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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to move to New Zealand?

49 replies

herecomesthsun · 17/10/2020 14:48

It is a beautiful country. It has very low rates of covid. I have a long lost uncle there somewhere. I really like lamb and mint sauce. I loved the Lord of the Rings movies. It is no doubt a great place to bring up kids.

We might just qualify job wise (is there an age limit?)

And they have Jacinda Adern for the foreseeable as opposed to the UK options.

AIBU to be tempted to explore emigration further?

OP posts:
Ginmaker · 18/10/2020 06:20

Incredible insight there @GoldfishParade. Hmm

MrsTerryPratchett · 18/10/2020 06:30

@GoldfishParade

Apparently once you get past the beautiful scenery it's quite boring and backward
Sounds like the Home Counties.
GoldfishParade · 18/10/2020 06:33

@FiveShelties
No I have never been! It's just what a NZ housemate told me (having said that she was in London so I guess a lot to do with personality).

FiveShelties · 18/10/2020 06:42

@GoldfishParade - I think it depends on age and previous experiences as well. I worked in London, had an amazing time, but would find it a difficult place to live now, unless I was very rich and could pick my area and mansion. I think the area I live in NZ would seem very tame if you were 21 and London much more exciting.

kiwiblue · 18/10/2020 06:48

I have dual British and NZ citizenship.

Just to echo what PP said yes perhaps some problems with racism in NZ as anywhere, but definitely not mysoginistic! What bollocks. @mbosnz summed it up perfectly, NZ had the vote for women what, 35 years before UK?

Do agree with the points about isolation and expensive food and housing. It is a big negative for me that there are not many options of places to holiday and they are expensive.

Also of course at the moment you can't move there and I think it could be a couple of years until borders open but I suppose it's worth looking into!

lattegracelaced07 · 18/10/2020 07:11

I'm from NZ. I moved to the UK five years ago with my English husband as we have family over here. NZ is beautiful and it is an easier place to live than the UK due to low population levels and culturally it is quite relaxed. The coffee, cafes and restaurants are excellent and if you like the outdoors there is loads to do. You can get a GP appt quickly (but you pay around £25). However, NZ is a low wage economy with a high cost of living. It is significantly more expensive than the UK (esp food, electricity, clothing). House prices in many parts of the country are as high as the south of England. There are pro's and con's. I like the UK as there is alot to do.

chatwoo · 18/10/2020 07:42

@London2NZ - sounds blissful! I've only visited Auckland once (so far) and had fully intended to visit Waiheke, but ran out of time in the end. Will have to make it back once the Aus government make the NZ bubble 2-way!

@herecomesthsun - go for it! Or at least do a bit of Google and see if your jobs/skills will let you get a visa.

IMNOTSHOUTING · 18/10/2020 07:54

I know a few people who have moved there and they absolutely love it. I always assumed it wouldn't be as beautiful as it seems in the movies but from their photos it actually is. They like the people too - very friendly, quiet, well educated.

Anderton · 18/10/2020 07:54

My friend and her family emigrated to NZ about 10 years ago. They stayed for 6 years but then returned home. They loved the country but the cons began to outweigh the pros for them.

LakieLady · 18/10/2020 08:25

I have a very well-travelled friend who's visited virtually every country I've heard of.

After a massively long trip that took in loads of Asia and Oceania, she she told me that if she had to leave the UK, NZ would be the country she would pick to live in instead.

She really loved it, said the people were much less provincial than she feared and that it was much more cultured than she thought it would be. She also felt it was a lot more tolerant and liberal than Australia,

I'd love to visit, but I'm not sure I could live there.

I'm looking into getting Irish citizenship so that if it all goes tits up here, I can go and live there. And whether that would make it possible for me to retire to France.

I never dreamed that the UK might become such a mess that I'd contemplate moving abroad, not even in the Thatcher years.

WingingWonder · 18/10/2020 08:33

NZ is a beaut place, but like many it’s all in your location-
The climate varies hugely
The accessibility varies hugely
And the impact of the above two changes your lifestyle hugely even before you consider how remote or urban you go
We bloody love it there and have family too, but wouldn’t move for a couple of reasons-
Skill based to work- we could get visas ‘easily’ but would be likely limited to around Auckland which is hugely expensive
We would choose to live in wine country as the vineyards do loads of other things than wine from a activity etc view, would also want to be sea based, again ££
Schooling- like here is v dependant in area
Gang culture is a real issue in some areas you’d never think (Watch Ross Kemp on gangs if you’re wondering)
But most of all- so many kids leave about 18 because there is a limit on unis etc, and I’d hate to move all that way to the. Have kids living in UK because ironically they want the access to education and other activities...

MeredithGreysScalpel · 18/10/2020 08:38

I spent a year there and loved it. I came back because I didn’t want to raise my family so far from my support network. I certainly didn’t experience all the negatives people are talking about in terms of racism etc.

