New Zealand Postponed for now

Graham Barnes · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 3:48 am Post subject: New Zealand Postponed for now

Hi all,

Have just hit BIG wobbles about moving to NZ right now and have decided to stay in UK for a bit longer. Feeling pretty down about things, so writing this message counts as a bit of therapy I guess! comfort

All we had to do was pack the furniture and step on the plane next month...I'm a teacher and had a fantastic job lined up at a private Auckland boarding school, NZQA and registration all sorted. The school were brilliant and very understanding about it all despite the hole we have left them in.
I even took time out of school to complete a PGCE (teaching qualification) to get myself NZ-registered as all of my past experience has been in the independent sector over here. All in all, it's taken us about 2 years to get to this point, including millions of hours of research (not least on this website!!)
Our problem is family...or specifically, lack of it so far! Having tried for a a few years for Barnes Jnr, we are about to start on the old fertility treatment which we have decided is incompatible with starting out 12,000 miles away in a new country. We always thought that we would be able to do this in Auckland, but perhaps this wasn't being realistic.
So move called off for now..., but we thought that if we didn't give the treatment our best shot then we'd regret for the rest of our lives. My thinking is that they will still need Physics teachers over there in a couple of years fingers crossed

, and now I've got it, it will be easy to renew my teacher registration if needs be.
Wifey is quite pleased about the decision as it was my idea to go to NZ in the first place, but we'll give it a year or so and look again depending on our situation.
My plan is....no kids=need an adventure so off to NZ! Kids=NZ is a nice place to bring them up and we could go for a smaller town rather than large city (wife would have needed job as well). Need to discuss with 'er indoors though.....!

Other bummer is that my school have found a replacement for me, but I have found a new job in Canterbury (NOT the NZ version unfortunately!

)which isn't the worst place in the world to live for now. I get 6 months off between jobs so depending on the treatment, I'm going off to NZ for 4-5 weeks holiday and do some REAL travelling Mr. Green

and visit my brother who has been teaching out there (Dargaville, Northland) for 2 years and is loving it. Went out for 3 weeks last year, but nowhere near long enough...

Anyway, sorry about the ramble but feels good to get it off my chest. Good luck to all you lucky ones...feeling very envious, particularly on 29th July when we were due to fly out; but hoping to play catch up in a year or so.
Will still stick my nose onto the forum though...as we've just gone through the whole application process successfully, do contact me if anyone needs any information.

Good luck all!

Graham

mattford · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:12 am Post subject:

Good luck and I hope things work out for you. You've certainly made the right decision to stay put during this period of your life and I hope the future rewards you for it

All the best,
Matt

Lee&Nicky · I Like It Here Joined: 15 May 2004 Posts: 70

Graham,

It takes guts to make the decisions you have, it is so easy to just go with the flow, particularly when everything has pretty much been put in place and D-day gets closer. From your note, you're decision has been made for very, very good reasons and I don't think it is "wobbling" at all. Some friends of ours have had IVF and it is an emotionally draining time even without the huge upheaval of relocating to another country, so I think you are absolutely right to concentrate on one major event at a time. As you say, you can return to the emigration plan at a later date and I couldn't put it better than Matt - here's hoping you are rewarded in the future for taking the tough decisions now.

Good luck and don't feel too down, you just have a higher priority right now before taking on the emigration plan.

Lee & Nicky

eric_amanda · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:27 am Post subject:

Hello Graham

My best wishes go to you and your wife. We to have been through the experience of 'assisted conception' with two of our children (and then the third came along as a suprise!!) and so we know how stressful this experience can be without the addition of emigrating to NZ and having to readjust to a new country.

You have made the right decision for now, then as you have said you can emigrate later with junior in tow.

We look forward to hearing your progress.

I also have been having a few wobbles of late. More emotionally than anything, as things grow nearer the emotions are rising, I guess they will all come to a head at our leaving party on the 11th.

Good news is though that we appear to have tenants for our house, who seemvery keen! Eric may have even talked them into doing the pointing while they are here!!

Best wishes again

Amanda

karltsmith · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 8:10 am Post subject:

Hi Graham,

This one hits so close to home, thanks for sharing such a personal thing!!! My wife and I tried for 5 years to start a family. After 12 months of Clomid treatment we too finally went through IVF. Three misscarraiges later, one of them a twin pregnancy, we were blessed with our darling little twin girls. It's roller coaster ride of emotions you are about to embark on and my wife and I would like to offer our heart felt support and encouragement to see it through. You have definately made the right decision!!!!! Don't be a stranger to the forum though please keep us all informed of your progress or pm me if you wish.

