Want2goNow

Hi,

What made people decide to move to New Zealand in the first place and do have any regrets or is it the best thing they have ever done.

Answers on a SAE please................Only joking fire away and let us know

Genesis

We tried to move to Highweek just outa N Abbott ..but ended up here in NZ by way of thoughts of France, Spain, Italy, Canada and Oz.

Essentially we are here cos Kate needed an english speaking country if she wished to continue in nursing..which eventually we decided was a must.

NZ over OZ and Canada, OZ too big too hot and Kate has a thing about snakes etc.

Canada was seen has way too much hoop jumping and anyway Kate saw a job in the nursing times for a job nursing here in Palmy.

Kate came here blind, I had been with my previous belle some many years past. I loved it and sold it to Kate. The three enfants had little choice..they were all virtually under 3

Why NZ? We established we would be mortgage free if we kept to a housing budget. We wanted to get away from the masses, we wanted (what we consider) to be a much better standard of living for us all..especially our kids. We wanted a dreamy house (shed) that we could not aspire to in the UK...we have that dreamy shed..it was far from perfect upon purchase but 2 years and lots of hard work and a bit of money have negated all the crap things about many NZ houses. Namely, cold, damp, more cold and more damp. Get the picture?

Our house has mountain views, a pool, 6 beds, study, 3 living areas (only cost £160,000 in May 2005 ) is in a cul de sac, is detached (arent they all here?), is in a really marvellous neighbourhood, just on the edge of town and we have loads of room. How could a copper and a part time nurse afford that in the UK? Just another reason to be here.

The beaches are only half an hour drive, they are empty when you get there, parking is free (been in 4 traffic jams in 2 years). NZ has ticked all our boxes and many more. However, as I have said in past posts, NZ is FAR from perfect..it just happens to work better for us here, rather than in the UK. There is stuff I will miss for ever more about the UK...but life is a compromise. One great thing is having NZ's (allegedly) best ski fields 2 and a half hours drive away !

By coming to NZ I have finally been able to change the things I can, and on the whole now accept the things I cannot change....that for me equals contentment to a certain degree. More happy? I doubt it.. but then we came here for a better quality of life rather than happiness. My life now, is generally easier here, inspite of the transition having been somewhat arduous at times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NZ is my nirvana, but others hell. I fully understand that and appreciate that it is not for everyone. I consdier myself and my family extremely fortunate for having been given the chance of a new life and moreover very thankful that it has worked for us . Good luck in your endeavours. NZ rocks!!!!

poppets

we came here because we could really. we never hated UK, but hubs had always had an itching to live elsewhere & was now getting sick of commuting to london & the rat race there, so we thought about Oz (too hot , snakes blah blah) canada (too cold) usa (not for us , ta ) so it was NZ. We just went through the motions & thought we'd see how far we got, if NZIS said no then oh well , & if they said yes then we'd give it a go & see how we got on , nothing ventured nothing gained & all that. we kept the whole process pretty much under wraps til we were confident that we would be going , then we told them. i have to say lots of people told us they had had the chance but hadn't taken it & now regretted it & thats one reason why we decided to go for it , didn't want to look back & say what if , or i wish we'd have gone. when we came we never did a reccie or anything we just packed up & came over , but in a way it was good for us to do it that way as we had no illusions. we knew shite happens everywhere & that people are good & bad the world over, & all we really wanted was less stress & more time as a family & thats what we got, so we're happy. that said we were never unhappy in the UK , just missing time as a family. talking of family yes we do miss them but we've always got on with stuff on our own , we've never been dependent on family helping us out with things, so i think that helped us settle cos we didn't miss them in that respect.
we would love to have been mortgage free, but thats not happened, but we have a good house that needs some work , which will be a long term project for us, but it'll do us hopefully for many years.
in essence we enjoy our life here in NZ, we are glad that we was brave enough to take that step , we know NZ isn't for everyone , but for us aqt the moment it fits us like a hand in a glove.

Lenmil

Two good posts and both reasons why we tried NZ. Mortgage free was one of our reasons as well as more space etc. Some of the best sceanery in the world that's for sure. People there seem more relaxed and happier. I noticed it more when i came back to the UK how most Brits look miserable walking about. The Kiwis i seen seemed happier in spirit. But it's not perfect, no place is.

SarahB

Coz OH got headhunted..... it was the same company that he worked for in UK...asked him if he wanted to move to NZ and do the same job over here. So we said yes and here we are. Wouldve forever being wondering "what if?" if we hadnt made the move.

