To want to move to New Zealand?

[DarkRoomDarren]

...or Canada, or possibly the states?

Very much just a pipe dream at the moment and Dh thinks I’m trying to drive him bonkers with crazy projects!

Looking for others’ experiences of doing similar.

Dh’s job would allow us to move to NZ or Canada. I was born in the USA (bursts into song... at myself. I don’t even like Bruce Springsteen). So I would be able to renew my old US passport (I think) to allow us to move there.

I have very little family left here, as a few have sadly died. The ones who are left are very busy with their own lives and live a long journey from us. The closest one is a 5 hour train journey.

Dh’s family are nearer, but they also have very busy lives and are at least an hour and a half from us by car. My point being, that we don’t have the mum/dad/sibling who pops in every day type contact with either of our families. We see Dh’s maybe once a month, my surviving parent every few months and my siblings once or twice a year. We have nieces and nephews but due to divorce, we see less of some of them, (just due to timing of visits; half the time they are with their other parent who we now don’t see very much).

I don’t feel that we have much keeping us here if that makes sense and there is so much about the area we live in which I find hard. We’re in the SE, so even on a good salary our household money doesn’t go far and everyone we know is so spread out around and across London that it’s a nightmare journey to go to see them. It’s so built up here and I find it claustrophobic. But, this is where Dh needs to be for his job.

As I say, it’s all a bit pie in the sky just now, but I’m posting here partly for traffic as I’m sure I’ve seen a few expats living in one of these countries posting on here before and wonder if they would recommend making the move.

Advice much appreciated.

Oh sorry and I mean the SE of England! I’ve lived in Scotland and Ireland so I know that I really should specify. Apologies.

I grew up in NZ and now live in London. I’m not sure you’d be much better off there financially unless you were able to earn money in a very rural location. The wages are lower but the property prices in the cities (Auckland and Wellington) are disproportionately high. Most of my friends are still renting or had to move to very small towns to buy (we are mid thirties). Food is a lot more expensive and it is so isolated and therefore costs a lot to travel anywhere.

On the plus side the weather is a bit better depending on where you go, and no long snowy winters like Canada. There is a strong focus on outdoor pursuits and sports if you like that sort of thing. It is a more casual and relaxed way of life. The scenery is very, very beautiful. Social services are a bit better I think in terms of maternity and elderly care.

I personally would not want to live there again because it is so isolated and I’m more into the cultural stuff than sports and outdoorsy stuff. But if you can afford it then the quality of life is perhaps better there than here. Best of luck with your decision.

Thank you! That’s interesting re financial stuff. I think I just assumed that more space equates to more space to live in iyswim. This is why I started this thread! I need to know the realities.

Weather is a factor definitely and the more relaxed pace of life I hear about, but never know if it’s true. The scenery looks amazing, by maybe that isn’t affordable and I’d end up living somewhere just as ugly* and built up as I do now.

*actually it’s not that hideous- Tudor market town type place.

I guess what I’m looking for is Ireland but with nicer weather !

Oh Lord you & me both! I’ve got a lot more family there than here & have seriously considered it over the years. If only I could afford to, seeing as everything’s twice the cost of what it is here. Perhaps you should do more research on both NZ & Canada. Have you been to either of these countries?

I’ve heard many people compare it to Wales. You don’t have to live in Welly or Auckland, there’s loads more lovely places. I think I’d live in Picton.

I'm from NZ. I'd live in Norfolk or Wales instead now.

Yabu for not liking Springsteen Anyway, as you were.....

Thanks @GREAT.

No, I’ve never been to either... It’s purely a dream, which I’m researching - god I sound like one of those people on Wanted Down Under!

We have some family in Australia, but for some reason I fancy NZ more. I obviously lived in the states, but I was a very young child, so barely remember it. Also, things seem to have changed a lot there. I think I just don’t see the appeal of where we now live. We have no reason to be here really and I keep thinking, why are we here? How’s THAT for an existential crisis?

