carpenrty in christchurch?

Lisa. · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:56 am Post subject: carpenrty in christchurch?

Hello everyone, would anyone know how easy it would be to find a carpentry job in Christchurch.
We have worked out our points total and with a job offer would have 150, not enough at present and would feel more secure knowing we have residency before going out as we'd have to sell our house here and have kids, it feels like a big risk going out on a work permit, can anyone offer us any advice on this also.
Rolling Eyes

I have so many questions as we are in the early stages of our research but i guess the answer to those two would be a great start.
Cheers Lisa

Bill B · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:25 pm Post subject: Re: carpenrty in christchurch?

Lisa. · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:43 pm Post subject: re carpentry in Christchurch

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to supply me with all that information, anything that you feel relevant would be a great help.
Renting our house here feels like a scary prospect, (I get scared easily Eek

),
we have worked hard to get our house looking nice and it worries me that if we rent it out it may get wrecked and i think perhaps it could be easier to sell when we need to if there are no tenants , if anyone has any advice on this also i'd be ever so grateful, i'm open to suggestions. cheers for your time i appreciate it Nice One

Lisa

eric_amanda · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 12:13 am Post subject:

Hello Lisa

Renting out your house sounds like a scary process but doesn't have to be that bad. This is what we have just signed up for and hopefully it will be for the best.

When taking on tenants you can specify whether you want, non-smokers, pets, children etc, whether they can decorate etc and much more. We are even stating in our contract that if various household applliances breakdown i.e whirlpool bath, dishwasher that we will not replace them. Also if the tenant is not much of a gardener then to write in an extra cost to hire somebody to keep the garden tidy.

So you see, it doesn't have to be as scary as you think. We are employing the sevices of a managing agent who will charge 11% paid on a quarterly basis to us, they do all the leg work.

At the end of the rental things may be a little worse for wear but nothing that you wouldn't expect.

If renting is going badly we will advise the agent to put it on the market and sell. In a couple of years we will make a descision either to stay in NZ or return to UK and if the house has rented well we will continue to lease it, if not we will sell.

Hope this helps. How old are your children?

Amanda

Lisa. · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 1:02 am Post subject:

Hi Amanda, and thankyou for your advice, i'l certainly look into that now, it would be better as we would have the security of knowing that if all doesn't go according to plan we are safe in the knowledge we have a house here and a sound investment.
My kids are 3 and 4, they are one of the biggest factors in our decision to emigrate, my sisters kids are teenagers and they seem to be going off track, i'm worried that will happen to my kids too, even with the right parenting it doesn't guarantee they'l turn out to be ok these days.
We fell in love with NZ in 98 when we were there and have missed it ever since, we knew we'd end up there sooner or later anyway, we love the Kiwis and their laid back lifestyle.
Have you got kids?.
Thanks for replying, Lisa

eric_amanda · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:19 am Post subject:

Hello Lisa

Glad to hear you are now considering the possibility of renting. We were amazed at how much we should get to rent our 3 bed semi. The rental should cover mortgage, life insurance etc, so then income in NZ shall cover general living expenses, although we do intend to buy once we arrive, so that we are not 'throwing away' our cash.

Yes we have 3 boys, 4mths, 14mths and 3yrs. Yes I have my hands full, but we cannot wait to move to NZ to get an opportunity to spend more of our life outdoors. They are, as you have said part of the reason we are doing it, and after all, if things don't work out, at least we've tried it and had a fabulous holiday into the bargain!!

We are headed to Whangarei, Northland in August, what sort of timescale are you working to?

Amanda

Lisa. · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:43 am Post subject:

That's a big coincidence Amanda, as we Can't decide between Whangerei and Christchurch, we like the idea of Whangerei as it looks beautiful and the population is only 50,000ish, the property prices are great too, the only thing that put us off is the rain, i think Northland gets alot? and i guess we think we'd have more chance of getting employment in Christchurch.

