Charlosparky
23rd September 2006, 08:03 PM
Well we have been here 2 whole weeks now, and only just got the phone & internet setup, so this is the 1st post for a while.
First thoughts on NZ? well not here long enough to form any informed veiws but gotta say the scenery here is great- and i dont just mean the obvious spectacular stuff but sheer variety - for example we went on a 15k ride out to the beach and saw "derbyshire" stone walls on gently rolling hills, great "californian" style houses, flat 'lincolnshire' wetland reserves, "Cornish" cliffs, and tropical beaches.
The people so far are generally freindly, with only a few people being wary or possibly offish to us (because we are immigrants)
The choice of cars is simply staggering- japanese imports galore, big american cars, and old classic british cars almost rustfree! In our 6k trip from our suburb to town center we must pass 20-30 cars parked on the roads for sale, and they change every few days, and we have also seen campers and boats too. So far we have bought a toyota and mitsibushi.
School- our 9 yr old Jake has done a week, we were surprised the school seemed a bit run down and so did some of the kids, but in hindsight that was more our opinion, and we hadnt adjusted to seeing bare footed non-uniformed (and non-washed) kids. now Jake likes it and is making freinds and wouldn't be seen anywhere with shoes on (and 3 weeks ago he would ONLY wear Nikes or throw a paddy!)
Houses- Yep they are pants! We are renting an overgrown static caravan that calls itself a house. The newer ones are nice, our brother in law has one and the brick/tile construction and modern insulation make it feel solid, but our 1970's effort is cold 2 hours after sunset, really chilly in the morning, and has enough condensation on the windows to fill a bath. Single glazing i can live with, but when we buy we will have so look into what is available re heating. (and this is Northland in the spring, god help the rest of NZ!!)
Started work and they took us out for A PINT on friday, but that turned into about FOUR!!! :laugh they are a nice crew.
Oh and Pack n save is heaps (oops kiwi words creeping in) better that countdown, and cheaper.
Radio stations here have Black Thunder 4x4s just like the UK!!
Anyway, its generally ok so far, now looking for a cheapy boat on TradeMe (but dunno what sort as never had one before :confused: ) but then never emigrated before and we managed that.
Anyway, gotta go now, especially as the wife has started talking with that thing where the end of every sentance goes up kiwi-style!!! Yet she hasn't even noticed it yet, but our folks on the phone in the uk have :laugh
First thoughts on NZ? well not here long enough to form any informed veiws but gotta say the scenery here is great- and i dont just mean the obvious spectacular stuff but sheer variety - for example we went on a 15k ride out to the beach and saw "derbyshire" stone walls on gently rolling hills, great "californian" style houses, flat 'lincolnshire' wetland reserves, "Cornish" cliffs, and tropical beaches.
The people so far are generally freindly, with only a few people being wary or possibly offish to us (because we are immigrants)
The choice of cars is simply staggering- japanese imports galore, big american cars, and old classic british cars almost rustfree! In our 6k trip from our suburb to town center we must pass 20-30 cars parked on the roads for sale, and they change every few days, and we have also seen campers and boats too. So far we have bought a toyota and mitsibushi.
School- our 9 yr old Jake has done a week, we were surprised the school seemed a bit run down and so did some of the kids, but in hindsight that was more our opinion, and we hadnt adjusted to seeing bare footed non-uniformed (and non-washed) kids. now Jake likes it and is making freinds and wouldn't be seen anywhere with shoes on (and 3 weeks ago he would ONLY wear Nikes or throw a paddy!)
Houses- Yep they are pants! We are renting an overgrown static caravan that calls itself a house. The newer ones are nice, our brother in law has one and the brick/tile construction and modern insulation make it feel solid, but our 1970's effort is cold 2 hours after sunset, really chilly in the morning, and has enough condensation on the windows to fill a bath. Single glazing i can live with, but when we buy we will have so look into what is available re heating. (and this is Northland in the spring, god help the rest of NZ!!)
Started work and they took us out for A PINT on friday, but that turned into about FOUR!!! :laugh they are a nice crew.
Oh and Pack n save is heaps (oops kiwi words creeping in) better that countdown, and cheaper.
Radio stations here have Black Thunder 4x4s just like the UK!!
Anyway, its generally ok so far, now looking for a cheapy boat on TradeMe (but dunno what sort as never had one before :confused: ) but then never emigrated before and we managed that.
Anyway, gotta go now, especially as the wife has started talking with that thing where the end of every sentance goes up kiwi-style!!! Yet she hasn't even noticed it yet, but our folks on the phone in the uk have :laugh