Lexylou

Yes that was one of the main reasons we hated it. Its very very very bad. We had a terrible accident at our house when one idiot, high on drugs crashed through our house. It was the end of the line for us. We lived in Cashmere. We had no prior warning from the estate agent on the boy racer problem and we bought on a main road (dyers pass). It was hell every Thurs, Frid, Sat and sun night. Started early evening until 4am.

I also found Christchurch completely dull. One great place is a bar called Le Plonk and a great hotel called Hotel Off the Square owned by a friend of mine were the two places we felt most alive and at home in.

Don't get me wrong, Cashmere is stunning, and lovely views at the top but that was no use to me at 4am in the morning when I could not get to sleep.

I am not talking about a few boy racers. I am talking hundreds. It is a big problem in Chch. They did a programme about it when we were there and it showed them at the nos bars and the general culture. I was very scared of them. I got involved at a political level with a lawyer in CHch about the problem and i do believe that progress is being made. But not much.

Depends on what you want out of life though and for us, that was not it. We had no option on going elsewhere in NZ so we came home and I love it and my kiwi hubby loves it.

sirplug

Nice thread

How many of you, now in NZ, regret your decision to move so far away?

We will be heading out, hopefully, in the next 6 - 8 months. Our reasons to move seem pretty much the same as mentioned so far, crime (personal experience), goverment (never any police around), to give our children a childhood I remember and less crowding and the problems it brings. Our main one though, is just to experience a different culture and way of life, an education in itself. I've lived and worked abroad in the past and that has given me itchy feet.

Lexylou

I don't want to say too much as some people on this board hate my posts and I am not up to another fight today, so if you want any specific info please pm me. To answer your other question though, we lived in Cashmere.

birdynumnum

Whereabouts are you in UK now.
If you dont mind my asking

Glad you love it

Lexylou

In a town at the gateway to the highlands in Scotland.

Avid

It's a valid question but I'm not sure this is the place to ask it. The 'moving back to the UK' section is where people usually go to lick their wounds/scream at the heavens....

And it's pretty easy to post 'my life is great' on a messageboard but quite hard to post 'I have made a terrible mistake'

Statistics seem to indicate (though not clearly) that 4/10 British people with PR leave NZ after a few years. Maybe that answers your question. But statistics aren't everything.

SarahB

We only left UK as OH got head hunted and offered a job here, and we thought we'd give it a go. No other reasons really. Dont dislike UK, still miss it but think NZ is ok too. Boring answer I know but thats how it happened.

Herm

Why not......

Kippers

Actually, the success rate for British migration to NZ is 80%.

With 20% of Brits leaving NZ permanently after five years.

So you have a good chance of making a successful move

http://www.dol.govt.nz/\pdfs\Migrant...sm-from-NZ.pdf



Kip

Mandie

Where were the police then!!! if it was that regular then i'd expect them to sort the problem out...it's terrible that it got to the stage that your house was rammed...these people don't have any respect for others.

really glad you've found happiness now
will PM you thanks

Nisey

Why leave the UK, because I'm fed up with it. UK is not the centre of the bloody universe and I want my kids to know that. My husband and I have been looking to get out for years, every place we go we're sizing up whether we could live there. Opportunities have come and gone in the states, and across europe, the time never seemed right.

NZ had never occurred to me until I saw a report on BBC breakfast news back in January, I was redundant at the time and we thought it was worth a look by way of another option.

The response from recruiters and employers has been really good, but I found a job in the UK and thought that would be the end of it, but we sat down over easter break and both admitted that secretly we were dissappointed we wern't following it up.

So we decided to go for it, something feels right about it, can't put my finger on it. Alot of the reasons have been mentioned on here, but I do know I want to open my daughters eyes to the possibilities that are out there and that they can be, go anywhere and do whatever they want, they just have to go after it. So I guess I'm leading by example.

Who knows if NZ is forever, we're not adverse to considering other things as they come up, just know that if I stay in the UK we won't achieve what we want, and its not all about the money. I just know that when we leave I will be closing the door on alot of stress and trouble and it won't be coming with us, so wherever we go we can have a fresh start, and that will be benficial to all of us.

Whether it works is down to if we make it work

Lexylou

The police were the ones chasing them down the hill into our house....!!! To be honest they were doing the best they could with the resources they had.

Avid

Well, still, it's not quite as simple as that but your stats are certainly more detailed and positive than mine so I'll have to edit my signature....

meercat

We are heading for NZ to give our children a better life. I've seen postings about how houses over there are expensive - but take a look at the UK. Average house price is £180,000. Congestion (and charges), crime, hoodies.

I hope we are going to NZ with our eyes open. I am expecting crime, hoodies and budgeting on things costing the same as in the UK - but at least there are less people! I don't mind the sacrifice to give my kids a future. In the UK help is given to those who don't work - everyone else is left to defend themselves. Can't wait to leave this country.

AlbieLittle

What chart is that? The one I read (table 4.6) said that 34.8% had lived in NZ permanently since getting residency.

table 7.1 states that only 10% have left permanently.

That's good.