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Original poster

Should we move or not?!

36 replies

notasheep · 16/01/2006 21:19

Dp finishes Uni in May and will then hopefully be a
Computer Scientist!
So do we reach for the stars and go abroad or stay where we are.
Dp is thinking of New Zealand!!!!(too far away from home for me)
Feel its now or never dd is 6 and ds 1

Im not the kind of person to live in the same house for a hundred years but just feel the move will be MASSIVE
Anybody else done it,been there?

OP posts:
Original poster
notasheep · 20/01/2006 13:57

Sold my house in 2 weeks(sorry a big brag there) so now our options are open.Didnt want to keep house here and rent out.

So now we are in temporary rented accomodation until......

OP posts:
Original poster
notasheep · 20/01/2006 13:58

got to wake ds up back tonight

OP posts:
bobbybobbobbingalong · 20/01/2006 18:05

Tiggerish - what's wrong with the education system? I hadn't noticed it was any worse than anywhere else particularly but then ds is only 3 so not much experience of it yet.

Tiggerish · 20/01/2006 20:17

I don't know about the primary school system, Bobby. I taught in a secondary school in Wellington for 6 months. The whole ethos of education in NZ is very different from the UK. A lot of the time, learning comes second to sports and other outside activities, so very often several students are missing from each lesson. As a consequence, progress is very slow and the students are probably 12 months behind their UK equivalents at age 16.
The assessment at the GCSE equivalent is so trivial it is scary. Students can obtain a basic pass by achieving attainment targets that we would expect an average year 8 (12 years old) to get. There is no incentive for them to work for extra credits available, other than personal pride. Lets face it, the vast majority of kids will do just enough to get by and no more.
Things do improve a bit at A level but the syllabus is still pretty basic imo.

hannahsaunt · 20/01/2006 22:10

Hello - HA here from her year in Oz. We've been here 6 months and it's all going well. There have been ups and downs though those have almost without exception been related to our tenants in our UK home rather than the quality of the experience here. I think it's a marvellous opportunity esp for the 2 boys and we would absolutely do it again, not least for the travelling opportunities en route both to here and to home. It is a long way away and I do miss my friends and family but it's not so bad as email is so fantastic; add in digi photos, webcams etc and we're probably more in touch than we are when we're at home. Friends and relatives are coming out to visit too which is fun. I would say give it a go but with an initial time limit for review. And be ferociously organised in everything (though even that doesn't guarantee good tenants!!).

Original poster
notasheep · 20/01/2006 22:16

Sold house,so wont have the worry of tenants,i just dont think i am ready for this as me and dp are not 100%

OP posts:
bobbybobbobbingalong · 21/01/2006 19:03

Tiggerish - that would explain why it take 4 years to get an honours degree, they probably spend the first year just catching up stuff they should have done at school!

My secondary students workloads and assessment criteria really varies depending on how good their school is. One girl was required to perform at a level around my A level performance standard just for her 15 year old exams. Another could play a little 4 line piece with chords. Madness.

I do like the primary system here, but I might have to save up for a more accountable high school education for Bob.

hannahsaunt · 21/01/2006 22:37

Being Scottish born and educated I could wax lyrically about the merits of a 4 year honours degree and certainly does not reflect an inferior secondary education system.

However that would be way off topic!

Depends on how not 100% you and dp are - could be the making or breaking I guess. I think it has fabulous for me and dh (though we were fine before we left) and has only made things even better. Could be interesting.

nickiw · 09/02/2006 01:28

We moved from UK to Auckland August last year. Going well so far, few hiccups but it's only a 2yr visa so we do plan to go back. Moving house tomorrow and picking up a new puppy on Sunday, just for a nice quiet weekend!!

laurawaterford · 09/02/2006 08:16

sorry for butting in - and being the prophet of doom...

You said, notasheep, that you and dp werent rock solid. I have always wanted to go change move abroad, etc, however I realised it was often when we werent that happy!! so now we have agreed we have to be rock solid in our relationship before we make any move so we are moving for the 'right' reasons. Otherwise i think we would still not be focusing on our relationship and any cracks would get even bigger under the strain of it all - dont go yet!!! get rock solid first!!!

MeerkatsUnite · 09/02/2006 09:26

I would have to agree with Laura also; it is a bad idea to emigrate if your relationship is not rock solid. All you'd end up doing is taking the self same problems with you.

Also NZ have extremely strict criteria for new migrants.

Not saying you should never go but if your relationship is not solid then you need to work on that first.

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