[migratory birds]

Interested in hearing from others personal stories of how you were able to make the break from the land where you've spent most of your life to packing up and moving to NZ...

This is where I am now...mid-40's, parent of an elementary aged child, Permanant Residency approved, soon to pay Migrant Levy fees for passport stamp/final go-ahead.

Now is the time to make the "Big Decision" - put the house on the market and get down to work tossing/packing.

Excellent opportunity to explore, live in a milder winter climate, have a grand mid-life adventure, make significant changes in occupation (I'm considering midwifery or medical school on arriving), lighten the load (by really paring down on our belongings), start afresh in another country, a bi-cultural childhood for my kid and a more relaxed pace of life for both of us.

Of course, it's coming into the height of spring here with a small orchard of fruit trees I planted about to set fruit for the first season and berry patches becoming more and more productive every year...it's a hard time to think about moving. If it were November it'd be much easier!

It would help immensely if I just got on the plane and visited for a few weeks!

What was it that finally tipped the scale for you?

[Manny]

For us it was after telling our family. They made our life so miserable for months because they couldn't cope with the thought of us moving to the other side of the world. On top of all the things we had to sort out for the actual emigration it was really exhausting and I am still disappointed in my family for behaving like such fools.
No words can describe the relief we felt when we were finally on that plane!

Good luck selling the house!
Cheers
Manny;)

[Pip]

For us, it was that we were spending up to two hours each way (yes that is 4 hours a day!) commuting in and out of London, and were basically existing rather than living. We were too tired to do things like laundry, housework, shopping, as we were out the door from 7am to often 7:30 - 8pm every night, which meant that our weekends were spent doing those chores. We had good salaries, and an expensive designer flat in a converted building, but just felt, it didn't add up. We've only been here a couple of months, and now have far less money (although hopefully I'll get a job soon as only my OH is working), but my husband finishes work at 5pm, gets home at 5:30 and we're about to move into a four bed detached house with four acres, which was never going to happen anywhere in the home counties back home!

The beach is 20 mins away and we find ourselves 'outdoors' a lot more.


Its early days and we have our challenges, but we feel like we are living again, rather than existing!

[Trigirl]

We moved for very similar reasons to Pip. Our choice of NZ as opposed to anywhere else was based on a previous holiday of mine.

But I notice that you are much further down the line than we were when we made our decision. By the time we started applying for PR and actually committing money, time and effort to the process we were already set on moving Given how far down the process you’ve got is there a particular concern that has set you back to reconsidering? Or did you just start applying on a bit of a whim and are only now trying to actually decide if you want to go?

[Tia Maria]

For me its the attitude of enjoying the adventure rather than seeing every decision as final and I think of emigrating as the next step rather than the final destination.

To achieve this I always have a back up plan with the money in place to finance it. This is my safety net so I can avoid those "Oh my god what have I done!?" moments. Instead its more "Oh well, not quite what I expected, lets try this instead", not quite so dramatic but a lot less stressful!

For me things are never about leaving or going back, they are about new adventures and changing direction when life doesn't go the way you imagine.

Its all a bit hippy really, but it works for me. :o

Cheers

Tia

[jen]

The only way I was able to make 'the break' from the US was that we were pretty much being forced to move from our hometown because the small IT industry had gotten even worse & we needed to move for better prospects or be faced with my husband doing a very long freeway commute (well over an hour each way). That started the 'where do we live' thoughts going & and made me able to face a move from my friends & home.

We did a reccy trip to one possibility in the US (Portland, Ore) but moving in the US still meant having to deal with no gov't healthcare and (frankly) with US politics. Moving to NZ meant if we sold out in the US we would have money to buy in NZ and a very large job pool for OH; wellington has a more expensive cost of housing than many parts of the US but we're 'city people' and any US city we would want to live in would also have high housing costs, too.

