[paul&laura]

Hi

Just a little bit about ourselves first..we are paul 37, laura 37, katie 10 and hattie 7.we live in herne bay,kent.
Paul(hubby) is a uk prison officer and is currently going through the recruitment process for an NZ corrections officer,i would be really interested to hear from anyone else who is also considering going to NZ as a corrections officer..
we are looking to go either to hawkes bay or hamilton.
eldest daughter is not over enthusiastic as has just got a place from september in a school she was desperate to go to...youngest wants to go as someone told her she could ride a horse to school :laugh..mmm!!

we have not submitted EOI yet as paul hasn't actually been offered a job yet and i hope i'm not getting too excited too early..but we REALLY want to go!!!!

laura

[Diny]

Laura

Can't offer any info on prision officers but I can say welcome to the forum.

You're right on the first step of the immigration ladder and the climb from here on will do more than make you dizzy - but I can asure you it will be worth it.

Your daughter is not the first forumite offspring to kick against the move, bit by bit she'll come around to the idea. Another member's daughter was really anti moving to NZ, they've recently been over there for a holiday and now she's chomping at the bit to get back there. It's a massive 'adventure' for all concerned. We learnt right from day 1 that there has to be alot of give and take and alot of trust in our instincts. I'm sure you will come through the process just as well as everybody else.

Abit scary though isn't it.

Good luck.

Diny

[wayne]

Paul and Laura you are not friends of a guy called Kevin who teaches at Cant erbury College are you??
I work with Kevin and I have my PR and will be moving to Auckland in the next couple of months , and Kevin said that he has a good friend who is a prison officer who is thinking of going to NZ!!!
If you are his friends :eek :eek spooky small world :yes

[paul&laura]

Good God..i think we might be the very people!!!! :eek
Kevin did mention he knew someone moving to NZ...a very small world indeed!!!
we're still at the very early stages..i have family in Auckland..whereabouts in Auckland are you headed?

Laura

[eric_amanda]

Hello Paul and Laura and welcome to the forum.

I notice you are headed for Hawkes Bay or Hamilton, however I thought I would just mention that there is a new prison opening in Northland. They are doing a gradual recruitment drive, but it has just opened and they are still recruiting, PO's are doing about 6 weeks training in Wellington before starting work.

The prison is just outside Kaikohe, not sure of its name but starts Nga.... (sorry!) Northland may not be your cup of tea, just thought I would mention it.

Good luck with your journey.

Amanda

[paul&laura]

Hi Amanda

thanks for that..we have looked into Northland..looked at kerikeri but rentals seem few and far between...i've been looking at just about everywhere in NZ that has a prison!! :roll:
I am intending to do a nursing degree when i get there and i like the course at hawkes bay as well as the weather and schools!!

laura

[foolsgold99]

Don't want to put you off or anything but there was a bit on the radio news in Auckland last night about prision officers that had been recruited from overseas, some of them were complaining that they weren't getting enough help settling in from the goverment. They'd basicaly been dumped straight in at the deep end. The piece was mainly about staff recruited from the PI's, but said that UK staff very involved too.

They had a guy on from the Officers union on, then a guy from the goverement saying that they were going to try harder.

[paul&laura]

Thanks for the info above...we do know that there is no relocation package,not that we thought there would be as any money would have to come from the NZ taxpayer...
The line fron the corrections dept is that the lure of a new life in NZ is enough and they don't need to offer any additional help(financial or other) as they expect to be inundated with uk prison officers jumping at the chance to go.
I have to say that this is our ONLY chance to go as we would not have enough points otherwise :( .
The salary is far less than the uk, taking exchange rate into account and i would also be giving up my part-time salary.
we will wait to see if paul actually is offered a job and then make our decision...I really want a better quality of life for the children and a more laidback lifestyle!!! :cool

laura

[wayne]

Hi Laura we are headed to the Hibiscus Coast area My wife (Trudy) s parents live there and it seems a very nice area we have visited there many times in the last12 years and although the property prices are dearer its a fantastic place to be far enough from the city (30 mins by car 20 by motorcycle:) ) but its not too far from civilisation,

[denisesykes]

Hi Paul and Laura , have pm'd you , we live in Herne Bay too!