Avid

If the copper was bent?

Well, ask a silly question!

cherry

That has to be a big ditto here from us also,we dont hate the UK just the way it is going .Love it here and all the ways we accept and join in with .Food is great but different sometimes but no pining for Brit foods ,easy to please ,well maybe but then I have worked all over the world and if you want to compare then DONT ,try to enjoy the local cuisine we have tried and enjoyed a lot of things here that are not local to our roots .We love this country and its multicultural way of life .Kumara and potato soup in the UK ? what was that??.Happy mums day Poppets dont get too pi£$%"!

tootsie

Ah see.......it all comes down to food in the end hey

We went to Wellington a few times as we were thinking of moving there but were so unimpressed with it, disappointed even. I think we were expecting the capital to have a bit more going for it but found it smaller and more hemmed in than Auckland, which is saying something a few landings on that airstrip on windy days also put me off a bit!!

Loved Te Papa and the Botanical gardens though.

mazi

I didn't exactly choose to move there: Boyfriend is a Kiwi and we went for an extended holiday so I could meet his family and see where he came from. While there, I did a teaching course and was offered a job at the university at the end of it. I had sold my flat in London due to many problems during my last two years in the UK - made redundant, mugged and run over, house riddled with wet rot and parts of it came tumbling down around me, so it seemed like the start of a new era and I took the NZ job. I was enjoying my holiday there, wasn't missing the UK (though certainly had no grudge against it) and thought 'Why not?'.

I knew after a few months of 'real' life there that it wasn't for me, but also knew that starting a new life on the other side of the world would take some getting used to so I persevered. I found NZ too isolated, too parochial, lacking in something - it felt like the 21st century hadn't arrived (a good thing in some people's view but not mine), racist (as is the UK at times, but NZ had that 1970s feeling, rather like Britain felt before people began to realise being racist was just not on), too boastful (despite the Kiwi claim to be so laid back and fair), too sporty (I felt it saturated every aspect of life from education to a lazy Sunday - there's just not a lot else to do) and thereby, for me - boring. I found it a humourless society in general and in the end I realised the things missing from day to day life, things which I feel make me the person I am and affect my thinking, my conversations and what I do, were too great and left me with a huge hole inside.

I stayed for 3 years (with a gap of about 5 months towards the end when we returned to Europe to work to see if we definitely wanted to return to the Northern Hemisphere) and do not regret going and having the experience of living and working somewhere else, it was a great opportunity, but I do regret staying so long. I knew after only a few months that I wouldn't be able to live my life that way but think I felt I had to keep trying as I didn't want to feel I hadn't given it a chance, plus, if I'm truthful, I didn't want anyone to think I'd wimped out. However, staying so long suppressed part my personality and I didn't feel myself, nor act myself. I've been back in Europe for a year now and I'm more or less back to being myself, but I can't help but feel my life was on the pause button for 3 years. That said, I'm sure the experience will have shaped me in ways I don't even realise - and possibly even for the good.

NZ is a great place for a holiday but I need a buzz in my everyday existence and didn't find that there. However, people want different things out of life and NZ therefore makes a good choice for many, I'm sure.

brussels_sprout

Mazi, if you ever have babies , wouldn't you think NZ was the best place in the world to bring them up ? You are only experiencing 10% of life's experiences without children, indulgence/travel is only a tiny part of life, and ultimately not - fulfilling (grasshopper) !!

The reason we came is probably the same as many emigrants with children, a mixture of it being the only place that would have us (too old for Oz, done all of Europe got all the TShirts) and a vague notion/hope that our kids would be happier here and would have the sort of childhood that i had (can you still buy Hovis ?).

We have no regrets - there are plenty of jobs at the moment, but NZ is quite a poor country with lower salaries than Europe, making ends meet can be a little difficult.

Avid

Yes...but it's the good 10%.

mazi

No, definitely not. We have talked about that and come to the conclusion that NO, any children will not be being brought up there. I reserve the right to change my mind at any time, and for any number of reasons, of course. But in the present climate, an antipodean education it will not be.

No, No, No. No, No no no. No.

Does that answer your Q?!

mazi

Really, really, really?

S**t.

mazi

brussels_sprout

[QUOTE=mazi;4777150][/QUOTE
Why do i always think of Bridget Jones diary, when i read your posts ?