[Diny]

Just another "guess what I've noticed" thread - but would be interested to hear if anybody else has had the same reaction.

We've been planning this move to NZ for many years now - but it's always been a 'dream' that we sort of kept to ourselves and close friends and family. However, the dream is now almost a reality, as soon as the house sells we're off !!!!!

But - since the 'for sale' sign has gone up we've obviously had neighbours and oher people in the village asking us where we're going. Some of their faces are a picture when we say New Zealand. Our move south is now common knowledge.

To get to the point of the thread ......... 99% of those we have told have been great - their reactions range from 'you lucky buggers' to 'you must be blooming mad' ..... but all of them have wished us well and have given a huge amount of support. However - that remaining 1% have been really ODD !!!!!!!

We've received some very strange reactions - the mother of one of my my eldest sons friends has totally blanked us since hearing the news. Her son was always round here playing, now there's no sight of him. My son calls for him and is told that he's out, doing homework or got a headache. The other day outside school my hubby went to say hello to her and she walked right past with a face like a slapped ar*e. Another couple actually stood there with arms folded and visibly curled their top lips, looked me up and down and called me a snob.

Am I being paranoid? Can't think of any other reason why these people should be upset with us. I can understand that some people aren't interested, they have their own lives and plans, once they've been told we're leaving they don't want to hear all the details - fair enough, but I just don't understand the hostility. It's almost as if I'm a traitor.

I feel a right prat sharing this thread with folks - but I just don't understand it. So come on - have you had a similar reaction or are you going to tell me I'm paranoid?

I'm telling you right now - I am not paranoid ....... but the man who follows me is.

Diny

[bbq]

Hi Diny

It IS strange, & I don't think you are a prat, far from it.

I was just wondering if maybe they felt they were "more" in your affections/thoughts/whatever than most, because of your son's relationship with the family. If so maybe they might have felt you would have told them before most others? Maybe you did?

Or maybe its plainly that they feel betrayed that you are taking their son's best mate away, similarly to some Grandparents reactions I have read about.

Hope it works out

cheers

alex

[Hamakide]

Hi Diny,

well I am fairly sure you are not paranoid :)

And to be honest I don't think you should even try to figure out why they treat you in the way they do... call it envy... and then there are ppl who cannot stand that someone else is happy about anything..

Don't let them bother you or in any way spoil your joy, ignore them, that they don't like what you are about to do is their problem, and certainly *not* yours !

Personally I am envious of your situation because I wish we were that far already, but I am happy for you that your dream is becoming a reality :-)

Good luck !

[markkellaway]

Hi Diny,

We have a similar situation. We have been friends with our next door neighbours for 15 years, my wife and the lady next door were quite close. Since telling them that we intend to go to NZ the lady almost completely blanks us, it's like someone flicked a switch.

It is pretty upsetting when people behave like this but hey, soon we'll all be 12,000 miles away with loads of new friends!

Cheers, and keep your chin up! :nice1

Mark. :D

[Diny]

Thanks for the wise words. I think the old saying kicks in:

"THERE'S NOWT AS FUNNY AS FOLK"

Mark - feel abit less paranoid now you have said that you have a similar situation, your description of somebody flicking a switch is very good.

I'm not letting any of this bother me too much - I just like to be on top of what's happening.

Diny

[evelien]

Jealous Jealous Jealous

You just keep on :mrgreen: :laugh

they just keep on :wah


:nice1

[chips]

TOTAL ENVY-
How sad for your son, totally out of order.
She ,and the rest who cold should you envy you for not doing the same if or when they had a chance.

[veronica]

not quite the same subject , just 3 things Pete and I have both noticed when we have lived overseas before and if you are aware of it its impact is lessened.
Whenever we go home on holiday, most of the people we visit are more interested in telling us about what they have been doing/have bought and show very little curiousity about the country we are living in.
WE are expected to visit them, not them pop across to where we are staying. (after all we usually have travelled about 12,000miles whats a few more)
And it is the most surprising people who bother to keep in touch, when we send out an update to people very few think that we would like to hear news from home. I am excluding me and Petes families from this as they are great.

