[Jamie and Suzy]

:laugh

[Al_S]

A great post. A lot of what you say reflects our position. We have both been offered roles in NZ but the prospects of a bleaker financial future and remoteness from it all (for some this might be the draw!) as well as "out of this world" real estate prices make us think twice about proceeding.

There is nothing wrong with thinking long and hard before taking the next steps; it will be dangerous not to do so. No matter how good a place is, what matters most is, "is that place good for you and your family"? NZ I am sure is THE destination for a lot of folks and that is fantastic but you have to make sure it will work for you before you get going. Good luck with your plans for the future.

[Diny]

Hey - if it makes you feel any better, I personally see absolutley no improvement in the attitude of teenagers and youngsters over here in NZ. To be honest, going by the 'group' of youngsters I was familiar with in the UK compared to the youngsters I come in contact with over here, the UK guys win hands down. So don't beat yourself up on that score !!

You have made a decision which is right for you, like you say, no matter how beautiful a place is it's not going to put food on the table and money in the bank. We're here in NZ and enjoying it, my husbands employment situation means that he's in the same job as when we were in the UK and we are actually financially better off over here, but putting that to one side, even though life here is good, I can't see any major advantages to living here rather than the UK (life was good back home too). And hey ... don't get me started on the NZ education !!!!

I can only talk from my own experiences and points of view. In a nutshell NZ really is a wonderful place, but once the honeymoon period is over life here is just the same as anywhere else. Yeah the people are laid back, at times this is refreshing and kind of quirky, at other times it's irritating and screams incompetence. Also, the old 'NZers are the friendliest people in the world' chestnut. You get a fair share of friendly/unfriendly people here like you do anywhere else in the world.

For alot of people NZ is THE best place in the world. For others it just doesn't suit. For myself, I prefer to sit firmly on the fence and dangle a foot in both camps. It's a great place to be, but in my opinion so is the UK.

NZ will always be here - you may find (like others have) that taking the occasional holiday here will satisfy your hunger for the place.

Good luck in everything you decide to do.

Diny

[spudulike]

Jamie and Suzie,
Well you may or may not have read my previous posts but I''ve been here for 7 months now with my husband and two children (aged 2 and 9 months) and we will be heading back to the UK in about 15 months (and counting) for all the reasons you have stated. I really do love NZ but we can't make it work for us financially and the thought of coming home and setting up again terrifies me too. In the UK we were in a comfortable position financially after alot of hard work and we will be starting further down the housing market and struggling for the first couple of years back home before we are comfortable again. However, at least we have a good chance of getting into the housing market there - we haven't here with high interest rates and low wages, even with a good deposit!

As for the teenagers, well they are the same the world over! No better or worse here. Yes there is beautiful scenery but we saw more of it whilst here on holiday with sterling to spend than we can whilst living here earning $NZ. I think many people are happy here, and many get here and make a life because they cannot afford to go home. We're lucky we have the money to go back and set up!

Well done on having the courage to realise it's not for you - and as you say, there are so many fabulous countries in Europe where you can live (something we are also considering for a few years down the track).

Good luck

Louise :)

[Carol]

For myself, I prefer to sit firmly on the fence and dangle a foot in both camps.

Diny

Me too!
And it can QUITE uncomfortable at times!!! Especially when you get a splinter up your bum!

;) :laugh

It's a lovely feeling when you prise it out though.


Not unlike a g-string really!


PLEASE FORGIVE ME EVERYONE I COULDNT HELP MYSELF!!!

[NannyOgg]

Hey

Don't nknock it until you've tried it ;)

Nanny x

[Carol]

Why do I get the impression this thread is heading in a different direction?
:laugh

Sorry Jamie and Suzy - my fault!

:laugh

Hope it all works out for you anyway - wherever you end up! :cheers

[Diny]

Carol ..... I had thoughts along those lines when I wrote the bit about sitting on the fence, brings water to your eyes doesn't it.

