The Wellington Thread
Mar 30th 2009, 7:49 pm
#181
Who loves you, baby?
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: just lovin' Levin
Posts: 748
Re: The Wellington Thread
How is dear ol' 'ome?
Mar 30th 2009, 7:57 pm
#182
Cow on the Beach
Joined: Aug 2008
Location: Seatoun, Wellington
Posts: 699
Re: The Wellington Thread
Hi all,
Hope I have added to the thread in the correct way. Cannot quite believe I am posting on a UK Expat website!
Anyways, I am a kiwi (from lovely Dunedin). My lovely husband (who is Welsh) and I currently live in London with our six month old daughter. Thinking more and more of moving back to NZ and Wellington is definitely top of our list. Would be Dunedin, however employment reasons mean Wellington is more realistic (don't want to move to Auckland). We have thought about moving to Cardiff where husband's family are, but to be honest we are a bit fed up of UK lifestyle.
Just wondering really if anyone had any feedback on how easy it would be for my husband to settle into kiwi life. Obviously I am a kiwi and can offer some experience but not sure that this will easily relate to expat experiences. There seems to be alot of discussions on other boards about lack of friendliness and difficulty making friends, have people experienced this?? I would be new to Wellington - have a couple of friends but I have been in UK since 2002 so not totally up to date with all things kiwi.
Wellington really does seem to have it all in terms of culture, sport, varied ethnicities etc. Just wondering if it has enough of a buzz for hubby - he is a very laid back Welshman but quite likes the London buzz! Also what is the Welsh pub called and where is it....if I tell him about this it may add to the pot of positive points!!!
Any feedback or advice much appreciated.
Thanks
Hope I have added to the thread in the correct way. Cannot quite believe I am posting on a UK Expat website!
Anyways, I am a kiwi (from lovely Dunedin). My lovely husband (who is Welsh) and I currently live in London with our six month old daughter. Thinking more and more of moving back to NZ and Wellington is definitely top of our list. Would be Dunedin, however employment reasons mean Wellington is more realistic (don't want to move to Auckland). We have thought about moving to Cardiff where husband's family are, but to be honest we are a bit fed up of UK lifestyle.
Just wondering really if anyone had any feedback on how easy it would be for my husband to settle into kiwi life. Obviously I am a kiwi and can offer some experience but not sure that this will easily relate to expat experiences. There seems to be alot of discussions on other boards about lack of friendliness and difficulty making friends, have people experienced this?? I would be new to Wellington - have a couple of friends but I have been in UK since 2002 so not totally up to date with all things kiwi.
Wellington really does seem to have it all in terms of culture, sport, varied ethnicities etc. Just wondering if it has enough of a buzz for hubby - he is a very laid back Welshman but quite likes the London buzz! Also what is the Welsh pub called and where is it....if I tell him about this it may add to the pot of positive points!!!
Any feedback or advice much appreciated.
Thanks
....Despite this your OH should find Wellingtonians both Kiwi's and Ex pats very friendly. There are a few crazy Welshies here too. There's also so much going on. I used to live within commuting distance of London (in Berkshire) and consider that Wellington is much easier to get into the 'buzz'.
Mar 30th 2009, 8:14 pm
#183
Who loves you, baby?
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: just lovin' Levin
Posts: 748
Re: The Wellington Thread
The Welsh Bar is the former Public Toilets at the end of Courtney Place!
....Despite this your OH should find Wellingtonians both Kiwi's and Ex pats very friendly. There are a few crazy Welshies here too. There's also so much going on. I used to live within commuting distance of London (in Berkshire) and consider that Wellington is much easier to get into the 'buzz'.
....Despite this your OH should find Wellingtonians both Kiwi's and Ex pats very friendly. There are a few crazy Welshies here too. There's also so much going on. I used to live within commuting distance of London (in Berkshire) and consider that Wellington is much easier to get into the 'buzz'.