[Annierobrigado]

I guess living in the cold hemisphere would make these people's shoulders really frozen. ;)

you know, i think if i could afford to hop around the western hemisphere and maintain clinics, maybe i would make a killing. the US and UK are really good hunting grounds for clinical psychologists. i mean all those hostilities and unresolved angers, and feelings of insecurities? even at 10 pounds sterling per consultation hour, i might be able to buy a dozen hectares in new zealand! :laugh :laugh :laugh

you are right to leave the UK, if your neighbors of long standing suddenly hate you for going to NZ. WHy, what do they think NZ is? some Godforsaken island? Excuse me, but maybe they ought to broaden their horizons more, you know, and not think that UK is the only country in the world. They are worse than terrorists.

You ought to come to the Philippines. Here, anyone who migrates or even in the process of migrating is met with, "You're so lucky to be able to do that! Can you take me with you?" (It sounds more poignant in Tagalog, sorry). It's actually a case of sadness mixed with anticipation and excitement for the migrating person. because we recognize that that person is living his dream, is making a difference in his life, is willing to imbibe a new country, a new culture, a new way of life. I guess when you always find yourself in the bottom rung, there's no where else to go but up, and you learn to become optimists. For people who have a narrow picture of life around them, they will never see the good in anywhere or anybody else, mainly because they haven't experienced anything else aside from their selfish lives. I'm sorry for the British people who are like that. Have they not learned from the mistakes of the past? WW 2?

Anyway, good luck on your move, and always keep in touch.

annie

the sun will come out tomorrow
bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun
just thinking about tomorrow
clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow till there's none
(From "Annie" the Musical)

[Diny]

I think you're right Annie ... narrow minded and no horizons. Thankfully they are in the minority, like I said in my original post - 99% of people we talk to are waving the flags for us and are backing us all the way. Sadly it's the narrow minded bigots who give the rest a bad name. What it is they say about .."one bad apple spoils the whole barrel".

By the way - 10.00 sterling an hour? No way ...Add another '0' and you'd be nearer the mark.

Diny

[Annierobrigado]

diny, really?

100 pounds an hour? that's 8000 phil pesos, what some junior clerks earn a month before taxes! no wonder there were some brits who wrote to our hospital asking about how much for a surgical procedure. and i thought i was already overpriced at 10 pounds an hour (about 800 Php. usually consultation fees here are 250 - 500 Php or less than 10 pounds.)

No wonder our nurses are flocking to london (and not to visit the queen)!

well, all's well that'll end well.

see you in NZ!

annie

[Diny]

Annie

We have a good national health service here - if you require treatment in an emergency I don't think you can fault them. However, if you need any treatment, consultation, surgery, therapy etc which isn't life threatening you get put on a waiting list - which can be forever. The govt tell us that they have reduced hospital waiting lists by a significant amount over the last few years - but I don't really see much evidence. For example, my dad needed a knee replacement, it got to the stage where the poor chap could hardly walk. He was on a waiting list for months and months. In the end he was almost housebound (and if you knew my dad you would understand how that would be horrific for him), so he paid for private treatment. He was in hospital (the same one where he would have had the national health op done) within the week. All went well and 9000 pounds later he was up and running. Soon after that op, his other knee started to give up. The doctor suggested he gets on the waiting list again, then by the time the knee is totally FUBAR, he'll be at the top of the list. Well .......... his knee is bad - very bad - and all the hospital can tell him is ......... hopefully it will be before Christmas.

What I'm trying to say is the national health is available to all, but if you want to hurry things along for whatever reason, you will have to pay ALOT of money. We have 2 Philippino nurses living opposite us - they are great girls - always laughing (maybe because they see me first thing in the morning getting the milk off the doorstep - enough to make anybody laugh).

