[Charlesw25]

Hi all.
We have completed our EOI and will submit it this week. We still don't know where we will go although my OH has a job offer in Wellington and that's probably the best bet for me (She's a midwife, I'm a journalist).
Would welcome any top tips on the move. Especially how to tell the rest of your family and our two girls (age five and eight).

[kanatakiwi]

Welcome to the forum.
you will have lots of questions and find lots of answers here, many good people who have been through what you are about to go through. hang on for the ride.

[marcia]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow ex-Yorkshire woman!!!

Telling the family is hard, but you will be surprised how quickly the kids will adapt! Just make sure you talk to them a lot, look at pictures watch videos etc about NZ with them and try and involve them as much as possible in the whole process.

Good luck and you'll find loads of help on here, remember to use the search function for advice too!

[dilanium]

Welcome to the forums.

I don't really have any tips on how to tell the family, but good luck.

:)

[thepiesleys]

I should imagine your children will be fine, there at a good age. I have a 3 year old who has not batted an eyelid and a 9 year old who has taken to the place like a duck to water. Don't ask about the 14 year old.

Have you checked out the job market for journalists - I presume you mean print? I am a TV prod/Dir and have struggled to find work in Auckland.

Good luck with it all.

Dan

[StevieD]

Welcome to the forum, as Marcia says, and ex-Huddersfield person no less, the kids will adapt quickly. The biggest problem is family, not the easiest thing to do in the world. But if you tell them your reasons, they usually accept it, in time.

Good luck with the process, there are loads of people who can help on here.

Steve

[wiki]

Hey Charles,

The kids will be a doddle - the parents will have to lump it and realise it's best for you guys.... the thing you really have to worry about is telling Al - he's already had one shock like that this month!

Plus, any move you make doesn't have to be forever - you're both guaranteed work back in the UK if you find NZ isn't for you after a couple of years.

Axxx

[Cardy]

Hi we were from doncaster. the kids were more excited than us and love it here lots for them to do dont worry:nice1 cardy and bev

[Bruckner]

Welcome to the forum!

Emily

[Chiba]

Welcome, from a former Hudds student. :)

[Silverwing86]

Hi Charlesw25 and welcome to the forum !

Congratulations on your OH's job offer, what a great start !

I echo what everyone else has said.

Telling the family can be hard. In our case my family had no trouble with it, but then we lived abroad as children and were apart as a family before, so that helps. Also, though my mother finds it difficult that I'm not close by anymore, what's most important to her is my happiness and she knows I was never really happy in The Netherlands.

My OH's mother is completely on the other side of the spectrum. She has done everything in her power to make him feel as guilty as is humanly possible because, according to her, he's abandoned her.

Now, I can see how hard it would be for her, him being an only child and all, but suffice it to say that the guilt trip has been her tool on him for most of his life anyway, so it's just more of the same really, only magnified. Pity though because her animosity meant that they couldn't make the most of the last year before we left and now he's loathe to get in touch with her for fear of another huge guilt trip. So sad...

We've always wanted both our mothers to visit and have offered them both the trip (financially). My mother has already booked and will be here next summer for 3 months but my MIL's reaction was immediately negative and she flatly refused to even think about it. She said she's not healthy enough to make the trip even though we'd already arranged for a family member to travel with her and she managed to drive herself (!) to the UK and back for a holiday this year so can't quite figure that one out. Not quite the same thing I know, but still...

Anyway, you have to live your own life and a loving family will put your happiness first and support you in any way they can. It may take some time for them to adjust, but most of the time it turns out okay.

Good luck with everything !

Silver

[Charlesw25]

Thanks for the welcome. We've now submitted our EoI. We're hopeful as we got 210 points. Now got to draw up a very long "to do" list....

[bartons]

Hi and welcome!
We dreaded telling our kids (4 and 7) about the move, and with the older one it was half an hour of tears and sobbing ("I'll miss my friends!"), then slowly he got round to the idea. The positive/persuasive things for him were: we'll get a bigger garden/he'll have "proper" mountains nearby/he's got a good chance of snow in winter/he might get a dinghy/he'll be allowed to play computer during the flight to NZ. And by now (at the stage of waiting for the blue stickers - ITA handed in 5 weeks ago - ready to leave as soon as passports arrive) both children are very excited and happy about the move - much more than we expected.
Good luck!

[Charlesw25]

We told our children. The eldest got v excited but the five-year-old cried and shouted "England". She's recovered now. That's everyone told....