Anyone moved from UK to New Zealand? What are your good / bad / middling feelings?

[Analysisandparalysis]

We’ve always had the option of leaving the UK as husband has NZ / UK nationality (born there, but grown up here). We’ve never really considered going as, well, why? But more recently it’s struck me as something to consider medium term.

Would love to hear other’s experiences.

It certainly looks beautiful on facebook. A friend emigrated 5 years ago. No double glazing no central heating everywhere a bungalow would not entice me though. They still get winters.

She was a teacher but it was making her ill. She has now taken on a lower paid job but does various sidelines she set up before she gave up teaching. She is single income so think it may be more of a struggle now.

She has only been back to the UK for a visit one year ago. All adds up plus she has her teenager.

I've got a friend who has. Settled really well. Both have good jobs. Much nicer standard of living and weather. Kids love it. No regrets.

Agree with some of your cons, @churbrah. Many Brits have a ridiculously rose-tinted view of NZ.

But this?

Cons: There is no culture. No history.

JFC, you are an throw-back, colonial 😂 That and some of your other comments:
you're just a cliched whining Pom.

@churbrah that's exactly how someone described it to me- they are actually saving up to come back- will be at least £25k shipping their stuff and having the money to put down on a decent rental in UK - and they will need to put down 6 months as have no recent credit history or UK landlord reference - they've had 6 years there. It's the lack of anything cultural that they find tough and the only holiday they've had was a week on the Gold Coast in OZ. It suits some, but definitely not all

You are asking on a site where people think the UK (and to a lesser extent Europe) is the centre of the universe. When people say “no culture” they mean the Anglo centric culture that they are familiar with. The world really is a bigger place than most mumsnetters think!

Shamelessly placemarking. My husband and I are considering moving to new Zealand for a better quality of life. We're both doctors.

@Flatandhappy yes I will say that's true- my friend says she misses big style gigs and big shows and decent theatre and lots of magazines she likes on tap - I do know she also misses her couple of times a year short breaks to places like Rome, Amsterdam etc- as you say this really wouldn't be a biggie for some people .

My friend moved to NZ with his wife. Got a good job as a solicitor. She struggled to settle as she found it hard to find suitable work and make friends. His working hours were long so she was doubly isolated. Their housing was as others have described here - no double glazing, cold, damp and very expensive. Things came to a head when a family member in the UK became ill and they realised just how far away they were and how little they could do. They moved back after a couple of years. I think they’re glad they tried it but the grass wasn’t greener. They had been there on holiday previously so felt they had a good idea of what it would be like to live there but they were wrong.

My brother moved there 8 years ago.

They like it. Good place to raise kids. Food is expensive as are clothes. 3hrs flight to anywhere.

Much less pressure than U.K. education system.

Twice they have had to hop on a plane at short notice as a parent (one each) has died.

Did much better in the pandemic than the U.K. did but seems to have the same stupid right wing govt everyone has now.

I'm living on North Island on a short-term basis, just a couple of years. I had been open to the idea of emigrating but have changed my mind.

Pros:

• The weather is fantastic! The winter is mild and it barely ever seems to rain.
• Wages are high and rent costs seem pretty similar to UK from my personal experience. I also know of a couple in their 20s, both earning but neither on very high-salary jobs, who just bought a lovely house.
• Interest rates also seem pretty generous.
• Houses are often spacious. You get a lot more bang for your buck.
• Much less litter, less antisocial behaviour, lots of green spaces.
• A lot of the houses are very aesthetically pleasing with unique designs, and a lot less depressing to look at than identikit rows of little boxes.
• Beautiful views if you go to the right places. Actual mountains.
• People seem more open to political disagreement. I haven't noticed so much polarisation as back home.
• Towns and cities are often better planned and well laid out.
• Nice people, much less overt classism.

Cons:

• Fruit and veg can be very expensive. At one point it was $5 for one broccoli. Heavy reliance on NZ-grown produce which can be wiped out by one bad flood.
• UV is very high and a huge number of Kiwis get skin cancer. Sunscreen is not optional in the summer months, it's a must.
• Earthquakes and volcanoes are a risk you won't have to worry about in the UK. Bear in mind there's a supervolcano in the middle of North Island and even the smaller ones are potentially destructive and can go off at any time. As for earthquakes, NZ is overdue a big one.
• No old buildings. 1800s if you're lucky. In many places, the deeper sense of history isn't anywhere near as obvious as in the UK. You have to go looking for it and if your idea of history is English castles and stately homes, you'll be out of luck. There is of course plenty of Maori cultural heritage.
• Far less culture, in the middle class sense of the word. A reasonable number of museums but your theatre options are pretty limited. You have to look harder to find events and even harder to find ones you're interested in.
• Expensive to fly back and forth from the UK and a total pain in the arse to organise communications with people back home.

To be honest, the main reasons I wouldn't want to stay long-term are a) my family back home, b) a sense that actually the UK "feels" right for me and I don't think I'd be happy away from my birth country and its memories, and c) a reluctance to commit to being a foreigner. I like NZ, I'm not rushing to leave and my time here will always be a part of who I am, but it's not my forever home.