After almost 4 months I do get intense homesick moments where I wish we were back 'home' where I could have lunch with my dearly missed best friend, my OH's brother dropped by the house and his parents were within driving distance. I miss the familiar places of the city I enjoyed living in for 15 years and the familiarity of a job that I was bored with but where I was in my 'comfort zone' and I felt very competent as opposed to now where I need to come up with a midlife career change! But then reality sets in & I remember WHY we left and that if we'd stayed, things wouldn't be the same anyway as the times I'm homesick for if that makes sense.

Jen

[Chiba]

Not in NZ yet, but I've done 10 years in Japan so far. For me it wasn't a break, so much as a gradual pulling away over time. Eventually you realise that home isn't back in some other country. Actually, I quite like the NZIS term for it: "centre of gravity".

Ever play with Silly Putty as a kid? If you pull it apart hard then it snaps into two pieces, but if you slowly pull it apart, then it stretches until eventually there's no connection between the halves. Either way, you end up with the same end result...

[KerryS]

Not in NZ yet, but I've done 10 years in Japan so far. For me it wasn't a break, so much as a gradual pulling away over time. Eventually you realise that home isn't back in some other country. Actually, I quite like the NZIS term for it: "centre of gravity".




I can identify with this. I had always had a transient life as a child, and the longest I spent in any one place was actually at boarding school.
After Uni I spent a year in the US, and although I enjoyed it I could never see myself living there long term. Back in London I got itchy feet and decided to go travelling for a while. Spent a year wandering around SE Asia and Australia, then spent a further year working in Oz.
I then came to NZ for a quick holiday before intending on heading back to the UK. But I was offered a job here and stayed. This is the longest I've ever spent in one place through choice. I love NZ and everything it has given me - the people I've met, the places I've seen, the things I've experienced. I'd never have had this if I had stayed in London...

NZ is definitely my home. I've not been back to Europe in almost 6 years now - I'm almost too scared to go and have had a couple of anxiety attacks about this, but I have the ticket booked to take me back there in only 4 months time! Whether I'll stay there for just a few weeks, or whether I stay for a few months I don't know. I'll see when I get there...

[nippa&pippa]

Lifestyles in UK, rat race, my OH work long hours, drive for up to hour and half each way to work and home. My young children hardly see their daddy and final straw was that we thought we can downgrade to small house so my OH can change his job but can't cos he is overqualified. Also last year was best time to move because need to get my son out of UK before he turn 4 this july, so he don't have to start school at 4 (too young in my opinion)

Now much better, children got to know their daddy better, my daughter now know who is her daddy, she is now daddy's girl :nice1 For my OH, he had learning curve to knowing his children's routine :yes

[Sam B]

Well, I have always thought about emigrating (apparently most people do) and had an impression of NZ as clean, green and (perhaps mistakenly here) offering real equality for women and perhaps a bit of a socialist utopia (definitely dreaming a bit there). But it was always just a thought, that became more persistent at times, but never really came close to a reality.

The thing that tipped the balance was the threat of redundancy due to Sure Start funding coming to an end, and the crisis in the NHS. I spent the whole of 2006 believing that I was going to lose my job in March 2007 (I was a Sure Start speech and language therapist) and after 6 months it was really getting to me. I suggested emigrating to NZ to J thinking that he'd never go for it, but after a day, he said "why not". So we did. And it was very quick. My job was belatedly saved in Feb 2007 (after I had left) but substantially changed and not for the better. I think I've made the right decision.

I try not to think about my veggie patch, fruit trees, herbacious borders, beautiful cottage for that way lies torture! Things grow much better here, and I'm looking forward to planting a citrus grove in my new home, when we've built it.

[Moorf]

Like others I'd had a transient childhood and then spent 10 yrs at boarding school so I never really had a "home base" in the UK, just places I'd lived, worked or been educated. I've always travelled and worked abroad so had no problems relocating to somewhere out of the UK - in fact relished it.