Mar 30th 2009, 10:02 pm
#184
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: homeless
Posts: 1,756
Re: The Wellington Thread
Oh, F*** yeah. ... surely Cr@p on Tap' ..
The Welsh pub is the one I/WE _always_ AVOID ... so we go to The Malthouse or Leuven or Occidental.
I met some crazy Welshies there too..... they seem to be unpleasant talking/hearing about English things! (literally they looked a bit offended) Crazy ppl! not to mention the sh'te beer. (I sang an English folk song
with guys .... just once..... cos I miss England 
)
WHY Even BOTHER GOING there, eh?
"I won't dance in a club like this (The Welsh Pub) All the boys are slags and the beer tastes just like piss"
a boozy night out with my (footy-holic) Pommie mate at Leuven yesterday. It was jolly good though Well the drinking and dancing continued all night, till we managed to get home, ...
Ive totally got the hangover from hell today..
That's the inevitable result of drinking 31 pints of Stella... 
The Welsh pub is the one I/WE _always_ AVOID ... so we go to The Malthouse or Leuven or Occidental.
I met some crazy Welshies there too..... they seem to be unpleasant talking/hearing about English things! (literally they looked a bit offended) Crazy ppl! not to mention the sh'te beer. (I sang an English folk song
with guys .... just once..... cos I miss England ) WHY Even BOTHER GOING there, eh?
"I won't dance in a club like this (The Welsh Pub) All the boys are slags and the beer tastes just like piss"
a boozy night out with my (footy-holic) Pommie mate at Leuven yesterday. It was jolly good though
Well the drinking and dancing continued all night, till we managed to get home, ... Ive totally got the hangover from hell today..
That's the inevitable result of drinking 31 pints of Stella...
Mar 31st 2009, 6:44 am
#185
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 696
Re: The Wellington Thread
Yep Sparkie, Kaaaardif or Waaaales if you are at the rugby. Same old, same old I guess. I absolutely love Wales, Cardiff is a great city. Same problems as everywhere I guess, the valley commandoes making their way into the city centre every weekend is as usual a sight to behold!!!
Missing the beaches, laid back lifestyle of NZ, fresh(ish) air, food, lager and less people (the most). Can't wait to get out of London, as much as I love this place it's not ideal for kids etc.
Sparkie, hubby absolutely loves Speights distinction or destruction as he calls it! ha ha.
Crap coffee, are you English, surely then you "hate" the Welsh as much as they "hate" you?? 31 pints of Stella....???
Thanks for all your responses and advice thus far.
Missing the beaches, laid back lifestyle of NZ, fresh(ish) air, food, lager and less people (the most). Can't wait to get out of London, as much as I love this place it's not ideal for kids etc.
Sparkie, hubby absolutely loves Speights distinction or destruction as he calls it! ha ha.
Crap coffee, are you English, surely then you "hate" the Welsh as much as they "hate" you?? 31 pints of Stella....???
Thanks for all your responses and advice thus far.
May 2nd 2009, 7:45 am
#187
Happy in Wellington
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Tawa, Wellington, Aotearoa
Posts: 2,286
Re: The Wellington Thread
I was in Oriental Bay this morning with my camera - gorgeous day!
May 2nd 2009, 7:46 am
#188
Happy in Wellington
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Tawa, Wellington, Aotearoa
Posts: 2,286
Re: The Wellington Thread
May 2nd 2009, 8:30 am
#189
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: Wellington
Posts: 28
Re: The Wellington Thread
Yep Sparkie, Kaaaardif or Waaaales if you are at the rugby. Same old, same old I guess. I absolutely love Wales, Cardiff is a great city. Same problems as everywhere I guess, the valley commandoes making their way into the city centre every weekend is as usual a sight to behold!!!
Missing the beaches, laid back lifestyle of NZ, fresh(ish) air, food, lager and less people (the most). Can't wait to get out of London, as much as I love this place it's not ideal for kids etc.
