GCR- update

Old Nov 12th 2013, 6:16 am
  #1  
gcr
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
gcr's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2013
Location: Clevedon, Auckland
Posts: 63
gcr is an unknown quantity at this point
Default GCR- update

Well, a quick update from us.

We're staying. For as long as possible. Summer feels like it's here, and unlike the UK it really feels like summer.

I've found work. In IT... But not where I thought I would. I'm working in Hamilton, with occasional forays over the Kaimais into the Bay of Plenty - it's all good. Beautiful part of the world. OK, Hamilton itself isn't too much to write home about, but I only work there.

We're still living outside Clevedon which means I have a long commute, about 120km each way, each day. But the scenery is great, the roads are pretty good, and there's no sitting in traffic jams for ages. Taking it easy, it's less than 1.5 hours, and many people in the UK spend a lot longer than that looking at the back of another car, or the back of someone else's head.

We'll move down Hamiltron (Tron - city of the future) way in due course, and have a plan. We've found a refurbished villa-style property on 9Ha of land, great views, easy commute to Hamilton, good local schools for our 13-year-old, and all for well under $350k. It can be done. In NZ, at least... Try doing that in the UK!Don't buy into the developers' mentality that says you must have 2.4 kids, a three-bed development house, and sell your soul to look into the neighbour's garden.

NZ has it's faults, one being that they seem intent on pursuing a similar path to the UK. However, it's not the UK. Why would you not want to live here? Work in IT? You don't need to live near a city - 20 minutes out takes you into a whole different world. Don't convince yourself that Auckland and Wellington ar the be-all and end-all, either. There is IT elsewhere, from Dunedin to Whangarei.

Make the effort. It may not be nirvana, but it sure beats the alternative!
gcr is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 6:24 am
  #2  
She'll be right
 
Pom_Chch's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2012
Location: Near the beach, NZ
Posts: 1,498
Pom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Stay Here or Go back?

I very much doubt we will go back. I would be very surprised if we did. Having said that you can't predict the future. Sure, we will go back to visit but that's as far as it will probably go.

Life is too sweet here and we have a life that we could not mimic in the UK. When we stepped off the plane here it felt like we were coming home and we just fit right in. Don't know why, it just felt right.

Absolutely love the space, lack of traffic, lack of crowds, amazing scenery, the weather, the mountains, the beaches right on our door step and the friendliness of everyone we have met
Pom_Chch is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 6:48 am
  #3  
gcr
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
gcr's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2013
Location: Clevedon, Auckland
Posts: 63
gcr is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Stay Here or Go back?

Originally Posted by Pom_Chch
I very much doubt we will go back. I would be very surprised if we did. Having said that you can't predict the future. Sure, we will go back to visit but that's as far as it will probably go.

Life is too sweet here and we have a life that we could not mimic in the UK. When we stepped off the plane here it felt like we were coming home and we just fit right in. Don't know why, it just felt right.

Absolutely love the space, lack of traffic, lack of crowds, amazing scenery, the weather, the mountains, the beaches right on our door step and the friendliness of everyone we have met
Exactly.
gcr is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 7:04 am
  #4  
She'll be right
 
Pom_Chch's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2012
Location: Near the beach, NZ
Posts: 1,498
Pom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Stay Here or Go back?

Originally Posted by gcr
Well, a quick update from us.

We're staying. For as long as possible. Summer feels like it's here, and unlike the UK it really feels like summer.

I've found work. In IT... But not where I thought I would. I'm working in Hamilton, with occasional forays over the Kaimais into the Bay of Plenty - it's all good. Beautiful part of the world. OK, Hamilton itself isn't too much to write home about, but I only work there.

We're still living outside Clevedon which means I have a long commute, about 120km each way, each day. But the scenery is great, the roads are pretty good, and there's no sitting in traffic jams for ages. Taking it easy, it's less than 1.5 hours, and many people in the UK spend a lot longer than that looking at the back of another car, or the back of someone else's head.

We'll move down Hamiltron (Tron - city of the future) way in due course, and have a plan. We've found a refurbished villa-style property on 9Ha of land, great views, easy commute to Hamilton, good local schools for our 13-year-old, and all for well under $350k. It can be done. In NZ, at least... Try doing that in the UK!Don't buy into the developers' mentality that says you must have 2.4 kids, a three-bed development house, and sell your soul to look into the neighbour's garden.

NZ has it's faults, one being that they seem intent on pursuing a similar path to the UK. However, it's not the UK. Why would you not want to live here? Work in IT? You don't need to live near a city - 20 minutes out takes you into a whole different world. Don't convince yourself that Auckland and Wellington ar the be-all and end-all, either. There is IT elsewhere, from Dunedin to Whangarei.

Make the effort. It may not be nirvana, but it sure beats the alternative!
Love it gcr! The one thing that sticks out in your post is "it can be done." Simple phrase but it sums life up in NZ. Sure life can go tits up, but lots of people make a go of it and don't go back. I could moan about how there's no Marks and Spencers, but ya know what? We're in NZ, not the UK. Crazy thought but perhaps I'll go to a different shop?

Summer is great so far and it isn't even proper summer here yet but we've still spent lots of time outdoors hiking, biking, road tripping, BBQ'ing and sitting in on the decking with a beer.

My partner works in IT. He loves the fact that he can work in Chch and then drive half an hour out and be living semi rurally by the beach (in a place we can actually afford!!!) Novel concept really.

Nope, NZ aint perfect, but she's perfect for us
Pom_Chch is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 7:38 am
  #5  
`
 
BEVS's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 38,595
BEVS has disabled reputation
Default Re: GCR- update

That is lovely. So pleased to read that for the both of you.

So . Just to be clear.. You had friends and./ or family here already? Because it does make a huge difference , believe it or not , to the 'it can be done' thing.