I did what I thought I ought to do, the career, the house ladder climbing but we got to where we wanted to be and still weren't content. The UK was a factor, we felt penalised for working hard to make our own way, and I think I've done to death the social and environmental reasons for our move.

Ultimately it was an adventure that we may, or may not, have come back from. Two and a half years on and we can safely say we're not going back to live in the UK if we can help it.

I like the way Tia Maria put it.

For me things are never about leaving or going back, they are about new adventures and changing direction when life doesn't go the way you imagine.

[Moorf]

I try not to think about my veggie patch, fruit trees, herbacious borders, beautiful cottage for that way lies torture! Things grow much better here, and I'm looking forward to planting a citrus grove in my new home, when we've built itI was the same and, being the saddo I am, still have a copy of our house sale details :wah - I loved that house and didn't think I'd ever love a house as much, probably due to all the work we put in to it.

But now I've got one just as nice, and you will too :yes

(I do still have a peek at the photos occasionally and even searched for it online and found it back up for sale a few months back!! ) :o

[Juniper]

For me its the attitude of enjoying the adventure rather than seeing every decision as final and I think of emigrating as the next step rather than the final destination.


I love the attitude, hippy or not (heh, natural affinity for that actually) but for OH and myself we have to think of it as "all or nothing." It is just too much to put the pets through (not to mention ourselves!) and it's about time to get a family started. How are we supposed to do that if we end up bouncing from country to country :( A year or two turns into a year or five.

Like Jen, politics one of several factors for us, one of those things that pushes rather than pulls. It's not just about ideology, outrage etc, but the very serious ramifications of these last several years. It hasn't all come down the pipe yet. Even the culture is way different from 10 yrs ago, and not looking to improve.

Just my opinion...although I was amused to see this book come out, a guide to "Getting Out", "before America comes crashing down upon you."

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Out-Leaving-America-Self-reliance/dp/0976082276/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4344516-5713402?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177642328&sr=8-1

Basically it helps you find which of the "top 50 expat meccas" you have the best affinity for, lol...(not much use for us NZ-obsessed folks, I should mention, although it is briefly covered).

I guess in my mind I've already sort of "made the break," but I'm sure there are a lot more to face.

[jen]

I lived in the same midwestern US town until college, then moved to California and lived in the same town (at the same job) for 15 years. "Living life as an adventure" is pretty much the opposite of my personality. :laugh I had to be pushed hard to move; never thought I'd be living out of the States.



Just my opinion...although I was amused to see this book come out, a guide to "Getting Out", "before America comes crashing down upon you."

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Out-Leaving-America-Self-reliance/dp/0976082276/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4344516-5713402?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177642328&sr=8-1



The cover art on that book is really inspired! For those of you not from the US, it's a parody of this sign that you find at the US/Mexico border so you know that people may be fleeing across the freeway - I couldn't believe it the first time I saw it:

[sarahw]

Funny a few of us that moved around as kids! - I moved around a lot as a child & never really settled in one place - when I left college I travelled a bit & my family always expected me to live overseas...when I reached adult life I moved 9 times in as many years (not through choice just by the way my life changed) plus I travelled overseas on a weekly/fortnightly basis with work so I wasn't really attached to my 'home'. I wasn't bothered about moving & starting over since I'd done it so many times before & I knew my family had been expecting it since I was young so the family thing didn't bother me.

My husband, on the other hand, had lived in South London all of his life - when he moved out to West Byfleet it was a huge upheaval for him!! He thought he was living in the sticks (which for someone who grew up & left her heart in the countryside just cracked me up!) - but he was fed up with the rat race - he suffers from bad back & expects to have to retire early - so our goal was to leave UK & find somewhere where we could live without him having the pressure to earn loads of money incase the worst happened with his back & we went to one or partial income. It also gave me the chance to shift down a gear or 3 & take a part-time job with no travel!! I was sick being at everyone's beck and call for little reward (workwise) & next to no time off to do the things I really wanted to do. For the first year here I didn't want to get on another plane - I had a real aversion to having to travel anywhere after overkill of it for so many years.

