paulst30

I'm really glad to hear these comments because my wife and I feel the same way. My two girls are going to be head turners when they are older, and i'm growing increasingly worried about the rate in which kids go from playing with dolls, to playing with knifes, drink and their lives. Not to mention the alarming rate of teenage pregnancies here.

My kids and my wife deserve a better life, and if it means moving to NZ for that then it's something i'll have to consider.

I wouldnt let my family suffer financially either, and would work 2 jobs, as long as they were happy. My wife has South African blood in her, and although she was born on scotland, i dont actually believe she is truly happy here.

I want to move because i hate neds, i have no time for them or thier scrubber parents. Plus the local school is like a UN convention, not to say immigrants are bad, because i'll be one soon, but at least come here and work, and teach your kids how to behave.

//rant off

Small things are important to my wife and I, which re-assures me that we could settle in NZ, we get on well and work great as a team, even after 10 years together. I do all my own DIY and could fix up a house no problem, ooohhhh i feel the excitement coming back he heeee

I dont want to take from New Zealand, i want to give and being in IT i strongly believe i can do that, and when ppl say it cant be done, i tear up the argument and show them a solution on a plate, unless its the NZ immigration office hahahahahha

I dont mind that its the same, i mind when the BBC are forcing it on you at every damn minute of the day, always saying stuff about job cuts, high interest rates, failing economy and low wages. I just want a break away from it, and turning the TV off doesnt work, your neighbours and family complain too.

We live in whats classed as a not too shabby area, (Knightswood in glasgow) and its not without its trouble. My neighbour had his wing mirror broken off his brand new Vauxhall Astra, at the cost of £200 to him, for what? its that level of disrespect that annoys me, especially since my generation (i'm 31) was brought up to respect elders and thier property. The local shop had its windows broken all because they wouldnt sell 12 year olds alcohol, i know because i was asked to buy them the drink about 10 mins before and said no, to which i got a barrel load of abuse.

weejie

[/QUOTE]We live in whats classed as a not too shabby area, (Knightswood in glasgow) and its not without its trouble. My neighbour had his wing mirror broken off his brand new Vauxhall Astra, at the cost of £200 to him, for what? its that level of disrespect that annoys me, especially since my generation (i'm 31) was brought up to respect elders and thier property. The local shop had its windows broken all because they wouldnt sell 12 year olds alcohol, i know because i was asked to buy them the drink about 10 mins before and said no, to which i got a barrel load of abuse.[/QUOTE]

My folks live in Knightswood and they have the same problems with local kids. It's true what you say about them having no respect for their elders,this really p's me off big time. My boys are 8 and 5 and we are trying our best to instill this in them but it is soooo difficult when most of their peers,at their young age, already show no respect for anyone or anything.

jimanddebs

for us its not why but when. money is not the overiding factor for us to move to nz as it seems to be suffering just as much as good old blighty. its the slower pace and chance to give us all a fresh start and new beginnings. fingers crossed for medical results lol

paulst30

Honestly i feel more at home with the people here going to NZ than the so called friends i have on my Bebo page who i have known for years.

It feels like we're all going to be going on a big boat and travelling together hahaha strange mindset i know.

I cant do anything about jobs just yet, because i'm studying for my MCSA, else i'd have no hope in hell of competing in the quality of already established IT folk there. So for us its a waiting game as with others.

Its a sad state of affairs to be honest and people keep saying "those kids are mental" but its the lazy benefit bred parents that are responisible :curse:

PeggyP

I have to agree with jimanddebs - we want the slower pace and more family time. We hope that the move will be a fresh start cos we have so lost sight of ourselves and what is important.

We have tried to do everything 'properly' ie get married, get house, have kids, but now we have to work silly hours just to pay for the basics and have no time what so ever for the kids. Believe me we do not have a lavish lifestyle by any means and we are not in a great area, its just that the mortage, house bills, food, running of one car and preschool fees take more than what comes in.

I would love to give my kids more things like swimming lessons, dance lessons etc, but if i have the time then don't have the money and vice versa. My hubby works nights and I do 2 part time jobs -twice a week we don't see each other for 24 hours as he leaves before I get home. We earn 'too much' to get much help, other than the working tax credit - and I hate the fact I am being paid to 'abandon' my kids to carers and that I have to rely on that money to pay the petrol to get to work!

Hubby has been looking for new job since last July and the only people to take his CV seriously were the NZ companies.

The crime rates and 'drunk teen' culture is a large part of it. In the past year in our road we have had a murder (husband strangled estranged wife), closure of a drug den and our car was broken into. Monday morning walks to school mean dodging the broken beer bottles. I DON'T WANT THAT FOR MY KIDS!

I fully understand that NZ has its issues and it will not mean more money, and that I will be leaving the support network I have here, but I want to come home to my two wonderful kids and have the time and energy to be the mum they deserve. I want to have family orientated evenings - dinner together would be a novelty!

I know life is what you make it and its not that I am unhappy here, just tired, and the idea of a fresh start is so appealing, with the beautiful landscape an added bonus. I will replace the guilt about leaving my kids while I work, with the guilt of leaving my parents, but I can live with that!

Sorry for the rant, but as someone else said, thanks for asking the question as it has really make me realise its the right thing to do for us as a family.

ErikR

We're currently living in Germany and we're not unhappy at all. I hav.. had a good job (just finished my last working day today!) and so did my partner, we lived in a very spacious house with an amazing view, in a nice and quiet village but still with the city within reach (Frankfurt).

