willsken
5th June 2009, 12:39 PM
I thought I'd put a few thoughts down on how life has changed us as a family. I don't think I need to comment on my thoughts about NZ in general because I've always been clear on how much we love the place and that hasn't changed over the last couple of years. Instead I want to comment on how the whole move has changed our lives.
I'll start with the children. They are both a lot fitter than they have ever been, they do a lot more sport here and spend a lot more time out and about. When oldest boy came over here he could hardly run. Now he plays 2 games of football on a Saturday, refs the juniors games and still has energy to spare! He is able to play in the men’s team, with his dad. That would never have happened in the UK, in the league his father played in, it was far too rough. I didn’t ever go and watch because the atmosphere was so often nasty. Now I spend all day Saturday going from one game to the next, it’s very social with all the other wives and girlfriends. And the after game pub meet is pretty good too!
My oldest son has turned into a young man and I really like the person he has become. He is an accomplished drummer and football player and these things are where he spends most of his free time doing. The difference I've found here compared to where we lived in the UK is that a lot of the kids play an instrument. That wasn't the case where we lived before and he didn't have friends to form a band with. It makes for a noisy life at times but I don't mind. I speak to friend back in South Wales and hear the things going on and I'm happy he's out of it. He does the sound and lighting for the school and he’s had the opportunity to go to the Napier Opera house to use their equipment. The whole family are off to a football competition in a few weeks. Matt is playing, I’m teacher in charge and the OH and youngest son are having a holiday! Can’t wait.
My youngest son is also happy. He fitted in here a lot quicker than the older boy but I think he was at a better age for the move. He’s sitting a scholarship exam this morning and I feel he has access to a better education that he had in our area of the UK. He has been chosen as a rep for Hawke’s Bay football and although this involves a lot of effort for us, driving to Napier every week, it’s worth it. He’s also learning the piano, again I don’t think it would be something he’d have done in the UK…. Our house just wasn’t big enough to fit one in!! The roads are a lot less busy here and I don’t find myself worrying all the time when he’s out, so he has a lot more freedom. That’s probably an age thing as well, I know.
Basically for both the boys life is good and happy here.
OH had the worst end of the deal coming here. Don’t get me wrong, he wanted to move and he loves it here. For him the down side was his job. He was a fire fighter and had been for many years. He loved his job but it’s all voluntary where we live in NZ, so it wasn’t an option for him. He’s a qualified carpenter so he had other options. 2 ½ years down the line he is a self employed builder and he doesn’t like it. He’s not happy with being self employed and while he’s not unhappy about living here, doing a job you don’t like takes its toll in the end. The decision we’ve made is that from January next year he is going back to uni to train as a technology teacher. He does a lot of coaching with kids and enjoys it, so I really think he’ll enjoy teaching. He won’t earn as much but we will get to spend a lot more time together as a family. We all look forward to that. He is also planning on building us a house on some land we bought a few years ago. He can’t wait as it’s always been his dream.
Me… I was a stressed out, unhappy person in my old life. I didn’t realise just how much that was true until I settled here. Now I’m a happy, chilled out person who gets far more enjoyment out of life. :nice1
I'll start with the children. They are both a lot fitter than they have ever been, they do a lot more sport here and spend a lot more time out and about. When oldest boy came over here he could hardly run. Now he plays 2 games of football on a Saturday, refs the juniors games and still has energy to spare! He is able to play in the men’s team, with his dad. That would never have happened in the UK, in the league his father played in, it was far too rough. I didn’t ever go and watch because the atmosphere was so often nasty. Now I spend all day Saturday going from one game to the next, it’s very social with all the other wives and girlfriends. And the after game pub meet is pretty good too!
My oldest son has turned into a young man and I really like the person he has become. He is an accomplished drummer and football player and these things are where he spends most of his free time doing. The difference I've found here compared to where we lived in the UK is that a lot of the kids play an instrument. That wasn't the case where we lived before and he didn't have friends to form a band with. It makes for a noisy life at times but I don't mind. I speak to friend back in South Wales and hear the things going on and I'm happy he's out of it. He does the sound and lighting for the school and he’s had the opportunity to go to the Napier Opera house to use their equipment. The whole family are off to a football competition in a few weeks. Matt is playing, I’m teacher in charge and the OH and youngest son are having a holiday! Can’t wait.
My youngest son is also happy. He fitted in here a lot quicker than the older boy but I think he was at a better age for the move. He’s sitting a scholarship exam this morning and I feel he has access to a better education that he had in our area of the UK. He has been chosen as a rep for Hawke’s Bay football and although this involves a lot of effort for us, driving to Napier every week, it’s worth it. He’s also learning the piano, again I don’t think it would be something he’d have done in the UK…. Our house just wasn’t big enough to fit one in!! The roads are a lot less busy here and I don’t find myself worrying all the time when he’s out, so he has a lot more freedom. That’s probably an age thing as well, I know.
Basically for both the boys life is good and happy here.
OH had the worst end of the deal coming here. Don’t get me wrong, he wanted to move and he loves it here. For him the down side was his job. He was a fire fighter and had been for many years. He loved his job but it’s all voluntary where we live in NZ, so it wasn’t an option for him. He’s a qualified carpenter so he had other options. 2 ½ years down the line he is a self employed builder and he doesn’t like it. He’s not happy with being self employed and while he’s not unhappy about living here, doing a job you don’t like takes its toll in the end. The decision we’ve made is that from January next year he is going back to uni to train as a technology teacher. He does a lot of coaching with kids and enjoys it, so I really think he’ll enjoy teaching. He won’t earn as much but we will get to spend a lot more time together as a family. We all look forward to that. He is also planning on building us a house on some land we bought a few years ago. He can’t wait as it’s always been his dream.
Me… I was a stressed out, unhappy person in my old life. I didn’t realise just how much that was true until I settled here. Now I’m a happy, chilled out person who gets far more enjoyment out of life. :nice1