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.

@PeoniesLilac I think the term you are looking for is RACIST.

@Stika I'm so sorry you are having such a tough time.

I think people struggle to appreciate just how different life in NZ is to the UK.

There are huge upsides (beautiful scenery, beaches, pretty much all schools have large outside areas to name a few) but they don't stop the downsides from being every bit as real.

I'm a kiwi living in the UK and NZ is not a less crowded or cleaner UK. It's true that making friends is harder for new comers - almost everyone I know is largely friends with their friends from high school. While kiwis seem very egalitarian there is as much preoccupation with what area you live in, if you own a rental property, what car you own as there is anywhere. I also think there are aspects of the education system which are worse (NCEA, I don't think they use phonics).

As a kiwi overseas during covid I felt the atmosphere from NZ towards us was rather unpleasant. Every kiwi overseas I've spoken to has felt the same way.

There are lots of wonderful things about NZ but do go in with your eyes open.

If you move abroad for any number of good reasons, and there are issues, if you don't have support it can be very mentally tough. For those commenting about culture - yes if you have lived in or near London/Manchester/Birmingham/Edinburgh and happen to like museums, theatre, events - other places can be disappointing. I lived in the US for 3 years - just outside DC. A world class orchestra would come for 1 night only - tickets would sell out to founders, supporters etc, so the general public either got a choice for the most expensive seats or standing. I stood a lot! In London I could have seen that same orchestra for a lot less several times in a season.

I have been to NZ and Australia just once - 1 month travel. Would love to again. To Australia. I don't particularly want to visit NZ again. I didn't find the people friendly. And yes some of the country was lovely. Pretty much every other country I have ever visited has lovely something. We are all different and threads like this hopefully help others.

@churbrah you need to f@:# off. Is that realistic?

@churbrah and @strika

Haven't you worked out where the airport is? Or are there ankle chains that are preventing you from leaving?

It’s a slower pace of life / working hours

The landscape is pretty

Outdoorsy

Good if you are a bit of a doomsday prepper

But

It’s a loooong way from anywhere

If you like culture, it is dull - really dull - compared to Europe or coastal US

The buildings are not pretty

You are a loooong way from home, and when your kids grow up they may well (many do) decide opportunities are too limited for them and bugger off to Europe.. and then you’ll be a looong way from your kids as well

Housing is expensive, more so on average than in the UK, I think

She doesn't have to be British, she moved to NZ from the UK and has definitely picked up the attitude.

Hello OP I’m from NZ, living in the UK. NZ is beautiful but quite different from England.

Things are vastly more expensive, I’d say Waitrose is quite a bit cheaper than than the most budget supermarket in NZ (Pak n save). You have to eat seasonally, produce out of season is extortionate. NZ homes are not that greatly insulated and central heating is vastly non existent.

However, the outdoors and scenery are beautiful. If you are into hiking, mountain biking etc. it is a dream come true!

Travelling abroad is a bit of a pain, even going to Australia is quite expensive. Flying back to the UK can be painful, and friends/relatives who say they will visit you often don’t because of this.

Also if you don’t drive, it’s a bit of a nightmare getting anywhere. Doable, but very stressful if you have young DC’s.

Maybe Britain wouldn’t want her there either . 😂

Aw, she's clearly having a hard time. Obviously NZ isn't perfect or those on this thread who have left might have stayed there. There's always a driver to leave a place and a pull to bring you to another place. Not that anywhere is perfect.

Yes, well she certainly was in the driver seat. Never put her brakes on once though .

Hopefully getting it off her chest was helpful at least.

I wouldn't blame them 😂

Fellow kiwis - stop being so thin skinned!

Stika is clearly very homesick, possibly with other issues as well. Saying 'we don't want you here' or similar is childish and cruel.

People can easily miss the upsides
Ie. 'there isnt anything for teens to do in NZ'
Id say - in my experience there are far fewer drugs used by teenagers than in other countries. You don't need to worry about your teenager walking home from school or town as knife crime isn't a problem.
@stika

We are not being thinned skinned, we are just sick of whingy whiney people who move here and then rant on a public forum about how awful it is. It isn't our fault if people don't do a bit of research about a country they are moving to. We are not insisting they stay here, they are free to go at any time. If they are in a situation where they can't - well, maybe they should have thought of the pros and cons before embarking on such a move.

Nothing I've read or heard about the UK makes me want to live there, so I wouldn't. Simple really. People seem to think that NZ and Australia are the UK with more sunshine. Anyone who can't see beyond that is idiotic, to say the least.

You are though

People bitch about London on here all the time, do I give a fuck? No I do not, and it’s pretty rare anyone else does either.

I wonder wny people choose emigrating to New Zealand rather than Australia? (apart from if you had family or were originally from there of course)

I'd say it has a lot more going for it than NZ.

sick of whingy whiney people who move here and then rant on a public forum about how awful it is. It isn't our fault if people don't do a bit of research about a country they are moving to.

Surely people commenting on a public forum with the things they don't like about the place they've emigrated to, is invaluable to those other people trying to do the research about the country they are potentially moving to?

It's not like she started a whole thread saying 'I fucking hate NZ, it's shit, I never should have moved here, he is my thread about how shit it all is'. Someone asked a question, she answered it. Seems fair to me.

If no one's allowed to write about the shitty end of the stick, how can people "do a bit of research"?

DH and I lived there for 3 years, with hindsight it was a mistake. Lots of good points of course but we never felt 'at home'. Everything was much more expensive but salaries lower than UK so effectively quite a bit worse off financially speaking. Maybe suits sporty outdoor types better, but we're more interested in visiting historic places etc and not at all sporty. Food was weirdly expensive, great 'pick your own' fruit and veg everywhere, but a lack of variety in other items. Houses freezing in winter with no heating, just a woodburner if you were lucky. We travelled all over and liked Wellington best.

People say they hate London, I agree with that. They don't go on and on and on and on listing every one of its perceived faults at every opportunity, and not liking one city is hardly the same as denigrating an entire country. NZers, Australians, Americans etc. get heartily sick of people putting down their countries - especially when it is by someone who is actually living there. Maybe rather than complain they could just go back to their own country and then we will all benefit.

Maybe you would like to reread the relevant post. It's hardly one which would be even remotely helpful to someone who wanted factual information on moving to NZ. Some of it is simply nonsense - i.e. Christmas in summer?? You would have to be pretty dense to think that NZ doesn't have Christmas in summer, and what would the poster like us to do about it? Move Christmas to June? I have no problem with a measured thoughtful post - ranting is not helpful to anyone (and this is not the first thread that particular poster has ranted on).

Maybe it has value in reminding people that living in another country is sometimes hard and distressing and not good for one's mindset? I hope they feel better for letting off some steam anyway.

I don't think it's as simple as going back to your home country either. I could do that but I have other people to think about. Staying with them is more important. Luckily I love my adopted country (which is not NZ).

I'm not a kiwi, but am in full agreement with @ForGreyKoala

Starting a thread to say "I've emigrated and am finding it so hard being so far away from my family"

or even

"Thinks that surprised me / that I didn't know until I moved to NZ"

would have been completely different, and would have got different responses, but that isn't what the OP has done.

I'd move to Inverness for a year first to test the idea. Get used to being far away from everything, fewer cultural things, lots of lovely scenery and outdoor pursuits nearby but actual town a bit sprawling and dull. Locals who get huffy if you moan about anything..
If you can hack it, maybe try New Zealand?
There is an M&S in Inverness though...