When you land without anyone at all, it is a whole other ballgame & even more so when you are not young'uns on a WHV

I'm sure you can appreciate that for those of us that have done this at a very different time or our lives and situations . Also those that have done this totally by ourselves ,without people, family or friends to ease things through .Perhaps to those of us that have done the hard yards , you are woosies. You have never really had to do this from scratch at an age where scratch is tough. Yet I have read read mock.

What I am saying is - think - we are not all you.

Last edited by BEVS; Nov 12th 2013 at 7:45 am.
BEVS is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 8:18 am
  #6  
She'll be right
 
Pom_Chch's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2012
Location: Near the beach, NZ
Posts: 1,498
Pom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond reputePom_Chch has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: GCR- update

Originally Posted by BEVS
I'm sure you can appreciate that for those of us that have done this at a very different time or our lives and situations . Also those that have done this totally by ourselves ,without people, family or friends to ease things through .Perhaps to those of us that have done the hard yards , you are woosies. You have never really had to do this from scratch at an age where scratch is tough. Yet I have read read mock.

What I am saying is - think - we are not all you.
Thank you BEVS

Couldn't agree more with the above. I guess the point of my post was telling my story and how it has gone down for me like others do when they talk about their experiences good or bad. I perfectly accept it is not the same for everyone and you are right, perhaps we do have to do some more hard yards to see what it's all about. But right now we are happy we made the decision, very much enjoying life in NZ and thought I would share my experience so far. I also do not feel that my experience holds any less value just because I am younger compared to someone who has emigrated at an older age. Emigrating is tough work regardless of your year of birth IMHO. Starting from scratch at 90 years of age or 25 years of age both hold different and valid challenges.

In regards to friends and family - my partner has an aunt, uncle and cousin. I must admit this has helped with settling in. However, I do not feel it is the only thing that has made our move a success. It has certainly helped but has not solely defined how well we have settled in.

We had no friends when we arrived. We had to start from scratch and it is a work in progress. We have met people using "New Kiwi's" on facebook, meetup and we have made a real effort with workmates. We have made the effort to go along to social events, host BBQ's at our place, joining sports teams and going out when we don't feel like it. This has led to us meeting some great people and what I hope will be life long friends.

PS - what is a woosie BEVS?

Last edited by Pom_Chch; Nov 12th 2013 at 8:28 am.
Pom_Chch is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 8:41 am
  #7  
gcr
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
gcr's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2013
Location: Clevedon, Auckland
Posts: 63
gcr is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: GCR- update

Originally Posted by BEVS
That is lovely. So pleased to read that for the both of you.

So . Just to be clear.. You had friends and./ or family here already? Because it does make a huge difference , believe it or not , to the 'it can be done' thing.

When you land without anyone at all, it is a whole other ballgame & even more so when you are not young'uns on a WHV

I'm sure you can appreciate that for those of us that have done this at a very different time or our lives and situations . Also those that have done this totally by ourselves ,without people, family or friends to ease things through .Perhaps to those of us that have done the hard yards , you are woosies. You have never really had to do this from scratch at an age where scratch is tough. Yet I have read read mock.

What I am saying is - think - we are not all you.
Hi BEVS!

A little background is definitely in order.

I'm in my <ahem> 'mid-40s'. Milady wife is a few years older, and we have a teenage daughter. We applied for residency from the UK, and had to fight for that.

We do have friends here. More now than when we left, I'm very happy to say, but before moving from the UK, I sought out people with similar interests on forums and the like, asking around for friends of friends, and so on. I know (of) people in Queenstown and Marlborough, there's someone I had met once living in Paraparaumu Beach, same with someone living in Waiuku, and in Remuera. No family here.

Having landed we spent 3 months looking around, meeting people and so on. We're not rich - weren't then, and certainly aren't now! After 3 months, I started looking for work. That was around the end of September last year.

I started about 6 weeks ago. That's over a year of searching - bear in mind there is no income from the government for anyone who has lived here for less than 2 years. First job and first income since getting here. We were genuinely facing selling everything we have in order to buy tickets to fly back to the UK. That was really, really worrying. We're not quite starting from scratch as we have furniture, but we were down to less than one month of rent in the bank when I started work.

We did do some things to make ends meet. I'm an IT Project Manager, have been for 15 years, and I worked 10-12 hour days as a farm labourer in lieu of rent. My wife worked as a kennel maid in a breeding kennels. We sold some things we brought with us from the UK.

Could I have done more to find work? Possibly... Very hard to say. But I was prepared to take work anywhere in NZ - we'd come, stayed, loved it, and even had we had to fly back, we agreed we didn't regret the decision.

It's not going to suit everyone, and not everyone is going to be able to stay, for whatever reason. But I so strongly recommend that anyone who has tried hard enough to get here, should stick with it for as long as possible. We decided that we'd give it 2 years regardless (assuming I had work!) and 16.5 months in we're so glad we stuck with it.

We've just been able to help friends from the UK find work here, too. That was very satisfying.

This isn't a hard luck story - it's one with a happy ending. Good luck to anyone who tries this. We feel it is worth the effort and the sacrifices that can be needed.
gcr is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2013, 6:13 pm
  #8  
jmh
BE Forum Addict
 
jmh's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: South Auckland
Posts: 2,228
jmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond reputejmh has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: GCR- update

Great to hear a positive story. I think Hamilton has a good future and I suspect one day there will be a commuter train to Auckland from there. That will see prices rise, so people moving there now could benefit from that (assuming you want to live in a satellite of Auckland which you probably don't!!).

I have considered Hamilton and am looking at Franklin - some really good house prices there if you don't need to be 10 minutes drive from the Auckland CBD. Don't tell anyone though - I don't want a bunch of immigrants pushing up prices.
jmh is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.