JohnM
18th March 2006, 08:05 AM
Hello everybody,
I've been lurking on this site for a little over a year, after returning from a one week excursion of the south island and falling in love with NZ in Jan 2005. I posted a little bit a year ago, then 2005 went to crap. My brother died at 53, my 14 year old maine coon cat whom I raised from a kitten died 3 months later, found him outside in the yard. I had four houses to sell, our state's economy went in the tank (auto industry), and our real estate marekt went to crap too. So, needless to say it was not a good year. HOWEVER...2006 is looking better. I am now at the point where I have sold 2 houses and will put my home on the market in a couple weeks. And I just booked tickets back to NZ for a two week scouting expedition! Air New Zealand was running a special from the US at $800 US, and when I looked at Qantas, they beat it by $100!
So, I am returning! This trip will allow me to make the decision to move to New Zealand or not. I've done a ton of research over the year, and of course been reading all of your fantastic posts, thank you! I will fly in to Auckland May 1 at 5am (ugh), and stay til the 13th May. My cities to visit and look for jobs are Nelson, Napier, and Tauranga, as well as Auckland. I am single, 44, no kids, I'm in IT (sr. business systems analyst, PeopleSoft software, both on NZ's "list"). But I am also a handyman/carpenter type, and love to renovate houses. I was lucky enough to talk to a guy from The University of Auckland at a conference in Nashville this week as he was here, and he told me I would have no problem finding a job in NZ. I found a guy in Nelson who had moved from the States (on a different forum, sorry) and he is willing to meet me there. I hope to find some folks in Napier and Tauranga too to hang out with and talk to when I'm there.
Needless to say I am getting very excited! I wanted to thank you all for all the great information and I may start posting more often now with some questions.
John from Michigan, US
I've been lurking on this site for a little over a year, after returning from a one week excursion of the south island and falling in love with NZ in Jan 2005. I posted a little bit a year ago, then 2005 went to crap. My brother died at 53, my 14 year old maine coon cat whom I raised from a kitten died 3 months later, found him outside in the yard. I had four houses to sell, our state's economy went in the tank (auto industry), and our real estate marekt went to crap too. So, needless to say it was not a good year. HOWEVER...2006 is looking better. I am now at the point where I have sold 2 houses and will put my home on the market in a couple weeks. And I just booked tickets back to NZ for a two week scouting expedition! Air New Zealand was running a special from the US at $800 US, and when I looked at Qantas, they beat it by $100!
So, I am returning! This trip will allow me to make the decision to move to New Zealand or not. I've done a ton of research over the year, and of course been reading all of your fantastic posts, thank you! I will fly in to Auckland May 1 at 5am (ugh), and stay til the 13th May. My cities to visit and look for jobs are Nelson, Napier, and Tauranga, as well as Auckland. I am single, 44, no kids, I'm in IT (sr. business systems analyst, PeopleSoft software, both on NZ's "list"). But I am also a handyman/carpenter type, and love to renovate houses. I was lucky enough to talk to a guy from The University of Auckland at a conference in Nashville this week as he was here, and he told me I would have no problem finding a job in NZ. I found a guy in Nelson who had moved from the States (on a different forum, sorry) and he is willing to meet me there. I hope to find some folks in Napier and Tauranga too to hang out with and talk to when I'm there.
Needless to say I am getting very excited! I wanted to thank you all for all the great information and I may start posting more often now with some questions.
John from Michigan, US