salmoncolour

I am really sorry to hear that it's not worked out for you.
Are your children happy there?
I hope things improve for you by 2017 or you at least win a significant enough amount on the lottery to be able to comfortably start afresh in the UK.

I am hoping to keep a few thousand pound in a UK account for the "just in case I really hate it" but the original plan is to go for 2 years and see what we think of it.

salmoncolour

Btw you are all an awesome bunch - thank you so much for all your input, experiences, thoughts, advice - you are brilliant!
And I am really sorry if I missed anyone's post, it wasn't deliberate.

jparsons

The house we are renting is relatively new (built in 2004) and is not a wooden structure so I think its pretty well insulated, we only got condensation once throughout the entire months of june-august but bear in mind that Wellington is that few degrees colder than Auckland so this might affect things. By the way i think (correct me if im wrong) but you or your husband will need to already be in employment or have a proven source of income in NZ in order for you to secure a rental property. So bear in mind that the properties may visit might no longer be availible by the time you arrive in NZ after securing the jobs

salmoncolour

Excellent. Sounds fab. I am hoping that will be similar in Wellington.
Yes, absolutely, it's just to give us an idea how good the photographers are.

We wouldn't move that fast any way as there would (will) be a few loose ends to tie before we do.

Moses2013

As far as I can see, your main reasons for moving are that you can't afford a property you like and you don't like your working hours. Weather is another issue for you, but in reality Wellington does not have a different climate compared to many parts of the UK. I always look at it this way: I would rather be in the area with on paper less sun, but have a property with nice garden that gets the sun and the time to enjoy it. Of course you might find all of that in Wellington, but you might not even notice the 300-400 more sunshine hours per year if that's not the case. I don't know where you are in the UK, but have you ever considered different locations in the UK?

salmoncolour

That's what we are hoping for.

Yes, tried it and as I said somewhere above, it helped massively but there are still a few bits missing that we are hoping to get there.
We could, technically speaking, move somewhere south and get a better climate, be close to beaches etc. but (to avoid explaining all the personal details), most of it comes down to wage:house prices ratio, id est affordability.

On paper, that ration looks better in NZ for us. And if the interest rates go down as some people claim they will, next year might be a good one to buy in NZ.

Moses2013

You'll never have everything in life and once you have it, you still want more. I don't know where you are in the UK now, but have you ever considered Republic of Ireland? One of the reasons why I left the UK was that I got more for my money here (including better wages) and I obviously like areas that aren't too populated, so a bit like New Zealand. I'm on the West myself, but the Wexford area would get the same amount of sun as London does, but obviously never as hot in summer. You have beaches, scenery and get a lot more house for your money. Apart from skiing, you can do the same things here and if you want to ski there's Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France.

Reylan

Hi there, no problem, we settled in Marlborough at the top of the South Island. We visited a number of places on our visit over and it was definitely worth it. I think skiing is a lovely idea but I can almost guarantee that if I did it, I WOULD break something.

Best of luck with your plans, let us know how it all goes.

