BEVS

I was being naughty about Mr BEVS to try & bring a smile to the OP . It was tongue in cheek really.

Mr BEVS lived in a bunk house with forestry workers for 6 weeks. Those men were tough and rough as old boots. They had bits missing
He was a newly arrived English immigrant going into a trade job. You can imagine the stick he got from them.
No transport. No tools & cats in a cattery. Then he found a rental so had the cats. No furniture , linen etc. The landlord lent him a few sticks and at least he had a kitchen .

It was a tough start all round but we got there in the end.

ellenarosemary

My husband and I were apart for over 3 months, pretty hard with 3 children under 6. But anyway after a dodgy start we are now settled near Wellington - was it worth it? A definite yes, but don't ask me to do it again.

Tomsk

It seems that this temporary separation when one partner leaves for NZ ahead of the other is more common an experience than I realised. We did it too. Hubby left in Feb 08 to start work whilst I stayed in the UK to sell the house & for our eldest to complete his GCSEs. We followed on to NZ in mid June 08. I remember it as an incredibly hard time, and I never, ever want to go through that again. But on the upside when I finally arrived hubby had sorted out a rental, our container had been delivered 2 days before, & hubby had started the unpacking. It was nearly as emotional being reunited with my furniture as it was being reunited with him! He'd also worked out his way around, so settling in was a breeze for me. You have my total empathy though - it's a tough, tough time. For us though, totally worthwhile. I have my criticisms of some aspects of life in NZ, but overall no regrets, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Hang on in there, the time will pass & the reunion will be amazing!