[Singel]

Ok, it's time to spill the beans

having itchy feet?!

homesick?!

Some of you might remember that we went back to Holland and UK last year. At that time, we feel like homecoming and so glad to see the family members, friends and familiar places. When we returned to NZ, we just could not stop thinking about Europe.
We love both UK and NZ, and right now, our heart is for NZ and our head is for UK.

In the middle of this year, we decided to test the UK job market by sending out a couple of job applications. OH had a few phone interviews with recruitment agencies and potential employers. We were feeling over the moon with the good responses. OH quit his job and flew to UK in October. After 6 weeks of job searching, he landed a job with good salary.:raebanana :raebanana :raebanana At the meantime, I'm staying in NZ to sell our house and waiting for the NZ citizenship approval. Keep fingers crossed that I could join OH in a couple of months time.

We certainly do not rule out the possibility of returning to NZ one fine day :nice1

[leachio]

Good luck Singel, home is where the heart is!!!!!

[Bruckner]

Great news Ivy! Congrats!

Emily

[Moorf]

Aha - there you are Ivy!!

It's been a joy knowing you and following your adventures - don't forget us when you're back in Europe :nice1

Moorf
x

[jubjub]

Glad hubby got a good job sorted after all his interviews.

Fingers crossed for fast house sale.

[Smiler]

Hi Ivy

It's good to hear your news.... Good luck with the house sale and happy travels, wherever you end up. :nice1

D & G x x

[Mickstim]

Good luck with your move!

[Marco]

Hi Ivey (& Ton),

I was very surprised to read your post, but of course I wish you all the luck of the world with your (re)new(ed) live in the UK!

When can we welcome you back in NZ?

Anita

[Kim39]

Took me a little by surprise to Ivy,but best wishes to you and family for a safe and successful return.


Kim

[kiwidebs]

Hi Ivy

I had heard a little whisper that this was happening. Hope your house sale goes smoothly and that you and hubby will be reunited soon. Yayy for the UK job :raebanana . I'll miss you at the meets. Send news back from the UK :nice1 .

Take care
Debs

[Marco]

Hi Ivy,

I forgot to add that you were the first 'new immigrants in NZ' we knew before we moved to this country and gave us a lot of very good advice during the long, long process. And now you are leaving!! :-(
But all for good reasons - take care,
Anita

[Singel]

Thanks for the all well wishes :nice1

It is a very difficult decision to make, having to leave behind good friends, neighbours and a house in a lovely area.

By the way, my boss had offered to increase my salary by 30% (I have been grossly underpaid :laugh ) if we change our mind and stay. Alternatively, I could continue to work for him as an European buyer if I live in UK (yipeee ..........:clap working from home).


Hi Ivey (& Ton),
When can we welcome you back in NZ?

Anita
The next time we came back, we will be pensioners looking for retirement home in NZ. LOL

[Nienke]

Good luck with the house sale Ivy! Hope you sell soon and be with Ton again. How is he doing in his new job?

[gil]

Ivy, we willl all miss you very much :wah but are really pleased to hear Tony has got a job. Keep in touch and let us know how it all goes,
With lots of love,

Gil (and the family)
xxxxxx

[Singel]

OH had rented a fully-furnished luxury apartment in a newly completed development. It is a stone throw from his office, he could walk to work. His company paid the first 3 months of the rental, part of his relocation package :nice1

We do not need to bother with NHS, his company provide private healthcare including spouse :clap

All has gone very well with OH, but the separation is tough on us. I'm still waiting for the citizenship approval and there is nothing I could do about it except to be patient and keep waiting :(

Some of the forum members here are providing much needed care and moral support to me during this transition time - THANK YOU :cheers

[Nienke]

I know from experience how tough it is to be separated in two different countries. Hang in there Ivy, you will be fine!
Fancy a drink in Titirangi?

[Singel]

I'll PMed you :nice1

[katandbob]

Hi Ivy, well I am happy for you, you only live once, so you should be where your happiest.

good luck and let us all know how you get on

Kat

[Singel]

Our house had gone unconditional today - YIPEEEE......... the "SOLD" sign :raebanana :raebanana
That is another tick on my to-do list :clap

But I still waiting to tick another box, that is, the citizenship. OH is doing very well in UK and waiting for me to join him - don't know how long it will take :wah

[Singel]

The settlement date is on next friday, 7 December.

Now, the hard work starts - packing the household stuff for the container on 6 Dec, not much time :no

[jubjub]

eeek, Ivy, thats so fast..... but good that you have a sale and one more thing done.

Have the citizenship office given you any inkling of how long it is going to take?

Ooh, you will be just up the road from me soon!

[Marie P]

I saw Ivy tonight ,she has given me all her Indoor plants ,a few garden pots and the most beautiful bouquet of flowers that she got from her estate agents .

We are going to miss our lovely neighbour :wah but we wish her and Tony all the best for their next big adventure and they will always be our friends as they helped us find our little piece of paradise here in wattle Cove :cheers .

Marie and Dave xx

[Smiler]

Ohhh Ivy that's quick!

