[joanne]

Hi Guys

Phew we made it. Been here nearly 2 months now and lovin it - lovin it.

Container arrived today - so we are back on line. Renting in Rangiora at the moment but have bought (YES I know I said we wouldnt buy for at least 6 months) a house in Oxford. Rangi is fab, there is everything here and its great for families but its not for us. A bit too suburban. We are used to little villages so Oxford suits us fine, and I love the mountains.

Our experience of New Zealand has been very positive - it is everything that I remembered it to be (backpacked here 9 years ago). Hubby had never been and he is really happy with what he has discovered here.

Kids settled into school/kindy without too much
hassle - but ethan (6) does miss his 'special' friend from the UK. I have noticed that the kids here are very confident and assertive - they also care a great deal about each other, which is lovely to see.

Everything is so much easier here - far less stress in the everyday things.
Take supermarket shopping for instance. Plenty of parking, friendly staff, bags packed for you, free bread rolls for the kids, free coffee for the shoppers!!


Anyway its been a long day. If anyone want to PM me about specifics re
Rangiora or work (hubby a welder) or kids stuff (mine are 4 and 6) please feel free - I am no expert but I can tell you my own experience. For those of you struggling to get here - keep on going - its worth it in the end. Good luck.

[Tara Sage]

Jo

You bought a house!! Congratulations!! Come on give us the details.

Are you moving schools etc or are you all going to commute?

Glad you like NZ I think it is a great place :P

[Bubbles]

Welcome back Joanne,

Very happy you've made the move successfully and lovin it - lovin it.

Do you think you could manage a couple of piccy's for us all

:nice1

john

[Cardiff Irons]

free coffee for the shoppers!!This is fantastic news, my enthusiasm is rekindled. :clap

Lovely post Joanne. So good to hear how people settle and to know about the differences in lifestyle.

All the best :nice1

[Marie P]

What a great ,positive read .

:clap :clap

cheers

Marie x

[jo b]

Oh I just want to be there.

I was dreaming I was there last night :wah

Joanne really pleased you have settled nicely.

Jo

[Moorf]

Congrats on the house - it's lovely around Oxford. :nice1

Would be interested in hearing how you get on there - it's an area we considered but weren't sure on commute times etc to central city. Do either of you do the commute?

If you have a dog then head for that butchers - I popped in one day and asked if they had any dog bones (expecting one or two) and they gave me a HUGE carrier bag full for $1 !!!!!!

And that little cafe on the corner almost oppo the butchers was so nice, and so friendly, they even bought out a biccie for Summer (the dog) and a bowl of water :P

[joanne]

yep, the Oxford butcher has a great reputation - the nearest thing to 'real' bacon we have found in NZ was from there. The cafe on the corner is cafe 51 and 'our' house is down that street on a corner.
Its a brick built 3 bed bungalow on just over a quarter acre plot.
It was built by a farming couple with the intention to retire. Sadly the man died and the old lady contined to live there alone until recently - she is 92 and lives with her daughter now. There is a big vege area, rose gardens, double garage, 3 sheds (I see chucks!!!) It needs some TLC but it will be a beautiful family home, its got 2 fireplaces, native Rimu kitchen and finishings on the doors/cupboards etc, toungue and groove Rimu floors too - we fell in love at first sight :)

The following tale is typical of our experience in New Zealand. We went for a second viewing to the house. The people living there are friends of the family that own the house - they are living there whilst they build their own home. So, in effect, when the house sells - they will have to find somewhere else to rent in Oxford - which wont be easy as its such a small place. So what did they do.... they invited us back that evening for supper, after that their eldest daughter babysat our children whilst we all went out to watch a movie in the town hall - our tickets complimentary as we were 'visitors' to Oxford.
Whilst we were in the que to buy coffee n cake afterwards, we were introduced to another of their relatives - they insisted upon paying for our snack and sat us down to tell us how wonderful Oxford is. As if we needed to be told that!

Morf - re the commute. It will take Chris about 40-45 mins to get to Riccarton - it takes him about 30 mins at the moment to get home to Rangiora. Now, dont get me wrong, Rangi is great, but it isnt our idea of New Zealand. So for an extra 15 mins we will be fairly rural, living at he foothills - it what we dreamed of and we could NEVER buy a house in the UK with those views. It is a hike but its no longer that he used to do in the UK, plus it is just one, long, staight road with stunning views along the way.

[Gran]

Congratulations, now we want to see a photo of the house!!

[Moorf]

Thanks for that Joanne - my hubby also works in Riccarton :nice1

[joanne]

great moorf - now you can move to Oxford and car pool :)

[Moorf]

Oooooh, now THERE's an idea (hope he likes mini's!!) :nice1

[Moorf]

Come to think of it, I think hubbys boss lives out that way too!!

Where does your hubby work? Doing what? Questions, questions!

[adamsat]

it takes him about 30 mins at the moment to get home to Rangiora

I also live in Rangiora and commute to Riccarton (near Addington Raceway). I've only been doing it 3 weeks so I'd love to know the route to get home in 30 mins :yes

Any advice would be welcome.


BTW agree that Cafe51 is an excellent place :nice1

[Moorf]

It takes hubby 25 mins to get back here to Nth Brighton from Riccarton!! :eek I was having trouble figuring how you do Oxford in 40 until you mentioned he leaves at 5.40am :eek :eek

[Jo and Andy]

Fantasitc news, good to hear your are settling in, interested to hear how the kids get on.

I only have one and worry about her being on her own, having had her Nan see her 2 days a week. Sure she will be fine.

keep us posted.

[jocalla]

Well Done :clap

We just LOVE Oxford also. :nice1

Joanne