willsken
9th June 2008, 03:57 PM
Well, I suppose it’s time to do my 18 month post. Wow, it’s scary to think we’ve been here that long already!!! This won’t be a very long post as our feelings haven’t changed since the year post. We are here to stay and have no regrets about the move.
I’m happier and calmer and less stressed, oh and did I mention how much happier I am?!! :p My children are happier and more fulfilled, they have loads more to do with their time and a lot of lovely friends to do it with. OH is happier, although he has struggled the most, as he has had a complete change of job. Here, he is a self employed builder and while he’s not struggling to get work, he is struggling to keep up with all the admin etc as he’s never been self employed before. That’s fine though, as we both know he will get used to it. I think he would much prefer to go in the fire brigade here as he was a fire fighter in the UK and loved the job. It’s not practical for him to do it though.:( (Where we live it’s all volunteers).
I really feel we have bought the boys more time. Matt who is now 14 is not growing up as quickly as he was in the UK. There was pressure on them when they went to comp to have a girlfriend. Here he has never had one and when I asked him about it, he said the boys aren’t interested in having girlfriends! All they do is play football and PS3 games. The youngest boy is thriving as well. He has been on 2 camps so far this year. One of them was a science camp for top science performers. He plays for the school football team and also plays for the Central Hawke’s Bay reps. He has swimming, trampoline club. He has also just joined the motorbike club. For $20 a year you are given a key to the dirt bike tracks so you can use them when you like. I could go on and on about how much more there is for them to do here but I’m sure you get the picture.
There are the bad things, missing family is the worst but mum and dad came out for 2 months in December and are planning to be out again in January next year. OH mum and sister will be here in November and my sister in December. So very busy!
I’m getting used to missing certain food and I can now make quite a good imitation Ginster’s Pasty! I buy a couple of bits from the English food shops (For example Colman’s Mint Sauce) as I really don’t like the stuff they sell here. There is a lack of choice in the shops compared to the UK but that is something that’s never really bothered me. The driving standards over here are truly amazingly bad. I still can’t understand how people drive so badly.
The cost of living here is high. Some things seem really expensive compared to the UK and although other things are cheaper, over all we spend more on living costs. We are lucky to have 2 good salaries coming in so money is no more an issue than it was before.
I have a wider circle of friends here than I’ve ever had before and I find people so much more giving. People have offered out of the blue to look after the kids so we can have a break away together. Just offered, for no reason other than they knew we didn’t have our parents here.
I know that living in a small NZ town wouldn’t be for everyone but for us, we have found a place we truly can call home. :D
I’m happier and calmer and less stressed, oh and did I mention how much happier I am?!! :p My children are happier and more fulfilled, they have loads more to do with their time and a lot of lovely friends to do it with. OH is happier, although he has struggled the most, as he has had a complete change of job. Here, he is a self employed builder and while he’s not struggling to get work, he is struggling to keep up with all the admin etc as he’s never been self employed before. That’s fine though, as we both know he will get used to it. I think he would much prefer to go in the fire brigade here as he was a fire fighter in the UK and loved the job. It’s not practical for him to do it though.:( (Where we live it’s all volunteers).
I really feel we have bought the boys more time. Matt who is now 14 is not growing up as quickly as he was in the UK. There was pressure on them when they went to comp to have a girlfriend. Here he has never had one and when I asked him about it, he said the boys aren’t interested in having girlfriends! All they do is play football and PS3 games. The youngest boy is thriving as well. He has been on 2 camps so far this year. One of them was a science camp for top science performers. He plays for the school football team and also plays for the Central Hawke’s Bay reps. He has swimming, trampoline club. He has also just joined the motorbike club. For $20 a year you are given a key to the dirt bike tracks so you can use them when you like. I could go on and on about how much more there is for them to do here but I’m sure you get the picture.
There are the bad things, missing family is the worst but mum and dad came out for 2 months in December and are planning to be out again in January next year. OH mum and sister will be here in November and my sister in December. So very busy!
I’m getting used to missing certain food and I can now make quite a good imitation Ginster’s Pasty! I buy a couple of bits from the English food shops (For example Colman’s Mint Sauce) as I really don’t like the stuff they sell here. There is a lack of choice in the shops compared to the UK but that is something that’s never really bothered me. The driving standards over here are truly amazingly bad. I still can’t understand how people drive so badly.
The cost of living here is high. Some things seem really expensive compared to the UK and although other things are cheaper, over all we spend more on living costs. We are lucky to have 2 good salaries coming in so money is no more an issue than it was before.
I have a wider circle of friends here than I’ve ever had before and I find people so much more giving. People have offered out of the blue to look after the kids so we can have a break away together. Just offered, for no reason other than they knew we didn’t have our parents here.
I know that living in a small NZ town wouldn’t be for everyone but for us, we have found a place we truly can call home. :D