[kelpy]

Greetings everybody!

I've been lurking around this great site for months, but now that it is time for us to get things rolling, I thought I'd overcome my shyness and introude myself.

OH has finally talked me into moving. He's wanted to for years, but I've been dragging my feet. It's a decision that has been a long time in the making, but both of us are fed up with things in the US, and the future is a concern. So, we will be submitting our EOI in the next few days! ;) With our degrees, professions both being on the LTSSL, and having over 10 years of job experience, we're hopeful that we will be selected easily.

Another factor that made us decide on NZ is our best friend of several years / roommate is a kiwi. He's planning on returning after he finishes University here, so why not move back with him? :)

Right now, we have our eye on Wellington, but a reccy trip is needed for us to decide between there and Auckland.

Thanks for this site - it has been so helpful in answering many of our questions! Any information or tips you'd care to pass on is much appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Lynn

[Junnifer USA]

Welcome!

We moved here from the US 2 years ago...best thing we ever did! Our son is now 12, and is as happy as I have ever seen him. And, we love it! we thought we would be on the north Island, but someone pursuaded us to buy our ticket to Christchurch and check it out first. So, with container on its way...we took the plunge. Absolutely love it! Wellington is beautiful too...but the weather is better here. Either way, I can't imagine any sane person disliking it! So much more civilized...so much more politically reasonable too!

Good luck,
Jen and Bill

[kelpy]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Jen! :)

I'm so glad to hear the move was the best thing you and your family ever did. I've never lived in another country (OH has), so while all this is exciting, it's also a bit intimidating! Hearing you've had such a positive experience is very nice to hear, so thank you again. ;)

Lynn

[Ana&Steve]

What's up, Dudette! (:o sorry, stereotypes!)
We are leaving for our reccy in 5 days (!) and have our sites on Welly. Our best friends moved to Auckland in Sept, and we will visit with them before heading South. Everyone on this forum is very nice, so don't be shy with your questions, and I hope your plans go smoothly:)
BTW, where in CA are you? We're in N San Diego, Escondido to be exact.
Ana

[kelpy]

What's up, Dudette! (:o sorry, stereotypes!)
We are leaving for our reccy in 5 days (!) and have our sites on Welly. Our best friends moved to Auckland in Sept, and we will visit with them before heading South. Everyone on this forum is very nice, so don't be shy with your questions, and I hope your plans go smoothly:)
BTW, where in CA are you? We're in N San Diego, Escondido to be exact.
Ana

Hey Ana! We're in Temecula.

Leaving in 5 days? How exciting! I hope you'll give a full report on your trip when you get back. We'd heard that Wellington was similar to San Diego (which is why it appealed to us), so it would be interesting to hear what a SoCaler thinks about that!

Have a fun and safe journey!

[suebeenz]

Hey Ana! We're in Temecula.

Leaving in 5 days? How exciting! I hope you'll give a full report on your trip when you get back. We'd heard that Wellington was similar to San Diego (which is why it appealed to us), so it would be interesting to hear what a SoCaler thinks about that!

Have a fun and safe journey!

I only spent 4 days or so in SD, but I didn't notice any similarities to Welly. It reminded me a lot of Seattle though. It's a nice place - I'm sure you'll love it. (do bring a windbreaker though :yes)

Good luck to you guys! Exciting decisions to be made ... :nice1

[jess]

Hi Kelpy. Welcome to the forum!! :D

You asked about tips. I'd say on your reccy trip, do some regular things like checking out grocery store and home goods prices and, if you narrow it down to an area you think you like, definitely hit some open homes on the weekend. "Boring" video footage or photographs you wouldn't normally take - of neighborhood streets and areas - might come in handy when you get back to the states and all the different places you might consider settling are a blur in your memory.

The other thing is health insurance (on my mind because of a post under helathcare). Once you drop your US coverage, if you are diagnosed with a serious illness here in NZ, you would have a hard time ever going back to the states because of the difficulty getting insurance to help pay costs of care. We love it here an hour north of Welly, but it is something to consider if you are unsure about the move -- perhaps continuing your existing US insurance if you can for the first few months in NZ to be sure you will settle here.

Hope you like Welly as much as we do!! I'm an east coast girl so can't comment on any comparisons to California - but it's such a great, artsy compact city! :D

[Bruckner]

Welcome to the forum Lynn. My husband is from Oceanside, not too far from Ana and Steve. We heading over mid-August but not sure where we'll end up. Most likely Auckland or Wellington. Post any questions you may have.

Emily

[Ana&Steve]

Hey Ana! We're in Temecula.

Leaving in 5 days? How exciting! I hope you'll give a full report on your trip when you get back. We'd heard that Wellington was similar to San Diego (which is why it appealed to us), so it would be interesting to hear what a SoCaler thinks about that!

Have a fun and safe journey!
Ah, Temecula. I grew up in Aguanga, and we went to the store in Temecula when we needed general supplies. (Main St was still dirt then:eek:) It's grown so much, I don't even recognize it anymore.
I'd have to say Welly reminded me of a very small San Francisco, with fewer hills and all the cool quirky charm (spent a lot of time on Cuba St and Courtney/Tory area). Auckland and surrounds reminded me heavily of Seattle and surrounds, not because of the Space Needle/Sky Tower, but the lay of the land and weather. There were several times driving in West Auckland I thought we in Mt Vernon heading to Whidby Island.
If your reccy isn't necessarily for job hunting, take things as they come and don't over-plan. This produced some of the best times we had on last years trip:nice1 It sounds like you should be good on your EOI, (envious) and you have a build-in guide with your roomy, so good on ya! I'll report on our trip in 4 weeks or so, getting very excited!
Ana

[jen]

Hi Kelpy,

Welcome to the forum! We moved to Welly from Santa Barbara in January and so far are very happy with our decision. I agree with Ana's "small San Francisco" description of Wellington; it's built around a bay on lots of hills & it's got the arts & cafe culture vibe.

Before we moved here we had been in NZ once on vacation & once just to Welly for a recce trip - I would just suggest that when you come over DON'T automatically convert the prices back to US when you're pricing things - it makes things seem really inexpensive which they won't be when you're earning a salary in NZ dollars.

Good luck with your EOI,

Jen

[SarahEDH]

Hi Kelpy, welcome!

As you can there are California folks all over this forum . . . I'm in Wellington at the moment, previously Sacramento (El Dorado Hills). Glad to have you here:cheers

Sarah

[Cindy]

Hi Lynn,

Was Santa Clarita Valley, CA, now Boulder, Colorado but will be heading back to Cali (Los Angeles) to be with family/friends for our last hugs and goodbyes before heading to NZ. Welcome and hope you find help and comfort here as well as I have. Looking forward to hearing your excitement and plans as they unfold.

[kelpy]

Wow! Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! :cheers

Ana and Jen - OH is from the bay area, so Wellington being more like San Francisco sounds even better than we'd imagined. I can't wait to check it out!