[LesleyS]

Things couldn't be much worse if they tried at the moment....

Just got back from the doctor with sick child - waited 3 hours to be seen, no appointment service just queue and wait. Child has Glandular Fever, so a 3 hour wait was almost intolerable.
Clinic wanted to charge me $65 fee instead of $17 because I did not have my passport with me to prove Residency!!

OH at work was told to work alongside a new starter (school leaver) - who disclosed to him that his hourly pay was just $1!!! less than my OH's. OH is a tradesman of 30 yrs experience, who was asked to produce all his UK qualifications, and 10yrs plus of references to secure his present role.

Landlord of our rental has put the house on the market, and we are now subject to vewings and open homes and the insecurity of a 42 day notice to find another place.

I don't know how much angst I can put up with. Just wanna go HOME!!!!

[mgbridges]

Oh dear! Can't begin to imagine how hard it is for you at the moment never mind how horrible your wee one must be feeling. It does always seem that bad things come in 3s so hopefully your luck will take a turn for the better really soon.

Sending cyber hugs and hoping your wee one feels better soon, OH can negotiate a pay rise and house takes ages to sell so you have plenty of time to find another super, duper rental.

Thinking of you
Anneliese

[Jo Jo]

Ah Lesley, I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. I do hope your child feels better soon, and good luck with everything else. Best wishes.

[peebles16]

Oh lesley what a nightmare and do hope your wee one is feeling better soon :yes The housing market seems pretty slow so am sure you'll be staying put for a while longer but it must be very unsettling for you all.. Hope things take a turn more positive for you soon

Take care
karenx

[Carol]

And.... none of that could have been "researched" or "predicted' prior to emigrating - and so it seems strange, so foreign and actually just plain nasty.
And you start to hate the damn place and everyone n it - and it really doesn't have any good points at all.

Can you tell I've been there?
Not exactly with those situations - but very similar ones.

I can remember having a stand up row with a doctors receptionist over the phone because I was determined not to take my wee boy with a very high temperature out in the freezing cold to go to a doctors surgery. I wanted the doc to come out to MY KID!!!!!! - and at that point I suddenly missed my old doctor in the UK who had helped to delivered him, terribly!

It's horrible and makes you very very homesick Lesley.
Sorry... (((((wee hug)))))

But....... there will be better days..... promise...

[femke]

Oh Lesley, really feel for you, hope your daughter gets better soon.
Sending cyber hugs.
Moira

[sweetpea]

That all seems so galling -- and completely unpredictable and unfair. I hope things get better soon.

[Sam B]

Ooooh, Lesley, I'm really really sorry it's not going well. Please let me know if there's anything I can do. I hope things get better for you.

[shakyle2906]

Lesley

SO so sorry to hear your news! I cant imagine what you are going through!

Hope your little one is bit better ?

Will PM you later as my dad due to phone any minute

Take care, Sharon
xx

[holland]

Hey Lesley..

Can understand how pigged off you are.....

Hope your child is feeling better very soon.

Can hubby ask for pay rise? Is this school leaver telling the truth?

Can landlords make you have an open home etc...that seems shocking! I would be cross...I agree that the housing market is not very good, so may not sell quickly..but I suppose that doesn't help you as you will always be wondering if and when the day will come. In a few days...maybe just start to look around at other potential rentals??? So you are ahead of the game. 48 hours?????Is that the norm? That seems crazy.

[zardell]

Landlord of our rental has put the house on the market, and we are now subject to vewings and open homes and the insecurity of a 42 day notice to find another place.



I will stand corrected here, but I don't believe that as a tenant, you are under any legal obligation to allow open homes. Viewings may be another matter, but again, I'm sure that a period of notice must be given.

When people say to me that they have been told by their employer not to discuss their salaries with other employees, I am always amazed that they genuinely believe the reasoning behind this is that they are being paid more than their workmates....;)

I hope your daughter(?) soon feels better.

Good luck with it all.

Julie

xx

[M&J]

Hi Lesely

I do hope things get better for you, thinking of you.

Jo

[JandM]

((((()))))

[RamblingPaddies]

always willing to lend a shoulder or an ear lesley - give us a call if you are anywhere near tauranga ... and hang in there

[Kerry and David]

Sorry to hear about your troubled times Lesley, I hope your little one feels better soon.

K x

[jackie m]

Bless you Lesley

Hope little one gets better soon & all your other problems are sorted soon.

Jackie

[dusk]

hope things start to improve all round for you real soon

[Tanya]

Things couldn't be much worse if they tried at the moment....



