daveandsarah

Hello All

Would really appreciate some help/advice/share other experiences from people who've been here.

Left job here in the UK just before Xmas.
House sold and moving out on 14th Jan.

My wife still in her job, but is only on a short notice period.
Also, are coming with 1x 14r old

Should we :
1. hang on here until I get a job offer ??
2. Come out by myself, endeavouring to set up interviews before I come out ??
3. Bite the big one, and us all come out and take a flyer on it - granted this makes shipping the stuff out a bit of a problem, but would be a bit of an adventure.

Been trying to get a job for ages, but they are few and far between (retail buyer/category manager) - not convinced it's going to be any better actually being there...
My wife works for social services - not a social worker, but within child protection.

I don't know what to do...

Browner_

Need a bit more info to advise:
- apart from the fact you are coming from Huddersfield, why are you coming to NZ?
- Which part of NZ are you expecting to live in?
- What sort of visa are you coming on?

daveandsarah

Hi Browner
1. Coming to NZ because we like it. All the usual rose coloured spectacle reasons really, but not doing it eyes closed. Been, read the books, talked to people.
2. Wherever I can get a job - probably Auckland, but not particularly precious.
North would be better - because it's warmer and we're big rugby league fans. Saying that, quite liked Christchurch until it started falling over.
3. If I come now, std holiday visa, but if I get a job then a work visa whilst skilled migrant is being processed.

What I really want to know is from people that took the flyer.
Is it mush easier to get the job once you're on the ground ??
Especially something quite specialised, but unqualified, like mine ??

Ta

MnB

Hi Dave & Sarah
A tricky question to answer!
We (OH & I) arrived in NZ in early Feb this year .....no jobs, no idea where we would settle .....a 'suck it & see' trip I guess! We didn't sell our UK house or ship furniture / household goods etc but did ship 9 boxes of clothes, music equipment, shoes books etc. We came back to the UK early June because I was very homesick Do we have any regrets??? no not at all.

When we reflect on our 'journey' and ask ourselves 'what would have made it easier/ better?' we know that had we (either of us) had a job to go to which would have dictated where we settled we would have been more focused and felt less like we were on a long holiday (in search of the endless summer!) we would have immediately had colleagues, a routine to our daily lives and an income!! So if you go with no job be prepared!!
We wish we'd done it earlier....when our 'kids' were younger....leaving them here didn't help my homesickness!

Have you considered going out, as a family, but not shipping you stuff straight away....leave it in storage untill you settle, get jobs etc, get return tickets ....you could use them for a trip back to sort out shipping if needed. Give yourselves a bit of time with a 'get out' clause just in case??
HTH B x

Foxesecho

Hi daveandsarah

Agree with MnB. Tricky.

Friends of ours left jobs, put the house on the market and came over on holiday visas and took a 6 months rent whilst looking for jobs. They came over with 2 children who could not go to school for nearly 6 months (as they were on holiday!). The children where 10 and under, so time to catch up if needed.

In retrospect, they wish they had left wife and children in UK to sell up/ remain in school/ job, whilst OH looked for a job here in NZ. It would have meant less money on a rental, the children would have remained in school for the 6 months/ wife in job and an ability to move around country easier to look for work.

Work was found and they are all happy in their new life. But it was very stressful at the time for them.

Shingi

Hi there, we're doing exactly that, throwing caution to the wind and doing it anyway! We're putting our stuff into storage as you can't ship it out there anyway until you have a valid visa stamped in your passport. We wanted to keep our stuff in the UK, just in case 6 months down the line, we end up coming back. So atleast we'd save on those expensive shipping costs. We don't have any jobs to go to and we have a 10 year old, so all a bit scary to say the least. We do have my husbands parents living out there though, so atleast we have a base when we arrive, which is a relief. We also tried to secure jobs first, my husband also went out there on his own last year, but we decided in the end that we'll just go out there and try our luck. We've been mulling this over for 3/4 years, its now or never for us. At the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, we've had a great experience. I'll be home schooling my daughter until we know that we are staying for definite. It's a catch 22 situation with jobs and visa's, it drove us round the bend. We personally think it will be easier to meet employers face to face, atleast that way they know you are deadly serious and can start work straight away. From posts I've read on this forum, Wellington Immigration do an over the counter visa application services. So once you have your job offer it could take as little as a few days to get your visa sorted with them. Hope this helps and good luck with whatever you decide to do. You only live once!!

JohnThePom

As other posters have noted, it's hard to advise with regard to jobs because each person and job market is different.

My opinion is that it is easier to find a job here than from overseas simply because you are self-evidently available and can attend face to face interviews. So that's what I did, I didn't really try very hard to get a job from the UK. Having said that, I think that it can be easy to underestimate the difficulty in finding work once you get here and if you don't already have permission to work then that will be a hurdle. I would never have come out here without a working visa, but that's the pessimist in me.

I think that we would have struggled if my partner hadn't got a job before we emigrated - it's hard to watch your savings dwindle (or your debts mount). And, it's easy to say that you're prepared for a period of unemployment, but it can be psychologically challenging. Your support networks of family and friends won't be around to help you through times of self-doubt and you may be surprised how much you take for granted where you currently are.

Has your wife looked at finding work yet? If you're both looking then that will reduce the risk.

At the end of the day some people live to walk the high wire without a safety net and some people never even go to the circus. You will find people that have followed all three of your alternatives and some will have failed and some will have succeeded, it's very difficult to draw conclusions from that.

The buzz of making the move can carry you along for a while but it doesn't pay the bills - at some point you have to weigh up the practicalities and make a decision that you're happy with. We really can't tell you what to do.

MnB

RickAlbany

the only thing to do is just do it, all come out and have it in your minds that this is your new life, jobs are alot easier to find once you are here and there is always something even if its short term until you find the perfect job. If Auckland I would suggest the north shore as its a great family area and lots of brits in that area also.

as for me I arrived here with suitcase, $10 and no job and have never looked back!

BEVS

Hhmm. This is a difficult one mainly because of recession. A few years back it was possible to hit the NZ ground running and have a good chance of finding work. Now it is far more risky & much more difficult unless you are in certain occupations which have remained on the NZIS shortages list. Nurses, for instance.

It is better if you have boots on NZ ground but I am sure you are already aware that an NZ employer can't just offer you a job ,even if there is a vacancy , as your occupation is not in shortage here.

If you're up for an adventure as a family and don't mind spending a whole load of money, then maybe take a bit of a punt, particularly as yu have sold your house and seem to have no UK work. Just be aware that neither of you can accept any job, nor can an NZ employer offer you any job without the say-so of NZIS .

I still feel you should be trying to line up possible interviews though.

Browner_

Im no expert on this, but how can a NZ employer offer you full time work if you have no visa and your occupation is not on the 'shortage' list?

BEVS

They can do this if they wish but they have to fulfil criteria no matter what the type of job is. Short term or long term.


The NZ employer can submit a request to NZIS for what is called an 'Approval in Principle'. This involves the NZ employer proving that there is no NZ citizen or PR for the work and that they had enough training procedures and advertising in place. It also means an NZ labour market test.
The one exception is , if the NZ employer is accredited by NZIS. They can offer work .