Diny

[Anita & Marco]

If we had been 10 years younger and nothing to lose then yeah...maybe but we have gained too much to throw it away lightly.

Hi,
I have read your post and I can perfectly imagine why you decide no to take the plunge. However, to which country you will be going - because as I read, you definitely are looking moving out of UK? you will need to have courage and no fear of what the future will bring for you. And that is not only financially.

I also agree - like Louise - that you cannot enjoy the scenery when you do not have money to make both ends meet. We go through all of that as well. But somewhere in a few years time - it will be different. Better? I do not know. What is better? It is so hard to compare. Financially we are far worse off here in NZ - something we knew beforehand, but it is always different when you are in the situation "live". It takes a few years before we can look back and conclude whether it was a wise change or not, but on the other hand: We don't look back and regret that we DID NOT do what we wanted to do. And that would always have been worse!!!!

Good luck all of you!!!
Cheers,
Anita

[K&CS]

Hmm, sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself. You're stating all these 'facts' about New Zealand although I'm not sure if you've even been here. It also concerns me that you have based your decision on what you have read on an emigration forum. Yes, you can great some great info and advice here but you cannot base a decision on whether or not to emigrate on an immigration forum.

Yes, we love it here, so obviously I feel differently about things than the others who have posted here, but I thought I'd give you my thoughts anyway. I too am from the North of England where we had beautiful scenery on our doorstep (gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and lived in Harrogate which is a beautiful spa town). The scenery here is far more spectacular than anything I ever saw there plus you don't have the terrible greyness here for about 6 months a year.

Appalling work conditions and wages? Well, you can't generalise like that - I'm sure you've researched your field which has brought you to that conclusion, but it is not the case for everyone by any means. OH has a decent wage in very laid back working conditions plus he has perks he never had in the UK - eg he doesn't have to pay tax on his company car.

Paying for the dr! Well this has been covered a lot lately, but while it is true that you pay to see your gp, your hospital treatment is free - if you break a leg or have a baby, you don't have to pay to go to the hospital! Plus you will nearly always be seen the same day when you phone to see a gp.

Subsidising your child's education? We pay a small amount for trips etc each term, which is the same as we did in the UK. We are certainly not paying any more than we were in the UK.

I appreciate that it would be hard to struggle on a low wage, but the implication that most kiwis are struggling to live and simply live their lives the way they do because they haven't seen the light is pretty wide of the mark and an insult to kiwis' intelligence.

I'm so glad we made the decision to come here - it's the best decision we ever made and the difference it has made to all our lifestyles and has been immense. I know that I am possibly in the minority in feeling like this, but I just thought I'd give you my point of view for a bit of balance.

Good luck with your future, wherever you end up.

Kate

[Bergita]

Hi

I just wanted to say it's funny how different people's perspectives can be. When I read the bit about paying for the Doctor!!! And subsidising school fees!! Well, I pay to see a doctor every time I go, pay for hospitalization too. As for school fees, I pay full fees for that too. So for me, paying for a doctor would be fine. Not paying for a hospital visit - great! And not paying enormous amounts in school fees - lovely!

It cost me about R25000 to give birth and almost R1000 monthly for school fees....Just thought I'd share.

[NannyOgg]

Er.... really not meaning to add any fuel to the fire but I meant 'don;t knock it until you've tried... NZ".

At the moment (and it is fair to say that we are still in the holiday period), and putting homesickness aside we seem to be no worse off than in the UK but have the good weather perks and relative safety that NZ offers.

It is clean with good infrastructure (apart from Public transport) and it is great if you have a young family.

I wonder (obviously I don't know!) whether the posts from people who are really struggling are those who did not come over with a fair whack of equity from thier housesale in the UK - say $300 NZ$ or more - it seems to me and yes, I know I don't yet have much experience, that if you manage to put about 2/3rd down on a house and have a compartive wage for the NZ market and mortgage that is a percentage to that your wage to that you earned in the UK it shouldn't be too different - you are not going to be rolling in it but should have about the same standard of living. Or am I just seeing it through RTG's?

