Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

[QUOTE=kaz Hen][QUOTE=melting pot]I agree with Kaz.. NZ kids are much 'younger' than UK kids... we worried loads about bringing Tom (9yrs) old back to the UK because he'd experienced bullying before we left for NZ.. in NZ he had no problems whatsoever and loved his school in Dunedin. His friends were loyal and just much younger (hard to explain) than the ones he was used to in the UK. Anyway, we came home and wham.. back into a Manchester school.. and we had pure hell!! he had a whole load of hassle with the kids ganging up on him.. he was cornered in the toilets at school and was threatened with having his head pushed down the loo, the kids waited for him after school etc. etc. after numerous trips to the school for meetings with the (unsympathetic and arrogant) head, we pulled him out and sent him to a different school. Thank god, he's settled brilliantly and is even a prefect with nice mates and comes home with a smile on his face once more... but I would still say that the NZ kids are nicer.

Kaz.. your area sounds pretty bad, why have you stayed there so long? wasn't there any chance of moving to a nicer area?

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

I have always found the NZ kids to be far more polite than any in the Uk.
But I will also add that I have found cost of living here v salary to be almost impossible. Also unbearable.

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

My kids are loving it here in NZ, even if we're not. I agree children stay children a lot longer which is lovely. My eldest son was mugged just before we came here kicked in the head until he was unconcious and stripped of all his designer clothes, hat, phone, trainers etc. Glad to be away from that element. The drug problem concerns me a lot here though!

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

I am sorry your child had such a bad experience in the UK, it is what we all fear for our children.
I agree that there does appear to be a drugs issue,but found there to be little coverage of the real issues in NZ, I watch the news at night,and wonder how there appears to be so little crime, and bad things happening, whereas the numbers in prisons, and statistics for crimes in NZ state otherwise.
I am also concerned the schools are so underfunded, and depent heavily on parent donations, when parents are quite clearly already struggling...
It is a real concern the cost of living to alot of people here, and although it is a beautiful "safe"!!?? place to be, fundamentaly... does not help alot of families in the same situation when we cant afford day to day life.

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

I may have asked this before but if we are supposed to have so much sterling how the hell do the local people survive? they cant all be leaving for OZ. There must be something we dont know.
But also think about the UK interest rates at a low 4.5% and the poor mid 20 year olds cant live together as they need a huge deposit then pay £800 per month mortgage for 40 years not 25 anymore for a squitty little house, so what the hell is going to happen when the rates go up?
I really hope you get sorted and stay, when we get there in Nov we will struggle and we now we will, once the house is sold in UK that will help but my wages will be less than yours and i have an extra child so alot of poaching and fishing will be put to good use again!!!!.
ps dont tell anyone

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

[QUOTE=Debs70][QUOTE=kaz Hen]
Hi Deb, the area of Nottingham we are in is very nice but because of that we seem to attract kids from other areas who come in to sell drugs etc.
Also as I am sure you have seen in the news recently other parts of Nottingham have horrendous crime rates.
I wouldn't move from this area unless it was to go back to NZ. My oldest is leaving 3 weeks now so will need lots of cheering up.
Cheers
KAZ

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

Gosh, some really interesting discussions happening here. Melting Pot, I'm sorry to hear that your family is finding things to be a bit of a struggle at the moment. As a New Zealander who has always lived here, the only suggestion I could possibly make - would be in line with Gill's earlier in this thread. Perhaps look into properties on the outskirts of Auckland because believe me - it really does make a difference in terms of how much you pay in rent. As for the bus fares - goodness me. That in itself had my eyes popping. That's 2 trips to Wellington and back that. I sure hope that something works out for you. Something easier.

Dlummis, in answer to your question about how us locals survive over here... I guess because we have always been here, we are just used to it and despite the difficulties - we do somehow manage to enjoy weekend trips away and holidays every now and then. But you have a good point, many do end up moving to Australia because it is a lot less expensive than here and close enough to home that we can come back and visit often enough.

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

[QUOTE=kaz Hen][QUOTE=Debs70]I didn't know Nottingham had nice areas ,tell me where they are and I'll move there... ;) i think Nottingham has deteriorated in recent years :(

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

HI kIWINZ
thanks for the inside info thats good enough for me roll on 2nd Nov
Darryn

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

Hi , I have posted on the subject many times until I am blue in the face :rolleyes: , people in the UK are stiil under the impression that u come to NZ or OZ because u will have lots of money and that it is cheaper to live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You move here becauce you want to live in NZ or Oz and you want the differant lifestyle and experience. IT IS NOT A CHEAP PLACE TO LIVE AND YOU NEED GOOD JOBS AND GOOD PAY. You still have to pay all the same bills you did in UK and there are still the same day to day living problems.

However if you are realistic and can get past all that it is a fantastic place to live and bring up children. But so is Englanf with money.

If you are not realistic before you come here, it will not work, NZ is not a panacea for all your emmotional and finacial problems.

It is one of the best counties in the world to live in and after two years here we would not be anywhere else at moment, although queensland does tempt us some times, when its cold here and it is sometimes.