Another thing that pushed us was the way there didn't seem to be much for the kids to do - many of them causing trouble - throwing bricks through windows, kicking down the local church wall, smashing car windows, siphoning petrol, pushing vehicles into the canal, drinking, taking drugs & grafitting the kids playpark (that was just on our immediate street!) - we didn't want that for any kids we might have (not to say that kids that cause trouble don't exist in NZ - just that it seems there is much more for kids to get involved with here).

[zardell]

[quote=Moorf;128026] being the saddo I am, still have a copy of our house sale details :wah [quote]




Oh so have I - so have I !!!!!

Even my other half doesn't know I've kept them - Ooops, maybe he does now eh??......:o

Julie

xx

[willsken]

The push for us was our children. OH wanted to go years ago and I just couldn’t take to the idea. I suppose it was always at the back of my mind as one day I was just so fed up with UK life in general (and a particularly nasty incident in the playground at school), I went home and said, “let’s do it”. Haven’t looked back since as we are really happy here. I was sat in the garden the other day before going off to work and I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to go back. The life here is just so much more relaxed. :D

[Cardy]

we were fed up with the uk in general and the yobbish culture we wanted better for the kids but didnt have enough points so i went to college part time and got a qualification that got me an extra 50 points and it only took me a year. I cant imagine living in the uk now ,i was dreaming the other night or rather having a night mare ,half awake half asleep and i dreamt we had moved back to england i woke up in a sweat and it was such a relief when i realised it was a dream i think it was my subconsciuos confirming we like NZ now better than UK.
Took me a while to find a job i like but got one now .

Cardy:D

[Kim39]

Just to keep it short. Our reasons are a mix to what all have said. But we did try it around 15 years ago when i was a ambulanceman, but was informed that this occupation wasn't in demand so the idea went away. But since i have become a trucker the situation changed and we thought lets go for something we couldn't have 8 years previously, but the major reason was to give our girls a better start in life. We watched them come through the door from school at 16:15 and not leave until 08:15 the following morning for school. This was the same at weekends which we saw as a hinderence to their young lives. We know that NZ has given them something which the UK is finding hard to give the decent child, and that is freedom.

As for keeping your old house adverts, well Elaine is with you on that one jules, as she has ours not just from the last but the one prior.


Kim

[speckythecky]

Have wanted to go to NZ since I was in my teens, not really sure why. Then my wife met a couple from NZ who were teaching in her school on a years exchange. After Jamie was born, while OH was on maternity leave, we went out for 3 weeks holiday and I have wanted to go back since.
My job is not very secure, I keep being displaced and offered redundancy, (3 times in the last 4 years). This time we mentioned as an aside to MIL that we would like to go to NZ and at first she gave us support so we made a choice to do something about it.
MIL became less happy when she realised we were serious but seems to be coming round again now.
My M & D are fine, but seem to be clinging to the thought that we are only going for a year and they have said that they will not come out to see us.

[Singel]

Get away from the in-laws :D

ok, joke aside, we visited OH's Canadian cousins and we really envied the lifestyle that they got. Emigrating is the only way to achieve our dream. When we got back home, we immediately started the ball rolling :raebanana

Now we got a great lifestyle :nice1 :clap

[Carey]

It seems a few of us are in that so called mid-life crisis period, mid 40's, poddling along in our little lives. We just feel like we want an adventure; I've been very restless for several years, hence 6 month house swap to Sicily to get the European life style out of my system before experiencing NZ for 6 weeks, knowing that 19 yrs ago we loved it. So saw it last month again with 3 kids and felt a strong pull towards, space, fantastic outdoor opportunities, and a new life. BUT now we're home, our rural idyll seems lovely, very pretty, garden is amazing, all so 'English' , life style good, OH happy back in his job, we're questioning, should we try or not. PLUS big factor, can we ? Not enough points without job offer and will either of us actually be able to get a job before kids get too entrenched in exams etc here in UK.
So I would say , if you are lucky enough to have chance to go, GO. Nothing is forever, you can try it. Good luck!

