theboyedwards

Hi there,

I've been torn between making the break to New Zealand since my wife and I first went there on holiday 4 years. As I'm sure most people experience, there are so many issues to consider, but I was wondering what was the single primary reason drawing you to NZ and did that transpire as your had expected. Conversely, what was single largest concern about the move, and did that turn out to be as bad as you first thought?

Thanks.

Genesis

Been here 40 months now, its everything I wanted it to be and more. NZ is full of problems, way from perfect but life for us is much much better than what we left in the UK. We have a better way of life, work less and live in a wonderful house in a great neighbourhood. Life is less stressful and we are away from the crowds. We miss much of the UK and europe but life is a compromise what? I think NZ is bloody marvellous even after its looks like our life savings are sunk in the investment melt down that prevails on our little island.

benandlea

Ben and I are both students in our mid 20's. We are wanting to move once we have graduated and worked for a year or so in order to get the money for the deposit on a house in Dunedin. for us if I was to choose just one reason it would have to be we can have a much better balance between home life and work life, in NZ than we could here in the UK. So roll on roughly 2012. We are due to graduate in 2010.

Although 2012 at the moment with 2 years left of my degree seems sooooooooooo far away.

Lea
xox

teebrown

I can only answer the first part of the question as we haven't got there yet, but the reason we are going is to have a better life for the kids, they are 6 & 8, I want them to be able to ski in the mountains, enjoy the outdoor life, run on the beach, grow up in country that hasn't gone PC mad, I want them to be able to play out on their bikes and walk to school. I also want us to have a less stressful life and not be stuck in traffic everywher we go, I know we wont be millionaires but to us it's not the money that matters.

We are heading for Christchurch in March and will give it our best shot.

We have got our PR's and the process was quite painless.

All the best.

P18PPS

We loved the UK - we lived in Solihull (south birmingham) in a pokey 2bed plus boxroom semi... however in our mid 30s and 2 daughters we decided that there was a time limit on how long we had left to do a bit of travelling and have an adventure (before the children got too dependent on friends/schools etc) - not to mention before we got too old to be accepted into some places.

We had a really open mind on what to expect and our only goal was to live here for 2 years and obtain the "indefinite right to return" visa so that even if we headed back to UK then at least our girls would always posses the right to live and work in NZ.

Our largest concern was finding friends and feeling like we belonged somewhere - this took time, and you really have to put yourself out and about - join church groups (even if it's not noramally your thing); take a risk inviting heaps of people over for dinner; get involved with PTA etc etc... slowly it comes good.

After living here for sometime we love it, kids (3 of them now) love it - we may return to UK at some point (open mind again). NZ still has loads of drawbacks and you need to make sure you are coming out here for the right reasons ... ie- if you want to be "better off" - make sure you quantify what better off means (if it's financially it aint gonna happen)!!


good luck

RobClubley

It sounds like you've done the same as we did - came here on holiday, loved it, thought about living here, talked about it for years then thought If we didn't take the plunge we'd always regret it.

So we came here because we loved it and wanted some adventure.

No regrets after two and a half years!

Our largest concern? Mmm, hard to say - I guess distance from family and friends. But we keep in touch regularly and we've had several friends and family come over and visit.

Fooferfish

Change, that was the reason,main one, to be able to live somewhere different, to see somewhere different,be able to start all over again, be what you want to be.Children to stay kids for longer, better chances of a better existance.

The chance to look back in years to come and say " yeh we did that and had a different life"

Did not want to be a " we were going to do that"

Worry of what we will miss...

Family and not having baby sitters , grandparents and and the distance.

Going back this Christmas to see my folks as they cant make it here, thats when you realise how far away NZ is from the rest of the world, and how much it cost's to get back.

Apart from that we now have been here in Dunedin for over 3 years, have started my own business and my wife has has the chance to go back to UNI and study for what she wants to do.

You only live once, life is not a rehearsal!!

NZBee

Dont come with the illusion that it is the paradise islands. It is not that, but is still a beautiful and great country.
I moved over to be with my partner, and so glad I did as he is wonderful. My second concern was my job, which I was offered before i came over. That did not work out as I really didnt like it, but luckily found a job with a multinational which is a huge challenge, but am really enjoying. The other things I miss are my family, especially my parents, and my great friends, and also the social life (i am a bit of a party girl )....I have a social life here in NZ but people can be more home bodies than I am used to.

Things I have gained in my first year??? Great experience, broadened horizons, new friends, a beautiful home....oh and 15 kgs

Do it. Life is too short.....have no regrets....but have a contingency plan in case it doesnt work out for you. Oh, and lastly, give it time and be patient. You wont feel at home in three months.....I am still on a voyage of discovery of ups and downs.....that is emigration for you!!

ScottyD

We are leaving shortly and amdist all the stress of packing up, saying goodbyes and dealing with all our affairs in moving we have to keep reminding ourselves why we are going!

Just like you, we visited 6 years ago and ever since have discussed making the move. As such we decided life is too short to end up asking ourselves 'What if?'

Our children are 4 and 2 and so we didn't think there could be a better time to take them. No distruption to school or friendships etc.
We want to live with less crowds, enjoy the open spaces, enjoy a better work/life balance and have more opportunity for our kids to stay young for longer. I guess we also simply just want the experience as we believe that whether it works out successfully for us or not we will not regret it - life should be an adventure and we should follow our dreams where we can...

What we think we'll miss - well family and friends of course and in the current economic climate, making our finances work to our best advantage is also a worry that we probably share with many people going through the process.

We made a list of the things we valued in life, what we wanted for the future and then looked at it in terms of whether we felt we could achieve these things in the UK or NZ. The reality was that it was a close call, and really came down to a gut reaction of 'lifes too short' lets give NZ a go!

We're 100% committed to the move and are determined that having made the choice we will make it work...having said that so many things will make you question your rationale, so writing things down can help as you can go back to it and remind yourself why you are going through it all!

weejie

This is exactly why we are going(hopefully) our boys are 8 and 5. You can be rich in so many ways other than money.

Phyllis