So ........ I've digressed from the original thread, but hey - what the heck. Just thought you may be intrested how the UK medical system works.

Diny

[Caven]

Hello Diny,

Sorry to hear about some of the reactions you're getting, but so glad in a way that I'm not the only one seeing this. Everyone who has replied on this thread has felt it too, what a relief!!

I live in a semi-rural area of Cumbria and I'm pretty disappointed by peoples' reaction here. It started when we did the house up, you know, skips outside in the road, loads of noise, deliveries, etc. I swear to God that on one day you'd have thought the Ground Force team were here, there was actually a small congregation watching the double glazing go in!!!Much tutting and head shaking going on...

As for news of us going to NZ, bloody hell: I sometimes sit in the front room ( as you do ) and I can't help but notice faces turning towards the house with top lips raised, sneering. I just laugh now, at first I wanted to run out with a flame-thrower, but I wouldn't want to have to declare that on an EOI!

Exactly as you say, the other main area of local community angst is the school playground, picking up my daughter. I can actually hear snippets as I stand there, things like " a class above ", " dragging a child all that way " and my absolute fave, " its bloody third-world that place, don't they know? " Qualified opinion, I don't think.

Another thing I've noticed, and as veronica says, you find out who your friends are, I think. A good friend will have more respect for you making the move, not twist himself up over his own lack of ambition in life.

Diny, I've recently taken to wearing my brand-new All Blacks top to the school yard, makes me feel better, and the oh so knowledgable louder!

Horses for courses I guess. At least its given us a clearer idea of who our friends actually are, and the one's we'll genuinely miss...

[Diny]

Brilliant posting Caven. I love the bit about the flame thrower. Your anger is obviously far more high tech than mine, I'd be happy with just punching their lights out. But like you - I now just get amused by the whole thing (even more so after reading the above posts and understanding that I'm not paranoid).

My real friends (the good old 'there through thick and thin' stalwarts) are golden. Without fail the only thing that upsets them about our moving is the fact that we won't see as much of each other. And without fail they have all said ...'great - free accommodation for a holiday' - and I know they will come too. Even the ones who wouldn't move from England if you paid for them, still slap us on the back and wish us well.

So - the mealy mouthed minority with their nasty asides and uninformed opinions will no longer worry me.

Haa!! - 3rd world country - I like that one. NZ was the first country to give women the right to vote (so Mark keeps telling me). As for 'dragging the poor kids all that way' ..... we'll actually be flying our kids - watching them with their over sized smiles and that genuine excitement that only a kid can possess - for them it really is an adventure, they don't have to think/worry about finding a new home, whether our shipment will arrive OK or whether everything will turn out alright. For them it will be the first day of the rest of their lives - REALLY. No - there won't be any dragging.

Diny

[NZCalling]

Hi All,

Sorry about the reactions that you guys got. I knew that there were weird people in this world but this is insane.
In my opinion, these people are like a frog in a well. It thinks that the well is the ocean and there's nothing beyond that. My suggestion, Ignore them, they are not worth your energy and time. :laugh
To immigrate to a new land needs a lot of effort, courage, guts and strength. You all have it and that is what makes you all special.
I very sincearly respect your decision to immigrate as you all have what it takes to make your own choices and to live your life the way you want. :clap

Good Luck to all. :nice1

[Michelle and Richard]

Our neighbours didn't speak to us before the for sale sign went up, spoke to us when it did go up just to be nosy and then went back to ignoring us. Saddos the lot of them and yes its envy because you have the guts to do what they don't.

We have had positive responses from almost everyone and loads of cards which I intend to put on one wall to inspire us when we are having a bad day, which i'm sure we will have.

Michelle

[Michelle and Richard]

Our neighbours didn't speak to us before the for sale sign went up, spoke to us when it did go up just to be nosy and then went back to ignoring us. Saddos the lot of them and yes its envy because you have the guts to do what they don't.