I think the biggest thing to get your head around is salary - if we converetd OH's salary to pounds he would be on about 28K UK pounds - he has not earne d that since he was 25!
I feel if you come over with a good deposit for a house(at least over half the house value) then it shouldn't be that difficult to survive.

Sorry gang, just my humble - no offence meant to anyone!

Nanny xxx

[jess]

I'll second Nanny, though we are doing fine having come with far less than 300K NZD. But we did have money from our house sale to help start us off. It makes a big difference.

As several people have said, it depends on so many things -- how you like to live, what you were used to in your home country (2 weeks annual vacation leave in the US :uhoh) how much savings you are able to bring, the exchange rate when you move your cash, whether you have children, what field you are in...

We researched and visited beforehand and did the online budget calculator (which was actually very good) and read this forum, but I still don't think we really had a handle on what it would be like for our own particular situation until we had moved here. (Not very helpful I know.)

[StevieD]

What you say is possibly true, but it is also true here. Employment conditions have gone through the floor in the past few decades, and the extra holidays, by God you need them the way they work you to the bone here. I know what you are saying about all those things, but what happens to millions if the interest rate suddenly shoots up in UK? It can happen, and has happened, and we will see an awful lot of people turfed on to the streets by the ruthless banks who will gladly take "your" home off you, people who can no longer afford because of all the borrowing that the banks so easily and gleefully provided. I'm sorry, I cannot wait to depart these greed ridden shores, life is a house of cards, move one and it all so easily comes collapsing in on you, I know because it happened to me, and it isn't nice. Good job, gone, all of a sudden your phone line is hot with people threatening your home, courts, bailiffs etc. It isn't nice, and oh so easy once your comfort zone salary is taken away.
As for those troublesome teenagers, they are like feral kids, out of control and nasty to boot.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do, but I know I will be going to NZ debt free, with a smallish amount of money to enable to get on in life without the threats from greedy banks and lenders. If it doesn't work, well, we'll cross that bridge then, but I don't expect to be coming back this way.

[Billy]

I am always amused when reading things like 'visits to the doctor are free' in the UK. Paid for by someone, I wonder who.....

Equate lower incomes with lower fuel, heating, rates charges etc. and things start to even out. My car insurance costs me about 30 quid, so there's a good $2000 of salary I dont need to earn.

Petrol currently about $1.04 i.e. 36 pence/litre; any takers?

Cheers
Billy

[wilson182]

I agree that the initial post was very general, and seemed to be based more on heresay than actual facts. Life for us in NZ has turned out ok, based on what we have come from. We also did not come over with a huge sum of UK£s (not anything like a third to a half deposit for a house). However, we are debt free and our disposable income is much more than we had in the UK. I have no idea whether we are on more or less than in England, I gave up converting money ages ago - 3-1 this 3-1 that its not really relevant after earning and spending NZ$. Yes things are different here, can be backwards and frustrating but thats the way the people are. We are able to afford a detached bungalow with good sized section over here, coming from a terraced house on a main road, thats a big improvement in our life. Our daughter is able to ride her bike round the back garden, and to the shop with her dad. She is growing up in a small town, not unlike where I grew up, something we not have been able to do in England. School fees dont break the bank and neither do visits to the doctors, I guess it depends on how often you need to visit.

My point is that living anywhere new is relevant to each individuals perception of what they want in life. And as nanny says is not really fair to knock it unless you have tried it. I am glad that you have made a decision that is right for you, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.

[marcia]

Well we're not in NZ yet - but will be in 5 weeks and 2 days (and counting!!)

Everyones own circumstances and expectations from life are different, there is no rght or wrong answer, just what feels right for your 'family' and what you are comfortable with.

