marcia
15th November 2007, 02:25 PM
Well here we are, one year in!! I can hardly believe we’ve been here a year already, the time really has flown by, it hasn’t been without its up and downs by any means, but it certainly doesn’t seem a whole year since I was bawling like a baby living my parents house, then landing at Palmerston to a fantastic welcoming committee.
So how has our first year gone?
The first two weeks in the motel were pretty hectic. Trying to sort out bank accounts, (luckily for us we didn’t have to sort cars out straight away as Kev’s employer had got a hire car for us!) a decent rental, again we had a lot of help from Kev’s employer, they paid for us to have time with a relocation company here in Palmerston, and we used the knowledge they had to help us find a decent furnished (few and far between!) rental. Which we ended up being in far longer than we thought and paying storage for all our belongings on top of the rent was no joke!
I’m not going to dwell on the first six months two much as I’ve updated on that before. But one of the hardest things was being stuck in a rental when I really wanted to find somewhere of our own that we could call home. Once we found a place and moved in everything seemed to settle down a bit, and New Zealand began to feel more like the place I was staying in!
The kids have settled really well, surprisingly so. I think as parents we can really worry about how all this will affect our kids, but to be honest they are happy wherever their parents are! We’ve asked them would they want to go back to live in the UK and they were (for once!) in total agreement with a resounding – ‘NO WAY!’
Kev has settled really well, but that’s no surprise to me, he may appear to be a social person, but he could quite happily survive with only us around him (I think!) and as long as he had a ‘man cave’ to disappear into and someone to feed him and the kids to play with, he’d be happy anywhere!
I’ve found it a little bit more difficult as I spent a lot of time with my family (and Kev’s) I miss my little group of ladies who all had children the same age as Emerson, we’d been together since they were 3 months old, and had formed close bonds. I miss being as involved in the older boys school as I was in the UK, unfortunately the lack of grandparents to look after Emerson at the drop of a hat has meant it is much more difficult to volunteer for these school trips and helping etc. The hardest thing, as for most people is missing family. I speak to my parents and sister a few times a week on the internet, and now dad has signed up with talktalk in the UK, he gets free international calls , so he rings me as well for free!
Luckily I found playcentre (on Babettes good advice!) I am so pleased that I went there before looking at Kindy, their philosophy about children’s education suits me a s a parent so much more, and being so involved as you commit to being at Playcentre has been wonderful for me, keeping me ultra busy, especially since I ‘volunteered’ to take over as co-president when the previous president couldn’t cope! I’ve made a whole heap of new acquaintances and one or two really good friends there now, and best of all Emerson loves it there and wants to go every day!
I think we can all honestly say that we have never regretted the decision we made to come, and have no thoughts or wishes of going back, not even to visit at this point in time. I have had a couple of blips where I've come up against a brick wall emotionally, especially when my grandad died, but I've never wanted to pack my bags and move back.
The last few years (it took us 2 years from first thinking of emigrating to getting here) have been pretty stressful, extremely busy, but most definitely (for us) worth the tears, sweat and arguments. We’re now looking forward to our first summer in own new home, with lots of visitors due out from the UK, mum and dad for 2 and a half months, my sister and her husband in January, stock car friends in January and February, old school buddies in march, so busy times.
If you’re just starting out on the journey, then you’ve found the best place for support and advice joining the forum. We have many forum buddies spread all over New Zealand, who are there for us whenever we need them, (and us for them also!) people who understand the ups and downs of the emigration process better than family and other friends ever can.
Good luck to you all! :)
To those of us who have done it, enjoy life it’s for living to the full!:cheers
So how has our first year gone?
The first two weeks in the motel were pretty hectic. Trying to sort out bank accounts, (luckily for us we didn’t have to sort cars out straight away as Kev’s employer had got a hire car for us!) a decent rental, again we had a lot of help from Kev’s employer, they paid for us to have time with a relocation company here in Palmerston, and we used the knowledge they had to help us find a decent furnished (few and far between!) rental. Which we ended up being in far longer than we thought and paying storage for all our belongings on top of the rent was no joke!
I’m not going to dwell on the first six months two much as I’ve updated on that before. But one of the hardest things was being stuck in a rental when I really wanted to find somewhere of our own that we could call home. Once we found a place and moved in everything seemed to settle down a bit, and New Zealand began to feel more like the place I was staying in!
The kids have settled really well, surprisingly so. I think as parents we can really worry about how all this will affect our kids, but to be honest they are happy wherever their parents are! We’ve asked them would they want to go back to live in the UK and they were (for once!) in total agreement with a resounding – ‘NO WAY!’
Kev has settled really well, but that’s no surprise to me, he may appear to be a social person, but he could quite happily survive with only us around him (I think!) and as long as he had a ‘man cave’ to disappear into and someone to feed him and the kids to play with, he’d be happy anywhere!
I’ve found it a little bit more difficult as I spent a lot of time with my family (and Kev’s) I miss my little group of ladies who all had children the same age as Emerson, we’d been together since they were 3 months old, and had formed close bonds. I miss being as involved in the older boys school as I was in the UK, unfortunately the lack of grandparents to look after Emerson at the drop of a hat has meant it is much more difficult to volunteer for these school trips and helping etc. The hardest thing, as for most people is missing family. I speak to my parents and sister a few times a week on the internet, and now dad has signed up with talktalk in the UK, he gets free international calls , so he rings me as well for free!
Luckily I found playcentre (on Babettes good advice!) I am so pleased that I went there before looking at Kindy, their philosophy about children’s education suits me a s a parent so much more, and being so involved as you commit to being at Playcentre has been wonderful for me, keeping me ultra busy, especially since I ‘volunteered’ to take over as co-president when the previous president couldn’t cope! I’ve made a whole heap of new acquaintances and one or two really good friends there now, and best of all Emerson loves it there and wants to go every day!
I think we can all honestly say that we have never regretted the decision we made to come, and have no thoughts or wishes of going back, not even to visit at this point in time. I have had a couple of blips where I've come up against a brick wall emotionally, especially when my grandad died, but I've never wanted to pack my bags and move back.
The last few years (it took us 2 years from first thinking of emigrating to getting here) have been pretty stressful, extremely busy, but most definitely (for us) worth the tears, sweat and arguments. We’re now looking forward to our first summer in own new home, with lots of visitors due out from the UK, mum and dad for 2 and a half months, my sister and her husband in January, stock car friends in January and February, old school buddies in march, so busy times.
If you’re just starting out on the journey, then you’ve found the best place for support and advice joining the forum. We have many forum buddies spread all over New Zealand, who are there for us whenever we need them, (and us for them also!) people who understand the ups and downs of the emigration process better than family and other friends ever can.
Good luck to you all! :)
To those of us who have done it, enjoy life it’s for living to the full!:cheers