Permanent Resident in New Zealand - some impressionss

Timbo · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 12:13 am Post subject:

Dito!

Lukas · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:48 am Post subject:

to Moorf

"however please respect that different nations are moving for different reasons"

I wanted to share some personal impressions which may be usefull somehow for a prospective emigrant. Anyway probable you can tell me how have I offended any nation by my posts...
I can tell you instead nice stories about the seals I saw about the cute ducks on the public parcs...about the great beaches, about the NZ made apples, carots or food specialities...

Moorf · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 3:02 am Post subject:

Lukas, I don't deal with many Romanians but you do seem to be taking this all rather personally... we all appreciate your honest comments and we are merely discussing them as you would expect in most forums.

You said yourself that the reasons for people from your country to move to NZ are to get more professional jobs and more money - that's great - but that is not the reason other people go.... that is why you received the comments that you did from others, not because they disagree with you but because making lots of money and material things are less important than, say, environment, safety, space etc.

Your post made it sound like you were disappointed in NZ as it did not live up to your personal expectations - that is a shame and thank you for sharing it with us - I personally was interested to note your comments regarding overtime - what profession were you in that meant you had to work overtime? I was led to believe that NZ'ers loved their weekends and that nothing came between them and their leisure time....!

And you are right, we don't need to be hearing good news and good things about NZ all the time - in fact, I am sure many on this forum would prefer that the bad things are highlighted too - but, again, what is bad for some is good for others and vice versa - hopefully that's the beauty of NZ too - diversity with tolerance.. now wouldn't that be lovely Yes

All the best Lukas Wink

Moorf

eddy · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Posts: 11

To Lucas ,
congratulations on the best post we have read on this forum.

NZ has some good things going for it , but its not perfect.
We lived there for about 3 years taking in tauranga, waiheke island , christchurch and queenstown .
We went there like most of the people on this post , for a better lifestyle, easier access to the outdoors , more safety for our child etc etc.

We are now back in the UK for 6 months , seeing family (earniing reasonable money!!!) and deciding on whether to go back or not.

The majority of Kiwis that we met , either didnt have enough spare money , or enough spare time for the lifestyle activities that most brits go out there for .
The bach at the beach also seems to be a disapearing dream for most of the natives , when a bach can sell for $1m in popular escapes , they are not the norm for most families.

There seems to be a big divide between the very wealthy , and the ordinary people there .

Also were not expecting child prositutes soliciting up and down manchester street in central christchurch , P factories five minutes from where our child was playing safely ,and loads of petty crime.

We were probably just unlucky , but our house was burgled in Tauranga - they took everything from laptops and cameras to sentimental items , and we had our station wagon broken into 5 times in redcliffs ,chch , even came out one day to find it on the pavement , with all the wheels gone!

The "christchurch best city in the world" was probably the most depressing and untrue comment I have ever had the misfortune to hear , and I heard it frequently (but only in christchurch )

Lukas · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 5:03 am Post subject:

...Thanks mate fingers crossed

david · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:57 am Post subject:

Lucas

I live in England in a nice house, have a good well paid job but still want to emigrate to NZ. My 9 years old son cannot play on a large field 100 yards from our house due to youth nuisance, broken bottles etc... My eldest son, although doing very well at school could never get a footing on the current house market. My md would prefer me to work 80 hours a week. From morning til dusk my life is 100 mph. Yes, financially I have no problems. But the realisation of a lifestyle where emphasis is on quality of life, not monetry values far surpasses anything else. You, my friend may have had a different upbringing, now requiring the latest mobile phone, digital camera, plasma tv etc... but these items only bring short term happiness. Look wider at the picture. I expect people wishing to emigrate to NZ from the UK on this forum do so for the same reasons as me. It does not suit us all. We respect your opinions so please respect ours. A humble lifestyle is not a bad thing.

- David.

eddy · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Posts: 11

Dear David ,

I dont remember Lukas saying that the reason he went to NZ was to buy all the plasma TV's and mobile phones he could lay his hands on , or that his reasons for going there were any different to anybody elses on the forum , all he did was make a few remarks that added a bit of realism to the "we are all going for a better lifestyle" comments.

A lot of New Zealanders struggle just as much with everyday living as we do here in the UK. The cost of living and housing there is high compared to wages and salary. They also have their fair share of social problems .

Lots of our kiwi friends have come over to the UK to work , so they can raise a deposit so they can get on the housing market.

You have to be reasonably well off to be able to afford the "humble lifestyle" in NZ .

Eddy & Anna

markkellaway · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:16 am Post subject:

Hi,

First of all I'd like to say how sorry I was to hear of all the trouble you've had Eddy. You must be pretty level headed to even be thinking of going back after that. Clapping

I think one of the things that probably slants things for a lot of us is the fact that many will go to NZ with a fair chunk of cash from the sale of property here. If I get the job offer I have everything crossed for then that salary with a small mortgage will allow me to live comfortably in a decent area and still have cash in the bank. To go to NZ and start from scratch financially would be, I'm sure, very difficult indeed.