We have lived quite comfortably in the uk, mortgage free for the last couple of years, due to Kev havng some very good contracts and working extreamly hard. He turned down a VERY big contract for another 4 years at the start of this year, because we decided we were going to NZ (and at that point we didn't even have enough points to apply and needed a job offer to get in!! :uhoh )

He will be working for someone for the first time in 12 years, which will be difficult in itself, but the salary he will be earning is less than he paid his own staff here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are lucky - hang on, no we're not lucky, we're worked hard to get where we are, we will be taking a nice lump of money to NZ which we hope will allow us to live mortgage free and if we can invest a bit too and earn some interest - all well and good!!

We have 3 boys and when you have a family your perceptions change, and what you want from life changes too. We hope to give them a better more carefree, less pressured life. I don't like the way the children are pushed so hard in the uk education system, they need time to be kids first - being grown up is hard enough!! :p Ands we won't start with the designer labels and must have gimics that kids feel pressured into having to keep up with their mates!

There are loads of things about the uk government and the way the uk has opened up into Europe and the influx of people coming to work in the uk and being allowed to benefit from our health service, and housing benefits and childs benefit systems, that i personnaly feel STINK! No wonder they are expecting people to work their fingers to the bone now till they are 70+, a pot of money only goes so far, and quickly empties if YOU don't put anything back in, OR HAVE NEVER PUT ANYTHING IN,IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Anyway I know I'm rambling, and really want I wanted to say was - we are prepared to take that leap and give it a good try, out in NZ, there will be things about the 'system' we won't like, I'm positive of that, but you have to take the rough with the smooth and hope it evens itself out (at the moment in the uk, for us, theres too much rough!!)

We don't know if it will work out for us, but we will give it our very best shot, and if it doesn't, at least we can say we gave it a go! :)

whatever your decision - have a happy life! :)

[Jani D]

I was going to post this in Stevie post, but thought i'd do it under my name.

As someone else said that you are listening to other people views, just like the view of the Uk being that land of plenty. The forum is great for info and i know we wont be landing with the rose tinted spec in place. But what peeps write about the Uk we find it hard to see. Because it's certainly not like that for us.

When we go past the local secondary school and see them drug dealing around the corner from the school, which is the school that our eleven year old may have to go to in Sept. Our teacher friends tells us that it is a common occurence inside the school too. Talking of teacher friends, one has just started as a NQT and stood up to a teenage boy who threaten her with a gun, she wasn't worried but the other teachers were. The next day another teenager brought a air gun into school for the boy to use on Miss B. Is it like that in NZ????

The school system isn't working for my daughter. We are having a really bad time with her. She has special needs, but is intelligent (120 IQ). This year she has been put into the bottom group and she knows it. Her work is crap and doesnt need to do all the homework (red group cant because they aren't clever enough) and Miss doesnt think she's clever. Her words not mine. She's 8. Her 'extra' lessons/help have stopped because the special needs helper is now busy with a polish boy who cant speak a word of english (he's on her table). But hey its 'free'???

As for paying for doctors. See Stevie thread on my arm, i wish i could afford to pay to get seen sooner. Looking at my arm last night its already becoming mishaped.

I am not even going to comment on seeing my husband an educated trained guy, working in a warehouse because he cant find work here. He's 'just' above minium wage and works with lots of kids which failed at school. They tell him how much money they spent at the weekend on drugs and who they beat up. How do you think he feel and it saddens me to see someone you love having to face that ever day.

I wrote a letter to myself the other day to remind me of how I feel in the UK. I know that i will be homesick, wrong word, miss my mum and dad, so the note is for days like that. I reminded myself of the feelings i had when only that day the bank'offered' to take back our house and when i said over my dead body how i meant it and the fight i had with them. I wanted to remind myself that the UK isnt the land of milk and honey neither.