We have had positive responses from almost everyone and loads of cards which I intend to put on one wall to inspire us when we are having a bad day, which i'm sure we will have.

Michelle

[blue]

Hi caven tell your neighbours that you know someone whom is immigrating and taking two trailhounds with them that are pets! that will get em talking! Where abouts are you in cumbra? all the best blue

[blue]

Hi caven tell your neighbours that you know someone whom is immigrating and taking two trailhounds with them that are pets! that will get em talking! Where abouts are you in cumbra? all the best blue

[Lil]

I have to say that in general, most folks have been genuinely supportive of our decision and most offer the usual responses of "oh you are so lucky, I would really love to do something like that / wish I could come with you / how brave we are" etc. They usually go on to tell you about someone else they know who went x number of years ago and how much they love it. However, I know that one or two who have been supportive to my face are most probably making snidy comments behind my back.

I have had similarly strange reactions from my neighours, we told them very early on about our plans and they all appeared very supportive and pleased for us, they quite genuinely said they would be miffed to be losing a good neighbour. We have always had quite good relationship with them and often get together for family parties and barbeques. So it took me a bit by surprise, to the extent that I didn't really dawn on me for a while, that since the "For Sale" board went up outside the house neither neighbours have hardly spoken to us. The last time we spoke to one of them, the board had been up for two days, right smack bang on the wall that joins our front gardens and they claimed that they had not even noticed it. :roll:

Since Wednesday this week the "For Sale" has been switched for "Sold", so I bet it won't be too long before curiosity gets the better of them. I'll wait and see.........

[Soon2baKiwi]

I suppose in this country it is more unusual to stay than to emigrate so the reaction of my friends has been brilliant. Everyone thinks it's exciting and are so supportive. The ones who haven't been are my close family and it's not because I'm going away and they're going to miss me etc. - I've been out of the country for most of my adult life. As soon as I mention NZ to my sister she changes the subject to her kids. I think that while I'm in Europe they feel I'm "no better" than them but now I'm going to have some sort of exotic life that they don't have. It does get to you, no matter how often you tell yourself that it is just stupidity on the part of other people. I've grown so apart from my sister who was always my best friend and I'm afraid that when I get to NZ I'll be more homesick than I would normally have been because I'll be worrying that I could have done something to make things better. What, I dont' know. I'm suffering the effects of a few glasses of vino at the moment so hope this makes sense.

[chips]

Maybe it's shock for your sister. I think close family have suched heightened emotions ,that it can make them distant. THey often don't know what to say , and are angry that you are going .ALTHOUGH, i am sure that deep down they are all supportive,they just don't show it. :roll:


My Aunty and Uncle went to NZ for about 5 years between 76 &80.
My mum and her (actually sister in laws) wrote every week ,and their friend ship blossomed. :yes

It will all come out in wash.
Oh ,and s*d the neighbours :eek

[Diny]

Chips

Wise words.

Diny

[Caven]

Hello blue,

I'm currently existing (as opposed to living) in the regions of Scary-port. Not in it, but close enough. You up here too? The only avenue I have for sanity is the Lake District where even the sheep who do twenty miles a day all know me, in a purely plutonic sense I might add, the price of mince sauce being what it is...

[blue]

Hi caven no I live in stafford but go up to bewaldeth frequently as I am involved with the trailhound trust and have adopted two retired trailhounds that are coming to NZ with me. They will be the first trailhounds to go there! More people that run hounds are sending them into the trust now but a lot still dont believe that you can have them as pets. Must admit I love the lake district but have come across some unfriendly folk up there! where are you going in NZ?

[Caven]

Palmerston North, hopefully by January but with the queues being the way they are, it may take longer...which sucks.

[Diny]

Caven

There's a heck of alot of us going to Palmy isn't there? What made you choose there?