My cousin through DM's side of the family moved back about 25 years ago with his wife and 2 DC. They both enjoy it there but don't travel back to the UK much (he has his DM living in UK) probably due to the cost.

One son lives in Germany, the other I think still in NZ.

A friend of a friend moved there a few years ago, think 2017. He's self employed but had money and a trade. He seems happy there. I think he thought England (where he's from) he'd had enough of, and wanted to try his luck there.

Oh, I also worked with someone who moved to NZ to work for an architects firm and was there approx 10/20 years. She's originally from the UK. She moved back to UK about 3-4 years ago and rents a flat her DM owns. She told me she liked life in NZ when she was younger but as she got older it was harder to buy a property, find a job, her family are all in Western Europe/Middle East.

churbrah

You need to come home , is that realistic?

My friend there is really into cycling,swimming in the sea, nature and photography. So it suits her really well.

I have zero skin in this game, as I've never even visited NZ and I'm not British either, but I'm not sure that is what everyone means when they say 'no culture' depending on their own tastes, it may be shorthand for 'I miss the British Museum/the RSC/the Courtauld/not being able to hear world-class opera often' I say this as someone who lived in London for years, gorged myself on theatre/opera/art/music etc, and have had to adjust to them not being available to me where I live now (not UK), even though there is, in fact a vibrant arts/music scene -- it's just a fact that it's smaller-scale or more occasional than I was used to in London.

And that is a loss for me, even though there are other things that compensate.

My best friend is a Kiwi and she is desperate to live in the UK .She lived here for years . Her children all brought up in NZ but all three have left there. She has always said that NZ is on the edge of the earth . Her husband is Welsh and he loves NZ !

A friend of mine (who loves travelling) moved out there with her boyfriend several years ago. They stayed a couple of years but she never felt settled. She said it was the same daily grind but just 1000's miles away from everyone you know. The fairy tale image of living somewhere beautiful is a bit lost if you are just going to work, paying bills, doing the food shop same as in the UK. After enjoying a trip home for Christmas she decided that was it, she moved back to the UK and has been happy ever since.
Her boyfriend, however, loved it there. He wasn't anywhere near as close with his family though. He stayed out there, met a new woman, got married and they live in NZ.
So I guess it's a very personal thing. Unfortunately the only way to actually know is to move there as no two people have the same experience.

You can tick all the right boxes vis à vis income, education, lifestyle, etc, but if you're an ethnic minority you will face appalling racism in New Zealand. And if you're considering raising children there, you need to ask yourself if you want your children exposed to ingrained bigotry.

Really interesting thread. Particularly @churbrah 's post.

A family member emigrated over there about 25 years ago; he was a big Jim Davidson fan (to put his views into context). He transitioned seamlessly from making racist jokes at the expense of black/Asian immigrants here, to making jokes at the expense of Maoris over there. The irony of that was lost on him.

11 thousand miles, and I'd still like him to move further away.

The vast majority of churbrah's post is not a New Zealand that I recognise.

Houses: many are lovely, in my experience, but yes, cold. I think newer builds are a lot warmer than the older housing stock, though.

Beaches in the South Island are pristine and beautiful.

I like "bring a plate" socialising, but YMMV.

I do agree that Kiwis can be parochial, and the domestic violence and child abuse stats are shocking. If you're more into the arts than the outdoor life then it's not the best place to live, although there are towns/cities that cater more for this.

You definitely have to embrace seasonal eating. The last time we were across in Winter it was $5 for one cucumber. My children eat a lot of cucumber so that was difficult.

Personally, I think the food tastes immensely better than food in the UK, primarily due to the ingredients actually having flavour. I miss potatoes and tomatoes from where I grew up (beautiful market garden area), and the dairy in NZ is second to none.

Bil and sil moved there just before covid. Their kids are thriving and they like the life style. They were saving for a trip home but it is so expensive, then their mortgage went up 1000NZD a month so no more saving.

I don't know if I'll see them for a very long time.

It's a really long way away.

It does rain a lot. His mum went at Christmas and it rained almost every day for a month. I don't know if that unusual.

There are big issues with poverty / drink / drugs in the Māori community and it is very racist.

I recognise a lot of what @churbrah has said from when we lived there.
We recognised very quickly that we couldn’t stay there forever and came home before our lives got too entrenched there.

Mind you there’s lots that very shit about the Uk 🙁

Yes my friend lives in the North Island and gets rain quite often.

Thanks everyone - this is really eye-opening and helpful to get a real sense of what to expect should we decide to take the plunge in the future. It’s probably never going to happen, but I do think about it periodically and wonder!

I found food in NZ amazing, @GrouchyKiwi. And last time I was there I'd arrive after a few months in Melbourne so the bar was high.

I'm UK/NZ and I just cringe reading the comments of dissatisfied Brits in NZ (and Aus). Go the fuck home then you whingers.