Landlord of our rental has put the house on the market, and we are now subject to vewings and open homes and the insecurity of a 42 day notice to find another place.

I don't know how much angst I can put up with. Just wanna go HOME!!!!


Can a real estate agent show prospective buyers through the property any time they want?
No. Access is by arrangement with the tenant, but the tenant cannot unreasonably withold consent. "Open Homes" are by the consent of the tenant only.

Tanya

[dilanium]

Lesley,
I hope the little one feels better. I hope things start looking up for you. Did you have to pay the higher rate at the doctors? Could you go back with your visa and demand the excess money back?

And geez, the other two situations just suck too.

:(

*hugs*

[StevieD]

Lesley, not nice any of it, hugs to you, just having a bit of a bad time myself but for different reasons. Things do get better in many ways.

Hope your kids gets better.

Steve

[Debbie]

And.... none of that could have been "researched" or "predicted' prior to emigrating - and so it seems strange, so foreign and actually just plain nasty.
And you start to hate the damn place and everyone n it - and it really doesn't have any good points at all.

Can you tell I've been there?
Not exactly with those situations - but very similar ones.

I can remember having a stand up row with a doctors receptionist over the phone because I was determined not to take my wee boy with a very high temperature out in the freezing cold to go to a doctors surgery. I wanted the doc to come out to MY KID!!!!!! - and at that point I suddenly missed my old doctor in the UK who had helped to delivered him, terribly!

It's horrible and makes you very very homesick Lesley.
Sorry... (((((wee hug)))))

But....... there will be better days..... promise...

Brilliant post, should be compulsory reading to all about to embark on this venture.


Lesley, I hope that things look up for you and that your little one feels tons better.
Debbie
I would give you little blue box things if I knew how.

[Philip10]

Hope things get better soon, sounds like you are going through a difficult time.

Philip

[themilkybarkid]

Lesley

life is rubbish at times, people and organisations can be so unjust, unfair and basically inhumane. I'm sure there are 'bad' people in every country everywhere. - but hang on in there ... none of the situations you have described are 'permanent' situations that can't or wont be changed in the future.

The here and now sounds grim but it sounds to me you might deeply regret allowing these temporary (albeit very upsetting) thing to force you to leave a country that has so much more and better to offer.

Not liking NZ if fine - thinking it's not for you is fine - but I'd suggest you carefully weigh up the decision as to whether you stay or go based on other settled general factors - rather than these incidents which may be isolated.

Hope you have some better experiences soon - and hope your daughter recovers quickly.

MBK

[Carey]

As Lesley says 'Life is rubbish at times', wherever you are. Human nature is to try and change it. Somehow you will find a way. You must be a pretty strong person to have done what you've done so far, ie emigrate. You've shown by PM's what a decent person you are, so you will make it, but it may take time. Easy to say I know.

Wishing you the very best in the days to come.

[Tia Maria]

LesleyS - how's it going now?

I think if you can focus of the fact that you hate being a 'new migrant' rather than you 'hate NZ', you might find it easier to deal with things when they go pear shaped. If only because after a while you will no longer be a new migrant and you will have that support network and knowledge to get you through the tough times.

When my son had an injury in the UK, my next door neighbours took us to A&E, then family and friends came to help. It was a 4 hour wait, but I new this was going to be the case as I knew our local hospital was cr*p, so I'd taken everything I needed and obviously had people to help me while we waited. This kind of knowledge and support is the kind of thing we take for granted in our home countries, it doesn't stop the bad things happening, it just means we have help when they do. You will build up a network of friends in NZ and you now know that that clinic is cr*p and you need your passport. So next time (fingers crossed there won't be one!), the whole experience will be a little easier.

We had a lot of tough situations in our first year and I had a few choice words to say about NZ, (especially as I was overrun with pregnancy hormones). So I know how it feels to be constantly exhausted by the day to day experiences and then get knocked for six when something bad happens. It is very tempting to go back to the 'devil you know', if only so you can relax in familiar territory for a while.

However, I made the decision, that I wouldn't make the decision, of whether to stay or go, until I was more comfortable in NZ. When you reach the stage of no longer saying 'I hate NZ, get me home', but start saying, 'actually its OK but probably is/is not, for us'. But I'm stubborn and its in my nature to not be pushed into anything, and I like to feel I made the choice, rather than had circumstances make it for me.

If there are particular things that are making you unhappy, try to identify them and fix them, one by one. Even if its just one a month, you will soon find living in NZ that much easier and you will no longer be a 'new migrant'. All the best!

Cheers

Tia