Diny

[pat]

Hi all
Diny i am sorry to hear that but i have the same situation.
My friend(whom i have known for nearly 17 years) has been really distant since i told her of our plans for nz.
She used to phone me after work and come round for a cuppa and a chat, now we see each other maybe once a week.
I have asked her if she is ok and she says yes nothings wrong but she is different.
I dont understand why she is reacting like this. If it was the other way round i would be pleased for her and i would want to see her as much as i could before she went.
Pat

[Diny]

It's strange isn't it Pat. Everybody reacts to news in a different way, but some people really do make you feel like a traitor.

When my sister first heard we were going (although she had heard us talk about it hundreds of times over the last 15 years) she would be very aloof and a touch cold - odd because we've always been joined at the hip. In fact last year she and her family joined us in NZ and we hired motorhomes and 'did' the north island. She said she totally understood why we want to live there. Anyway, the other day, when I was detecting abit of 'attitude' coming my way, I simply explained the ropes to her. She listened then said "I don't hold it against you - I just don't know how I'll get by without you".

Thank God for waterproof mascara !!!!!!!!

Diny

[Annierobrigado]

Annie

What I'm trying to say is the national health is available to all, but if you want to hurry things along for whatever reason, you will have to pay ALOT of money. We have 2 Philippino nurses living opposite us - they are great girls - always laughing (maybe because they see me first thing in the morning getting the milk off the doorstep - enough to make anybody laugh).

So ........ I've digressed from the original thread, but hey - what the heck. Just thought you may be intrested how the UK medical system works.

Diny

i think diny, that's a given, worldwide. we also have national healthcare system in the phils. but yes, you still have to fork out a lot of money to be able to get immediate attention. i wish it wasnt so, i'm part of the system, but i can only see so many patients! i go on medical missions, and after the first 50 patients i am no longer a physician but a mental case! and there are 300 patients to see! aaargh.

the money one forks out for medical attention goes only to the private practitioner. govt md's get their salaries, but compared to private practice, that's just a drop in the bucket. even for nurses and other health care professionals, which is why i am not surprised you have filipinos for neighbors. only thing i can say is if you get sick and you find yourself in hospital, try getting a filipino nurse, midwife, technician or even a doctor, because you would get the very best TLC, and that includes bedside manners and a cheerful smile (even with the grouchiest of patients!) we may not be brilliant, but we know how to take care of our patients, and 65% of patients' recovery is because somebody cared to wipe their butts or bring them water or just fluff up their pillows and turn on the telly for them. or just to hold their hand when surgery is imminent, or when a spasm runs through their belly or back.

smile though your heart is aching
smile even though its breaking
when there are clouds in the sky you'll get by
if you smile through your tears and sorrow
smile and maybe tomorrow
you'll see the sun come shining through for you

cheers
annie

[lindajax]

I too have had good bad and ugly reactions to my emigration plans. :uhoh

At the moment my best friends cry when I mention how close it possibly is to leaving (Dec).

My mum is not speaking to me which is extremely distressing :wah especially for my 4 year old - mum just can't deal with it she thinks I'm selfish but I just want better for Lucy my little girl!!

In-laws are mega supportive but sad to see us go syaing that they've all been looking to book hols with us in 2005 :roll:

People are people and we can't blame them for thier reactions - I've come to accept that we have to go we are unhappy and not settled in the UK so really these reactions won't change our minds so I just wish everyone could just support us and be happy for us - is that asking too much?????

Linda

[evelien]

We told a couple of friends of our (still premature) plans of emigrating to NZ. We expected the same excitement from them as we feel about it.

How wrong can one be. All but one reacted very negative. They all highlight the negative sides. Bad payed jobs, bad jobs, not being accepted in the new country, discrimination as an immigrant... all horror stories. I must admit its playing on my mind. I try to get back to my enthusiasm. Sometimes strange feelings creep up in my mind... what if they are right (and I am wrong)? Maybe I am stupid to see paradise in the future? I always thought I was realistic. Maybe they are....

:wah :wah :wah :wah

Anyone have any thoughts about this?

