Wiggles
15th August 2005, 03:49 PM
Hi All
Well we have been here for 3 months now. We have settled into life in Mt Eden in Auckland extremely well. We used Curtiss shippers and they were brilliant. Only two items arrived broken – a standing lamp and a mirror. We bought all our electric goods – fridge freezer, lamps, hi-fi, laptop, PS2, TV’s, washing machine – it all works. Our TV’s work through SKY. We have opted for the easy route and bought NZ adaptors from Dick Smith NZ$14 as opposed to NZ plugs which cost NZ$6.90. We have used fourway plugs generally, so only needed to buy a single adaptor for say 3 or 4 appliances. With all the hard work sorting out the house, it was a quick solution. It’s expensive but everything works and it beats having to replace the items. One tip someone gave me was to put teabags in our fridge to absorb any moisture – worked a treat! One teabag was going mouldy but not the seals etc of the fridge. Very pleased!
We also bought in cane baskets, goose down duvets, wooden artifacts from Africa, golf clubs, gardening tools, wellies. The only thing that was confiscated was a willow outdoor screen which we hadn’t meant to bring. They offered to fumigate but that would have cost more than the screen. They looked but didn’t confiscate a M & S xmas wreath (with pine cones) which we were surprised at. They looked at the golf clubs, garden tools & wellies, but didn’t look at the wooden artifacts. So we are now surrounded by all our stuff, which helps when you are feeling a bit down!
Generally we have settled. We have had a few down moments since we have been here. My DH got a very well paid IT job, and absolutely hated it. The guy who was assigned as his ‘buddy’ to show him the ropes was a complete twat who made his life hell. My DH wondered why on his second day, a lady from admin told him that there was a high turnover of staff. Needless to say he soon found out! Also needless to say, after the boss told him he could do nothing about this situation (wish he had shown some balls!!) my DH left the job after almost a month. Shame, but god he was so unhappy! Anyway, he decided to take a contract (far less money) and is now working at a winery near Kumeu – could be a lot worse!! He’s also a lot happier now too. He regularly brings home sample bottles of vino – cheers! This is an up time I can tell you!
The upside of life in NZ for us is a far more laidback way of life. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but we don’t feel stressed here. The kids are friendly and my son has settled into school really happily. The weather has been fantastic here and unusually dry for an Auckland winter! Some of you may know that we are not Brits, but lived there for what I consider our ‘formative years’ !! We loved the UK but wanted to come back to NZ for years. It’s hard as we really miss our friends and sometimes the routine of life in the UK. That probably sounds strange. I think that my DH’s first job really knocked us back for a month or so, but hopefully things are on the upswing.
Living expenses can be quite high. I think that food-wise it is generally better to find a good grocer (local veg shops are great). I spend $35 and bought 10kg bag of potatoes for $3.99 / 10kg bag of onions $4.00 and a whopper piece of fresh ginger / 6 fresh garlic / cucumber / 3 lettuces / 2 bags tomatoes / mushrooms / bag carrots / 2 bags mandarins / massive bag lemons / banana’s – can’t think what else! The Mad Butcher is good too – most butchers have specials and that is when I stock up! I bought some bits of food from the UK – spices and herbs which all survived.
Well, I think that I have waffled on far too long. I have some photos to post, but will have to work out how to do that first!
Cheers
Well we have been here for 3 months now. We have settled into life in Mt Eden in Auckland extremely well. We used Curtiss shippers and they were brilliant. Only two items arrived broken – a standing lamp and a mirror. We bought all our electric goods – fridge freezer, lamps, hi-fi, laptop, PS2, TV’s, washing machine – it all works. Our TV’s work through SKY. We have opted for the easy route and bought NZ adaptors from Dick Smith NZ$14 as opposed to NZ plugs which cost NZ$6.90. We have used fourway plugs generally, so only needed to buy a single adaptor for say 3 or 4 appliances. With all the hard work sorting out the house, it was a quick solution. It’s expensive but everything works and it beats having to replace the items. One tip someone gave me was to put teabags in our fridge to absorb any moisture – worked a treat! One teabag was going mouldy but not the seals etc of the fridge. Very pleased!
We also bought in cane baskets, goose down duvets, wooden artifacts from Africa, golf clubs, gardening tools, wellies. The only thing that was confiscated was a willow outdoor screen which we hadn’t meant to bring. They offered to fumigate but that would have cost more than the screen. They looked but didn’t confiscate a M & S xmas wreath (with pine cones) which we were surprised at. They looked at the golf clubs, garden tools & wellies, but didn’t look at the wooden artifacts. So we are now surrounded by all our stuff, which helps when you are feeling a bit down!
Generally we have settled. We have had a few down moments since we have been here. My DH got a very well paid IT job, and absolutely hated it. The guy who was assigned as his ‘buddy’ to show him the ropes was a complete twat who made his life hell. My DH wondered why on his second day, a lady from admin told him that there was a high turnover of staff. Needless to say he soon found out! Also needless to say, after the boss told him he could do nothing about this situation (wish he had shown some balls!!) my DH left the job after almost a month. Shame, but god he was so unhappy! Anyway, he decided to take a contract (far less money) and is now working at a winery near Kumeu – could be a lot worse!! He’s also a lot happier now too. He regularly brings home sample bottles of vino – cheers! This is an up time I can tell you!
The upside of life in NZ for us is a far more laidback way of life. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but we don’t feel stressed here. The kids are friendly and my son has settled into school really happily. The weather has been fantastic here and unusually dry for an Auckland winter! Some of you may know that we are not Brits, but lived there for what I consider our ‘formative years’ !! We loved the UK but wanted to come back to NZ for years. It’s hard as we really miss our friends and sometimes the routine of life in the UK. That probably sounds strange. I think that my DH’s first job really knocked us back for a month or so, but hopefully things are on the upswing.
Living expenses can be quite high. I think that food-wise it is generally better to find a good grocer (local veg shops are great). I spend $35 and bought 10kg bag of potatoes for $3.99 / 10kg bag of onions $4.00 and a whopper piece of fresh ginger / 6 fresh garlic / cucumber / 3 lettuces / 2 bags tomatoes / mushrooms / bag carrots / 2 bags mandarins / massive bag lemons / banana’s – can’t think what else! The Mad Butcher is good too – most butchers have specials and that is when I stock up! I bought some bits of food from the UK – spices and herbs which all survived.
Well, I think that I have waffled on far too long. I have some photos to post, but will have to work out how to do that first!
Cheers