cappuccino
6th February 2009, 11:16 PM
Bad start
The day the shippers arrived to pack up my worldly goods, my boyfriend decided that he had changed his mind and wouldn’t be joining me in NZ!! Undeterred by this, I carried on with my plans for my new life in New Zealand, albeit alone and not knowing anybody in Wellington where my new job was located.
Arriving in Wellington the same weekend as the Rugby 7s meant that it was not easy to find accommodation in advance, but that did not discourage me. Eventually, after promising that I was not a drunken ruby fan, I managed to find a studio flat below a family residence with 2 horribly active young children jumping on the floor from 6am above the room I was sleeping in!
A few days later my jet lag was replaced with severe facial burns after misjudging the weather on Waitangi day and not applying enough sunscreen. With tons of make-up on to cover said burns I started work the following week.
Work
All was good for the first few weeks until my manager showed her true colours and my life became hell there. I quickly put in my EOI as I knew that the only way to get out of this job easily was when I had PR (I came out on a 3 year work permit attached to that job). Fortunately, PR came through 4 months later and I secured another job very quickly. However, the first employer got nasty and said I had to give 2 months notice, which then put my new job in jeopardy. Luckily, it all worked out ok and I even managed a quick trip across the ditch to get some retail therapy, sunshine and visit friends in Sydney, before starting my new job in September. I love the new job – interesting work, great colleagues and managers who respect us as human beings (so different from my first experience!), and career development opportunities.
Housing
I moved into a rental house in March and all was good till the weather turned very cold. My rental house had no form of heating so I purchased a couple of oil filled heaters which, when I switched them on, caused the electrics in the house to trip. I soon became an expert in fixing broken fuse wire in the old fashioned fuse box (no trip switches). Big Rod from this forum was my saviour by coming round and sorting the electrics out to enable me to use the heater without fear of blowing up the house. Unfortunately, I did suffer badly from winter colds/chest infections for several months.
I spent many months looking to purchase a house and despite the media saying it’s a ‘buyer’s market’, I’m not convinced of that here in Wellington as house prices seem to be fairly stable and several buyers putting in offers for each house I expressed an interest in! However, I finally found the house of my dreams and will be moving in (or ‘shifting’ as they say here) at the beginning of March.
Friends and family
I have made fantastic friends, mainly from this forum. Without their support, I would have found life quite difficult as I came here on my own leaving my grown up daughters behind in the UK. Over the past 12 months I have had other family issues going on but nothing has stopped me settling in and enjoying my wonderful new life here in Wellington. I’m really excited because my youngest daughter has just booked her flights to come and visit me over the Easter period.
Conclusion
I love everything about living here despite the trials and tribulations I have been through in the first 12 months. My grandmother used to tell me “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” and that is the philosophy I live by. I was fortunate to have visited NZ 3 times before settling here, which gave me the opportunity for extensive sightseeing. There are still lots of new places to explore and I am enjoying visiting them alone or with my wonderful friends (we have recently come back from walking the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds).
To those of you still on the roller coaster of applying to come and live here, never give up! It’s worth all the struggle, tears of sadness and joy.
The day the shippers arrived to pack up my worldly goods, my boyfriend decided that he had changed his mind and wouldn’t be joining me in NZ!! Undeterred by this, I carried on with my plans for my new life in New Zealand, albeit alone and not knowing anybody in Wellington where my new job was located.
Arriving in Wellington the same weekend as the Rugby 7s meant that it was not easy to find accommodation in advance, but that did not discourage me. Eventually, after promising that I was not a drunken ruby fan, I managed to find a studio flat below a family residence with 2 horribly active young children jumping on the floor from 6am above the room I was sleeping in!
A few days later my jet lag was replaced with severe facial burns after misjudging the weather on Waitangi day and not applying enough sunscreen. With tons of make-up on to cover said burns I started work the following week.
Work
All was good for the first few weeks until my manager showed her true colours and my life became hell there. I quickly put in my EOI as I knew that the only way to get out of this job easily was when I had PR (I came out on a 3 year work permit attached to that job). Fortunately, PR came through 4 months later and I secured another job very quickly. However, the first employer got nasty and said I had to give 2 months notice, which then put my new job in jeopardy. Luckily, it all worked out ok and I even managed a quick trip across the ditch to get some retail therapy, sunshine and visit friends in Sydney, before starting my new job in September. I love the new job – interesting work, great colleagues and managers who respect us as human beings (so different from my first experience!), and career development opportunities.
Housing
I moved into a rental house in March and all was good till the weather turned very cold. My rental house had no form of heating so I purchased a couple of oil filled heaters which, when I switched them on, caused the electrics in the house to trip. I soon became an expert in fixing broken fuse wire in the old fashioned fuse box (no trip switches). Big Rod from this forum was my saviour by coming round and sorting the electrics out to enable me to use the heater without fear of blowing up the house. Unfortunately, I did suffer badly from winter colds/chest infections for several months.
I spent many months looking to purchase a house and despite the media saying it’s a ‘buyer’s market’, I’m not convinced of that here in Wellington as house prices seem to be fairly stable and several buyers putting in offers for each house I expressed an interest in! However, I finally found the house of my dreams and will be moving in (or ‘shifting’ as they say here) at the beginning of March.
Friends and family
I have made fantastic friends, mainly from this forum. Without their support, I would have found life quite difficult as I came here on my own leaving my grown up daughters behind in the UK. Over the past 12 months I have had other family issues going on but nothing has stopped me settling in and enjoying my wonderful new life here in Wellington. I’m really excited because my youngest daughter has just booked her flights to come and visit me over the Easter period.
Conclusion
I love everything about living here despite the trials and tribulations I have been through in the first 12 months. My grandmother used to tell me “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” and that is the philosophy I live by. I was fortunate to have visited NZ 3 times before settling here, which gave me the opportunity for extensive sightseeing. There are still lots of new places to explore and I am enjoying visiting them alone or with my wonderful friends (we have recently come back from walking the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds).
To those of you still on the roller coaster of applying to come and live here, never give up! It’s worth all the struggle, tears of sadness and joy.