[Radders]

I can not really understand this reaction. Is it down to our natural reaction to fear change? I am not a psycobabblist so have no expert views. WE all know the dangers, of this move, there are many I am sure who wonder whether they have done the right thing.
I am willing to trade money and safety, for that little bit extra.
It is still up to me to make that happen. Just moving there will not be enough.
Maybe because I have been on the move for most of my adult life, I have more knowledge and less to fear of starting up somewhere new. Admittedly it will help having a kiwi wife, and friends already there, (although scattered over the country).
I have had nothing but good responses.
I am nervous of the ride ahead, but as long as I can surf, sail, tramp or bike, in my time off, I know that there will be times when my head will clear, and I'll feel good that I took the chance.

[Moorf]

Had the same from parents when we announced our plans a while back - and that's from parents who have waxed lyrical about the place after a month they spent there a few years back!!!!!

Perhaps it's a natural reaction that those of us who are intrepid enough to "get a new life" don't understand? Perhaps it's their way of trying, hopefully unsuccessfully, to get you to question your move.. and perhaps this is also a good thing?!

All I know is that in OUR hearts we WANT to do this, and no amount of bad-mouthing or negativity will sway us from finding out for ourselves.. keep to your dream....

Good Luck
Moorf

[evelien]

Thanks Moorf and Radders

You just cheered me up again. I do not doubt my own motives. It's just that sometimes I fear that I am the one that's biased by my own positive thinking.

I do realize its not all paradise. I do see the lower wages, the getting adapted.... I also see the most beautiful country in the world.

Mind you. I lived in NZ from 1974 til 1978. Unfortunately my parents then decided to emigrate back to Holland. But I had a lovely childhood, and wish to give my own children.

BTW, you wont believe why we went back to Holland. My mother is a doctor (medical). As she had obviously studied back in Holland, she had to take some exams or tests in New Zealand, to get registered as a physician there. She failed twice!!! So she couldn't work as a doctor. She was a teacher in NZ, but it wasn't good enough for her. Result: after 3 years husband and children had to pack up and leave for Holland once more. (I only found out the real reason 2 years ago! She always made us believe our return to Holland was due to the economic situation in New Zealand).

So after almost 30 years I'm seriously attempting to return to the land of my youth.

Moorf, I read you are on the brink of leaving. I wish you all the luck in the world!!!!

[ruthyroo]

I think you have to bear in mind that when you announce something as momentous as upping and off to the other side of the world, it inevitably makes people question their own lives and situations, and if they find them lacking - then their reaction is going to be hostility to you for highlighting it. Some of them might want to do what you are - but they dont have the courage or the stamina, or too many other things (kids, family, money) get in the way, and they'll resent feeling like 'failures' in this respect. Some of them will take it as a criticism of life in the UK and thus a criticism of them - another reflection of their own insecurity. And some of them, like my DH's best friend, will just miss you, pure and simple, you're scaring them by removing yourself from their lives so completely and it comes over as hostility to your plans. We called it the 'ripple effect', becuase it really makes people question what is possible in their own lives - and who knows what changes they might make once they've been shaken up by your decision?? My BF will miss me horribly, and I will miss her, and her baby, my god-daughter, but becuase she's happy in her own life, she doesn't see me leaving as a threat and she has never been anything other than 100% supportive.

[Soon2baKiwi]

Ruthyroo how right you are. I've been on before saying how negative my sister was but I spoke to her about it today and I explained that I wasn't running away from them but rather going to something that I really wanted. She is understandably upset but is already planning when they're going to come over to visit. My mum is the problem though. We've never been close, to the point of disliking each other, and I'm afraid I haven't really given her much thought but she thinks that when I leave she'll never see me again and no matter what our differences I am her daughter. I was talking to hubby about it tonight and we decided that I'll come back in April 2007 - there's a Govt savings scheme here in Ireland that allows you to invest for 5 years and the Govt gives you 25% interest and ours will mature then and we have to be here to get it so I'll tell her I'm coming back then. I think it will help to soften the blow. She'll have a date that's not too far away. While my father was alive I could never have left - the option came up but I knew I could never get on a plane and know that I might not see him again. Funny thing was; I was only 50 miles away and I still wasn't there when he went. I suppose distance is a state of mind really.