I think the reason that people are a little abrasive about Lukas' comments is because everything positive is met with what seems like ridicule by him, whether intentional or not. We are all just trying to explain that desires for each of us may be different.

I assume that the fact that you are thinking of returning to NZ means that you see some positives there, or is it just that the negatives are too great here?

Mark.

sesame · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:30 am Post subject:

Hi,

..Lucas - what must you and your family, friends .... and your beautiful country endured in the 'dark ages' under ceaucescu??! Eek

i lived in austria at the time .... and we heard with HORROR what was supposedly going on .... unbelievable!!!

(how are you doing with that?) ......

sesame~

http://www.word-works.com/simple.htm
this is a link on voluntary simplicity for those interested....

justin.g.s · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:17 am Post subject:

This is a very interesting thread, at its core is the discusion of wealth. I think the majority of us that are looking at going over there, have come to the conclusion that our old definitions of wealth needed to be re-examined.

Me personally, I live in Southern California, where materialistic wealth is ubiquitous. I am not wealthy, but I have known a few people that were spectacularilly wealthy. And with out a doubt, the more money their parents were, the more the kids suffered.

In certain parts of Ca, everone you meet is a millionaire. Having met hundreds of millionaires, I can count on one hand the number of well adjusted '"Rich people."

I recognized this early in life, and it had a big impact on how I chose to define wealth. Money is a very small part of it.

I think that is why a majority of us see this as an opportunity to really bring some value to our lives.

The happiest person I ever met was my grandfather. He grew up on a rural farm in Arkansas. If you ever saw the beginning of Willy Wankas Chochalte factory, where the entire family slept in one bed you should have a good visual of what I am talking about.

He ate beans for all three meals a day for four years once. Guess what, he still loves them. He laughs all the time about how hunting once, he shot and ate two wild pigeons. He often remarks," we ate like kings that day."

Growing up hearing about how poverty is not an impediment to happiness helped to form my perception of wealth.

I tend to reflect on the words of the director of ,"life is Beautiful." Who upon winning said. " I want to thank my parents for giving me the gift of poverty."

Wealth really is how you choose to define it.

Cheers Lukas, I hope you find your definition of wealth and happiness

eddy · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Posts: 11

Hi Mark,
Being realistic , we could have these problems anywhere.
NZ is a beautiful country and we have had some of the most amazing times there.
We went out there with enough money to buy a house in a nice area.
The thing is , we were not really interested in living in "nice" areas , but found that to get our child the sort of education she would have in a normal village school here in the UK , we would have to live in popular zones.
When we did live in "nice " areas, we found that there was more materialism (expensive cars , $1million dollar baches, endless talk about house prices ) which was what we were trying to get away from.
We had not wanted to live in a city either but found that living somewhere rural ,there was not much work , and the schools did not compare to schools in the UK.
Obviously this is just what we found ,
The advice from Lukas sounded quite balanced , not negative
Eddy & Anna

Macs Gold · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 1:04 pm Post subject:

Christchurch is known for its difficulties in getting into a good school. They say in Auckland everyone talks about what job they have, while in Christchurch everyone talks about school they went to.

This thread is good value, even though there is a bit of "noise" going on.

I'll reiterate my view that overall Lukas' original post was very balanced, and he did not deserve to have stones thrown at him for it.

I think that if somebody points out some negative aspect of life in NZ, we should all read it, and either use it or discard it on its own merits, without publically questioning the background and motives of the author. Of course everyone understands we are all different, but unless you are working for the NZIS trying to fill your quota, I don't see why anyone should be influencing anyone else on here, except by putting up background info and their own honest opinions.

Believe me, I have not heard of one person who has immigrated to NZ who has had their expectations exceeded. But there are many on these forums who wish now that they had paid a bit more attention to warnings on things such as cost of living, work prospects, social issues etc.

If you want to have fabulous dreams about your life in NZ, then of course please ignore poor Lukas and others.

ENZ · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 1:24 pm Post subject:

sesame · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 1:35 pm Post subject:

Macs Gold wrote:"If you want to have fabulous dreams about your life in NZ, then of course please ignore poor Lukas and others."

yeiks!! Nutcase

i bite my tongue.

Raeven · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 1:57 pm Post subject:

Hi, Macs,

I agree with you.

Frankly, the last thing I want to do is discourage people here from posting their honest, candid experiences of living in NZ. I think everyone here is capable of making their own assessments of the poster's motivations and then give that opinion the weight to which it is entitled, factoring in their own personal reasons for migrating to NZ. In other words, I read Lukas' post and appreciated his opinion; however, I found that much of what he said didn't particularly apply to my situation, because I felt his values and mine differ to a large extent.

As a wise person recently said to me, aren't differing opinions wonderful? rae's dancing banana

(Thanks, ENZ!!!)

Here's hoping we all find what we're looking for!!

All the best, Rae