Was it all worth it?
 

Well, 10 years on and here I am. I like to think I have a balanced view of life here now from being one of those tarred with the 'happy clappy' moniker when I first arrived at the forum, these days I am more sage about my view of life on Aotearoa.

I have indeed had really good times and really terrible ones too in NZ, some of the worst times of my life have been in NZ. But it was not NZs fault. I made poor decisions (the worst giving up my career to become a home dad) and paid the price.

Admittedly some poor governance from government have affected many of us in NZ but its the same where ever you go our lives to a degree are affected by people in power.

If only for my children I will never regret coming here, they have had 10 years of a superlative life with things both tangible and intangible they would never have had in the UK.

I am not doing down GB..it is a great place but I think lots of people have had enough of the populous nature of the place. However one has to give up so much to come to NZ its no wonder that some people decide for their own good reasons not to come. Some come, hate it and return. Others love it and all the manifold things it has to offer...which are just too many to mention, even here in dull old Palmerston North.

Life is incredibly short. Life is to be lived. For anyone thinking about coming to NZ and has any doubts try to see through them and take the chance, the risk, the opportunity to come and try out life here at the bottom of the world.

Emigration can be incredibly rewarding and if it does not work out you can always return. A life without risk is a life wasted..... so I am told.

“A ship is always safe at the shore - but that is NOT what it is built for.”
― Albert Einstein

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
― Helen Keller, The Open Door

As Nike says. Just do it!. If you really want to.

Good luck to you all and Peace to everyone...and I mean everyone;)

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

Sometimes making the return journey isn't quite so easy,
and can be more difficult than choosing to leave in the first place.

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

No, I know what you mean. Don't want to make light of the decision for those emigrees who return home for what ever reason. I understand it is a very hard yard. People move on and you return from whence you left, time has moved on and the world is a very different place. Must be very confusing.

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

People aren't ships though.

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

I would say out of your post this sentence sums up life for us in NZ. There are problems and frustrations, but ultimately the other things on offer are too good to turn down. Things on offer and a life that we cannot replicate in the UK. This of course is variable, highly subjective and depends a lot on individual lifestyle.

Glad all has is going well for you! :thumbup:

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

While we all think how adventurous we are for being here, I feel NZ attracts a very specific type of person.
In my 7 years here I have met many many poms, and it strikes me that we are pretty much all the same.
NZ attracts a very monotone type of person, almost bland.
Don't misunderstand this, I love living here (last year I even married a native) and I appreciate every day
the beauty and openness of the place, but despite all this there is a shallowness to the place that friendly folk
and beautiful vistas cannot overcome.

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

Nice update, glad you've settled!
We were briefly in Palmy North today!

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

I don't feel I'm adventurous for moving to NZ. But I feel adventurous in general! Just in regards to hobbies, interests etc.

I don't particularly agree with NZ attracting a bland sort of person. Life is what you make it. You can be boring in NZ, boring in Oz, boring in the UK or any where for that matter. If you chose a particularly boring way of life then that's down to you as a person, not the country. I feel our life has become more exciting in some respects, but perhaps a little boring in other ways. Sure we could sit in every night in our dressing gowns and slippers watching My Kitchen Rules, but that's not a life I want, so I go out and seek something different. Perhaps it's the people you are meeting, but certainly not my experience of British expats that I have met.

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

I didn't say boring, I said bland

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

Oxford dictionary definition since we're being pedantic...

"Lacking strong features or characteristics and therefore uninteresting".
Synonyms inc. uninteresting, dull, BORING, tedious, dry, drab, dreary, unexciting...

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

Jesus I dont want to argue with the Grammer nazis.
Although the fact you need to respond the way you have does kind of prove my point...get a life springs to mind !!

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

You get a lot of people moving to New Zealand, also Canada for a better lifestyle, but it's also people who might have been boring (bland:sarcasm:) in the UK. They could have just moved to another part of the UK (example Northern Ireland or Scotland) and would have probably had the same options, but New Zealand sounds more exciting.

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

Grammer? Do you mean grammar? Not really an argument over grammar, more definitions, and remember Godwin's Rule?

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

To bring this back on track to the original question asked by Genesis.
On the whole, in my opinion, yes it has been worth it. When in the UK I felt overwhelmed and tired by the constant degradation
of what I felt was the British way of life, I'm a simple man, I like to put my flag out on St George's day, I like morris men and
English pubs, I like cold days on a lakeland fell, I like village life and being around people who share a common heritage,
I like the regional differences, rivalries and dialects that can change by simply driving down a road for 20 minutes. I like class war,
I like people who are aware of global issues and don't just dismiss them as non of our concerns, I like people who take to the streets
and make a stand for a cause, I totally back social unrest if the cause is just, I appreciate architecture, culture, a 2000 year old
history that has raised many issues that are still relevant today. I like the aristocracy for their contributions to the heritage
of the country and I love the poor for the way they live their lives with such intensity.
With the constant watering down of Britishness and the unstoppable tide of political correctness my move to NZ has allowed me
to take stock and catch my breath. For me, life in the UK had become far too stressful. NZ is a little like a trip to a therapists office
where everything is calm and everyone appears happy, the problem is it has started to feel like a scene from the Stepford Wives.
Maybe that's a sign my time here is coming to an end, maybe it will pass, at this point in time I don't know, despite all its flaws
and some personal tribulations I have never regretted coming here, so to return to the question, has coming to NZ been worth it,
yes it has !!

Re: Was it all worth it?
 

Yes this, I get this totally! All of it makes NZ seem very tame /dull / bland and boring in comparison.