Assanah

That it is far away from much of the rest of Germany maybe? With the exception of Hamburg most bigger German cities are at least 3 hours drive from the beach.

MOSO

I shall go back to the original (subjective) question:

Lifestyle in NZ for us:

Going to the beach after work with the kids for a run around/game of rugby/swim depending on weather – our closest beach in the UK was 45 mins drive round the M25 and was probably Southend-on-Sea in Essex, there is just no comparison!

Taking the kids to one of several local parks which is clean and well-cared for rather than vandalised and trashed.

Enjoying a swim in the outdoor pool at the end of the road. Cost $1 each or $2 for the hydroslide. Local pool with slide in Hemel Hempstead UK: $14 equivalent.

Enjoying playing in/on the local river or cycling along the river path or the coastal path. Cost: nothing. Safest cycling in the UK was an old railway line through St Albans trying to avoid the rubbish dumped along the way.

Going camping – Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, Masterton, Warkworth, Battle Hill, Rimutakas, etc. Okay holidays in the UK involved going to gites in France, Spain, and Portugal but our budget doesn’t stretch that far anymore. Have we still enjoyed it: yes!

Catching the train to Wellington is much cheaper, less crowded and far more scenic than going into Kings Cross and then the tube.

I love the way I can just drive to Wellington or our local shops and park without problem and without paying. I still can’t believe my parents pay to park at Sainsburys and last Saturday on their first day back in the UK after their hols here it took 30 mins to find a space. I like the way the checkout ladies have a chat while they’re packing my bags.

My kids have less peer pressure here. They don’t seem to be as fussed about having the latest gadgets or what clothes they’re wearing.

The other key factor is work. We lived in the over-crowded south east because my husband worked for the Government. Co-incidentally his department no longer exists in the UK so we got out at the right time! We have friends who moved from the South East of England to Devon and absolutely love their new outdoor lifestyle which has involved buying kayaks, rock climbing and even camping in the snow last week on Dartmoor. The downside is that it took 2 years for him to find any work in IT (they lived off the equity from selling their more expensive house) and his wife still hasn’t found any work as a teacher after nearly 4 years.

We have been here over 2 years so it’s no longer a honeymoon period. Of course the daily grind of work/housework will be the same whether we lived in the UK or in New Zealand and that will never change and there is still uncertainty over jobs in the civil service here and for teachers, however for us our lifestyle is better here. Maybe the fact we made the decision to move woke us up to taking advantage of where we live rather than the hum-drum rat race we were living in the UK.

BEVS

Yes.

I simply can't answer that in a list of 5 or 6 items because I could represent our lifestyle in any way I chose simply by being selective about which 5 or 6 items I wrote down.

sr71

So the quality of your lifestyle is based on the either vagaries of the forex markets and/or capital growth in the British housing market, or you just give up and adapt 'mend and make do' attitude.

How about working harder/smarter, getting a 2nd job, retraining in a new career or starting your own business? Personally I like to be in total control of my life and if I was in the situation of not being able to afford a decent lifestyle I'd do something about it.

sr71

There is a huge difference between swimming in the North Sea and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Some beautiful coastline in the UK but there are many problems associated with it :

-Nice weather + nice beach = ridiculous traffic jams
-Beaches can get very crowded
-Some resorts are absolute dumps (Blackpool)
-Much of the population still has to drive an hour or two to get to a nice beach, maybe a lot more for some.
-The water will never be warm, and/or clear

Assanah

Well, beaches here are beautiful. No doubt about that. Still, empty beaches are not worth being separated from family and friends. Especially not if you have a shitty low-paid job here. BTW, I haven't been swimming here since May because the weather is shit. Also, a lot of beaches at the West coast in Auckland are quite dangerous for swimmers and the ones on the East coast are pretty crowded too.

bourbon-biscuit

Erm, excuse me Mr Work Smarter/Harder/in-2nd-Job/Retrain/Start-a-business/Total-Control-of-my-Life, but perhaps you'd like to read the rest of my post and then you'd understand that the bit you've quoted is more me observing how it works for others generally, rather than a reflection on my circumstances.

All of your suggestions would be trading time with my family for stuff. I know what makes me happier.

Catchafire

We came here in 2004 with $500 to our name, since then we have done pretty well. Not exactly rich, but living a life not based around pursuing money, means we have time for each other as a family. I have two businesses and although I can be running around like a blue arsed fly some weeks, on average I would say I work about 20hrs a week. We have two beautiful girls 4 and under. I am very happy to say that I get to spend a significant amount of time with them pretty much every day and I would not swap that for a million dollars.

Could I have done these things back in the UK? Probably to be truthful, knowing what I know now. But the process of leaving the UK back in 2001, travelling the world for a few years and ending up in NZ, helped me evolve into this happy clapper I am today. I think if I had come here directly, it could have been a different story.

Lifestyle to me is more a state of mind.

hazeandsteve

1. Get a second computer and pay bills by AP.
2. Gutter witch.
3. Stroke your cat more......ir's far more satisfying than the rest of your list.

barnsleymat

In some parts of Auckland 'Lifestyle' is judged on how many cups of over priced coffee you can get through in a day sat outside some cafe with a wanna trendy name.

I see these creatures slurping most days sat next to the traffic in Kingsland pretending they're in Rome.

Bo-Jangles

Yes and uber made up, trendy Mummies who just jogged all the way across the road from their 4x4 in their designer sports gear, pushing the latest in off-road three wheeler strollers.

barnsleymat

When we lived down St Heliers it was full of these people, as a straight laced Yorkshire man I needed to get away from the place. These freaks strutting about on Tamaki Drive was too much for me.

My boss tell me the latest fad is to spend a fortune on a racing road push bike with every accessory and all the clothes, drive to just around the corner from the poncy cafe they all meet at and do the last 200 metres on the push iron.

pixi-dust

I suppose lifestyle will be different to people. Whatever their idea is of the perfect 'lifestyle' is, that will be what they try to achieve.

For us it wasn't so much of a lifestyle change but a complete life change!
Middle of the city to middle of the countryside. No garden to small farm

We can still do all the things we used to do - meet friends, have dinners out, go to concerts, explore the countryside, go to the cinema, but it's the extras that make it for us.

We have space here, huge amounts of space, a gigantic veggie garden, we keep all the animals we could possibly want. The weather is a huge change to the positive from Scotland . We do use the beaches, we are out on the water every chance we get, I dive every week all year round in a wetsuit! ( uk divers will know how nice this is!) For us there seems to be the opportunity to learn more new things - or try things we never thought of before. Hubby works way less hours ( ok for way less money but we worked this out before we came!) we spend loads of time together. We could just not have done this before.

We did look into trying to do this in the uk before we left but quite simply we couldn't afford it. Not even if we went to the Scottish highlands or one of the islands - 6 years ago we were totally priced out of the market. That may have changed now.

For us it's the simple things that make life so brilliant here. But after 6 years, it is just everyday life, pretty much all good, with wee things sent to try us thrown in!

scrubbedexpat094

Great post Pixi-dust & good to see you back here

pixi-dust

I do pop in every so often. I picked up a pm a few days ago and it was almost 3 months old! *blush*