Sparkie, hubby absolutely loves Speights distinction or destruction as he calls it! ha ha.
Crap coffee, are you English, surely then you "hate" the Welsh as much as they "hate" you?? 31 pints of Stella....???
Thanks for all your responses and advice thus far.
Missing the beaches, laid back lifestyle of NZ, fresh(ish) air, food, lager and less people (the most). Can't wait to get out of London, as much as I love this place it's not ideal for kids etc.
Sparkie, hubby absolutely loves Speights distinction or destruction as he calls it! ha ha.
Crap coffee, are you English, surely then you "hate" the Welsh as much as they "hate" you?? 31 pints of Stella....???
Thanks for all your responses and advice thus far.
I just got an email notification that a new message had been written onthis thread and came to have a look and find lots of mentions of cardiff! That's where I'm from! (well via london). So let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to help.
I'm still finding my feet here in welly, but have found people in general to be very friendly. A neighbour who said hello to me for the first time two weeks ago at the bus stop spent his morning today helping me collect a sofa and a chest of drawers. That's something which wouldn't have happened in london! Work colleagues have offered all manner of help in settling in, including woollen blankets until mine arrive from customs. I've even been borrowing a car for a month from friends I met 2.5 months ago!
Maybe my experience has been a littl out of the ordinary but none the less valid - there are some great people here. And life in general is a lot more chilled than back in the uk. My boss makes sure we all go home on time and don't work more than our hours (there's no overtime pay in the equation either) and in turn we tell her to go home as well. And where else do you go out to a local cafe for morning coffee and cake for 30 mins?!
Anyway, I've gone on a long ramble there. 3 months ago I said I'd post some photos up here so I'll try and get round to it soon.
May 2nd 2009, 8:32 am
#190
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,285
Re: The Wellington Thread
I'm English AND DO NOT HATE the Welsh, the Scots or the Northern Irish..they are all British to me ...I really think the resentment is pretty one-way except where sport is concerned...but even then most English people I know would support any UK based team against anywhere else....alas we are led to believe the compliment would not necessarily be returned in the other direction.
I also don't get why lots of Kiwis seem to resent Aucklanders...you'd be damned short of taxes to spend if it weren't for Auckland....NZ is way too small for 3m of population to resent 1m...really life's too short.
May 2nd 2009, 8:54 am
#191
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 968
Re: The Wellington Thread
A red car! Wow!
May 2nd 2009, 9:05 am
#192
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 696
Re: The Wellington Thread
I'm English AND DO NOT HATE the Welsh, the Scots or the Northern Irish..they are all British to me ...I really think the resentment is pretty one-way except where sport is concerned...but even then most English people I know would support any UK based team against anywhere else....alas we are led to believe the compliment would not necessarily be returned in the other direction.
I also don't get why lots of Kiwis seem to resent Aucklanders...you'd be damned short of taxes to spend if it weren't for Auckland....NZ is way too small for 3m of population to resent 1m...really life's too short.
I also don't get why lots of Kiwis seem to resent Aucklanders...you'd be damned short of taxes to spend if it weren't for Auckland....NZ is way too small for 3m of population to resent 1m...really life's too short.
As for kiwis resenting Aucklanders, I think this can be said for most capital/main cities in the world. People in the UK whinge about weather/news/money/emphasis being London focused or focused on the biggest city near to where they live rather then their own small town or village. (Yes, there is regional news but people still complain). Most people in Auckland probably think that anyone who lives outside of Auckland are hicks!
May 2nd 2009, 9:17 am
#193
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 696
Re: The Wellington Thread
In 2 weeks time i'll have been here for 3 months (I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that's a quarter of a year!) and I haven't posted on this site since my first week! I think that's a pretty good indication that I'm settling in rather well :-)
I just got an email notification that a new message had been written onthis thread and came to have a look and find lots of mentions of cardiff! That's where I'm from! (well via london). So let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to help.
