About
| Name: | Julie |
| Age: | 41 |
| Occupation: | Housewife |
| Number Emigrating: | 4 |
| Emigrated from: | Birmingham, England |
| Moved to: | Queenstown |
| When did you arrive in NZ: | May 2008 |
| My Story Written: | August 2008 |
| Daily Commute Time: | - |
What were your reasons for emigrating?
Political correctness gone mad, big brother watching your every move, crime out of control, no border control, EU destroying the sovereignty, no freedom of speech.
What were your reasons for choosing New Zealand?
Greater freedoms(not a nanny state),the beauty of the country, a better environment to bring up children.
What differences have you noticed between your NZ town and your home town?
No kids hanging on street corners, no litter, no graffiti.
What do you like best about New Zealand?
The countryside, it's breath taking.
What don't you like about New Zealand?
The racism, do not be misled by NZ immigration advertisements poms are NOT liked by the kiwi's, the general misconception over here is that all English are loaded.
I had one women who owns a new age shop in Arrowtown screaming at me that poms had no right stealing kiwi jobs as the british government pays for everything so poms don't have to go to work!
And this is from woman who is married to an ex-pat.
There is crime here with shop-lifting being the national past time, though to be fair, wages are terrible here, there is a lot of poverty with many families living on the bread line.
This is not the land of milk and honey as NZ immigration would have you believe.
Make no mistake, it is a struggle to make ends meet here once your savings are gone.
This country may be 'Gods own' but you can't live on fresh air.
I do not agree with having to pay for health care for sick children.
There is no support in schools for children with disabilities.
Do not be led to believe as we were that classes are smaller over here than in the UK - unless it's a school out in the sticks.
I thought I had done my research before coming to NZ but nothing could had prepared me for the real thing, think long and hard and talk to lots of ex-pats before taking the plunge.
What do you miss from your home country?
Family, friends, tesco's, sainsbury's, morrison's, marks and spencers, infrastructure, utilities - it's like living in the seventies.
How easily did you find work in New Zealand?
Considering my husbands trade (air con engineer) was on the critical list it was not easy finding a job.
My husband was very quickly recruited by a NZ company too, industries are growing here and there are huge skill shortages in certain fields like IT, Medical and Teaching/Early Childhood.
How does your working life in New Zealand compare with your previous work experiences?
A lot of the companies over here lack man-management skills with many going to the wall everyday.
How does your standard of living in New Zealand compare with your previous country?
Very poor.
How does your quality of life now compare with your previous country?
I dont think Im going to staying long enough to have a say.
I certainly appreciate England a lot more.
Do you have any other personal experiences or observations that would be useful for people considering immigrating to New Zealand?
Be aware of the racisim towards the english, poor wages and high cost of living.