Yeah you have your hands full with 3 young kids!, i've only got the two and they keep me exhausted Uhoh

I bet you are so excited, going in August, i wish we were but unfortunately we will be about a year behind you, still it's something to look forward to, you will get to have two summers this year then Nice One

.
Are you going over on a work visa? what job will you/Eric do, and do you already have work lined up? sorry loads of questions!. Lisa

eric_amanda · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:10 am Post subject:

Try this link

http://jobstuff.co.nz/c86e69f5eb1cf0cc/details.html?query_id=1242896&top=1&first=2&advert_id=298601

I just pulled this up very quickly. This is not far out of Whangarei. I'm sure with a bit more effort you could find more. Is Carpentry somewhere on OSL or POL?

Rain I think is 1600mm, I posted it somewhere last week to Sesame, which isn't too bad.

We are going on Work to Residence (talent) Visa. Eric is an Optometrist and will be working for a practice in Whangarei. We have been very lucky in the help and advice they have provided, particularly when we had probs with NZIS London a couple of weeks ago. I will stick to Domestic Engineering for the time being!!

Amanda

Lisa. · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:55 am Post subject:

Thanks Amanda, ive got loads of information and websites to visit, that'l keep me busy for a while. I wish you and Eric all the best in the coming months, i'l keep looking out for your posts to see how you are getting on. I think Carpentry is on the OSL so i think we should be able to get a work to residence visa, i'l need to check out 1600mm rainfall to compare it to a part of England, if you could save me the bother i'd appreciate it. Nice One

Thanks Alison....Lisa

eric_amanda · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 5:33 am Post subject:

Hi

I just checked UK's rainfall in Lonley Planet guide to Britain. It says as low as 600mm in areas like Essex abd Kent to as high as 4500mm in hilly areas like Pennines etc. I guess this compares reasonably well with Whangarei's 1600mm of rain (I have checked), 2000 hrs of sunshire and temp averages of between 10 and 28 centigrade. Frosts are rare.

Check out http://www.whangareinz.org.nz/living.htm for more info on living in Whangarei.

Not sure how this compares with Christchurch, maybe someone else can help you out with that.

Where in UK are you from?

Amanda

Lisa. · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:16 am Post subject:

Hi Alison, my partner Richard, his mum was from Huddersfield, his Dad from Wakefield, but they lived in Leeds until moving to Peterborough, I am from Lincoln but live in Peterborough now, hope that's not too confusing, we are quite lucky here with rainfall it's the dryest part of England apparantly. Whangerei really appeals to me so it would be interesting to know how you get on when you get there, i hope you'll be able to keep us posted when you arrive.
Are you shipping belongings out there? Do you know people already there?, sorry loads of questions again but it's great to talk to people that share our dream!

Lisa.

eric_amanda · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:38 am Post subject:

Hi again

Huddersfield is a bit wet at times being close to Pennines. When my Mum visits from Leicestershire, particularly during winter I think she thinks we live in Siberia!! And we make her smoke outside!!! We used to live in Northampton before moving to Hudds 6 yrs ago, eric is originally from Hudds.

We are shipping with Crown Relocation, they are collecting our things on 20 July, will keep everyone posted with what happens.

We have never been to NZ so the only people we know are the people Eric is going to work for, and we have never met them! although we have talked on the telephone and e-mail regularly (they are from Scotland originally). and I guess in a round about way we know everybody from this forum, although most seem to be going to Christchurch!! So maybe we can start people off on Whangarei now!! I must admit somedays its a bit daunting the fact that we know very few people, but hopefully we will make friends quite quickly. Having children seems to make that a little easier, and hopefully once we buy a house we will have some nice neighbours to share BBQ's with!!

Have you visited Whangarei before? Its very close to the Bay of Islands and I may eventually get to swim with the Dolphins!! I'm even considering taking up diving.

Will keep in touch and let you know how things go.

Amanda

Lisa. · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 8:20 am Post subject:

Don't worry about making friends in NZ, they are amongst the most friendly people i've ever met, you are just gonna love it, and like you said having kids will help alot.
I have friends in Wellington, Auckland, Bay of islands, but i too know no one in Whangerei or Christchurch, i know that'l be no problem though, i get the feeling it won't matter where you go, the people will be friendly.

Hey i'm beginning to think Whangerei could be the place again, just have to talk Rich back round again, i'l keep an open mind and watch how you get on...Lisa