[H & Rick]

It's transpiring that our house sale will be complete at the end of this month.
We are going to give 8 weeks notice to our employers..for numerious reasons.
This takes us into December.

Our question is would you move in December just before Christmas when everything is potentially slowing down; or would you wait till January to move.

We don't have jobs to go to or accommodation in NZ.

What would you do?:confused:

[Silverwing86]

Hello Heidi,

I guess it depends very much on your situation. It is indeed a very quiet time businesswise and I believe it doesn't really pick up until (end of ?) February. However, if you're able to cover the extra time financially without too much trouble, you could consider doing some travelling around NZ before you settle down.

It would give you some time to look around and get the 'feel' of certain places and there's nothing stopping you from job/house hunting in the meantime. Although it would be wise not to expect too much where work is concerned during this time, you never know what might happen, right ? It may well be possible to lay down some ground work so that you have some interviews set up for right after the summer holidays ?

What field of work would you be jobhunting in ? I guess it also depends on how quickly your research shows you should normally be able to find a job in your field. That would give you an idea of how long you should theoretically be able to sustain yourselves financially before the paypacket kicks in. Add December through February to the equation and you should be able to get a fair idea of feasability.

On the other hand if you've already given notice, you won't be gaining income where you are now either, which would be most cost effective and practical ?

Another consideration I can think of may be how important it is for you to spend one last Christmas at home ?

Hope this is of some help to you, good luck with making the decision.

Silver

[H & Rick]

Thanks Silverwing86.

What dates cover the summer holidays in NZ, is this school holidays or company shut downs?

Will we have trouble finding a rental at that time of year?

OH is an Electronic/IT Engineer and I work in Housing/Finance.

I guess it would be nice to spend Christmas with the family.

[tigerlily]

I'd work in the UK until Feb 1, and then go. Flights get cheaper after January and accomodations at holiday rentals (a nice place to stay instead of a hotel because you can do your own cooking) should be easier to find. Extra money saved, a holiday with the family...

[Silverwing86]

Thanks Silverwing86.

What dates cover the summer holidays in NZ, is this school holidays or company shut downs?

Will we have trouble finding a rental at that time of year?

OH is an Electronic/IT Engineer and I work in Housing/Finance.

I guess it would be nice to spend Christmas with the family.

Hi again Heidi,

As I said, I'm not entirely sure, but judging by Tigerlilly's response I guess the holiday time is from about Christmas till the end of January ? As far as I know this goes for both schools and businesses, in fact I believe the school holidays last even longer. Perhaps someone with kids who has been here over this period could give you a better idea.

As Tigerlilly mentioned, a holiday home is a good solution for the first weeks here. It would be harder because of the holidays, but you have some time yet so may be able to arrange something beforehand. Ask around on the forum for suggestions, I'm sure plenty of people could give you tips. Where are you thinking of settling ?

And indeed, flights and accomodation do tend to get cheaper after January, something to consider...

Giving notice a bit later so you can keep earning till just before you leave is definitely a sound suggestion as well ...

Again, I think it all depends on your situation what is the best option for you, only you can really make that choice.

Good luck !

Silver

[H & Rick]

Not sure I could stick it out over here till 1st Feb, may make it mid January.
The house sale was suppose completed at the end of August for us to be over at the beginning of November, the thought of being here another 3 months is quite difficult for me but OH assures me we are doing the right thing.

[vixxann]

Heidi you have my sympathies - it can be so hard trying to work out timings
We haven't even sold our house yet and I'm trying to work out imaginary timescales!

School hols, as far as I know, are from Christmas until first week of feb.

I don't know your family situation - I suppose that will make a difference. But me personally, I'd go as soon as I could :yes

[H & Rick]

Thanks for your thoughts vixxann.

Timing everything has been a complete nightmare. OH needs to give two months notice so it has thrown everything out.
We also now need find out how much John Masons will charge to store our stuff for a month before they ship it out. We are going for a shared container so hope it will not be too expensive on top of the quote we already have. Did think of using the Big Yellow, but can't imagine John Masons going there to pack our stuff up.

Feeling really stressed..:(

[gil]

Hi Heidi,
School hols run from approximately Dec 20 -Feb 7. We arrived end November last year and it worked well for us as the kids could do 3 weeks acclimatising in school and then have the holidays; we were able to enjoy the weather and find somewhere to live in a less frenetic period. Traffic was less too!
On the work front, everything really does go quiet till Feb, so as Silverwing says, if you can afford not to be working here straight away, then go for it! The only other thought in mind with regard to work is that I heard some senior HR people from the telecoms industry talking last night (I'm down in Welly for the HRINZ national conference at the moment) and they were saying how a) they desperately need skilled people but b) they would prefer to take someone here on the ground and ready to start as the immigration process from an employer's perspective is really difficult. That would swing it in favour of being here, in my book.....

Anyway, you'll make the decision you're happy with and good luck for a smooth sale process!

Gil

[katandbob]

why don't you split it, spend xmas with family and come over and get aclimatised and put the feelers out here, Rachel flew in on new years eve last year, but I guess the price should stay the same around that date as well.... the flights were cheaper... shes coming this November and is having a hard time finding flights around the same price.

[barryp]

We also came over on New Year's Eve - the flights were substantially cheaper and less full than usual for peak season. I found a particular harmony in the 'new year, new country' idea too.

Wellington was a ghost town on 1 and 2 January, and there was very little happening the following week either. Work was back to full speed the third week of January, though the last of the stragglers came back after the Waitangi Day holiday (6 February). There were plenty of leisure activities after that first dead week of January.

As for work, being here does make it easier, and the sooner the better. There won't be a whole lot of activity in January - too many people will still be away - but you should be able to make some initial contacts.

[Familyofmonkeys]

It's transpiring that our house sale will be complete at the end of this month.
We are going to give 8 weeks notice to our employers..for numerious reasons.
This takes us into December.

Our question is would you move in December just before Christmas when everything is potentially slowing down; or would you wait till January to move.

We don't have jobs to go to or accommodation in NZ.

What would you do?:confused:

our landlady shortened contract time on our rental (so we are not tied in as long), as she said we would not find a removal company to move us in December or early January. She also said she wouldn't get more tennants at that time of year....I would definitely wait until Feb!

[Pete & Angela]

Hi Heidi,
we came in mid January this year. I already had a job but I've been told that the job market is really active (as is the lettings market) in January as a lot of Kiwis come back from the Christmas hols and decide to change either their job or where they live or both. The only problems we had with accomodation were complete lack of furnished rentals, few rentals which would take pets (we shipped our dog) and the fact that the whole of Wellington is booked out in advance for the rugby sevens. We had to go to Napier for a few days as our accomodation was pre-booked for the duration.

Pete