increasing( im an ex self defence instructor)
taking a walk down a city street late at night is not safe. my kids cant ride their bikes in the streets to their mates homes etc.
gangs hang around shops, bus stops etc even in small villages. When i tell my family in hamilton this, they cant believe it.( they dont recognise this bus stop youth culture)
They have a pool in their garden for christs sake.and lemon trees in their garden too
they go out to the shops and leave their door open, leave their car unlocked at shops. leaving a purse unattended in a restauraunt is ok, shop assisstants are pleasant to them. theres little traffic to get stressed in
this is all re-iterated by my family that have returend from a long holdiay there. palm trees on the streets. No dust in the air. u can buy a brick built detached house with double garage, 3 bedroom with study(all walk in wardrobes) 3 living area's in a nice suburb for 100K GBP.............. ive talked to the builder out there. one of my relatives is a builder out there"
The over the top doom and gloom view of the UK irritates the hell out me. Neither posting is accurate of the time I have spent in the UK or the time I have spent in NZ.
"the streets are covered in shit (litter) the sky is almost always grey. violent crime is increasing( im an ex self defence instructor)
taking a walk down a city street late at night is not safe. my kids cant ride their bikes in the streets to their mates homes etc.
gangs hang around shops, bus stops etc even in small villages. When i tell my family in hamilton this, they cant believe it.( they dont recognise this bus stop youth culture)
They have a pool in their garden for christs sake.and lemon trees in their garden too
they go out to the shops and leave their door open, leave their car unlocked at shops. leaving a purse unattended in a restauraunt is ok, shop assisstants are pleasant to them. theres little traffic to get stressed in
this is all re-iterated by my family that have returend from a long holdiay there. palm trees on the streets. No dust in the air. u can buy a brick built detached house with double garage, 3 bedroom with study(all walk in wardrobes) 3 living area's in a nice suburb for 100K GBP.............. ive talked to the builder out there. one of my relatives is a builder out there"
The over the top doom and gloom view of the UK irritates the hell out me. Neither posting is accurate of the time I have spent in the UK or the time I have spent in NZ.
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:29 am
#26
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 167
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Originally Posted by Watt Dabney
This kind of post is the exact reason why I don't post on here anymore. All the ram it down your throat doom and gloom merchants hack me off.
I have lived in Christchurch (well Kaiapoi 20mins north) for the past 2 1/2 years, and my advice is to take the above post with a HUGE pinch of salt. There are some threads of truth running through it but the negative slant is way over the top.
We are quite happy here, we have had hard times and I am sure we will have more, but no more or less than the Uk. Yes we have struggled for money but we did in the UK. If you sacrifice a full time 2nd income so you can put more time into raising your children then you will struggle financially here or anywhere else, its a fact of life get used to it.
If one of your reasons for comming here is because you want more space less people then don't winge when you get here that you can't get hold of this or that or that the country feels under resourced at times thats the trade off you make for coming to a country with roughly the same land mass but a fraction of the population!
I have lived in Christchurch (well Kaiapoi 20mins north) for the past 2 1/2 years, and my advice is to take the above post with a HUGE pinch of salt. There are some threads of truth running through it but the negative slant is way over the top.
We are quite happy here, we have had hard times and I am sure we will have more, but no more or less than the Uk. Yes we have struggled for money but we did in the UK. If you sacrifice a full time 2nd income so you can put more time into raising your children then you will struggle financially here or anywhere else, its a fact of life get used to it.
If one of your reasons for comming here is because you want more space less people then don't winge when you get here that you can't get hold of this or that or that the country feels under resourced at times thats the trade off you make for coming to a country with roughly the same land mass but a fraction of the population!
Boy racer problems
No drug problems
Things are not expensive
Houses are cheap
Are you serious??????
What I was saying was all truth and you know that. I think that people need to be aware of what to expect instead of being sold a dream, just to get here and find out that the dream was not as good as it looked before. I didnt come here for more space. I had plenty space in Scotland, we came here for a new opportunity and because I was 'sold the dream' of less crime, money going further than it does etc etc etc.
New Zealand is a place, like any other, it has pro's and con's and it is not happy ever after sitting in the sun with our G&T with the kids jumping in and out of the pool, with no crime, great education and wonderful opportunities. No where is like that. Lets not pretend New Zealand is.
If people come here being told it is problem free and their £ will go a long way then they are wrong. Its obviously worked for you and thats great but my reality of New Zealand is different to yours and I am allowed my opinion, as far as I know New Zealand allows free speech
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:38 am
#27
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 266
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Cassa, we are departing NZ too, mainly due to seeking better financial and career opportunities, plus far better weather. I agree with you that NZ is expensive vs wages, Auckland weather pretty crap for 9 months of the year, houses cold and poorly insulated, the traffic in Auckland awful, the infrastructure near to bursting in Auckland, etc but I don't think it is an unsafe country, nor has a epidemic drug problem, and I think the education system is on a par with other Western nations. I just thought your observations on these areas were a bit over the top (IMO), and certainly not what I have experienced residing in Auckland for nearly 3 years.
Mar 22nd 2005, 12:47 am
#28
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 167
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Originally Posted by hubbard
Cassa, we are departing NZ too, mainly due to seeking better financial and career opportunities, plus far better weather. I agree with you that NZ is expensive vs wages, Auckland weather pretty crap for 9 months of the year, houses cold and poorly insulated, the traffic in Auckland awful, the infrastructure near to bursting in Auckland, etc but I don't think it is an unsafe country, nor has a epidemic drug problem, and I think the education system is on a par with other Western nations. I just thought your observations on these areas were a bit over the top (IMO), and certainly not what I have experienced residing in Auckland for nearly 3 years.
Mar 22nd 2005, 1:20 am
#29
farmer nr Queenstown NZ
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: doing stuff, lots of stuff
Posts: 367
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Cassa, you must be in a different NZ to the one i'm in because yours sounds utterly horrible.Having lived in Scotland before and lived here for only a mere 3 and a half years i can honestly say,in my opinion, your talking utter rubbish
I have not experienced any of the problems you mention yet.As for rain from Feb to Xmas
:scared: yeah, right 
Anyone reading Cassa's comments should perhaps make up their own mind when they're in NZ!
I have not experienced any of the problems you mention yet.As for rain from Feb to Xmas
:scared: yeah, right Anyone reading Cassa's comments should perhaps make up their own mind when they're in NZ!
Mar 22nd 2005, 1:36 am
#30
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 167
Re: UK teacher looking to relocate to NZ with wife and 2 kids
Originally Posted by deedee
Cassa, you must be in a different NZ to the one i'm in because yours sounds utterly horrible.Having lived in Scotland before and lived here for only a mere 3 and a half years i can honestly say,in my opinion, your talking utter rubbish
I have not experienced any of the problems you mention yet.As for rain from Feb to Xmas :scared: yeah, right
Anyone reading Cassa's comments should perhaps make up their own mind when they're in NZ!
I have not experienced any of the problems you mention yet.As for rain from Feb to Xmas
:scared: yeah, right Anyone reading Cassa's comments should perhaps make up their own mind when they're in NZ!
[urltaking this article out. No point in advertising what happened. Rather forget it now)
Of course you dont see these things. You live on a farm. We are not that lucky. If I lived on a farm I am sure I would have no one driving into my house or stray painting my fence.
Last edited by Cassa; Mar 22nd 2005 at 2:06 am.