I'm still finding my feet here in welly, but have found people in general to be very friendly. A neighbour who said hello to me for the first time two weeks ago at the bus stop spent his morning today helping me collect a sofa and a chest of drawers. That's something which wouldn't have happened in london! Work colleagues have offered all manner of help in settling in, including woollen blankets until mine arrive from customs. I've even been borrowing a car for a month from friends I met 2.5 months ago!
Maybe my experience has been a littl out of the ordinary but none the less valid - there are some great people here. And life in general is a lot more chilled than back in the uk. My boss makes sure we all go home on time and don't work more than our hours (there's no overtime pay in the equation either) and in turn we tell her to go home as well. And where else do you go out to a local cafe for morning coffee and cake for 30 mins?!
Anyway, I've gone on a long ramble there. 3 months ago I said I'd post some photos up here so I'll try and get round to it soon.
I just got an email notification that a new message had been written onthis thread and came to have a look and find lots of mentions of cardiff! That's where I'm from! (well via london). So let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to help.
I'm still finding my feet here in welly, but have found people in general to be very friendly. A neighbour who said hello to me for the first time two weeks ago at the bus stop spent his morning today helping me collect a sofa and a chest of drawers. That's something which wouldn't have happened in london! Work colleagues have offered all manner of help in settling in, including woollen blankets until mine arrive from customs. I've even been borrowing a car for a month from friends I met 2.5 months ago!
Maybe my experience has been a littl out of the ordinary but none the less valid - there are some great people here. And life in general is a lot more chilled than back in the uk. My boss makes sure we all go home on time and don't work more than our hours (there's no overtime pay in the equation either) and in turn we tell her to go home as well. And where else do you go out to a local cafe for morning coffee and cake for 30 mins?!
Anyway, I've gone on a long ramble there. 3 months ago I said I'd post some photos up here so I'll try and get round to it soon.
May 2nd 2009, 9:58 am
#194
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Whitby Wellington
Posts: 2,440
Re: The Wellington Thread
May 2nd 2009, 1:30 pm
#195
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: homeless
Posts: 1,756
Re: The Wellington Thread
I really, really like this ......lovely comments!
----------
I live in Wellington. I have travelled all over New Zealand, and to many places overseas, in my 60 something years and Wellington is the only place I would ever want to live. You can't judge a city on just one aspect - the weather, the beaches or whatever. As a total package wellington has it all - a beautiful harbour, lots of small bays and beaches around the city coastline, parks and reserves, native bush walks, cultural activites, outdoor activities, dining out, a vibrant city centre, short commuting times from the suburbs to the city and across town, as previously mentioned close to many places and things to do out of the greater Wellington area, a lack of the 'rat-race' mentally, and currently high employment in both government and private enterprise. The weather is often remarked upon due to the strong wind, when it is windy. However this is not a constant occurrence. The climate is temperate - neither too cold in Winter or too hot in Summer. We get beautiful crisp sunny days in mid-Winter and you will even see people sitting outdoors at cafes. Summer time is very pleasant. A truely great place to live.
-----------
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...th_Island.html
----------
I live in Wellington. I have travelled all over New Zealand, and to many places overseas, in my 60 something years and Wellington is the only place I would ever want to live. You can't judge a city on just one aspect - the weather, the beaches or whatever. As a total package wellington has it all - a beautiful harbour, lots of small bays and beaches around the city coastline, parks and reserves, native bush walks, cultural activites, outdoor activities, dining out, a vibrant city centre, short commuting times from the suburbs to the city and across town, as previously mentioned close to many places and things to do out of the greater Wellington area, a lack of the 'rat-race' mentally, and currently high employment in both government and private enterprise. The weather is often remarked upon due to the strong wind, when it is windy. However this is not a constant occurrence. The climate is temperate - neither too cold in Winter or too hot in Summer. We get beautiful crisp sunny days in mid-Winter and you will even see people sitting outdoors at cafes. Summer time is very pleasant. A truely great place to live.
-----------
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...th_Island.html