Sorry for the rant but this post has been coming for a long time. Stevie hardly goes on the forum, not as much anway, because it has been of lately soul distroying. I know what you mean about reading the posts of late, to change your mind. But again that's people views on THEIR lives, we cant relate to their lives back home so how can we relate to their lives in NZ. Although we now don't have a choice, there have been times you read and think and wonder and panic. Maybe we are lucky and have good friends who we talk to and know our situ and encourage us throught those doubtful days (you guys know who you are ;) :laugh )

From what i can see if you are comfortable in the UK why change, NZ isnt going to make you richer in money terms. If you are happy then why want more. It comes down again to what you want in life and there's no right and wrong and everyone different. Hell if we would of planned this when Steve had a good job, I am the first to say it wouldnt of been for us, but sailing this close to the wind has made us realise what is important in your life. NZ means we can start again (something we couldnt do in the UK without losing our home and living in DHSS rehousing schemes :exit )

We are going to give it a go, we have to, and as a wise ole friend of ours says there's a departure lounge at Auckland airport too.

Good luck in your decision and enjoy your life :D

Jan
xx

[Trigirl]

Everyone needs to make their own decisions on this one. But I have to say the initial post does come across as a bit of a rant, certainly the "facts" regarding employment conditions are not true in the broad sweeping way they are given.


So this is my viewpoint on the move. Its a personal one - everyones financial circumstances are different and so the move will affect them differently.


We'll earn a lot less in NZ for sure. I reckon to start with about 60% of what we earn here. But our costs will be seriously lower in NZ.

Commuting is the biggie for me both in terms of money and lifestyle. Currently OH and I spend £700 a month between us on travelling to work and back. Plus it takes him 3 hours a day and me nearly 3 and a half just to get to work and back.

Having to pay £700 a month out of post tax salary is the same as taking a £14k pay cut. So - as Billy says - theres $40k we don't need to earn in NZ. Actually better make that $36k - after all we'll have to pay for our bus passes! And I'll get 3 hours a day back. 3 hours a day! That more than doubles my free time each day. Imagine what you can do with 15 extra hours a week.

Renting in NZ will cost us about 85% of our mortgage in the UK. But thats not really comparable. Once we buy, with the same equity in the house, the mortgage costs should be about 40% of our mortgage in the UK. Overall financially we should be better off under either situation.

Employment conditions? Well in the UK it varies from job to job - I assume the same is true in NZ. But my new job has more holiday leave than i get here plus there's 11 bank holidays in NZ instead of 8 here. Sick leave, redundancy etc are very similar to my job in the UK and more than adequate. Actually sick leave is slightly better as the company I work for in the UK don't pay anything if you were sick in the first 3 months of employment! I don't know about maternity leave but then its not relevant for me so I didn't take any notice of it.



Anyway - as I said another viewpoint....

[jodieinchch]

These are all very interesting. Jani D that was a fantastic post, really brought it home why I made the move. You mentioned all the reasons that I had in my mind!

Good luck to people that decide it's not for them. Good luck to people that decide it is. Life is what you make it.

PS. Sweden is one of the most expensive European countries...!

[NannyOgg]

Trigirl,

The same goes for us with extra time gained. I don't think we will be bette rof worse off but as a family we will gain a father to the kids!

OH drove and hour and a half to from work daily and that is when there was no traffic on M25 - frequently there was. When the kids were younger he did not usually see them from Sunday evening until Sat morning. Even in recent years we never ate as a family during the week as his usual 8pm arrival was too late for the kids. All that will chamge for us. Although he will be working Auckland and allowing for bad traffic (by NZ standards!) he should still be home by 6 pm every evening. That what I mean when I say our quality of life has improved.

Nanny x

[Paul]

Just read through all of this and firstly want to say good luck to original poster with your future decisions - sometimes just making a decision whatever it is makes you feel better and more settled (sometimes, although I am still posting here!). I do however feel that you have probably rubbed a few people in NZ up the wrong way with your forum-guided view of NZ (as is my own) - generalisations are always dangerous and should be taken with a pinch of salt (see my own one below!)

Personally I could relate to a lot of the original post in terms of giving up a secure well paid income, reasonably comfortable mortgage, pretty good standard of living overall. From my research I would probably start earning maybe 40% of my current income in NZ!!! However I do think those of us with children also see another side of UK living that isn't particularly attractive for the future.

