KevinS

Well from the quotes here I would say it reflects the experience we have had. We came over in 2003 to join my Sister in Law and to allow the rest of my wife's family to emigrate - my children had finished 6th form and GCSE and it seemed the best time to come.
Since living here we have been ripped off by Real Estate agents and builders, who hear the accent and think you have a million dollars in the bank. We are living in our 3rd house, in our second town. As mentioned before there are some beautiful parts to NZ, and we have enjoyed touring and seeing them, as a holiday destination it is wonderful - but we have had many bad experiences too. The houses are pretty rubbish, we looked at over 100 houses before buying our second house, it was the least rubbish and we had to really stretch ourselves to buy it - and it still needed thousands spending on it. We now live in a new town house, but it only has a heatpump and single glazing and a mortgage twice the size of the UK one I had.
Shopping, telephone and power are expensive, but running a car is cheap. I would miss the lack of traffic but not the idiots on the road.
It is a a warmer climate - but it is hail stoning at the moment.
If you have younger children you have a better chance of making friends - we don't have any real friends here at all.
The best advice I can give anybody is do your research on jobs and areas - then get on a plane and visit, not for a holiday, but as a family looking to live here - go to open homes, the supermarket, visit the schools etc..
As some have said it is a huge commitment, it can be extremely costly on your finances and emotions.
We too, like Debsnotdebbie, are looking to return to the UK, we want to holiday first - but the lack of work is making it difficult to save.
Good Luck

pixi-dust

Apologies Kevin, I'm not meaning to quote you selectively. But this is exactly the point I was trying to make in my earlier post.
You see we have had the exact opposite experience. We had lovely estate agents and a builder that I now consider a friend. We have no children and have made fabulous friends.

I am in no way disagreeing with Kevin though, you have my sympathy as your experience is rubbish.

It's just that we are all going to have different experiences so how can anyone know what theirs might be?
It's such a tricky one! Argh

lardyl

same here - we love it in NZ and the distance from family/friends is the only "problem" remaining since work/income is sorted, but then we are lucky and my job is in demand so I can work the time and hours I want and slack away on BE as and when
But life is not a total bed of roses here and it can be really hard if the finances are not sorted out.

KevinS

No worries. you are right it is all down to the individual - we have been perhaps unlucky, but I still think nobody should sell up and move here without first doing some serious research during a visit. We don't have the family problem as my wife's family are all here - living 4 hours away, but my daughter can't get a job - been trying for 4 years, she can't get benefit anymore either, no work for me in NZ, gotta travel to Oz for 6 to 8 weeks at a time - just loads of different things. We came here for a better life and after 7 years we haven't been able to achieve it, that's just the way it is for us.
Like you have said not everyone is the same, so the experience will be different.
I heartily wish we could enjoy living here because as a lifestyle it can be great.

crap coffee

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FrequentFlyer

There are some really good comments on this subject. I agree with them all I think!

I've been living 4.5 yrs in NZ and I am returning to the UK later this year. It's been fun and it's been interesting and I won't grow old thinking "what if" but it's never been home and never will.

Why? Well as someone else wrote it never gets easy missing all the family events and dreading the phone ringing and being left in that horrible do I fly home now or later situation if someone close is taken ill. Also agree that everyone says they will come and visit but the reality is they can't afford the air fares or four weeks off work or prefer to go somewhere closer.

If you work in Auckland you could be looking at long commuting times if you live outside the city - I am told 2 hrs from North Shore to the Airport at rush hour times.

I have found that there is along working hours culture here too. Kiwis think nothing of getting in the office early, staying late and coming in at weekends too - what lifestyle!