SuzieQQQ · 18/10/2020 08:40

I’m really surprised with a couple of comments that people think it’s racist and mysogynistic. I found Europe far more like that. Women largely do life admin, cooking etc Here in NZ men and women are far more equal. And as for racism, we do more for the indigenous people of our country than any other country in the world.

brushandmop · 18/10/2020 08:47

@London2NZ

3 female prime ministers

Jenny Shipley, Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern

lazylinguist · 18/10/2020 09:07

It's the only country outside the UK that I've visited where I thought "I could happily live here". The 'What is there to do on a rainy Wednesday" issue wouldn't bother me - I live in Cumbria by choice and don't really like busy places! I was only there for 3 weeks, but loved it. I wouldn't move to the other side of the world from my family though.

Theatrically · 18/10/2020 09:49

Whenever threads come up on here about NZ and Australia, there's a fair whiff of condescension in the comments about how dull, racist, backwards, misogynistic etc they are. But having lived in England for years I found many aspects of the culture anachronistic, such as people addressing me as Mrs as soon as they knew I was married or assuming I'd changed my last name. This never happened to me in Australia. And as a person of colour I did not find England less racist, only less overtly so.

NZ is a lovely country - if you are interested in outdoor activities and a more relaxed lifestyle it definitely ticks the boxes. Yes, travel is more difficult but you make the most of what you have in the country itself on a day-to-day level.

Turangawaewae · 18/10/2020 20:29

I find NZ quite sexist. I've had a few annoying experiences but these have mainly been with the pale, male and stale people. I'm not sure it is worse than the UK.

The thing I notice which balances this is the lack of class system/social networks system. This had a massive impact on me as a northerner from a working class background in the UK.

Generally I find life just much easier here. The default is that people are nice. So nice that I wondered if it was fake, scripted nice like in America fast food joints. It's not. They carry bags, give up seats, just generally help and that makes life so much easier.

The weather in Auckland is amazing. Yes we get rain and cold. But we don't often get days and days of rain and grey. Even in winter we get sun most days. 4 seasons in one day was written about Auckland. Other parts of NZ have totally different climates though.

Auckland is very expensive now, particularly houses. I would not want to rent long term here as it is very unstable with low quality houses. If you are serious OP, check out houses on Trademe.co.nz But be warned, kiwi real estate photographers are very talented.

MiddleClassMother · 18/10/2020 20:33

I would love to emigrate, but then there's a lot of things that tie me to the u.k. Mainly my family.

Malin52 · 20/10/2020 07:06

Beautiful country. Fuck all to do on a wet Wednesday (of which there are quite a few).

What would you do in your UK locale on a wet Wednesday? Cinema? Shopping centre? Pub? Soft play? Museum, Art Gallery? Believe it or not most NZ cities and towns have all of these. And if you move to the proper countryside in NZ (and not one of the bigger towns and cities) then frankly you wouldn't have any position to be whining about no soft play!

Unless you are visiting the Hanging Gardens of Babylon every time it rains on a weekday you will get the same options in Auckland or Welly as you would in a UK town or city

nighttrains · 20/10/2020 08:26

@Malin52

Beautiful country. Fuck all to do on a wet Wednesday (of which there are quite a few).

What would you do in your UK locale on a wet Wednesday? Cinema? Shopping centre? Pub? Soft play? Museum, Art Gallery? Believe it or not most NZ cities and towns have all of these. And if you move to the proper countryside in NZ (and not one of the bigger towns and cities) then frankly you wouldn't have any position to be whining about no soft play!

Unless you are visiting the Hanging Gardens of Babylon every time it rains on a weekday you will get the same options in Auckland or Welly as you would in a UK town or city

We were in a small town, no soft play for miles around, but loads of tracks to walk, we had a cinema and a swimming pool and were on the coast so we'd sit and enjoy the ever changing views with a good book and a glass or two of something. We were much more fulfilled than we are in a small town in England as we had the proper countryside as our back yard which more than made up for the disadvantages of rural roads and snow making them difficult in winter.
Florencex · 20/10/2020 09:25

I would start by really exploring job opportunities. I moved to Australia ten years ago and was on a forum for people moving to Australia and NZ. A lot of people newly joining always assumed there were loads of job opportunities because of the skills list, but these are long term lists and often did not reflect the reality of the current job situation.

Malin52 · 20/10/2020 09:27

@nighttrains I couldnt agree with you more! I live in NZ! You don't need to convince me! I was quoting and responding to a PP who seemed to think NZ was bereft of activities for a wet Wednesday... Hmm

Bowerbird5 · 20/10/2020 09:44

My DD and partner are there just now and loving it. They were travelling and were on the South Island luckily. I think they will be there for quite a while. There went in November. They are hoping to start fruit picking soon and will be sad to leave the area and people where they are living. I was wondering if they would try and emigrate but I think they miss it here too.

nighttrains · 20/10/2020 09:46

[quote Malin52]@nighttrains I couldnt agree with you more! I live in NZ! You don't need to convince me! I was quoting and responding to a PP who seemed to think NZ was bereft of activities for a wet Wednesday... Hmm
[/quote]
Exactly. I wish I was still there Sad

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