Maybe I’m just bored and need more purpose. But I just find this area so grim, unless you are super rich. We are doing ok and have managed to buy a house in a nice part of a nice town, but the equivalent in my home town, (in Ireland), would have cost not much more for the whole house than the deposit on this house did. It is irksome that we’re paying such a premium to be near London when we rarely even go there, (dh works in the outskirts, not the city).

@lady

Ha! It’s a bone of contention in our house as dh is a big fan! I say he’s a poor man’s Bob Dylan .

Shit, I can’t run away from my own thread!

A blog about the realities of living in NZ written by an Australian.

www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/93441299/moving-to-nz-was-a-culture-shock-even-for-an-aussie

I've lived in the USA and NZ not in Canada but the cold would put me off moving there. The USA wouldn't be my choice for political reasons but NZ is a wonderful place to bring up a family especially if you want them to have a healthy outdoorsy lifestyle. I loved it there and would have settled no trouble at all. except loving fiancé decided he liked things as they were with us and marriage was off the cards

Thanks @crunchy. Did you ever buy that AstroTurf for your kitchen? Sorry, your name and that (very fun) thread has stuck with me, (in a fond way ).

And sorry; did “poor man’s Bob Dylan” sound a bit classist? I meant a lesser version of rather than something for “poor people” .

Another thread of people talking about realities of moving to NZ, good and bad.

www.quora.com/How-is-reality-different-from-what-you-expected-being-a-New-Zealand-immigrant

darkroom Astro turf for living room is being fitted next weekend

Outwith the three main NZ towns property prices were lower than the UK but the houses were mainly of very poor standard with little insulation, single glazing etc. You need to look at new build somewhere with good schools. Rental property is appallingly low standard.
Food was more expensive and travel more expensive because you are far away from the rest of the world.
The focus of power and wealth in the world is moving towards China and surrounding countries with Aus. and NZ well placed to benefit from trade. I see that area booming in the future.

Ok I'm one who tried it and came running back! Dh and i had always had a pipe dream about NZ, and his job being quite sort after over there meant we were able to give it a go. Well it was an experience, some good, some lovely, some irritating and a complete eye opener. I knew fairly quickly that I couldn't spend the rest of my life there.
As pp said, any decent property in a decent area is not cheap, lots of good earners are priced out of Auckland now. A lot of cheaper houses are poorly built and are freezing in winter! That's the other thing NZ definitely has a winter, its not sunshine all year round. Food very expensive, my weekly shop was double what it is here. Furniture and household goods, very expensive and not much choice. And in my own personal experience I didn't think the education system was as good as here - although other public services were better.
In the end what really drove us home though was the boredom! There's really not much to do once you've done the sight seeing and admired the scenery and tried all the outdoor / sporty pursuits. I missed cultural activities, theaters, history, festivals etc.. Oh and NZ is nothing like Australia, we flew over to Oz and I said "phew back in the first world!" Sorry dont mean any offence to Kiwis but that is how it felt!
You need to spend a few months there before you actually commit.

Other than general dissatisfaction with your life as it is OP, you haven't actually said WHY you want to move abroad. What do you expect to gain from moving to either NZ or USA that you don't get here? What will change in your life if you move?

Thanks all.

Oh good question @twitter. It’s something I’m thinking about; why do I feel the need to make a big change? Honestly, I don’t know, except that my lovely home in Ireland just feels like it isn’t there anymore as there’s been so much upheaval with relatives passing away. I feel as if I have no ties to this country and therefore I’m looking at the place more objectively and find very little I really like about it. I love London, but we can’t afford ‘proper’ London. I love the countryside around here, but we can’t afford a property in the countryside. And anyway, that would screw up school catchments etc and we definitely can’t afford private school around here - it’s something like £12,000 per year for primary and it goes up from there.

So, I just feel like I want us to choose where we live, because we can now. Life’s short and all that.

Dh has some family here, but a lot of the others are the ones I mentioned^^ who now live in Australia.

I’m not set on any of these particular places, but I want us to make a choice, instead of living where we do because we ‘have to’. So I suppose I’m shopping around if that doesn’t sound too silly.

I’m keen to do this soon, before dcs start primary school as I don’t want to disrupt that if I can help it.

