where's best to live in nz,and what do we need to know?

[AngryBeaver]

My dh has been on at me for a year to move from the uk.He wanted Quebec,which looked gorgeous and romantic,but i wasn't sold on the winters and coudn't leave my mum.
He recentley said he wanted to move to NZ and i thought ,yeah if it's warm and a better life than here,let's do it.
So we've got fuck all money and 3 kids under 4.5 ...but we want to do it.
I don't know what's changed in me for me to agree ,but I hear th schools and hospitals are fab,and just want the best life for my lovely children.
I'm worrying though because I've read the houses are crap and cold.
We want sun,space and not too expensive (don't we all!)
We thought Tauranga,but that seems quite busy and we've read about boy racers.
We don't want Wellington as we've heard it's windy and weather not great.
Does anyone know about Nelson?Heard it's nice weather,but what's the reality?
We are going to put the house on the market this week,I am shitting myself,but I feel it's now or never.
Any help or advice,gratefully recieved

littelestkiwi is that permanant residency?congrats dh went to the food court and got chatting to an elderly asian lady who owned an outlet and dh told her you'd recommended there,she was thrilled and took him into the kitchen and introduced him to her husband!!Then made him a madras to die for.

And so much for kiwis being hard to crack.Dh has been invited for tea fri eve with a lady and her dh! (when he mentioned he'd eaten at the food court she said,"eyyw")

sibble, that is a LOT of children. How would you cope on your own,poor woman

Yeah, some kiwi's are a bit funny about food courts. But I guess I'm used to Asia which is rather hard core. How sweet of the madras lady. I must try that next time.

We now have permanent residence with the right to come and go from NZ for the rest of our lives. Or until they change the rules. They have just changed the names of all the visa's but I think this is PR under the new descriptions. Next stage is citizenship which takes 5 years.

What does your OH think so far AB? Has he been to many houses? It might be worth trying to view some rentals/purchases so he can get an idea of what you get for your money. They have open homes here so he could go without making appointments. Tell him to look on trademe. Everything gets advertised there. And pick up a property press at a supermarket.

Oh yes, good idea!!! Get your DH to go to some open homes. Although we won't be buying a house for the next year, we've started going to them every now and then.

Brilliant,and do you feel likeyou belong kiwi?
He absolutely loves nz. I don't know if i'm pleased or worried about that news really. I know I don't want to stay here,but the thought of leaving makes me feel ill.
Wasn't it nice of that lady?She was really thrilled and wanted to know the name of the person that had recommended their place! She took dh into the kitchen to watch her make the naan bread and madras. He said itwas spotless in there and all food covered etc so no need to be funny about food courts!

Good idea about the open houses,but I'm not sure he'll have much time now.It's fri night there and he flies back on Sun. He'll be back mon,have really misssed him

also,(there was a bit opn another thread re this,but...) day to day life and spiders,anyone?

Spiders are no prob in NZ at all! Have seen bigger ones in the UK. Australia on the other hand..............shudder!

but there are the white tails that live in houses and BITE,non? Also isn't there a deadly one?a red back or summit

Allegedly but can't say I've ever seen one or heard of anyone who has. In fact, I had to go and google NZ spiders to find out what we have here - white-back bites are pretty minor by the looks of stuff and red-backs only live in certain parts of NZ. See here:

www.cph.co.nz/files/SAF0055.pdf

On the other hand, don't get me started on mozzies.... I'm actually quite glad that the weather has turned, for the pleasure of being free from bites at last.

Hope all goes well for your DHs flight home, AB.

We've had white tips in all our houses but so far have not been bitten. I think it is more like a bee sting than anything else.

Of course it is the carnivorous snails you need to look out for. Oh, and the weta can be a little feisty.

Littlestkiwi- can I be cheeky and ask where in Auckland you live. Dh been talking to his work about transfer to Auckland possibly chch too. We had hoped to live north shore assuming role would be CBD but it turns out it's penrose area (great south road). It's made us have to adjust our thoughts as not sure commute from the shore would be too much. I hear Cornwall park area good - Epsom etc? Ds1 would start school in august as 5 then and we would most likely be coming over then or sept. Were just waiting to hear from Nz director to confirm details and all going well were coming. Haven't told family- they're not going to be pleased....

Oh god,I just googled carniverous snails, and ended up watching some weird you tube videos of venus fly traps eating frogs!
Why can the weta be feisty?? Ther're just like giant woodlice aren't they? surely they just....be?!

Dh is on the way home lands in manchester tomorrow lunchtime. Will be so glad to get him back. Might get sick of hearing about nz though I think (no offence!) I think i'm going to get every minute in detail
I was looking at some property in Torbay,and found this gorgeous house 4 bed, 2 bathrooms,big garden, hot tub ...i want it now!
The primary school looked nice as well (decile 10,that's good isn't it?)I looked at the uniform,as I've heard a lot about how expensive it is,but they only ask you to buy the t shirt and jumper and find your own bottoms.Doesn't seem too bad. Unless the tops are like $80 of course

ps..dh was abit disconcerted while he was waiting for a bus,a group of teenagers (he thinks 14-16) started talking about guns and "popping a cap into him"..I suppose this kind of thing is widespread,but I guess I had convinced myself that nz was a bit different. It just seems at odds with everything I've heard about kids over there.
Dh also said he didn't see any teenage girls looking like mini Pamela Anderson's. That's quite refreshing. It's one of the comments I took on board from an expat on Wanted down under. A mum said something re her teenage dd like, the hoop earrings and the heavy makeup that were creeping in,are gone.#The girls here just aren't that bothered.
I liked the sound of that

Weta are really cool- I love them. But you do get the odd one in your house so they then need to be removed. They are endangered and it is illegal to kill them. They are huge too so it can be a challenge when they wave their legs around. But they are not a big deal. Imagine an insect which does the job of the mouse in most eco systems!