In my mind children should be children as long as possible and protected as longa s possible from all the crap they will have to deal with when they get older. They should be free of fear of being able to play outside or at the park, grow up learning to respect their elders (old fashioned maybe but what is wrong with that) and with a positive attitude to life, and almost everything I have read on these and other forums seem to indicate that this is far more achievable in NZ than in UK. A generalisation yes, but still seems to be the majority view

For me that is one of the biggest pulls of NZ (that and the wine, beaches, more outdoor style life!) and why I would be prepared to give up everything we have here for a shot at that. Maybe it will happen one day maybe it won't that will be a decision we take as a family and not just me

By the way great post Jan D

Paul :cheers

[willsken]

Just read through all of this and firstly want to say good luck to original poster with your future decisions - sometimes just making a decision whatever it is makes you feel better and more settled (sometimes, although I am still posting here!). I do however feel that you have probably rubbed a few people in NZ up the wrong way with your forum-guided view of NZ (as is my own) - generalisations are always dangerous and should be taken with a pinch of salt (see my own one below!)

Personally I could relate to a lot of the original post in terms of giving up a secure well paid income, reasonably comfortable mortgage, pretty good standard of living overall. From my research I would probably start earning maybe 40% of my current income in NZ!!! However I do think those of us with children also see another side of UK living that isn't particularly attractive for the future.

In my mind children should be children as long as possible and protected as longa s possible from all the crap they will have to deal with when they get older. They should be free of fear of being able to play outside or at the park, grow up learning to respect their elders (old fashioned maybe but what is wrong with that) and with a positive attitude to life, and almost everything I have read on these and other forums seem to indicate that this is far more achievable in NZ than in UK. A generalisation yes, but still seems to be the majority view

For me that is one of the biggest pulls of NZ (that and the wine, beaches, more outdoor style life!) and why I would be prepared to give up everything we have here for a shot at that. Maybe it will happen one day maybe it won't that will be a decision we take as a family and not just me

By the way great post Jan D

Paul :cheers

Thanks for posting that.... you have saved me having to type anything at all!! 100% agree!! :D

[willsken]

I guess I am guilty of making some generalisations but then so are some members on this forum when it comes to the UK! Call my controversial post a bit of a reaction to that.


I don't think people are really. We are talking about the lives we live in the UK and what we see and live with every day. I for one acknowledge that the things I want out of life I can't afford to have here, not that it doesn't exist. If you read Diny's posts for example, she lived a lovely life here in the UK. :)

[willsken]

For those who have been defensive, try to see I am being a tad cheeky, I feel you have been unnecessarily hostile to somone simply trying to make sense of her own situation.


I had to read the posts in this thread again. I don't think anyone was being hostile, I know I certainly wasn't. People were only responding to things you criticised in NZ and gave their own experiences of their lives in NZ and in the UK.

I think we all have to ask harsh questions when deciding if the move is for us and for some the decision will be no to going. For some of us though, the down side of the move still far outweigh the lives we live in the UK. Very personal decision for all of us. No right or wrong at all. :)

[willsken]

:laugh

:confused:

[StevieD]

Yeah Nic, I don't understand it either!! Strange thing to do but hey ho.....

[K&CS]

How bizarre - this was making really quite interesting reading too.... If you're going to be so hostile about New Zealand, then you will get reactions!

I don't quite understand the comment about people making generalisations about the UK either - those of us who are from the UK know it pretty well actually - we haven't decided make sweeping statements about a country we've never lived in. I've always said on posts that I was very happy in the UK and lived in a lovely place and that I am proud to be British - I just feel that what I have here is even better.

[Diny]

For some of us though, the down side of the move still far outweigh the lives we live in the UK. Very personal decision for all of us. No right or wrong at all. :)


This is so true. Once again I really do believe that the kind of life you had in the UK (or wherever) will determine how you view your new life here in NZ.

I've moved from being extremely 'pro UK' to a comfortable 50/50 attitude towards both UK and NZ, I'm happy in either place. I guess deep down the UK will always 'come out on top' because it's my home - and (for me) home is where the heart is.

