irishliz
15th August 2008, 01:19 AM
I am not the best forumite by any stretch of the imagination, but I do log on regularly and follow peoples' stories on their journeys to and in NZ. And I love to read the updates of how people are getting on. So this is my excuse to bore you all to death with where we are.
Firstly we are so glad we made the leap to come to Wellington, and if we were back again we would do exactly the same thing. It hasn't been easy to re-locate all 6 of us to the other side of the world from an emotional or financial point of view, but it has certainly been an adventure. The upsides have been a fantastic local school for our boys, and the younger two are lucky to go to a great nursery. Work is very good and it is easy to get around. Skiing in Wanaka was fantastic and we were lucky to travel with a kiwi family who really looked after us and it made for a memorable holiday. Just the sight of the two older boys (8 and 6) wizzing down the mountain was fantastic having never skiied before. And at times when we have really needed support - OH travelling back to the UK when his father died, desperate homesickness from me, and only last week 8 year old breaking his arm - we have experienced a warmth and support we never expected so soon in especially from the ex-pat community in our area.
But there are two massive downsides for us - financial and missing my family and friends. And we talked about this before we came out and researched it to death but it is not the same as living it. I think the key issue for me is that if we could afford to travel to the UK and Ireland every two years then we would probably stay. And when we looked at the figures in the UK it seemed to stack up as we were still operating in sterling. But here we are now very much in the $ mindset, flights and the cost of living have increased and it now no longer adds up. But that could change in the future. We have kept a house in the UK and raised a mortgage so if we do once again start to feel more settled we can buy here. But for now we are glad to be renting and seeing prices drop. We actually had an offer accepted on a house two months ago but we pulled out because it was a leaky home - relief. But I desperately would love to have our own front door and feel this could settle us more.
So where are we at? We are taking each day as it comes and enjoying the experience. We have booked up 22 nights in the south island for the summer and plan to visit Australia this time next year - out of savings - as we feel there was no point coming all this way and not seeing what there is to see. We are awaiting our blue stickers which we are pretty excited about and open to what the future holds. We at this point have no idea where we will be in two years but we are making every effort while we are here to make and maintain solid friendships, see the country and get out as often as we can. But it is not yet home and we will see where that takes us.
Finally if I had any advise it would be for me - to realise how lucky we are to be having the experience and see how it is enriching ours and our childrens lives. And to be open to change.
Waffle over!
Firstly we are so glad we made the leap to come to Wellington, and if we were back again we would do exactly the same thing. It hasn't been easy to re-locate all 6 of us to the other side of the world from an emotional or financial point of view, but it has certainly been an adventure. The upsides have been a fantastic local school for our boys, and the younger two are lucky to go to a great nursery. Work is very good and it is easy to get around. Skiing in Wanaka was fantastic and we were lucky to travel with a kiwi family who really looked after us and it made for a memorable holiday. Just the sight of the two older boys (8 and 6) wizzing down the mountain was fantastic having never skiied before. And at times when we have really needed support - OH travelling back to the UK when his father died, desperate homesickness from me, and only last week 8 year old breaking his arm - we have experienced a warmth and support we never expected so soon in especially from the ex-pat community in our area.
But there are two massive downsides for us - financial and missing my family and friends. And we talked about this before we came out and researched it to death but it is not the same as living it. I think the key issue for me is that if we could afford to travel to the UK and Ireland every two years then we would probably stay. And when we looked at the figures in the UK it seemed to stack up as we were still operating in sterling. But here we are now very much in the $ mindset, flights and the cost of living have increased and it now no longer adds up. But that could change in the future. We have kept a house in the UK and raised a mortgage so if we do once again start to feel more settled we can buy here. But for now we are glad to be renting and seeing prices drop. We actually had an offer accepted on a house two months ago but we pulled out because it was a leaky home - relief. But I desperately would love to have our own front door and feel this could settle us more.
So where are we at? We are taking each day as it comes and enjoying the experience. We have booked up 22 nights in the south island for the summer and plan to visit Australia this time next year - out of savings - as we feel there was no point coming all this way and not seeing what there is to see. We are awaiting our blue stickers which we are pretty excited about and open to what the future holds. We at this point have no idea where we will be in two years but we are making every effort while we are here to make and maintain solid friendships, see the country and get out as often as we can. But it is not yet home and we will see where that takes us.
Finally if I had any advise it would be for me - to realise how lucky we are to be having the experience and see how it is enriching ours and our childrens lives. And to be open to change.
Waffle over!