Pom_Chch

Don't misjudge how quick the weather can change here especially if you are hiking up a mountain. It may result in a rather dramatic ride back to the car via a helicopter and land you in the local paper the next day...

Assanah

That there is no city life in New Zealand.
That NZ is very small (in more than only the geographic sense) and as a result you might get claustrophobic.

That said I was told all this and more but I chose not to listen LOL.

Justcol

dont be, I recently married a updated kiwi version...happy days all round

I wish someone had told me about the average kiwis aversion to going to the pub.
I hate drinking at home but most natives think going to the pub to socialize over a couple of pints
is far to expensive. they would rather spend $20 on a box of piss and drink it on their own at home....miserable sods !!!

LauraNotts

That Annual leave is accrued and not just given when you start a job.

That without PERMANENT (yes that is the key word and no they don't understand that residency is the same thing immigration wise) residency it can be very very difficult to get a credit card or finance even if you have an exemplary credit history.

Have a full dental check up and any work you need doing done BEFORE you go. It's EXPENSIVE here.

Those are the things that bug me most about life here. And on the face of it none of them are that bad. They just niggle at me

BEVS

Oo. Good one LauraNotts.

Yes. Get all dentistry work done before you come.

BEVS

Absoblumminlootelly.

jmh

Just so that people know, you accrue leave from the day you start and have earned the full amount of leave on the anniversary of your start date (usually but there are circumstances where this varies). After that anniversary it becomes annual leave owed. In most cases you can continue to accumulate leave entitlement over multiple years, so if you want to plan for an overseas holiday and have to take 2 weeks leave because your employer's business closes at Christmas (which is common), then you can use your leave owed from earlier years to do this. When you leave the company they pay you for the leave owed. It gives you the choice of whether to take the money instead of the time off, which some people might prefer.

TommyLuck

Set up your NZ bank account before you leave, if you haven't already.

It was a palaver for me to sort one out when I got here without a proof of address and without a home address to get a proof of address sent to ... you see my quandary.

My OH has been out here in October 2012 and set one up with some ID, no problem. We all came out to live in July 2013 and in the interim the rules changed - for the better I might add - but caused me no end of trouble for a couple of weeks trying to get the necessary documentation together.

I understand that Westpac in particular are happy to set up accounts in the UK before you leave. Do it. Even if you switch banks not long after getting here.


Oh yeah and come with an open mind;

You'll still need to get out of bed, go work and provide. The sun doesn't always shine and driving standards in New Zealand are terrible.

Although it wont be a surprise, NZ is a long way from anywhere internationally speaking - be prepared to make NZ a holiday destination too. In my short time here I've loved holidaying in NZ; The Coromandel, Queenstown, Waiheke Island and several visits to friends in and around Wellington.

Still on the list (in no particular order); Northland (although I do pop up that way work), Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Nelson, The West Coast, Queenstown again.

Travel is a very different beast in NZ.

You haven't got the ability to fly to raft of different nations and languages all within a couple of hours and travel is never cheap. The sooner you are at peace with this 'claustrophobia' as Assanah put it, metaphorically speaking presumably, shouldn't happen.

If you can't deal with this, you may begin to feel trapped unless you have pots of money to travel far afield.

Also, if you can once you start earning $$$'s stop converting things in your head to Sterling GBP's.

The same applies in NZ as it does anywhere in the world. If you can afford and/or value the item you are purchasing then buy it. If not, don't.

I realise there will be occasions that you will have to buy something you can't really afford, but then I'm almost certain this has happened to anyone who ever lived, except the mega rich, wherever in the world. But you get my jist.

Shopping seasonally and knowing when to shop seems to be an art form, I'm still learning.

I've worked out that the best time for me to buy sausages (for example) is on a Tuesday, at New World at Victoria Park here in Auckland. There often half price or better so I stock up.

I don't find foot that much more expensive in NZ, but we waste much less than we did in the UK. The change in our lifestyle means we shop pretty much as and when, rather than doing a weekly shop. Which helps reduce the wastage.

I also shop in at least 4 different places for food; Countdown (1 visit per week), New World (4/5 visit per week), The Butchers (1 visit a week) and Fruit World (2/3 visits a week).

I do most of the cooking now, so I like to know what I'm buying and therefore preparing.

Lastly, find people with common interests.

I played Rugby and Cricket in the UK and one of the first things I did here was to find sports clubs.

Integration in to a new society and new country is made a damn sight easier when you mix with people with common interests.

Mrsbrightside7

Thanks for all these useful responses!

I know I will struggle with the lack of foreign holidays. There are so many places in NZ I want to visit though so hopefully that will keep me going for a few years!

I thought about the dental cost so went to the dentist last week and had my first ever filling I will definitely have another check up before we come over? I think my son will need a brace when he's older too! I dread to think how much that will cost!

What about opticians costs? Does anyone know if the price of contact lenses are higher too?

cappuccino

I get my eyes tested annually in SpecSavers when they are doing a half price offer but if you are a member of the AA, you don't need to pay at all.

Buy your contact lenses online (I use a great overnight delivery company based in Auckland, but there are many - just make sure you bring your most up to date prescription).

Also, buy your make up online from Strawberrynet - saves a fortune!

marblep

It's a lovely country full of decent people. Take each day as it comes and you'll soon find your niche. We're quite good people deep down.

Jan n Neil

What he said, the pubs suck

Bo-Jangles

That Kiwis were so obsessed with money and tediously sensitive about what the rest of the world thinks of them and their country.

S'not fair, we gave them tax breaks, how dare they laugh at us!

'Middle Zealand'

Justcol

We have a decent english pub up here in cambridge, proper bar with real pumps and bar stools, tables you sit
down at, not the stupid tall buggers kiwis like that have you standing up all night, big fire in the corner in winter.
Perfect for dropping in on your days off for a couple of pints and read of the newspaper....happy days !!
Drop me a line if you ever swing through and I'll stand you a couple pints of Boddingtons, Guinness or kilkenny

Justcol

hasnt been mentioned yet but as a slight twist to this thread, my new wife has lived in Auckland all her life
and she simply cant get used to the fact that the shops down here in cambridge, as in many other small towns
all close at lunchtime on saturdays. None of the poms I know here are bothered by it, it's just the way it is but it takes a kiwi
to complain about it