NooZeeCalling

Hi there,
As someone who has just made the move to NZ (we arrived in April) I can give you the following observations:
Firstly, it is FAR more expensive than you think it's going to be to actually get here. If you have a budget, double it and hope for the best. We came on SMC visa, shipped a 20ft container and one cat, sold our car for a loss etc. The whole process still felt like tearing up £50 notes. Once you get here, you'll need to buy cars, get deposits for rentals and a short term rental whilst you wait for your container. You will need to replace all store cupboard staples as you cannot bring your familiar spices and tins of tomatoes.
The weather - frankly, on a lovely day, it's a lovely day, just as it is in UK. On a cr*p day, ditto. The winter is milder if you are outside. If you are inside, it is far colder than any winter's day I've ever experienced in a house in England. The Victorians were probably warmer! Housing is horrible as people have said. We rent a place in Auckland for more than average mullah a week. Even paying top dollar doesn't mean you get a warm and lovely home.
"Things" are generally more expensive.
All that said, provided I look away from the dent that our savings has taken to actually get us here, we live in a big house right on the seafront, with a swimming pool (don't bother, it's more of a pain than a pleasure!) I buy booze from Countdown and do the weekly shop at a local Village Market which has good produce, not the horrible supermarket stuff. We cook from scratch as we did in UK and if really lazy there are OK takeaways around and about.
We certainly have less disposable income over here right now, but that's because we chose to spend the first year in a house which *felt* like the "Kiwi dream", by the sea, lots of palm trees etc etc and thus pay through the nose until we decide what to buy. Having rented a cottage in the Cotswolds for the two years before coming over here, it was certainly not easy on the eye seeing the ramshackle sardine can known as Auckland.
But we are happy. We have our iPlayer so we can watch Bake Off in front of the fire. And I spent a small fortune on DVDs before we arrived to provide an alternative to Kiwi TV. Down jackets and wooly hats *have* been worn in the house on one or two occasions this winter
We can BBQ when it's not raining (which it has been doing, a LOT) - do we do anything more 'outdoors' here than in UK? No. If you like outdoors you will do outdoors wherever you are, being in NZ doesn't get you out any more than being anywhere else.
We get out and about at the weekends and see a bit of this country that neither of us had visited and that makes weekends feel like a "holiday". Thus far we have not ventured out of the Auckland/Waikato area, so there is plenty to do and see and enjoy.
What I also like, and the one thing I can say has been less expensive here than in the UK is our home gym, a great squat cage and bars, dumbbells etc - paid much less for good quality than in UK, and have a house big enough to install it. So there's a Good Thing.
Social life = zero. My OH works and has met people there, my brother lives in Beachlands so I see him and his family, other than that, be prepared to be Billy No Mates for a while. (Which is not specific to moving to NZ, when we moved from London to Cotswolds, we kept the London friends and had the fun of making a whole new circle in Glossie).
So that being said, if anyone is in the Eastern suburbs, Bucklands, Eastern Beach, Howick etc and is bored, give me a shout and we can have a coffee. Or a drink.
My idea is to give it the two years to get the travel restrictions lifted, then reassess and then decide whether to stay or to go. I'll definitely review in clips of two years - and in the meantime have an adventure.
I would keep money set aside to get you home if you really can't stand it. That way you have a 'get out of jail expensively' card and can enjoy being here with the knowledge that you can always go back.
It's very hard to read the stories of people who made the move and feel trapped here - the homesickness and feeling of needing one's roots is not something to be taken lightly. I know from some people's stories that it is so painful. Even so soon after getting here, during the "honeymoon" period, I still sometimes feel a yearning to go back home that is almost physical. And I'm someone who has lived in Kenya, South Africa, UK and now NZ.
Best,
C

salmoncolour

Not really an option for us.
Glad to hear it worked out for you.

salmoncolour

Hi! Brilliant post, thank you so much.
How much did the move cost you if you don't mind?
Starting from scratch with regards to food is something I always hate doing, lol!

Oh that sounds scary!
I suppose what you've seen so far is winter so things should improve. Fingers crossed.
So even the top-dollar-great view-swimming pool-house isn't warm? :/

Ouch! I do look forward to buying on the village market again. I lived like that in a previous incarnation.

Brrr!
Great to hear you are happy though.
I was just thinking last night how we'll stock up on DVDs for the children.

I hope that will quickly change. It's always hard breaking into existing circles. We've been through it ourselves a few times.

Yes, that's our plan too.
I've heard a few of those myself. I don't have anyone in the UK, all of my family and friends are on the continent and the male isn't too close to his so we should be alright...

Moses2013

That's a shame really. It sure is an alternative to New Zealand and many English are always surprised when they actually do come here. When you move to New Zealand, make sure you have residency before you think of buying a home. It could turn out to be a financial nightmare if you're not allowed to stay and can't sell the house.

Snap Shot

salmoncolour

Thanks, will do.
We plan to rent for at least 6 months or a year before deciding whether we're happy enough to buy. Until that time, I hope to keep all the money back in the UK account.
For a get out of jail expensively card.

moving2NZ2013

Totally agree. Me too.

If I had all the things you had in uk I'd have never come over here. I guess it's a choice only you can make.
We are probably going to return to the uk at some point but at least we won't live with the what ifs