victoria24
17th May 2009, 08:36 PM
well, ive stopped posting my journal as to be honest the exciting times are over and life is more normal for the first time in 3 months. I think people would be a bit bored of hearing about me getting up and going out and buying some milk etc.. although saying that, this morning I got up, went out and bought some milk!
Seriously, life is settling down to some form of normality and although I wouldnt agree with the sentiment at 6.45 in the morning, it's kind of nice to live within some kind of framework. We're not totally there yet, Elaine turned down a job as they wanted her to work full time hours inc saturdays but has another interview on Tuesday. We also have realised that not having your stuff and living in a furnished rental removes any pottering about missions so sometimes we do feel a bit "incomplete" which is weird cause i've never believed that "things" define you. I think it's just a case of feeling a bit temporary at the mo. This should all sort out with buying the house.
I sometimes wonder if this feeling of loving living here will subside. For every person that made the move successfully, there is another who moved back to the UK. We have catch ups about twice a week to check on each other and ask probing questions just to make sure we're not weird as neither of us feel homesick at all. In fact, NZ feels more like home and I have already started to call the UK, "the UK" rather than "home".
I feel that for me anyway that I get enough of a fix from my friends via skype, the phone, email and facebook and don't feel that i'm missing out in any way.
The original plan was for Elaine to wait a few months before starting work but she is keen to get out and about and already knows quite a few people and enjoys her friday wine afternoons with her some of her new friends. It'll be nice to reciprocate once we have moved.
The kids are having a whale of a time here. 11 yr old KB has become more confident in the last week and has driven my car on the beach, taken her brother to the cinema and gone shopping in the mall in the afternoon with her friends and that sense of responsibility seems to suit her well.
My little lad who had his 7th bday party today has really got into the swing of things and I think it's testament to his new life that he invited 10 friends to his party and they all came seeing he's only been in school for 2 weeks:nice1
Work is going good after my first week and I have made some interesting observations and suggestions so far but thats another story for another time once i've established the lay of the land.
It's still too early to sit down and do a proper budget for normal life as there are still many non recurring costs but I reckon that will sort itself out over the next couple of months and think we can live a reasonable life here. I don't think we'll ever be minted but thats not why we came. During discussions about this, I'm not sure that in England, people were as well off as they perceived as a large percentage of people were technically living above their means but the easy finance clouded the perception until recently.
I go around turning off lights etc but was a victor meldrew before we left anyway!
Hoping to get a band sorted, start playing squash again, get back into motorcycling and loads of other goals on the list. It all comes with time and that's what I feel we have here. We haven't even made it to Te Papa yet but why rush about feeling we have to do the rounds? We can go any weekend we like. I'm hoping to get to the south island over the next few months on a work course or if not, as a family to meet up with red devil. Our hour long weekly chats have been great for us to compare the move with each other and to have that 3rd party empathy that convinces me I am still sane. After all, it has been a fairly rapid journey and it's nice to now stop and take a look around rather than being in the eye of the storm. Sometimes I really do have to pinch myself when my mind has moments of clarity and it all sinks in and I realise how ace it all is. Dont get me wrong, it's not "easy" and I take my hat off to anybody who has migrated and that includes minorities who are derided by the media in some instances in the UK because it is such a "BIG" decision and journey for us all but one that makes the world go round and a much more interesting place to live.
I'm not sure if my weekly posts are a bit of overkill but it's nice for me to have points of reference to look back over as time goes on.
Thats about it for now, time for a cheeky smoke and cup of PG Tips;)
Seriously, life is settling down to some form of normality and although I wouldnt agree with the sentiment at 6.45 in the morning, it's kind of nice to live within some kind of framework. We're not totally there yet, Elaine turned down a job as they wanted her to work full time hours inc saturdays but has another interview on Tuesday. We also have realised that not having your stuff and living in a furnished rental removes any pottering about missions so sometimes we do feel a bit "incomplete" which is weird cause i've never believed that "things" define you. I think it's just a case of feeling a bit temporary at the mo. This should all sort out with buying the house.
I sometimes wonder if this feeling of loving living here will subside. For every person that made the move successfully, there is another who moved back to the UK. We have catch ups about twice a week to check on each other and ask probing questions just to make sure we're not weird as neither of us feel homesick at all. In fact, NZ feels more like home and I have already started to call the UK, "the UK" rather than "home".
I feel that for me anyway that I get enough of a fix from my friends via skype, the phone, email and facebook and don't feel that i'm missing out in any way.
The original plan was for Elaine to wait a few months before starting work but she is keen to get out and about and already knows quite a few people and enjoys her friday wine afternoons with her some of her new friends. It'll be nice to reciprocate once we have moved.
The kids are having a whale of a time here. 11 yr old KB has become more confident in the last week and has driven my car on the beach, taken her brother to the cinema and gone shopping in the mall in the afternoon with her friends and that sense of responsibility seems to suit her well.
My little lad who had his 7th bday party today has really got into the swing of things and I think it's testament to his new life that he invited 10 friends to his party and they all came seeing he's only been in school for 2 weeks:nice1
Work is going good after my first week and I have made some interesting observations and suggestions so far but thats another story for another time once i've established the lay of the land.
It's still too early to sit down and do a proper budget for normal life as there are still many non recurring costs but I reckon that will sort itself out over the next couple of months and think we can live a reasonable life here. I don't think we'll ever be minted but thats not why we came. During discussions about this, I'm not sure that in England, people were as well off as they perceived as a large percentage of people were technically living above their means but the easy finance clouded the perception until recently.
I go around turning off lights etc but was a victor meldrew before we left anyway!
Hoping to get a band sorted, start playing squash again, get back into motorcycling and loads of other goals on the list. It all comes with time and that's what I feel we have here. We haven't even made it to Te Papa yet but why rush about feeling we have to do the rounds? We can go any weekend we like. I'm hoping to get to the south island over the next few months on a work course or if not, as a family to meet up with red devil. Our hour long weekly chats have been great for us to compare the move with each other and to have that 3rd party empathy that convinces me I am still sane. After all, it has been a fairly rapid journey and it's nice to now stop and take a look around rather than being in the eye of the storm. Sometimes I really do have to pinch myself when my mind has moments of clarity and it all sinks in and I realise how ace it all is. Dont get me wrong, it's not "easy" and I take my hat off to anybody who has migrated and that includes minorities who are derided by the media in some instances in the UK because it is such a "BIG" decision and journey for us all but one that makes the world go round and a much more interesting place to live.
I'm not sure if my weekly posts are a bit of overkill but it's nice for me to have points of reference to look back over as time goes on.
Thats about it for now, time for a cheeky smoke and cup of PG Tips;)