[vixxann]

This may be long.... :o

Even though we are still in UK waiting for house to sell, we keep sending off emails to various NZ companies regarding work for hubbie. Most are very nice and say they are interested and can we contact them when we get there, which is great and he has a nice long list of companies to approach now. This suited our plan as we thought of going over on tourist visa and getting work permit with job offer when there.

However.. we've had some fantastic emails in this past week from a company that really sound like they want to give him a job offer :clap We've not pushed for this at all as we cannnot get out there yet, but the chap says he's in no hurry to fill position, would rather wait and get correct applicant who will play a key role in the company long term :raebanana (sorry cannot help but get excited!) He's now asking about the info / forms needed on his part for hubbie to get work permit!

So ... dilema is in several parts....
1) Do we accept job offer? (if actually given - at moment it's just simmering!)
2) If so , do we go for work visa or submit EOI? (would have 125 points with job offer)
3) Is it fair to keep this guy waiting for an undefinate amount of time while we wait to sell house? (cannot go without a sale - need money out of house)
and the biggie for me..
4) Job is somewhere we've never even considered before - Waikato. We were thinking of Christchurch but have always thought we'd be flexible to fit circumstances. company is in Cambridge but I suppose we could live anywhere nearish. NEED INFO PLEASE!! I'd always thought we'd live near the beach in NZ , don't know why and don't know if would bother me that much or not. Son is into sailing though so would need some water nearby.

I know there's a few folks in that area, please can I have some local info??
Weather/housing/shops/things to do (have three kids 13, 11 & 5)

thanks you :)

[Mickstim]

Hi Vicki

Just wanted to say congrats on the possible job offer - makes everything seem more possible, doesn't it? Next thing you know the house will sell.................

Bx

[Sam B]

It's pretty good here in Cambridge, and I always expected to end up by the sea too. There is a lake nearby, lake Karapiro, but I've noticed it's rarely windy here - which I LOVE after Cornwall, so don't know if good for sailing. The schools in Cambridge are excellent, and it's a nice friendly town with a good range of shops and cafes. I know the cafes well now, and could talk you through the menus item by item!

What is really good about this area is it's close proximity to a lot of places, e.g. 1 and a bit hours to Auckland, 1 hour to Waitomo,1 hour to the start of the Coromandel, 2 hours to ski-ing at Ruapehu, 1 and a half to Taupo, 1 hour to Rotorua, and about an hour or so to each of the coasts. This means that we go to a lot of places at weekends.

The actual Waikato is pleasant enough, but can be a little uninspiring in places. There are lots of gentle hills with sheep and cows around them, and the area between Cambridge and Hamilton is very flat with lots of horse paddocks. But there are still nice places, like Maungakawa reserve just 8 minutes out of Cambridge, and Maungatautari 15 minutes away. It's just compared to some of the stunning places in NZ, it's quite gentle and a bit over-farmed (my opinion).

However, I am very happy here, and especially like all the places to visit nearby. Hamilton is a pretty nice city, with a good museum (ace kids' bit) and brillo public gardens. To the west is Raglan, a cool surfy place with lush green cliffs and shiny black sand, and to the East, Waihi beach, Tauranga and Papamoa beach, all beautiful white sandy beaches, very different to the west.

Cambridge is full of British immigrants, so you can get every item you may ever miss from the local shops, many have special British import sections, including the lotto shop, which sells Bisto gravy granules. You can get decent choice of clothes in Hamilton, or go to Auckland.

I would start applying for your work permits! Maybe the company will pay your relocation costs so you can come quicker?

[kellyfamily]

What does your OH do? Here is the same as uk in the fact that tradespeople and proffesionals are in short supply so dont panic too much over work. Before i left uk i thought id found the perfect place and job (Katikati) but the place was a little too quiet for me and the job wasnt what it seemed although the guy was really nice and helpful. IM now 20 mins away and between Aukland,GIsborne,Hamilton and here in Tauranga i had lots of interviews and job offers so look for where you want to spend your lives , if the place is perfect then any job will seem better.

[Cardy]

Hi were in cambridge. Our kids love school (cambridge high) what company is your hubby looking at i can maybe tell you where it is in town what its like.:yes

[pinkpiggy]

Hi Vicky

Like Sam B I really like this area, even if, like she says it can be uninspiring when compared to other parts of the NZ. It's also so close to many other places, quite central.

I know your OH is a gardener (used to own his own nursery) is that what he will do over here. What's the name of the company - we might be able to check it out for you. (I'll understand if you'd prefer to PM this info).