I can fully recommend the Priory Hospital in Edgbaston Birmingham who have one of the highest sucess rates in the country!

God Bless and good luck

Karl Nice One

kiwi · Valued Member Joined: 02 Apr 2004 Posts: 126

(((((((((((((((((big hug)))))))))))))))))))))

Nicky

Moorf · Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 7:40 pm Post subject:

All the very best in your quest - ultimately be happy and healthy.

Take Care
Helen & Warren

r+j · Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 5:35 am Post subject:

hi Graham
Sorry to hear your plans are on hold but it's only a temporary delay, and as you say , your brother is out there so you can take lots of holidays there in the meantime

Best of luck to you both with the fertility treatment.

I'm a Primary teacher desperately hoping to get to NZ at the start of the school year in January.

I grew up in Canterbury( England) and currently live 10 miles away on the coast so if you want to know more about the area please ask away. Which school have you got your job in. I know of 3 private sector schools so must be one of those.

All the best

Jus

Graham Barnes · Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 6:23 am Post subject:

Hi Jus and everyone else,

Many thanks for the comments....BIG help Nice One

it's good to know that others agree with the decision we've made, and it's really helped to cheer us up! It's amazing how many people have either been through the same treatment as us, or know someone who has. We're having a big CHIN UP at the moment, taking one thing at a time. We're not the kind of people who go for "Kids or bust" and everything else can go to Hell. But we'll make it a priority for the next year or so, and if it doesn't work out, there are plenty of other things we can enjoy in our lives, in the knowledge that we gave it our best shot. I'm a big dog lover too Helen Clapping

, and there are lots of mountains in the world that I haven't climbed yet!

Re. teaching Jus, I'm hoping that NZ will still need secondary teachers in a couple of years' time. They should do as the bulge in secondary numbers is expected to peak in 2007 so there should be plenty of opportunities, particularly as I am a Physics teacher with some good schools behind me.
Primary is much harder at the moment, and has actually been taken off the POL, because of declining pupil numbers. I've read a couple of articles on Stuff saying that primary colleges are churning out native teacher graduates by the bucketload who can't find jobs. However a big issue over there seems to be quality of applications for jobs...I think if you have some valuable experience and a good track record, you will stand a decent chance, particularly if you can go over there for interviews. I also read a recent article on edgazette about how highly regarded UK teachers were over there, particularly as 85% planned to stay there permanently.
You could try Auckland as primary teachers may be on the OSL there. Good luck to you, and if you need any advice with the Council or NZQA, give me a shout! I would say that you must get your registration dealt with before applying otherwise you are very unlikely to be considered in what is a buyer's market at the moment.
I 'phoned up a couple of agencies (Oasis and Edpersonnel) who place overseas teachers for no charge to the teacher. They gave some very useful advice even though I didn't need them in the end for my NZ job. You can find their details on the www.teachnz.govt.nz website.

I start at The King's School, Canterbury in Sept 2005. School has an excellent reputation and Canterbury is a nice town to live in (for now!?). First time I've been TO Kent, although I've been THROUGH it plenty of times...not what I expected as I expected it to be much more built up and less green. It's a bit flat though...I think the nearest mountains are the Alps. Laughing

But I've got to learn how to teach girls Confused

...strange creatures as I've only taught boys up until now!

Graham

r+j · Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 8:30 am Post subject:

hi Graham,

know king's school well, it has a very good reputation and famous ex pupils including that astronaut chap i think! Is his name Michael Foulds???
i used to go to a school very close by.

canterbury is currently undergoing a big transformation and the shopping area is being pretty much rebuilt- it was time to bring this city up to date, so shopping should be more fun if your wife is into that kind of thing!
Are you planning on living in the city cos I can let you know the areas to avoid!! On the whole it's not a bad place to live.

Yes it's a pretty flat area but it does have countryside within easy reach. No mountains Laughing

As for me getting a job I'm pretty anxious about the situation. Primary teaching is on OSL for Auckland and Canterbury( NZ!!) at the moment but OSL must be due for an update soon and I reckon Canterbury will be removed as there's a handful of jobs going there at the moment.

I've just got my transcript back from uni, gathered my A level certs and now need to get confirmation of my jobs since 1990 when I qualified. Then I'll send off to NZQA.

If my quals are recognised then I'll do the teachers council bit.

Anyway, good luck let me know if you need any info

Jus

Graham Barnes · Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 11:09 am Post subject:

Have sent you a pm.
Graham