@crunchy good for you! Hope it looks fab!

I moved to NZ from the UK as a child, so didn't have to worry about the logistics of moving. You said your DH could do his job in NZ? I think that'd make visas etc quite a bit easier.

Food is rather expensive here which is annoying for such an agricultural country! Wages are also comparably quite low and house prices high (especially in Auckland). Like all countries it has its issues and isn't the complete paradise some seem to think it is.

Having said that it is an absolutely beautiful country. You don't necessarily have to have a lot of money for a view: my DH and I are renting a small place which has a gorgeous view of the hills and 5 minutes walk away is a stunning view of the harbour. You're never too far away from beautiful scenery in NZ

The lifestyle seems generally more relaxed here and it's a lot less crowded with only about 5 million people. The weather is better than in the UK, especially in winter, but it's not Australia! It still gets pretty cold It's definitely a lot more isolated than the UK and it's a long way to go if you did want to visit family. My mum manages to go back at least once a year though.

DH (NZ-born) and I went travelling around Europe/UK last year and we both loved it, want to go again etc but we also both missed NZ. I can imagine living in the UK again in the short term and really enjoyed being back there, but I think I'd always eventually want to come back here. Is there any possibility of making a temporary move and seeing how you like it, or would that be too disruptive? My parents came to NZ originally for a year but we obviously stayed

Sorry this is quite long! I guess there are pros and cons wherever you live and it depends on what's most important to you and your family. Keep researching

I am Australian, but my mother is from New Zealand.

New Zealand is very beautiful, and it's much easier to see it all than it is to see all of Australia, but beyond that, the advantages are negligible. All but two of my cousins have moved from NZ to Australia for various reasons: better job opportunities, higher wages, better weather etc. And my grandparents say that they would move here if they didn't feel too old now.

I do think, however, that unless you are earning shitloads of money, you're going to be living a very ordinary, unenviable, mundane life wherever you go. Unfortunately, the beautiful little towns in the countryside aren't conducive to meaningful employment. That leaves you with the cities which are often crowded and exorbitantly expensive. This is the same in NZ, Canada, the USA, Australia.

RedDwarves Makes a good point. A friend moved to Australia and lived in a City. She is back in Britain now and basically said it was like living in Hackney by the sea.

I live in Auckland - am a Kiwi - lived in London for a few years before returning home.

We have a good life here but both work full time in well paid careers (law) and live close enough to the city that we don't have to negotiate the awful motorways regularly.

We also bought our house long enough ago that our mortgage isn't crazy. Property prices in Auckland relative to wages are insane - as bad or worse than London.

I love our life here, & I'd rather live in Auckland than Sydney for example (I travel regularly there for work). I actually find Auckland more cosmopolitan than some UK cities outside London. You have a proper warm summer from December to April, we have a pool and a back yard, my impression is that kids get a bit more freedom than they do in the UK.

Your quality of life would depend on your income states the bleedingly obvious and your housing costs. If you were a middle income earner with an Auckland mortgage life might not be so flash - but you could probably have a good lifestyle in Dunedin but you would freeze your tits off

@ Hackney by the sea! Hmmmm it does seem silly to move all that way for Hackney.

Dh’s family seem to be getting on great since they moved, but I guess that’s why we need to think about it more. I honestly thought they be crawling back to the Uk! I’ve seen Wanted Down Under and the-bit-where-they-realise-they-can-only-afford-a-shit-house etc.

Why not look at dh getting a 2 year contract? It doesnt have to be all or nothing. Friends did that and did NZ for 2 years, renting their house out here. Genuinely they thought they wouldnt come back but 2 years later, they decided grass wasnt greener and came home. In those 2 years they had done plenty of travel on that side of the world.

We lived in NZ for a few years and were happy to return to the UK. It has many good points and the people are lovely, but as pps have said it is expensive, less 'cultural' stuff to do, salaries are lower, there's less choice of everything, houses are generally freezing in winter. It was a great experience though and we travelled a lot, road trips around all of NZ, short hop to Oz and Pacific islands etc. You need to do a lot of research before going ....