There's plenty of sporting activities around the Waikato, rugby (of course), football, cricket, tennis, horse riding, netball (one for the girls).

There are some lovely houses in and around Hamilton, Cambridge, Te Awamutu to mention just a few places.

Hope this helps with your decisions. Anything I can help you with just PM me.

[Kim39]

I was trying to answer this thread when the stupid comp dropped its internet connection for some reason. Anyway i will just add comments to Sam's answer when i say you won't go far to wrong with the region. Karapiro has its fair share of sailing, and has been chosen for the World Rowing champs next year. On the location front you have Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Matamata, Otorohanga, Morrinsville, Pirongia (little village) etc dotted around your possible employer, so you have plenty of choices where to put yourself. House prices differ from town to town, and they are quite on the high side for decent places, but i suppose thats the price we have to pay for our sins of wanting to be here. Just to give you an idea on the building front here. We have bought a section in TA of 707m2, and are putting a 4 bed house on it for the price of 345k. So in a word i feel, and its only a opinion you might be better off trying to get into the idea of building yourself rather than buying an established property, when at the end of the day you get exactly what you want. Its only a thought though.

In relation to the job offer, i would seriously think about coming in on a WP and take the EOI route when you get here as it works out cheaper this side of the world. Ok, we know about the house and that could take a short space of time to move, but there again a lengthy time, who know's what tomorrow may bring, but if the employer is offering to put a hold on the job, then start a little research on this area, and ask questions to us here in the Waikato as i'm sure one of us will have your answers.

As Sam says we are very central to a lot of places and things to do, so you'll always have your hands full at weekends.

Kim

[vixxann]

Thanks for info so far folks

Hubbie works in Landscaping but is also a builder / joiner (has years of experience but no quals) on the job front we've found potential employers don't seem worried about the lack of quals but are very keen on experience.
(I think it will be ok to PM the company details prob best at this stage not to broadcast too much though!)

Can I ask some more questions then to people who know the area? And please don't be offended if I'm too forthright - I'm just trying to get some info. Cannot believe now that we totally skipped that area when we came on our reccie and now all that research we did isn't so relevant :rolleyes:

- housing - we'd probably be looking to spend in £350k region, looking for a 3 or 4 bed with a decent size garden (would love a 1/4 acre plot as want to grow some veggies:) ) I've looked on open2view, realestate etc and have found houses at that price but I don't know anything about the areas they are in. Where would we NOT want to live?
- shops - I presume the towns have a range of supermarkets etc (New World was my fav when on holiday, don't know if we'd have to economise when we live there though!) Warehouse? general retail etc (and where's the nearest big shopping mall - so we can avoid it:D )
- schools - few mentioned already, are they all mostly good in the area - important to me as 3 kids plus I am a teaching assistant here and will be looking for similar work if possible
- hobbies - boys are in scouts here and I'm sure they'll be a local group for them whereever we go, hoping to get into more sports like sailing, rugby, horse riding, fishing, kayaking etc
- I know there's no "average" weather in NZ but how does that region come into the general image I have that its warmer but wetter in North Island
- crime - whats it like in that area
- boyracers - when we stayed in Christchurch city we heard these every night and in some areas we noticed the tyre marks on the road from "dougnuting!" Is it noticeably bad anywhere in Waikato?

Thats it for now :o
(What would I do without this forum!)

[Cardy]

Hi We got a 4 bedroom older type house on a 809 square metre section for £360,000 near the high school. really quiet no boy racers/hoons here.:nice1

[NannyOgg]

Hi Vixxan,

This is just a thought as obviously everyone's circumstances are different, but when we left the UK our house sale was not completed although we had a buyer so we took a mortgage break - we could have had it up to year and whilst it meant we arrived and could not buy immediately it did take away the worry of paying the UK mortgage on NZ wages.

Just a thought if this a perfect opportunity for you.

Nanny

[vixxann]

took a mortgage break - we could have had it up to year and whilst it meant we arrived and could not buy immediately it did take away the worry of paying the UK mortgage on NZ wages.



Unfortunately on our mortgage we cannot take a payment holiday :no but good idea and thanks for posting :)

update.. I think we are considering the work visa route if we do get official job offer. It would, amongst many other things, mean that we can get our stuff shipped over sooner rather than put into storage whilst we sort things in NZ. Few questions regarding work visas as well now :o ..

- can we book a one way flight if we have a fixed length work visa eg. one year. or do we have to book return flights to come back when it expires?
- would my hubbie have to stay with the company he got job offer with for whole length of work visa (or until we've got PR)?