VictoryV

Hi Tri Mum - found the comments on here really interesting so thought i'd add a few of my own! I lived in Auckland for 2 1/2 years a few years back when my kids were just little ones and I had no idea what to expect and was thrilled and diappointed all at once! I became enormously homesick and missed stuff that I just didnt expect to miss - like architecture, dry stone walls (history basically) etc. My OH on the other hand absolutely loved it and settled in really quickly. After a while I started to settle too and the absolute best thing about the place for me is the people. They are so friendly and helpful - within a few days of us moving there neighbours would come round with toys for the kids and offers of babysitting so we could go out and this was the case for the whole time we were there and we moved 3 times in that period. Also Auckland is great for so many reasons - you have the city aspect (still not a city in terms of UK - not remotely like London) with shops, bars etc. but also Auckland has tons of beaches and outdoor spaces right on the doorstep. We lived in Green Bay which was in Waitakere City (Auckland is divided into 4 "cities" - North Shore, Auckland City, Manukau and Waitakere - not proper cities but just 4 separate councils) and found it really good there. Had the Waitakere ranges on our doorstep - forest covered mountain range great to drive and walk through. My OH is also sport mad and did a couple of marathons while there and also went to some rugby matches which he had never done before and loved it! My daughter started school in our last year there and got on very well - on the whole I think the schooling is a bit more relaxed than the UK but this does not make it worse.
Anyway to cut a long story short we came back to the UK in 2004 and settled in Matlock (which I love) but I knew as soon as we came back that it was a mistake. Bizarre but true! Even though I love certain things about the UK that you just cant get in NZ I found England suffocating - the houses seemed cramped and tiny, I couldnt believe how small my Mums garden seemed (in my mind it had been huge). My husband had something stolen in the week we got back (a rude awakening for him - welcome home!) and the schools lack of facilities was startling - a small concrete playground as opposed to a huge field and play equipment. I knew I needed to spend more time back here as I had been so homesick and even though I do love the Peak District it has always been a desire to move back to NZ. And now we are doing it sas we are due to go to Dunedin in the South Island in August. I know I will still be homesick for certain things but as long as you realise this before you go then it helps a little. We decided on Dunedin as I actually missed the seasons when we were in Auckland as it can get cool in Winter but isnt properly seasonal like the UK whereas Dunedin is. Also my OH had had trouble getting a decent job but found exactly what he was looking for in Dunedin. Also I found the damp atmosphere in Auckland in the houses frankly awful. You cannot feel it in the air so much but it turns leather shoes and belts in your wardrobe green (yuk) and many houses actually smell damp and musty - I had to keep wiping mould off the walls in my kids rooms, not nice! So hopefully that wont be the same in Dunedin!
So not sure if this will help you or not - all I can say is there are pros and cons to every area and at the end of the day iof you really dont like it then you can always go back

Good luck with whatever you decide

V x

mickey_d

Mate, you have no mortgage, or rent, that makes a huge difference. I know your family income is about the same as ours, imagine taking $22k a year away from it

debsnotdebbie

Genesis,

Boring I know but the stats on NZ housing clearly show that a significant number have little or no insulation and are badlly constructed.

Most of the housing stock here simply would not pass the building regulations, past or present in the UK, or come to that, pretty much any where in the developed world.

Therefore putting in a heating or ventilation system would be pretty much an exercise in throwing good money after bad as the heat goes out through the single glazed windows and unisulated walls floors and roof.

The NZ government are clearly aware of the problem as they have now put in place a fairly inadequate scheme to assist people to insulate their homes.

So I accept that things are improving but it is a very slow process.

As for some people chosing to live in a cold damp house I believe that these people are in the miniority. Most people I have met here both migrants and Kiwis would love to have a warm cosy house but simply can not afford huge heating bills and are forced to heat one room with a 7 fin oil radiator, in my experience the most expensive form of heating.

You obviously have sufficient funds to provide for all your needs and wants you are lucky. I simply wish that the majority of the population in NZ both Kiwi and migrant were in your shoes.

I hope you continue to enjoy your time in NZ it is a beautiful country but just because its ok for you do not close your eyes to the reality that NZ is a low wage ecomony and that lots of people struggle to survive.

Genesis

My point was that one OP suggested ALL would be worse off. That is not always the case.

bubblelou

Hi, Just thought I'll share my experience in NZ so far. I moved to NZ at the beginning of this year for family reasons. NZ is definitely safer than other countries I've lived in (London, New York, etc) but in terms of jobs it has been really difficult. I come from an IT investment banking background working for some of the biggest banks in the world but haven't had any luck at all. After endless applications, I've decided its time to call it a day and go somewhere else. People in NZ do no look favourably on investment banking experience. What they want is the "kiwi experience" or NZ experience... Its nearly impossible to find anything suitable without it but you won't find a good job unless you have it (or have connections in the industry)

lardyl

must say that was my experience and has been the experience of several others I have known in various professions.

Unless you are in health, ancillary health or some well-defined role where there is a real shortage then the dreaded "kiwi experience" will almost always win out. And once you are in don't ever, ever suggest that the Kiwi way is not the best or you'll not be thanked for your "help" and the knives could well be out for you. Your workmates here come complete with knife sharpening kits and targets for your back - be warned.

Best thing to do is get the experience/contacts and then start your own business, as that is so easy here.

pixi-dust

that's exactly what we've just done.
We have another friend who is a builder - he worked for companies for 18 months to get experience etc then set up his own company a couple of years ago and is doing really well.
It is scary, though. Especially if you need to borrow money like we did so you know you have to make a certain amount to pay everything before you even start earning, but it's exciting too.

fitzandindiana

what business have you set up?
We are coming over in the next two years with hubbys work, he's in the health profession but we would really love to work together and have dreams of running our own shop(either a coffee or book shop). We've never done this before but would like a whole new change when we move and working together would be a good change hopefully.
How easy is it to do something like this when you have no experience in running your own business, should we do some business courses before we come over?
Any help would be appreciated!
x

mcuddy1

Your workmates here come complete with knife sharpening kits and targets for your back - be warned.

Dead right there Lardy boy. They go out of their way to screw you over, so many lies and tales told by the natives who worked for Transfield where I spent a year.

It was totaly alien to my work experience with BT.