Huttvalleypom
1st April 2007, 09:37 PM
Well it's now just over six month since we arrived in New Zealand to begin a new chapter in our lives and now is a good opportunity, as any, to be a little introspective. We read postings on the Forum with great interest (having only really discovered it since we arrived) and marvel at the wide range of human stories from prospective, recent and not-so-recent migrants. Everyone has their own personal reasons for making the big move and adapts to their new environment in different ways. The Forum has been a great source of practical advice but its main draw to us are the human stories of emigration that provide some context to all the 'official' sources of information available.
Our reasons for moving to NZ with our young family of 3 children, like many others I guess, aren't easy to define. Yes, we were drawn by the lifestyle, improved life chances for our children, the sense of space and more. But despite both being reasonably sensible people(!) were driven too by the reckless spirit of adventure, the challenges of living and working on the other side of the world and the chance to add a new and exciting chapter to our lives. We had both come to convenient crossroads in our careers and considered that our children were at the right ages to gain most from the experience and suffer least disruption. Leaving friends and family behind was always going to be difficult, but we were used to moving around in the UK and didn't live close to our immediate families - I am sure that made it easier.
For the 5 years before our move we lived a comfortable life in a beautiful part of Cheshire and could have quite easily continued doing that. However, we both worked in jobs where we were exposed to the fragility of human mortality and feel this was partly responsible for driving us on towards new experiences rather than asking at some stage in the future 'what if?'.
We both approached the move to NZ with a healthy dose of realism and the thought that it would probably be about 2 years before we would be able to truly judge whether the move had been right for our family. Our early success criteria were for the children to be happy, to be in jobs that we enjoyed without being all-consuming, to have a pleasant lifestyle and to buy a nice house with plenty of space that offered different attributes to those we had enjoyed in the UK.
Our 'half-term' report, therefore, gives us some grounds to feel encouraged. The kids are very settled, particularly our 9 year old son who has so quickly made so many friends and become a 'Kiwi kid' (shocking his grandparents on the phone with his newly-acquired accent, having previously sounded like a bit-player from Coronation Street!). We both have jobs that we enjoy and that provide fresh challenges and stimulation. On 1 March we moved into our new house. Despite the booming NZ housing market, it is a house that we could only have dreamed about having in the UK, with views across the Hutt Valley and out to Wellington Harbour that, I am sure, will continue to amaze us for some time.
We had no grudge with the UK before moving out here. NZ is not the UK in any shape or form, which is just as well as moving 12,000 miles for more of the 'same old, same old..' would have been something of a disappointment. NZ has given us an opportunity to settle here and everyone we have met from day one has been welcoming and hospitable - sometimes unbelievably so. We are the 'new kids on the block' and, to some extent, have to prove ourselves, particularly professionally - but why not? The same would apply anywhere and this is just part of the adventure.
To be honest, we both thought we would be a bit more homesick in the early days than we have been. Low cost telephone calls and the internet help considerably and we probably speak to our respective parents more now than we did before! Both sets have visits booked for later this year which we are all looking forward to.
Comparing NZ with UK is pretty futile as they are two completely different countries, albeit with long standing links and histories. Comparing realities with expectations is more useful however and may be helpful to prospective migrants. Our thoughts might be;
- We knew Kiwis were a friendly lot, but experience has exceeded our expectations;
- without a decent amount of capital behind you, the 'challenges' will be much tougher!
- Wellington is a fantastic, vibrant and thoroughly pleasant city - almost unrecognisable from the place I first visited 15 years ago;
- Kiwi working life 'cruisy'? - not in our experience. The working culture is different but people work hard in NZ
- customer service is very good here without being 'servile'
Thank you to everyone who has shared their emigration experiences on this Forum and best of luck to those whose journey lies ahead.
Russell, Claire, Greg, Darcy and Scarlett
Our reasons for moving to NZ with our young family of 3 children, like many others I guess, aren't easy to define. Yes, we were drawn by the lifestyle, improved life chances for our children, the sense of space and more. But despite both being reasonably sensible people(!) were driven too by the reckless spirit of adventure, the challenges of living and working on the other side of the world and the chance to add a new and exciting chapter to our lives. We had both come to convenient crossroads in our careers and considered that our children were at the right ages to gain most from the experience and suffer least disruption. Leaving friends and family behind was always going to be difficult, but we were used to moving around in the UK and didn't live close to our immediate families - I am sure that made it easier.
For the 5 years before our move we lived a comfortable life in a beautiful part of Cheshire and could have quite easily continued doing that. However, we both worked in jobs where we were exposed to the fragility of human mortality and feel this was partly responsible for driving us on towards new experiences rather than asking at some stage in the future 'what if?'.
We both approached the move to NZ with a healthy dose of realism and the thought that it would probably be about 2 years before we would be able to truly judge whether the move had been right for our family. Our early success criteria were for the children to be happy, to be in jobs that we enjoyed without being all-consuming, to have a pleasant lifestyle and to buy a nice house with plenty of space that offered different attributes to those we had enjoyed in the UK.
Our 'half-term' report, therefore, gives us some grounds to feel encouraged. The kids are very settled, particularly our 9 year old son who has so quickly made so many friends and become a 'Kiwi kid' (shocking his grandparents on the phone with his newly-acquired accent, having previously sounded like a bit-player from Coronation Street!). We both have jobs that we enjoy and that provide fresh challenges and stimulation. On 1 March we moved into our new house. Despite the booming NZ housing market, it is a house that we could only have dreamed about having in the UK, with views across the Hutt Valley and out to Wellington Harbour that, I am sure, will continue to amaze us for some time.
We had no grudge with the UK before moving out here. NZ is not the UK in any shape or form, which is just as well as moving 12,000 miles for more of the 'same old, same old..' would have been something of a disappointment. NZ has given us an opportunity to settle here and everyone we have met from day one has been welcoming and hospitable - sometimes unbelievably so. We are the 'new kids on the block' and, to some extent, have to prove ourselves, particularly professionally - but why not? The same would apply anywhere and this is just part of the adventure.
To be honest, we both thought we would be a bit more homesick in the early days than we have been. Low cost telephone calls and the internet help considerably and we probably speak to our respective parents more now than we did before! Both sets have visits booked for later this year which we are all looking forward to.
Comparing NZ with UK is pretty futile as they are two completely different countries, albeit with long standing links and histories. Comparing realities with expectations is more useful however and may be helpful to prospective migrants. Our thoughts might be;
- We knew Kiwis were a friendly lot, but experience has exceeded our expectations;
- without a decent amount of capital behind you, the 'challenges' will be much tougher!
- Wellington is a fantastic, vibrant and thoroughly pleasant city - almost unrecognisable from the place I first visited 15 years ago;
- Kiwi working life 'cruisy'? - not in our experience. The working culture is different but people work hard in NZ
- customer service is very good here without being 'servile'
Thank you to everyone who has shared their emigration experiences on this Forum and best of luck to those whose journey lies ahead.
Russell, Claire, Greg, Darcy and Scarlett