newkiwi

or just book a one way flight back, theyre pretty cheap too...no need to get all the details sorted just yet....

now on the the itinerary.......lots of fun planning it im sure

ever been to nz b4?

Maz

I asked hubby, he said, "some special opportunities, that I couldn't get here". Bear in mind we currently live in the far-western Chicago suburbs in the city (3rd biggest in Illinois) that he was born in, and the county next to us, that our daughter's future school district is based in, is the 3rd fastest growing county in the entire US. All depends on what he wants to end up doing, and what he can find, that he feels comfortable doing. He's a toolmaker - tool & die maker - by trade. Damn good at his job, too.

For me... a little less than hubby, I think, even though he's said he doesn't want to retire "here". I have pressed him on "here" and a lot of it, to be honest, is the weather. A fair chunk is the area, how quickly it's growing, etc. 10 years ago our house didn't exist, and it was *all* lovely fertile farmland around here. I'm not all gung-ho about staying in the US, though I'm not sure he'd be *completely* comfortable leaving the US for such a relatively tiny landmass. I took citizenship just over 6 years ago and am a dual citizen (so's our daughter), but don't feel "American" much at all now. I used to... but that was pretty short-lived.

I'm looking for a better place to bring up our daughter. A country that's not the planet bully. Somewhere that's out of the public eye, more. Somewhere cleaner, somewhere where the way of life is more relaxed. Somewhere where we can have a more outdoorsy lifestyle (difficult when it's either disgustingly hot and humid, or -20C and snowing tons...).

Maz

Oh definitely we're not in a rush to get it all sorted out. I still want to read through the eyewitness guide first and pore over the road atlas we have. Good idea about the one-way flights.

And no, I've never been outside Europe or the US. I can't wait! I nearly emigrated to Oz when I was fresh out of college, but they wanted proof that I had GBP10,000 in the bank. Ba ha ha ha ha!!!! So obviously that didn't happen. I didn't know enough about the place anyway.

Shell2006

"what the hell are we going to do with ourselves after landing at 5.10 a.m. on a Monday morning? "

We had the same problem last April. Decided to dump the bags at the hotel and do a bit of sight seeing until the room was ready. Got to the hotel, only to be told that the room was already ready Nearly kissed him Worth a try?

Maz

Excellent! Definitely worth a try, that's for sure. Why do all flights arrive - at least from the US - at this awful time of day?

Jack The Lad

I wish I had booked my flights through them then. I havent had a ........

SirEglamore

By the time you get out of the airport and sorted, you'll be able to find some great coffee shops and bakeries open, Mmmmmmmmmmm........ best thing about getting up in NZ
going out for Breakfast

Maz

Ooooh that sounds good! That's one of the things I miss about France, the cafe society.