[wobbler]

Hi - We were thinking that we should visit NZ for a 'fact finding' visit before moving to NZ. We have recently granted PR. I was thinking a good time to come over would be in early January say taking a few days to travel to and from the UK to NZ - I have 2 children 3 and 5, with about 3 weeks in NZ?

I am in IT so I thought Wellington would be the right place to base ourselves whilst in NZ. May be hire a place for a couple of weeks, get to know the area, some people, the opportunities available to us.

Is this sensible and will it be worth while?
Is this a good time of year to visit?
Any suggestions to what to see and do - to get a sense of Wellington/NZ?
Visit Schools, potential employers (or recruitment agents), residential areas?

[clg]

Welcome to the Forum! You will find a lot of very good information here, be sure and read through all of the old posts for a lot of good information.

Sounds like a good plan, we did something like that before we moved here. If you are in IT you will be in good shape getting a job here, you may even manage a relocation package. Only thing in your plan you may want to change are the dates. Everything basically comes to a stop here in January so if you want to interview, it is not a good time at all.

Good luck with you planning!

Chris

[Marie P]

Welcome to the forum . :clap

I agree with Chris .......schools will be closed until feb .

Marie x

[Oregonkiwi]

Welcome to the forum!
I agree with Chris and Marie, it's a good plan but January isn't the best time. As they said, schools and many businesses are closed for summer vacation, and as everyone else is on holiday, it will be harder to get accomodation etc. Also air fares tend to be higher in January. I'd suggest November or February.

[Smiler]

Hi Wobbler

Welcome to the forum. :clap

I'm with this lot as above. The out laws have just put off coming until Feb as the fares were so much higher in Jan. Those savings will make so much more of a difference when you are here.

Which bit of IT are you in? Have you tried these peeps? http://www.iconrec.co.nz/ I would certainly try and set up some interviews prior to arriving.

Wellington is a great place and a compact city to get around in too. I can't help with schools (no children here) but there is loads to do with children and so much of it is free.

Keep an eye on these sites http://www.wellington.govt.nz/ & http://www.wellingtonnz.com/. This year there was a festival running through January and February with loads to do every weekend and in the school holidays.

Good luck and look forward to seeing you here. :nice1

PS this thread has loads of agencies etc on it. http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6479 :D

[sarahw]

Hi,

You're certainly doing the right thing in doing a reccy trip. Some friends of ours came over recently & decided it wasn't for them. However, we came over & within a week hubby had a job offer (not in IT but I believe there are quite a few jobs about).

As previously suggested get in touch with some job agencies or directly to companies that you see jobs for before you arrive & arrange some interviews (some places won't arrange them until you actually arrive).

Definitely don't come in Jan though - everyone's on Summer hols - like turning up in the UK in August! Either November or February.

Good luck!

[wobbler]

Wow - thanks for the welcome and the advise. Sounds like Feb or even March is a better time for a recon! Aside from meeting agents, seeing the city - what would one thing that would give us an insight into life in Wellington?

Probably an impossible question to answer but..... :)

[sarahw]

I'd recommend you don't stay at a hotel/motel if you can help it but stay in a homestay (B&B) - you'll get a better taste of Kiwi life and lots of advice! It was the most valuable thing we did when we came over.

Another thing is do a drive-thru all the areas you think you might be interested in living in - Sundays (and sometimes Saturdays) there are open homes - go & take a look at the kind of houses you might be interested in - you just need to turn up at the time advertised on the hoarding outside the house.

Enjoy!!

[wobbler]

Good idea - Thanks.

[browner_]

Can give u a few ideas of things to do.
- Stand on Courtney Place on Saturday night after 9pm, and here the boy racers going up and down, watch the world go by, and take in a few bars etc
- Walk from the train station, down Lambton Quay and Willis St during working hours. This will give you an idea of the main employment locations and shops.
- Drive out from Welllington through Johnsonville and Tawa to Porirua, Whitby and then over Haywards Hill to Lower Hutt and back to Wellington. You will have seen 90% of the suburbs outside of Wellington that you are ever likely to get to without a major trip.
- Take a circuit of the Eastern suburbs from the airport, check out the beaches and see if they are the sort of thing you are hoping for.
- If you see Wellington if February, then you are going to get a much more favourable picture then you would in June! In June, I suggest you move to Queensland.

[Richnat]

...and I just paid for my fact-finding ticket to Christchurch departing 3rd Jan, returning 24th. Oh why didn't I find this thread yesterday !! :wah

I now have this vision of wondering the streets of Christchurch dodging tumbleweeds and listening to the lonely wind whistling through empty streets...

"Hi, this is Christchurch. We're not in right now but if you'd like to come back in February..."

:p

[Trigirl]

we're planning on arriving in dec/jan. i've already got a job so offices being closed etc is not such as issue but i'm slightly concerned about not being able to find accomodation!

[Richnat]

There should always be room at the local backpackers but I think I'll hire a car with a roomy boot and fold down backseats just in case.