Grayling

Bevs was not replying to you. Read her post again....she was replying to Justcol

yjx1nt7

Thanks Grayling have just read message again..and jumped to conclusion before
I have deleted message

Grayling

I have amended mine

barnsleymat

We've been here 3 months and it's becoming obvious NZ is rip off central. We always said we'd give it at least a year, if there's any one thing that will break our dream of staying here it'll be the cost of living. Unlike most Brits that come out here, we're not professionals and we didn't make a fortune on our house. The money we made on our house paid for our move, we have a bit left as a get out clause, it'll pay for our flights and getting our dog back, nothing else. Moving here has been a great experience and I'd never regret it, we've done something hardly anyone I know has the balls to do. But it's no cheap paradise, it's bloody expensive, far more than the UK.

Maybe we'll head back to the UK, who knows, one thing I will say, moving to a different country is a fantastic experience and one I'll never forget or regret. I could have been back home having another photocopied year like the previous 10 years.

GS.83

It seems you have certainly had an unfortunate time, however, outwith the earthquake, surely any of the above could have happened in the UK, or to a Kiwi moving to the UK. In fact being in NZ means that you missed the rioting.
You probably didn't have the house on the beach with the swimming pool back home either.

We are moving over in November and looking forward to it, and despite your thread being an attempt at putting people off of the country, I am trying to avoid that happening.
I have heard reports from friends over NZ at the moment and none of this has happened to any of them so my feeling is that you have perhaps been unfortunate and although I can understand that this may put you off the country, this wouldn't be the same for everyone.

I realise at time it will be testing and won't be a trouble-free paradise I am confident it will be a better lifestyle than much of the UK at present. You say that you need ' a lot of luck', it seems to me that you have had none at all.

I hope things pick up for you and you go on to enjoy the life that you moved for, fingers crossed things work out for us.....and in the meantime enjoy the beautiful house on the beach with the swimming pool, I would give my right arm for that just now.

Perthbum

Not just NZ though, many people find the "grass is not always greener" when they lleave the UK, I certainy did.

Am Loolah

Certainly sounds like you've had a lot of bad luck. Hope things pick up for you or you can afford to try somewhere else. Totally agree with the sentiment that NZ is pretty expensive too, people should consider that at the current exchange rate.

bourbon-biscuit

OP: I feel your pain. Emigrating is tough and what surprised me (and still does) is just how long "the process" can take. I think before I came out here I imagined feeling homesick and a bit unsettled for a year or so. I totally underestimated the potential severity and duration of culture shock. I suspect you are experiencing this, compounded by having had a bad run of luck. The reason I think this is because some of your former posts about life in NZ were very upbeat and chipper. Have a look at this page and see what you think: http://www.lossesintranslation.com/s...mmigration.php or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock

Emigrating is bloody tough, even without earthquakes and all the 'issues' you adn your family have experienced. Sorry for your troubles, hope in time you find a bit more peace, wherever that may be!

I'm not going to pick through your list of issues, I'm only going to comment on the education system here because that's something I know a good deal about and frequently see confusion about. When you move kids over from the UK it may appear the NZ system is 'behind', whereas in reality the focus and approach is different. This would never be a problem if your kids were born and raised here because when you look at international education measures NZ outperforms Britain http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/54/12/46643496.pdf

Boogieboard

So sad to hear about your rubbish time, seems you have had a lot of bad luck

Before going back, perhaps seriously consider trying somewhere else in NZ, we have lived up on the Hibiscus Coast (Auckland) for a year and love it, havent been victims of crime (thankfully), met lots of nice people and life is good.
Can't comment on education as dont have kids, but it might just be worth a try before you throw in the towel? Just a thought anyway, it is a tough decision to make, best of luck

janeyk

we fortunatley did not have the troubles you had but we moved from UK to Welly and hated it we lasted 17 months, we moved back home and struggled to find work we ended up coming back out here to Auckland not somewhere I would consider but I love the area I live in, I worked in health in Wellington and I am inpressed, (I worked previously 20 years in NHS), I now work for Auckland Uni in the med school and to be honest work mates are great but as a general member of staff we are 2nd class citizens regardless of your professional nature.
Schooling both here and in Welly was very good DS is being stretched (not the case in the UK). DS starts intermediate in Feb and the school looks very impressive. We miss the UK big time but we are going to give it 2 years until DS leaves intermediate to make a decision as I just cannot see myself staying here for the rest of my life.

Bo-Jangles

Obviously it touched a raw nerve and made you think of something other than the big house and the swimming pool. Why is it that sharing bad experiences and telling it like it is, is seen as an attempt at putting people off the country?

jacsc

Hi there

I read your posts with interest as we have been considering a move down to Christchurch for a while now. My partner is a geotech engineer and has been down there on a weekly basis for some time now. We have decided to move down as this split life is putting too much pressure on us all and, whilst we love Tauranga, are actually looking forward to an opportunity to live on the South Island for a while.

We have rented out our house here v easily but are having real problems frinding a decent property down in Christchurch (not suprisingly I guess). We are basing our decision on where to live on the schools and as such I was very interested in your comments about schooling down there. Which school have your children been attending?

I have visited quite a few schools down there and we are currently undecided between Ilam School (known for its programme of extending children) or a country one over in Lyttelton. After lived in Tauranga and being so used to the close proximity of water I'm not sure about living in town but on the other hand we are keen to find a good school for our children.

I'd be interested in any feedback you have on schools down there and hope that you manage to find something more suitable for your family soon.

BEVS

You have misunderstood the nature of the opening post GS.83. There is no attempt to put anyone off moving here. The OP is simply sharing her true life experiences of her life in NZ so far. Perhaps you would gain understanding by reading her previous posts.


I don't know what the answer is for you yjx1nt7. I do know that you have worked very hard on behalf of other employees you have seen to be treated very badly & fair play to you for taking that on. I do hope your new job will be a better experience 100%

hazeandsteve

Only me!!!
Still seems like Taupo is still a little slice of paradise, and we don't even have a swimming pool!
Sympathies to all who aren't so happy, but we love NZ.

Dumbledore

Hi there - so sorry to hear you have had a crap time. You deserve a medal for enduring 9 months of it !!

I first came out to NZ in 1998. Things were very different then - cost of living way cheaper, petrol cheaper and it seemed your money went much further. Unfortunately it does seem that wages have stagnated the past 6-7 years and cost of living shot through the roof. In fact the OECD figures of GDP show that NZ has actually gone backwards in terms of average income & standard of living per capita since around 2004 (and currently 20% below the OECD average vs Aussie which is 20% above).

One thing to remember it is very hard to be an exapt in a new country. I've done it twice (NZ and Australia) and for me it takes a good 12- 18 months to settle in and feel sorted. It can be very lonely those first 12 months. Even with my OH second time round, as a couple, getting out and making new friends when you are older can be hard.

As some other people have suggested, perhaps you could look at moving somewhere else within NZ for a "fresh start" and maybe put a time limit on how long you will give it before leaving for either another country or back to UK.

Another thing to remember is that the cost of living has shot up everywhere - not just NZ.
Food apparently has also shot up in Australia the past couple of years, although when we lived there (to early 2010) we found food to be similarly priced or even slightly cheaper than NZ.
If you do think about moving on to another country - say Aussie - make sure you do your research and be aware that housing / renting costs in the big cities there are very high, particularly Melbourne & Sydney (although we did find everything else cheaper relative to income than NZ).

Good luck - things have got to take an upturn soon - can't stay bad forever and I'm sure your luck is about to change.