[Lupin]

I don't see myself as having made a break with anything really and never really related to the New Life that immigrants speak of, perhaps because I had no overwhelming desire to change my life, just to try a new environment. This is a chapter in my life, a wonderful one but one for which the ending is not yet written nor would I wish it to be. I've really no idea whether the next chapter will be "Happily ever after in NZ" or "Return to UK" or something else. We did it because we could and why wouldn't you if you could?

Glad I did :D

[Happyfeet]

ok for me it was more to do with a feeling. Does that sound daft. Of course, was getting fed up with the rat race - travelling by tube every day into London when the tubes actually worked, getting up when its dark and going home and its still dark, the grey and dull days with no sun, a crappy job and my husbands even worse. He worked for the largest store in London - am I allowed to name it? which for him was hell on earth and working weekends and long hours. Worrying about him travelling home on the tube late at night and me also if I ever went out from work. Sooo was pretty much getting fed up with all that kind of stuff and the funny thing was I never even noticed any of this before I was in NZ. My husband who is a kiwi was homesick for the last four years we were in London and never even told me!!! He wanted the decision to be mine and not his. Eventually I came to my senses after a trip back here for his brothers wedding and thats when the feeling kicked in. I couldnt really put a finger on any real reason - as pretty sure most people feel a lot of the above but dont move countries especially as I wasnt actually unhappy at home in the UK, in fact far from it. Just I suppose not quite content. Anyway, it felt right, NZ looked right and so far it has been right. Does that make sense to anyone? Hope so. :)

[thezorbster]

We've talked about it for 15 years on or off and have always come up with reasons why we shouldn't/ couldn't do it - family ties being the main reason. I often get itchy feet and bought a Dalton's weekly last May with the idea of looking for a business we could run together. We saw an ad in there for a NZ business, OH told me not to look at it but I just had to! One look at the web site had me in tears, saying 'what the hell are we doing here when we could have that!'. I had never had such a gut reaction to anything and that set things in motion for us again. We started thinking seriously again about NZ, looked into points, PR etc etc and found we had the necessary skills, points we needed to get in. From then on we just went for it and have taken each step as it comes. I think it was part mid-life crisis that finally made that decision for us. The realisation that we're not getting any younger and that we have been held back by family before and that we only have one life. We also never wanted to get old and grey and wonder 'what if'. We decided to finally put ourselves and our dreams first. Also, the fact that we now have a young daughter has actually made the decision easier for us despite the fact we'll be taking her away from family - we believe the things we'll be able to do as a family will be easier and far more accessible and she will grow up in what we perceive to be a safer environment. It has not been an easy decision, we live in a beautiful part of the Uk (Cotswolds), I love our house, our village, the footpaths through the hills surrounding our home and I will miss it dreadfully but I have to try!

[Carey]

The realisation that we're not getting any younger and that we have been held back by family before and that we only have one life. We also never wanted to get old and grey and wonder 'what if'. We decided to finally put ourselves and our dreams first. Also, the fact that we now have a young daughter has actually made the decision easier for us despite the fact we'll be taking her away from family - we believe the things we'll be able to do as a family will be easier and far more accessible and she will grow up in what we perceive to be a safer environment. It has not been an easy decision, we live in a beautiful part of the Uk (Cotswolds), I love our house, our village, the footpaths through the hills surrounding our home and I will miss it dreadfully but I have to try![/QUOTE]

Exactly ! Our feelings precisely. Agree completely with this, but life is made up of experiences so go for it! Best of luck!

[kelpy]

Well, we're not there yet but we've already made the break it seems. We'd go today if we could. :o

I've been hesitant to talk about "why" we want to leave with anyone because I can't seem to explain it sensibly enough without sounding like a crackpot. For me, it's a "gut feeling" that we need to go.

