Anna and Thomas Atkins moved from Bournemouth, on the UK's south coast, to Wellington over a year ago. Thomas is an IT consultant. Anna is not working at the moment, but she hopes to return to work next year. They have two children, aged 10 and 7 years. Anna kindly gave an interview to ENZ.
ENZ What were your first impressions of Wellington?
Anna When I first arrived with my husband and 2 children, I wondered what on earth I'd let myself in for. It was the end of November, pouring with rain and blowing a southerly wind with gusts of up to 85 kph. Anyone who has landed at Wellington Airport in a southerly storm must know how I felt. Anyone who hasn't had that particular pleasure should know that, as soon as the plane had come to a stop outside the terminal building, all I wanted to do was exit the plane as quickly as possible and have a stiff drink!
This was actually the start of a character building experience that's still ongoing. I didn't know a single soul when we arrived and hadn't the first clue about how to build a new life for myself and family. But after a lot of hard work, New Zealand is at last beginning to feel more like home for me. The children love their new school and I even know where I can buy Jaffa Cakes and Heinz Baked Beans.
ENZ Now that you've had time to get at least somewhat familiar with Wellington and New Zealand, what have you noticed that you miss about the UK?
Anna Marks & Spencer and quaint English pubs on a Sunday afternoon. The shopping here is quite a bit different from back in the UK. You don't have the huge range of shops to choose from but, having said that, you can find everything you need eventually. I also miss having Europe on my doorstep, especially France where we spent many a happy holiday but we'll just have to get used to holidaying in New Zealand, as well as Australia and the Pacific Islands - what a tough job.
ENZ What are the best things about NZ/Wellington?
Anna The best thing about New Zealand is there are so few people here and there's so much less traffic in Wellington than we were used to back home. Everything seems easier and a lot less stressful.
You spend a lot more time outdoors here as well and the children are having the kind of upbringing that we remember as young children - in other words happy times spent outside playing with friends and plenty of room to kick a ball around.
The best thing about living close to Wellington is the accessibility to everything that a capital city offers without all the usual problems like huge crowds, traffic jams, litter and the like. There are several good theatres in Wellington as well as the WestPacTrust Stadium where you can enjoy a game of rugby or see a concert. What's really good is that the city centre is small enough that you can take it all in on foot.
ENZ What are the worst things about Wellington/NZ?
Anna I think the worst thing about living in New Zealand is the isolation you feel from the rest of the world. But this has been an advantage lately with the international situation. It can also be inconvenient when a shopkeeper tells you that there's a national shortage of children's trainers (sneakers) at the moment and that they won't be getting any more stock in until late January. The only thing I don't really like about Wellington is the earthquakes. Although it's been a long time since one caused damage you can still feel them every 2 or 3 months, and that took a bit of getting used to.
If you're walking, you also need to get used to waiting for ages to get across the road. The pedestrian lights take forever to turn green. You'd imagine that with the "clean, green image" New Zealand tries to promote, they'd give pedestrians a bit of priority, but it doesn't seem to work that way.
And if you're driving into Wellington to work from the north it can be a real problem at times because they don't have hard shoulders on the motorways, so one accident can block the whole road for a long time.
ENZ Do you have any other thoughts about Wellington?
Anna Over the last 10 years Wellington has built itself a reputation as having a large café culture with a great range of restaurants and bars. There's even a web-page you could tell your readers about where they can see the menus and prices in all of Wellington's Restaurants. This café culture reputation is, I have to say, richly deserved and I think Wellington has done an excellent job in dragging itself into the 21st Century. If you want to live within a few minutes' walk of the city to get the benefit of the café culture then Oriental Bay, Mount Victoria, Wadestown, Thorndon, and Newtown are nice suburbs that would be worth looking at.
ENZ What are the similarities/differences between Wellington and a typical British city?
Anna I suppose considering that the Wellington region is approximately the same size as Bournemouth, then it has a lot more going for it in terms of business opportunities and social entertainment.
ENZ Are there any areas in Wellington you think immigrants would be advised to avoid as regards renting or buying a home?
Anna Yes. As with all towns and cities there are some areas where you would not choose to live. Upper Hutt seems to have something of a reputation here. I think it's a good idea to have a long hard look at an area before committing yourself to living there. You also need to consider where your house is positioned to the sun and wind. Hardly any of the houses here have central heating, so it's a good idea to find a house that's north facing and gets lots of sun. This isn't as bad as it sounds as most of the time it doesn't get cold enough for long enough to warrant central heating.
A lot of migrants buy a house with a view of the harbour and I can see why, because it's truly beautiful. You can often pop down there and see dolphins. There are plenty of suburbs where you can buy a house with a harbour view. The trouble is that Wellington's wind can be very strong at times. Personally I wouldn't like to live in an area that gets battered by the wind too often and the houses on the hills with the spectacular views are also the ones that are prone to catching the wind.
ENZ What do you think about the quality of housing in Wellington and how do the houses compare with those in the UK?
Anna Overall the quality of housing in Wellington is good with most being of wooden construction with wood cladding on the outside. As with all homes, some have been looked after better than others and it's a good idea to look at a lot of different houses before buying.
The biggest difference between British and New Zealand houses is that here they don't have central heating and rely on wood burners or portable electric or gas heaters.
ENZ Thank you Anna and good luck to you and your family with your ongoing character building experiences.