But we have lived in Holland before which was okay, Germany wasn't bad either but we just felt like a change in scenery. My OH had lived and worked in Wellington before, which she absolutely loved and she much preferred to go NZ again. I've been in the USA, Canada, Australia .. but never NZ so I couldn't really say yes or no to it.

So earlier this year we booked a recce to NZ - with just a handful of (quality) job interviews, it was more for me to get a feel for the country. I loved the South Island.. had to get to terms with Wellington but once you "get" the layout and workings of the place, it immediately grows on you... spend time in Auckland as well..

What can I say? I liked the country a lot - especially the people amazed me. Most of the job interviews were only about me as a person.. what I like to do in my spare time etc. That surprised me - and despite having talks with some high placed persons, they were all very relaxed and laid back. (Try that in Germany... if your tie is just 1mm off center, you won't get the job!)

So I liked the place, I liked the people and I ended up with two rock solid offers in Auckland and Wellington. In the end, I picked Wellington because the position was just more suiting to me and I really liked the compact layout of the city - and it's a bit more arty, with great small cafe's that do some of the best coffee I ever had.

So within 2 weeks we're off to Wellington!

joeysfriends

Wow. Powerful stuff. We are making small steps towards immigration to NZ, and when I witness things in our town/on the news that worry me, I wonder whether I am sub-consciously looking for reasons to justify our decision.
Good luck with your venture. I am going for an interview Monday for a second job with an employer I know have lots of NZ vacancies. Doing our house up to sell it (we are definitely movinng towns, if not continents!) has made me think it is a nice house and I like our neighbours and I think of all the work my hubby has put in to making it a nice house. I suppose this is all naturally part of the deicsion-making process.
We went on a reccy in March to NZ, loved it and the defining factor for us was the respect people had for each other.
We are definitely ready to take on a new adventure. Watch this space!

Justcol

I think all the stories about being "poor" in nz compared to the uk are generalising a little.
Both my wife and myself can better our salaries in nz.
Personally i dont want to do that i fancy a change and i know what i want to do
is a very low paid job in nz but what the heck, who cares.
Theres more to life than big pretty houses and buying stuff cos you think you need it.

cathyc

It's nothing to do with buying big pretty houses and buying stuff although some people with wads of cash seem to do that as soon as they get off the plane we didn't though. It's more about being able to afford to pay the bills, keeping your kids healthy, buying food and petrol, we couldn't even afford to get out and see much of the country. In Britain we used to scrimp on things and do without to save for holidays or to buy something nice, in New Zealand we had to do that just to get by or pay for something unexpected like car repairs.

dustylegs11

I can't put my finger on one thing that made us decide, right we're going.
It's all those bits and bobs that add up. I know that those bits and bobs may still be in NZ. But hey, what a challenge
I belive that in life we all need something to look forward to, in order to fulfil and excite us. Moving half way around the world and starting form scratch is exciting, if not very frightening at the same time

paulst30

These are some more of the reasons i want to go

The rivalry between Rangers and Celtic that causes glasgow to split right down the middle. It causes friends to go against each other and all for football. I play football, but i love the game not the extra crap.

Catholic and Protestant divide is more evident now than it ever was.

Religion i have no interest in, because i believe that everything can be explained by science, not by some book that was written with no winesses

I stay closely to around 30 people in a 100 yard radius, i dont know any of them, even my next door neighbours.

Staying close to a river makes travelling a nightmare because there's only so many routes over and under it, so job prospects go down the tubes.

The fact that the people of the UK know whats going on and let it slip, and moan under their breath to friends.

and finally, the strict process of life in the UK. In order to be recognised in society, you need to have a house that has more rooms than you need, a new car every 2 years, and basically earning a salary enough to feed half of africa (maybe a little OTT :P)

The UK is bonkers and controlled by Europe, and the USA. Gordon Brown is a puppet and everyone knows it, but what do we do about it? either leave and come to NZ or go mentally insane and kill our families, which seems to be all over the news at the moment.


Glasgow is full of non working males who have a serious social dysfunctionality. They think that terrorising thier neighbours, with loud music and anti social behaviour is ok and that they are somehow immune to laws.

Also this one really cracks me up :curse:

You work as hard as you can to provide and create a comfortable living condition for your family, and hardly really get much time for yourself, and then you have people who have 4-7 kids, and are told that its not worth thier while working as they wouldnt earn as much as they do from the government :curse: eh?

So........that means, i am paying for childcare, prescriptions, opticians, and everything else, while i also pay for these people to just pop kids out all year round and get to sit on thier jacksie and do nothing?

That has what has made my mind up, and i dare say that NZ may not be any different, but at least it wont be on my doorstep like it is now

iow_bird

It's like hearing my won reasons that last one.

I'm fed up of being stuck on a small island where it costs at least £50 to get to the mainland in the car. Fed up of the same walks, same faces and knowing everyone and everyone knowing everyone elses business!

We've had a look around the UK and no where really appeals. We want a fresh start and new challenge, if it doesn't work out then we'll move on somewhere else.

I'm also fed up of people on benefits sitting around having more money than us and loads of new stuff while we both work to support them!! Grrr!!!

I'm sure New Zealand has it's fair share of problems but we'll be able to see a bit of the world, meet new people, and be able to go new places!!

Our defining moment was when OH work told him they were increasing his hour and when they worked out the pay he should be paid less but they'd let him keep the difference!! He came home, told me, and I said right lets give New Zealand another go!

PeggyP

My OH reduced his hours to 48 a week and was told this was part time and they would have to consider reducing his holiday entitlement to part time too!

There has to be more and the more I read this thread the more I want the fresh start and the adventure.

At least I would have tried it, and seen a different bit of the world in the process.