Fooferfish

Well yesterday we landed in NZ and Dunedin 6 years ago at 530pm and today we would have woken up to a new beginning , the jet lag was aweful and being woken up by a noise that sounded like a kid playing a flute of some sort of wind instrument was not a good look lol It turned out to be a Tui and a Bellbird, which i now adore We stayed for 6 weeks in my new boss's 3 bed crib at a wee vilage 30 mins from Dunedin , Karitane and it still is a great memory in my mind , we moved to Dunedin and lived at the Holiday camp for 3 weeks until the house we had bout was ready , went to Smiths city and bought a whole house load of furniture , even a new kettle .

We managed to pay cash for an ex state house with awesome views of the harbour and that alkl important all day sun , was not a flash area , but we didnt come here for that , spent some great times and years there , but a pitfall we fell into was buying to soon and not knowing the house next door was still owned by the state , so after living next door to shitheads for to long we bit the bullet and took on a wee mortgage and bought a lovely huge house in the Wop wops , 1 acrea , few chooks, and ducks , peace and quiet , we both had diferent jobs in Dunedin and i even ran my own business for a while , something i would never have done in UK . My wife and i both work at the Prison and really enjoy our jobs , yeh its shift work for me, without the nights .

We have a 14 year old daughter who has adapted well to all the chnages she has had to go through , has and is doing well at school , lives on Facebook and wears her thumb out texting lol .

It sometimes feels strange that we ever lived in Uk Poole Dorset, but every now and then my mind goes off to that Gorgeous Dorset area and every now and then i wonder what it would be like to go back and live there ? could we ever do that !! I think it would be as hard to leave this country as it was to leave the UK and family when we did , we have met some awesome people and my mates at work awes fantastic , it would be an aweful rench to leave what we have found and acheived here in NZ .

People think you can holiday in OZ or the islands because you live so close to them in NZ , but without the all important $$$$ its only now after 6 years we are in a position to go to Rarotonga this winter , also next year is a big milestone for the wife and i , as we met back in 1983 when we were both still at high school , so it will be 30 years , and we are going to find a special place to go that year . We have been back to the Uk a couple of years ago , and TBH it was great to see family and friends , but we couldnt wait to get back here as we felt like aliens back in UK and the ammount of people and traffic was yuk .

Dunedin is agreat we village to live in although we are 15 mins away in countryside , ok NZ has its problems , but on a smaller scale , but we wouldnt trade the no traffic jams , less population, low crime rates , awesome scenery even on your way to work , laid back attitude for anything.

Well thats a short version of 6 years lol maybe i will write a longer one one day , but for all you folk who are here or who are wanting to move to NZ , give it your best shot , none of us know how long we have on this earth , so make the most of it , if you yern to move countries and have a fresh start with living and learning in a new country, then go for it. We did and dont regret a thing.

NIge, Karla and Martha , flew south May 05 .

chippy64

Thanks Nige - great post. Enjoy your hols!

RobDon

Nice post Nige!

Howick

Hey, if I could recommend one thing about Rarotonga- if you are there for between 5-7 days & have no plans to go to Aututaki (sp?), cut short one day on Raro & swallow the cost of flying there on the day trip.

You will think you have died & gone to heaven. I have been to a lot of beaches/islands in the world & nothing has ever surpassed this increasingly known to the public, gem.

the swimming, water & sand is out of this world, unfortunately, I recall the flight cost, was, too.

BEVS

Can you see whales

florabundi

Hi Fooferfish ~ really enjoyed reading your update and very glad it's all going well. Can I be cheeky and ask you for a little more info on Dunedin please? Don't want to muscle in on your thread We are hoping to be in NZ late 2011 or early 2012 and Dunedin sounds like the kind of place we might like to live. Any pointers on good/bad/indifferent areas would be wonderful. We have 2 kids 13 & 5 and live very rurally at the moment. We would like to live somewhere friendly, nice schools etc but still keep the chickens! We love walking, wildlife, kids are sporty but hubby love to play pool too so perhaps not too isolated. Any advice much appreciated.
Cheers
Flora

Am Loolah

Great update, thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.

Wessa

Nice one Nige, a good post. A good pom friend of mine lives in Dunners. They love it there. Ive been there a few times and find it quite a diverse place which is nice.. Il be back in Oamaru in a few months and when Karen and the kids arrive im sure they will want to head for the shops there..
We'l have to have a beer next time im there eh..Im in Otematata at the mo. Probably in a few weeks if your about then mate.

weejie

Well done from one Dunedinite to another.
We love it here too and have no plans to return to Scotland other than possibly a holiday to see family in 2014 ( and the Commonwealth Games ) We will be 2 years on 1st July and have just bought a house,so no returning for us.

Phyl x