I could list several reasons why we want to leave, which are probably obvious to some and already been discussed on this forum, and I hate to sound like a naysayer, but the future here looks bleak. Not as in next year, but several years from now.

We're leaving a great life, great jobs, beautiful weather, so everyone thinks we're nuts. Plus, no one thinks it will ever "get that bad", and maybe it won't. I'm not a fortuneteller. I just know that this is the right decision for us.

[Cindy]

Kelpy,

I couldn't have said it any better. I completely understand it when you say "gut feeling". My friends and family think we're crazy. I just feel as if we don't leave now, something might happen suddenly in the USA and we'll be stuck or it may happen gradually to where my daughter may not have it as great as we did. Either way, the future looks bleak and no matter how much I try to put it in words to someone, it all sounds like something coming out of a mental patient's mouth. For us, we'd be on the plane to NZ now if we could.

[kelpy]

Cindy,

I think you summed it up even better than I did (it's hard to put these feelings into words, isn't it?). It's consoling to hear that I'm in similar company. :cheers

[Juniper]

I feel like a crackpot when I try to explain it too! The fact is, you never know, and no one ever really expects things to get "that bad."

I figure, why stick around and see, if there is something better you can take a chance on. The only thing holding us back is attachment to family, I think.

[Caroline and Dave]

Many things really,but the one that made the decision was inheritance tax.
Caroline's mum started off her business in the early 60's buying and letting out property in the uk.She opened a letting agency(One of the first in the uk)and the two of them built this business up.
Then sadly just over two years ago Caroline's Mum died and virtually straight after her death the UK inland revenue were after Caroline for their slice of the estate. They were not sympathetic,they made her feel like a criminal.Not only were they after her for inheritance tax,they also decided to carry out a full tax investigation which they found no discrepances.They even made her get valuations on all the second hand furniture,cars etc that were in the state.
This resulted in Caroline having to sell two houses to pay the tax man,Money which tax has already been paid on.There are now many people in the UK who are afraid to die. There are some ways round it but they are even looking at ways to deal with that now.
So this was the final straw and we have now been here 4 weeks and loving it. We still have the next year to fully leave the UK but one thing for certain. We will never go back


Dave and Caroline

[Myrkk]

We're very much like Pip. My husband leaves the house at 8am every day and doesn't get home until 8pm[if he is lucky] every evening. I work too so our weekends are spent doing chores and not living and enjoying life.

We've tried to improve this but due to job insecurity in the UK, my hubbie has been made redundant 3 ish times and his companies have folded/relocated too far away from us on a couple of occasions. We're fed up moving around the country trying to keep jobs while the government berates people like us for polluting the environment by using our cars..... would they rather we were on the dole?

The final straw was my Grandmother dying in March 2006. She was more like my Mother and so my final tie with the UK has gone. I love Scotland and have missed it since I moved away but I no longer feel that we have a secure future in the UK.

We too want to live again rather than survive and don't feel that this is too much to ask.

[Happyfeet]

I've been hesitant to talk about "why" we want to leave with anyone because I can't seem to explain it sensibly enough without sounding like a crackpot. For me, it's a "gut feeling" that we need to go.

We're leaving a great life, great jobs, beautiful weather, so everyone thinks we're nuts. Plus, no one thinks it will ever "get that bad", and maybe it won't. I'm not a fortuneteller. I just know that this is the right decision for us.

Exactly, totally agree with the above. Its hard to say to people that your going somewhere because of a feeling but sometimes thats all it is. Doesnt mean the feeling is wrong though does it. Its nice to know others feel the same way. Good luck to us all, I say!:clap

[Moorf]

So well put. I think I've over-analysed our reasons for moving over the years, but this says it all for me. :nice1

Well, we're not there yet but we've already made the break it seems. We'd go today if we could. :o

I've been hesitant to talk about "why" we want to leave with anyone because I can't seem to explain it sensibly enough without sounding like a crackpot. For me, it's a "gut feeling" that we need to go.