All the best Kev :)

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

I think everyone would agree that you realise that wherever you live,the bills always need to be paid,I dont dispute that,just hadnt expected them to be so high in comparison to earnings, and yes certainly,if you have always lived here, you would not know any different,and would be accostomed to paying them. Certainly moving to a cheaper area is an option,but isnt that always the same in whichever county you live in !!
And maybe only 1 salary is always going to be tight,so me going back to work seems an inevitable option too.
It is the intention of many to try and make family lives easier, by making changes to there lives, and moving around the world, and certainly NZ, is a beautiful country to be in, and so is the UK, I know it has it pitfalls too, 60million people is bound to have its benifits, and down sides...and 4million in NZ the same.
It has never been our intention to make ourlives harder, we want to be able to return to visit family every 18 months, and certainly in the UK we would have been able to just about save to be able to do the trips here to visit family. but if we stay,we will not be able to return as often,certainly after savings have been spent,I dont know how we would achieve a trip back at all. I personaly dont want to feel that I have made a change that makes me feel stranded in another part of the world,or of a detriment to my family so maybe in time ( or when the money dries up) we will return,but having enjoyed the experience here. we have family in both countries,and yes I do miss home terribly so may be it was wrong for me to have came here in the first place,but then did not know how I would feel about home till its not there. I certainly dont want to discourage anyone from choosing to come here,and unsettle those that have already done so. But I do think you need to be clear on why you choose to come,and what you want to achieve here.It is an expensive country to live in,the employment terms are far worse, you couldnt be any further from the uk, and NZ has its own set of social,migrant issues....every country does....so those coming...be sure of what you are hoping for !!

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

Fantastic post Melting Pot :)

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

Hi,

We've lived on the North Shore of Auckland for three and a half years, with our three small boys.

Lifestyle for the children (and us is out of this world). Lots of beaches, sport, outdoor activities.

Safety and lack of crime (compared to England) is also a huge bonus.

Home Educating is relatively mainstream and you get paid an allowance to help you with it.

Petrol is almost half the price of England, as is car insurance and warrant of fitness tests.

The downside is that wages are very lowwwwww and we have to pay to go to the Doctors. Also there are too many adverts between the films on a Saturday night! Other than that there is nothing, for us, to miss from England except our families.

Have you enquired to the Inland Revenue about family support/assistance top up payments? I'm not sure of the requirements, but it might be worth asking. Also a Community Service Card might help with Doctor's visits and prescriptions, if you are eligible.

Dental is expensive. However, if you are in pain you can go to the Greenlane Hospital's Oral Health Department at a certain time each day for emergency pain relief (cost $40) and they will refer you on for public treatment at a much, much reduced rate to private Dentists.

Exchange rates are not good at all, at present, if you are wishing to bring money over from England, but the Banks are all suggesting that this hight dollar will not go on too far into 2006 (nothing lasts for ever).

Good luck,
I hope you sort things out for your family.

PS Have you tried Playcentres - they are absolutely brilliant (and cheap) to belong to and wonderful for small children and their parents. A great way to make new friends in New Zealand.

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

it has been great weather this week end, and yes enjoyed going to the beaches,and visited some kiwis, that my husband works with for afternoon tea in Devonport ( which of course is beautiful ) so we do go out and enjoy ourselves. that as you will see from my thread hasn't been the issue, and the North Shore does have a nice feel to it.

My husband and I both grew up by the sea, Devon, and Cornwall, so know that the seaside is always a great place to take kids to.

I believe that my husband is earning above the threshold for any support from the gov...so hey ho...never mind..

arriving 3 1/2 year ago, you probably came just at the right time, as far as house prices, and conversion rates, so maybe that is how you are able to cope with the finances...I am not trying to delve into your private situation, or income, but maybe you might be able to see from my previous threads the amounts we are spending,/earning and advise if I could be doing anything differently to lower my costs, grocery, etc....

As for dentists...it is also another concern, our 3 yr old has a genetic condition which means will need some orthodontic work in the future...approx costs coming back at $10 - $12k...yes you did read right thousand that is...so also a consideration for the future.

I am certainly looking forward to the summer now, and see what happens into the new year....the saddest part will be to end up loving it here, and then having to return...but have to just enjoy what we can ( without spending money) and see what transpires...but any tips...from anyone...most appreciated...
x

Re: What are the benefits of raising familyin NZ
 

My husband gets paid fortnightly and we usually have no money left after the first wk, I shop fortnightly and spend about $300 cos it's cheaper to buy in bulk.
Hubbys boss has said we can use his land to store wood on so we are going to order eleven ton of the stuff and chop it up ourselves because it is cheaper to buy that way apparently.
I suppose there are ways and means to live cheaply here but it's hard finding out for about the first two years lol.
We get a lot of inside info off our neighbours now and kiwi friends we have made but an awful lot of them are finding it hard to keep their heads above water here too.
According to a recent article in the papers the only way a lot of kiwis are maintaining their lifestyles is by getting up to their necks in debt.
It can be a bit embarrassing being a poor pom in NZ cos they always expect you to be rolling in it :D