I hope you and Tony will be reunited really soon. It sounds like he has things really sorted for your arrival though! :nice1

[Singel]

The buyer of our house had bought our sofa set, fridge and microwave - we sold for a very good price :raebanana :raebanana

That will help to reduce our moving costs to NZ$1100 :nice1


Have the citizenship office given you any inkling of how long it is going to take?

Ooh, you will be just up the road from me soon!
Sal, I understand from a friend that she applied in January and had just attended the citizenship ceremony a couple of days ago. This will roughly tells me how long I have to wait :wah

Yes, I will be moving to Farm Cove, not far from where you are.

[Tia Maria]

Wow don't know how I missed this!

Have fun on your new adventure!

Cheers

Tia

[Singel]

FIL passed away on 1 Jan 2008 and I can't leave NZ for his funeral (flights are fully booked) :(
:wah

[dilanium]

I'm so sorry for your loss. :(

[miep]

Sterkte Ivy!

I'm also sad that I won't get to meet you after all! Did you ever make it to Welly at all?

[IanW99]

FIL passed away on 1 Jan 2008 and I can't leave NZ for his funeral (flights are fully booked) :(
:wah

Sorry to hear that :(

Have you checked out the Compassionate Travel (http://www.airnzagent.co.nz/policies/compassionate_travel/what_is_compassionate_travel.htm) policy with Air New Zealand? I was under the impression that they would find a flight for you under these circumstances?

Ian

[urban78]

Sorry to hear that :(

Have you checked out the Compassionate Travel (http://www.airnzagent.co.nz/policies/compassionate_travel/what_is_compassionate_travel.htm) policy with Air New Zealand? I was under the impression that they would find a flight for you under these circumstances?

Ian

I'm sorry to hear this Ivy :(

I work for Air NZ, if you're happy to PM me some details I can look into compassionate travel, as you would be eligible for it. Let me know :)

Jen

[Singel]

Thanks Ian and Jen

The funeral is on Saturday, it is too late to travel.

[Hannah-NL]

Ivy, I'm so sorry to hear about your father in law :(

And now you're going back and we havent met (here)(again) yet!

Seems years ago (and it's been 3 ) since we first met :)

Take care... follow your heart and maybe we'll meet again some day.

[katandbob]

Ivy {{{hugs}}} sorry for your loss, but I hope that your trip home brings you happiness

take care

Kat

[Singel]

Time to do an update .............

Our household stuff had arrived at our UK rental last week. Everything is OK except one broken lamp. We use Conroys because of the price and we are happy with the service :)

Hubby will fly to NZ next month and we will have our "honeymoon" in Shangri-La Sentosa when we transit Singapore, on our way to UK :raebanana

UK.......... here I come :raebanana :exit

[Tia Maria]

Great everything is finally slotting in place.

Enjoy your time at the Shangri-la it really is a lovely hotel and lovely island - very relaxing! :nice1

Good to hear from you! :)

Cheers

Tia

[Marco]

AAAA, Sentosa!!!
Great place - have fun Ivy and all the best in the UK.
C U again in NZ one day,
Anita

[Hannah-NL]

Good luck Ivy, enjoy transit in Sentosa and then the UK.
Maybe we'll meet again some day. Take care and Good luck :)

[Singel]

Beginning of this month, I got my UK family permit and hubby flew to Auckland immediately............. finally, I leave NZ :clap

We have a great time in Singapore Sentosa and great shopping in VivoCity (at the Harbourfront) http://www.vivocity.com.sg/home2.html :raebanana The next time, we will bring an empty suitcase here to shop till we drop :laugh Shangri-La Sentosa runs free shuttle to and from this place at every 20 mins interval. The amazing architecture of this mega shopping complex had certainly put the 2 largest NZ shopping Centres (Sylvia Park & Albany North Shore) to shame.

OH and I like NZ and would definitely return for retirement - see you guys in 10 years time :nice1

[The Hodges]

Loads of luck Ivy

x

[Singel]

Time flies :exit

From time to time, I pop in to see how are you doing.

In the past 3 months, I had trained to be an advisor for Citizen Advisory Bureau (CAB) and I started seeing people with debt, employment, housing, relation/family, sickness problems last week. I do this volunteer work twice a week.

In my spare time I learn to knit/crochet, bake cakes, gardening and playing with my neighbour's one-year old girl.

I'm enjoying my life here, as lady of leisure :raebanana

OH's company continues to do extremely well (he received big bonuses and company shares this year and expect the same next year) :clap

The decision to leave NZ is the best we made in our life :nice1(at that time, not knowing the credit crunch and recession are looming)

[Bruckner]

That's great news Ivy and thanks for the update.

Emily

[katandbob]

Hi Ivy, this is the first time I have logged on in a long time, so it was nice to see your update among the other erherm less nice posts that seem to be on peoples posts regarding leaving NZ.

I think its great you have found a place in the UK where you can be a volunteer, do crafts and stuff - its the ideal job so to speak and that OH job is doing well in the current climate must be a relief.

So take care and enjoy life,

Your friend

Kat