Jani D ..... fantastic post !!!!!

Diny

[Billy]

Despite it being the "worst winter" all of my pensioner customers and everyone else can remember, it seemed almost like a bad summer to us. Although we've been here nearly a year now, and having all that cold and wet through the winter, I still cant get used to how much drier and less windy it is, compared to the west of Scotland.

Cheers
Billy
p.s. another cloudless, windless day today, so far anyway.....

[Smiler]

:laugh

Before answering on this thread, I'm confused

a/ by the above. What's so funny Jamie or Suzy?:confused:

6/ yesterday Jamie and Suzy had 6 posts and now they're down to 3, who's pulling them and why.

Or was this just a wind up?

[willsken]

I think they deleted their posts because of the reaction. (2 of them, the second was quite long and addressed points that people had made in their replies but it wasn't on there long) (Not that I think the reaction was bad, just people who didn't agree with what they said. Nothing wrong with that!)

Smiler I thought that at first but if it was a wind up I think even I could have come up with a lot funnier one! :laugh

[Smiler]

I think they deleted their posts because of the reaction. (Not that I think the reaction was bad, just people who didn't agree with what they said. Nothing wrong with that!)

Smiler I thought that at first but if it was a wind up I think even I could have come up with a lot funnier one! :laugh

No nothing wrong with that at all, I didn't think the reaction was bad either (and I've just re-read it incase I missed something) :confused:, just grown ups having a debate, sharing experiences and being civil, as usual.

The thread just looks stupid on them now.

Will now look for wind ups in Nic's post's. :laugh

[K&CS]

I must admit I've been thinking the same as Smiler. If so, I'm just feeling annoyed that I wasted 15 minutes of my time in replying!! I do think it's odd...

[willsken]

Will now look for wind ups in Nic's post's. :laugh

Will put some thought into it........ might just come up with one in ohhh 2010!!! :laugh

[Smiler]

I must admit I've been thinking the same as Smiler. If so, I'm just feeling annoyed that I wasted 15 minutes of my time in replying!! I do think it's odd...

That's why I asked Kate. :yes All those who participate on this forum freely give time, effort, etc and we have a good community here. :nice1

I didn't want to write my deepest darkest thoughts at 8 am on a sunday morning for nothing.

[StevieD]

Oh I wouldn't bother wasting any more time because if it is a wind-up, that would fall into their trap completely. I can't see any reason to delete their posts, won't change a thing I suppose, obviously disgrutled people :)

[Avalon]

Well, add me to the confused list. Was about to reply - but couldnt see the quoted posts :wah

So I wont - most of you know how I feel about both the Uk and NZ anyway :laugh

And hey - we are still better off than the other forums :nice1

[Trigirl]

:laugh

A wind up? Maybe

Probably just rather pathetically unable to take any opinion that didn't match her own.

Shame as I thought this thread was generating some pretty good comment on both sides of "the divide"

[pieeater]

I was enjoying this thread and was just about to throw in my two-pennorth but now I'm just totally confused so I won't bother.

[Moorf]

:wah I'm obviously a bit late to this party - does anyone have the original post and can copy and paste it here?!!

[veronica]

Got to agree with Moorf here. think I can guess the tone of the original posting though.

[Avalon]

Got to agree with Moorf here. think I can guess the tone of the original posting though.
Dont have the original - but really - it wasnt that bad. Just someone saying that after reading this forum they decided not to come as it wouldnt improve thier lifestyle and they would struggle. (From what I remember anyway). Didnt seem too contensious when I read it, after all not everyone HAS to come to NZ if they decide its "Not for them".

However - deleting the post after wasting people's time is a bit off. But ho hum, I guess not even this forum can please everyone :)

[Moorf]

Ah well.. won't waste any more time on this thread then - back outside in the warm :exit

[Smiler]

Ah well.. won't waste any more time on this thread then - back outside in the warm :exit

and it is scorchio here. :clap:clap

[Carol]

Told you we should have stuck to g-strings!
:laugh