[Carol]

The two year span pre and post moving to NZ were - if I'm honest - the two worst years of my life.

I had my mum and dad - totally negative - my best friend had to go onto anti-depressants - my only sibling my much adored younger brother - very very confused with many mixed feelings.

I still came........

In 8 years....
My mum and dad have been out here once with my brother and they all now totally understand why we are here.
In fact it amuses me somewhat to hear them say - there is NOWHERE better to live.
My best friend (who oddly enough is STILL my best friend and the first person I would turn to in an emergency - but now over the phone) has left her job and trained for 3 years as a nurse - is the happiest she has been in a long time.



Without a doubt - I still miss them all every single day.
That would be because I love them all and they love me.

True friends will support you no matter what.
THe rest are......excess baggage!

Sorry to be blunt - but in less than year you will have forgotton all about these people Diny.
Keep your chin up .
;)

[eric_amanda]

I have written before at how negative my parents have been towards our move here (told them we were coming for a couple of years to test the water) and they were adament that they were definately not flying all that way to visit us. Funny how things change once you've gone. They are now planning a trip in October next year for my Dad's retirement, although mum has already said if we stay they are unlikely to visit again. I plan to give them the time of their lives when they are here!!

Good news aswell this morning from my best friend. She always said they would visit us when we came out but a lot of people say that and you are not always sure they will. Anyway, they want to come out next summer! Not sure if she means ours or theirs but I'm sure we'll figure it out.

There is hope out there and I am amazed at how some views have changed now that we are here.

Best wishes to you all. Amanda

[Diny]

Good postings girls !! I think you just have to set your mind on a target and ignore the flack (good or bad) that will inevitably come your way.

I will hold my chin up Carol (it would just help if you told me which one). ;)

Diny

[Michelle and Richard]

Diny ignore it all its your life, you have the guts to follow your dream, go for it. If it all fails you go back but at least you have tried.

Amanda, last time we were here my parents were the same, no way we are making the trip etc...... anyway they came out, loved it and when we said we were coming back they backed us all the way and would have been on te same plane as us if they could. Have already booked a 2 month trip for next feb.

Need to go out now to find a big enough house to accomodate all the people who say they are coming out


Michelle

[Caven]

Hello Diny,

Forgot all about this thread! Still in shock over the other one ( school-boy snigger ). Oh well, onwards as they say...

Palmy chose us really, it being the only place I could get a definate job. We're looking at Fielding at the moment, but since work will be in Linton, it might be easier staying south of town, perhaps Foxton or Levin (lots of new-builds, ergo central heating :hopeso in Levin).

I think ruthyroo hit all the right nails with her above post, sometimes we forget we're not the only ones who have those awful, introspective two-in-the-morning-by-the-fireside-alone-moments (listening to Pink Floyd :wah )Having said that though, we're only the sum of how we react to things in life and as Carol says, the baggage will soon be forgotton :hopeso so if they don't want to/can't cope then sod them.

I'm starting, for the first time really, to consider how'
I'll be looking at me when I'm over there...hope I like myself :laugh

[Annierobrigado]

hi diny,

my own parents migrated far away from us (san francisco), we miss them terribly, and we just talk on the phone but that's it. they've been back during christmas, except last year, and we expect them back in december (hopefully we would still be here when they come!)

i can only be happy for those who are brave enough (and with enough money! hehehe) to leave the comfort zone and go to a totally different world, culture, environment. so i'm happy for you that you are following your dream. i may not be your oldest friend or next door neighbor, but be assured that there is someone who cares even if she lives in another time zone! i might look you up when i land in nz and get my own dose of loneliness and doubt. you can share a bar of cadbury's, can't you?

cheers
annie