I could list several reasons why we want to leave, which are probably obvious to some and already been discussed on this forum, and I hate to sound like a naysayer, but the future here looks bleak. Not as in next year, but several years from now.

We're leaving a great life, great jobs, beautiful weather, so everyone thinks we're nuts. Plus, no one thinks it will ever "get that bad", and maybe it won't. I'm not a fortuneteller. I just know that this is the right decision for us.

[Oliver]

This is a great thread and one that has elicited many excellent responses.

I find it interesting that it's mostly people from the UK and US who have posted. I am from South Africa and would like to hear what other (ex) South Africans have to say.

I never contemplated that I would ever leave South Africa. I am not unhappy in South Africa; it's a lovely place to live despite the crime. I have a good job, house, car and live comfortably. Thus far I have not been personally affected by crime, which is a major problem in South Africa and one of the major reasons why people leave South Africa. (I can therefore understand that people who have been affected by crime would want to leave SA.) My parents and siblings live within a couple of km's of me and we visit regularly. I have always stated categorically that I would never leave SA, at least not while my parents are still alive.

However, some months ago I applied for a job that had been advertised on the internet. It was the first overseas job that I had ever applied for, and was done more in jest than anything else. However, upon being shortlisted for the position, I started contemplating the possiblity of moving to NZ. I didn't think about it too much though as I was convinced that I would never be offered the job. Imagine my surprise (and horror!) when I was offered a 2-year contract position after the interview. The offer was open for 3 weeks, which was probably the longest 3 weeks of my life! I hadn't told my family about the application as I never thought that it would actually materialise into an offer of employment. To make a long story short, there was simultaneous despair and elation when they were eventually told, and shortly before the expiry of the offer, I accepted. It was a difficult decision to make, but I decided to accept for a number of reasons:
* I am 34, unmarried and without any attachments or encumbrances.
* I felt that I was in a rut and that I had become very complacent.
* I needed a new challenge.
* I was offered a good remuneration package (more than I'm earning in SA, on which I managed to live comfortably).
* It was only for 2 years, so I could always come back to SA after expiry of the contract. I decided to leave all my furniture and household effects behind in SA, and to rent out my house as furnished accommodation.

However, some weeks ago, the 2-year contract became a permanent position. My employer has offered to pay all emigration and relocation expenses (flight, container, etc), which makes it worthwhile for me to take everything over to NZ. So now I'm in the process of sorting all of that out before I leave here in 10 days' time!

I think that in my mind I see myself not so much leaving South Africa as coming to New Zealand. I'm on a work visa and will later apply for PR. I still see myself as South African and for the moment at least I have no intention to apply for citizenship once I qualify. However, I fully intend to "integrate" myself into, and embrace NZ society and culture.
I am looking forward to living in NZ. There are so many similarities with South Africa, especially regarding sport. I am a sport fanatic and hope to get involved with a variety of sports in NZ.

In short, why am I coming to NZ? Not because I am unhappy in SA, but because I think that I may be even happier in NZ! :)

[wiki]

Not because I am unhappy in SA, but because I think that I may be even happier in NZ! :)

That's my reason's too - I'm happy in UK, but OH isn't. If we end up getting turned down I don't think I'll be very disappointed as I like my life here - but for the sake of OH (and to stop the nagging of my dad and siblings) then I'll happily head back for at least a couple of years until we can sit down and balance the pros and cons of both countries and see what suits us best as a couple.

When I came to the UK I was 22 and it was for adventure and to see another way of life and travel loads. Lots of times in the early days I wanted to go back but didn't because I'd promised myself 4 years. Then my Mum died and NZ without her just didn't seem like home anymore... It's taken five years for that feeling to wear off and now I'm ready to remind myself about all the things I've missed out on.

I'm happy right now, but being back in NZ might just make me happier. And if not, we either come back or move on somewhere else entirely.