Qstn. specifically re Cambridge (on top of all ones earlier!) - on map it shows two highways going into town (SH1 and SH1B) - are these major roads? I know its NZ we're talking about -but if thats the main route from North to South is it very busy?

[M&J]

Well I think Sam B and others have covered most things. We have been in Cambridge for 3 months nearly and love it, it is so central to so many other places and has lots of other towns/villages near by too like Te Awamutu and Pirongia.

On the house front we are looking at a house in Pirongia, which is 30 mins from Cambridge, it is 3 beds on 1.5 acres for under £200,000, it is an older style property but fully refurbished.

As for SH1 and SH1b, it does mean Cambridge does get a bit busy at rush hour, mainly on a Friday but it has never caused us any major problems.

When we did our reccie we decided the two areas in the north island we would choose to live would be Cambridge or Hawkes Bay and so here we are.

We came out on a 9 month visa, only need one way tickets and lodged ITA the day before we left UK as processing times are a lot longer in Hamilton. OH will have to stay with same employer for 3months I think after you get PR.

Hope this helps!

Jo

[Sam B]

The weather is pretty good - generally warm, about as much rain as Auckland I would say, cold at night in winter, sometimes foggy in the morning in winter but lots of sunshine and hardly any wind. Defo better than what we left behind in Cornwall. And spring comes 2 months early - yay!

That main SH1 is very busy and runs straight through Cambridge but not through the lovely town centre and shops, just through the middle of the town though. There is a bypass planned for about 5 years time and that will make a nice difference to the town. But it's only that road that is busy, the 1B (Victoria Road) is not so bad. There are some boy racers in Cambridge - not many but you do hear them at night sometimes and they do annoy me. I've heard there are more in some areas of Hamilton.

Cambridge has a Countdown, a small New World and a big Warehouse. It also has Briscoes and lots of others. There is an enormous New World in Hamilton on Te Rapa which is very good.

I haven't heard anything bad about any schools in Cambridge, but I don't know much about Leamington School, I was told that it was probably the least good school here, but I have no evidence for that. My kids' school is FANTASTIC! There are loads of houses for sale here at a range of prices. Many are on quarter acres.

Anything else?

[Kim39]

Nope no return flights on a WP longer than 12 months.

would my hubbie have to stay with the company he got job offer with for whole length of work visa (or until we've got PR)?


on a WP there isn't any need for you to stay with them. All he has to do is get a variation of conditions for the permit which incorporates the form NZIS 1113 when he has another job offer. The only stipulation is that he stays within the boundary of his original employ which obviously is landscaping/builder.


Kim

[speckythecky]

Vicki, congrats on the job front, hope it gets green light. I would be tempted to go EOI, 125 points with job offer should be enough.

It is supposed to be cheaper to go EOI once you are in NZ but you would need to factor in the cost of Work permits. Also if you do go down WP route, remember to bring all the paperwork with you.

Hoping for some more positive news on the house - any feedback since the price drop?

[thezorbster]

Nothing useful to add Vicky, just wanted to say things are sounding positive so good luck with decisions. Like John, I'd personally go for EOI as it shouldn't take long to process with a job offer and at least you'd get PR straight away. Keep us all informed on progress.:)

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

More boy racers in Hamilton, as has been said, but they generally stick to certain areas. I doubt you would move to the city anyway by the sound of it, although I like it here.

Supermarkets in Hamilton - two huge New Worlds, a big Woolworth, a coupe of big Countdowns, two pack n saves, teo vast DIY warehouse places, thousands of car yards. You want to buy it Hamilton has it. There aren't any big malls. Tons of shops aimed at all levels of income, but I doubt you would need to go outside Cambridge for shopping except for maybe special items. Maybe clothes.

Nothing much to add to what has already been said. Very family friendly, but then NZ is as a whole.

[StevieD]

Vicky sports wise you have everything around here. The Waikato is a fantastic place to live. Lots going for it.

Have pm'd you with the details you asked for.

Steve

[vixxann]

Just an update, Sam had phone call from chappie who's been emailing us, nice long (40 mins!) discussion regarding work/life/weather/price of a pint of milk etc etc ;) Anyway the end result is that unfortunately as much as he'd love to he cannot give job offer as he does actually need this post filling within next 6 weeks. So its been left that we'll keep in touch and see what his situation is when we do have house sale / departure date - he was very positive that if he had nothing at that time, he'd be able to help us find a job closeby as he'll probably have to poach someone to fill this spot now!

So still looking good for Cambridge vicinity which I'm more pleased about than I thought - now I've been doing research on it and lots of helpful peeps have been filling me in - the place sounds really nice. :)