[wayne]

Hi Denise we live in Whitstable how close are you to going we are just waiting on the house to go through :cool

[denisesykes]

Hi Wayne,
Seems that there are a few of us on the East Kent looking for a change! My hubby has a job offer in Christchurch and we have been advised to apply for a general work visa and then apply for PR when we get there.We have (or did) have all the paperwork and were due to submit it to NZ house next Friday with a view to going as soon as the house has been sold .Unfortunately at the 11th hour (midnight Weddnesday night to be precise) we were emailed by the prospective employers to say that Pauls army quals have to be fully assessed by NZQA as the PAR seems to have assessed them too low!
As you can imagine we were gobsmacked as they we had sent them notification of the PAR back in Feb ! Since then we have done the medicals , police checks the lot! (and you know how much that costs!)
We now have to send the whole army file to NZQA in Wellington and wait another 8-12 weeks , in which time our medical certs would have expired!
In any event, we have still not sold our house (been on 9 weeks , 3 viewings , no offers) .The market in Herne Bay is dead , is it the same in Whitstable? Whereabouts are you on the jolly road to NZ?
Perhaps we should arrange a local get together as I know of at least of us now in the East Kent area.
Thanks for posting
Denise

[wayne]

Denise we put our house on the market in December 04!!!!!! only have had 5 viewings but we have 2 buyers that we have accepted their offers on condition of them selling their house, so basically we are waiting for them to get their houses sold , so many prospective buyers are waiting to find the house they want before putting their house on the market :(
We are sure to be gone by end of August this year my PR is all sorted as Trudy (wife) is a New Zealander and both our sons have dual passports I have lived in NZ before (1980) but my first PR lapsed but it was not too much trouble to get another one

[Mildred]

Hi Laura,

Just 20 minutes away in sunny Joss Bay, Broadstairs. Think a Herne Bay,Whitstable or Broadstairs meet would be an excellent idea especially as I missed out on the Lakeside meet due to an invalid dog :roll:

Just a word of warning about this site - it is ADDICTIVE :mrgreen:

[ukiwibird]

:clap I'll come if there is a meet up, I live with Wayne in Whitstable. Regards Trudy

[paul&laura]

Hi all

Sounds good to me...the only thing is though i want to wait to see if paul gets job offer as otherwise I might be tempting fate..can't help thinking like that..just so desperate to go!!!! and we can't go without job offer :(

Laura

[wayne]

Hey Laura do you know there is a "Herne Bay" in the Auckland area :mrgreen: We had to laugh when we migrated to NZ years ago we lived in a place called Westmere and the bus would go past our road with Herne Bay in its destination window, strange but true how we hoped that it would be that easy to get to "the bay" when we lived so far away

[paul&laura]

Hi Wayne

I didn't know there was a herne bay in NZ...i bet its nicer than the one i live in!!

Did you see denise's new post on an east kent meet?

laura

[Mildred]

But does it have a Central Parade with all its boy racers or as many old people's homes :roll:

[wayne]

Yes it has boy racers(where dosent) but theyre called "hoons " in NZ from what I remember it was populated mainly by elderly folk and pacific islanders but it was near the waterside where in Auckland isnt ?
A meet up would be a laugh , I have just had an email from a prospective employer who is coming to a wedding in Ashford (kent) in july and suggests we meet up how cool is that

[upandrunning]

Gosh we came 8 months ago from outside( well only just but it needs to be)ashford! I have friends that came here from South africa that are working as guards at thehigh security prison in Paromoreno in the Northshore. They pay $300 dollars for a subsidised bungalow opposite the prison, seems ok. They don't complain much althought they are using Nz as backdoor to Oz! Coming from SA they find life a bit cold and damp. School ther s also ok and houses in the are cost about $1,000,000,so could be worse,obviously not effected by the prison.

Good luck with your plans, it is the equivilent of November here but still 18 degrees and sunny,sitting at my desk watching the boats go out.....don't want to make you jealous or anything...