Uniform is expensive- at my local blouses and skirts are $40+ each.

lollystix- we live in the Eastern Bays. We rented here and fell in love with the beach. It's more expensive but we just love walking by the sea. If you live in Meadowbank/Remuera etc it's a little cheaper but the sea is what it's all about for us.

I think school zone is important. Not sure about Epsom etc but I like Mt Eden etc. Look for schools with a 8/9/10 decile rating and you should be okay. If really depends what sort of lifestyle you are after. I like being able to walk to something. If you are happy being more car reliant you will have more choice.

Sibble- does that sound sensible? I'm a novice at schools stuff as DD is only 2.

But you need to be aware that the Rugby world cup is a huge deal here with a lot of businesses putting prices up and temporary accommodation is going to be an issue in October. They have even changed the school term dates to accommodate it. I would get OH to discuss this if he gets a job offer. Someone may be able to help you out in the short term.

PM me if you want to have a chat about details.....

lollystix- I wouldn't stress too much about areas at the moment. You really need to get a feel for them in person which you can do in a couple of hours driving around. Just make a short list, have a look at rentals on trademe for prices and when you get here get a sat nav and have a drive around.

thelittlestkiwi - congrats on permanent residency. Unless they've changed it though don't fall into the trap that I did and assume it's permanent. It has to be renewed after 2 years when you get a proper permanent stamp. I had taken the boys back to the UK with stop offs on the way out and back. It was only when I tried to board the plane at Brisbane that they told me the 'permanent residency' visa had run out! They wanted me to fly back to Heathrow to renew it. Luckily DH and boys were on NZ passports so they let me get on plane but in Auckland I had to sit with the idiots and illegals and be questioned. They gave me a temporary stamp. All I could think of was 'please don't let them be filming 'Boarder Control' - can you imagine my mum's on tele. I wanted a sign that said I'm stupid not illegal .

Anyway, agree about schools 8-9 decile should be good. However, the contributions and uniform etc. seem to go up with the higher decile.

lollystix - Epsom, Cornwall Park are both nice. We rented in Mount Eden when we first arrived and it was great. TBH there are a few pockets in Auckland where I probably wouldn't want to live but on the whole it's a nice place, it would be hard to go wrong. Grey Lynn is lovely, Pt Chevalier is meant to be nice. I seem to live not too far from thelittlestkiwi so also give a thumbs up for Eastern Beaches and further out South East. If I were renting would look at schools, catchment areas, commute into work (crap public transport), north facing house with HRV rather than a fixed area.

I spent 2 months driving every day to different areas getting a feel for them but it's only having lived here that I now know where I would prefer to live.

Thanks Sibble - It's the IRRV we just got- having had PR for two years. They have changed the names of the visa/permits cos so many people got confused. So we now have the 'proper permanent stamp'. Next stop citizenship....

I've been in that room in the states. It's an education there. I have never seen so many people treated so badly. Hard to believe the US is a nation of immigrants.

Thanks for the offer littelstkiwi,that's kind of you..I may take you up on it if things progress.I have watched all the video and seen all the pics dh took. It is reallybeautiful,but I'm still undecided. The bottom line is,although it's stunning,it's Just A Place. Is it worth leaving my family and friends for A Place? I don't know. I'm sure I'll get over this feeling because I know the answer is ,we can't stay here. The ex-pat the took dh around said he had really bad homesickness 6 months in. He got over his,then his wife started!But they seem to have adjusted and are loving it.Now they have been there a few years,they are bringing their parents over to live. God I hope that happens for me.

8Sibble* The image of you (although i don't know what you look like!) sitting with your sign being filmed made me chuckle. You'd think permanant residency meant,well,er, permanant residency wouldn't you??!!

Sorry for awful typing...baby

You will get homesick. Even I do and I'm not particularly close to my family as I left home at 18 and never went back. I don't really miss the UK but miss friends and places. Most people seem to find the first 12 months quite hard.

For me, NZ isn't just about scenery, it's about lifestyle. More space, more time, little commuting and less focus on 'stuff'. I also feel that people are just more respectful of each other and I like that.

Angry maybe you should tell us the things you/your dh really dislike about the UK and we can give you some idea of whether things are different over here or not...

It's easier to tell you the things I like here. The list will be much shorter!
What I Love About Here :

My mum
My brother and his gf and baby
My gran
Our little village
My dd's little reception class with only 15 kids and a lovely teacher
Being able to buy clothes from Sainsburys/Tesco/primark
.....mmmmmm that's it!

I miss my family:parents and sister. I was very homesick for a couple of months after my sister came for a 2 week visit in January.
I live in a small town about 1.5 hours from Auckland, so there are no big shops and you have to go for about 50 mins to get somewhere big (Whangarei). I have got used to that and quite like having to plan shopping, it means it does not expand to fill all available time if you know what I mean.

My ds3 is about to start school in a class of only about 12 children. The school I work at has only 40 children in it - I have 22 Y4/5/6s.

Good luck with choosing.

Thanks horopu..you could probably help me with my next question then.
Dh has discovered Waiheke Island. It looks idyllic,but there are maaaany ifs but's and maybe's.
There are only 3 schools on the Island and they are decile 5,6 and 7.
Does this mean that they are crappy,or that the children come from poorer backgrounds, or what?!
The primary in Torbay is a decile 10.

Also,I don't think there's a hospital.

I've been searching and there seems to be only one supermarket.

So does anyone know anything about it?

Waiheke is beautiful. It used to have a very high rate of people claiming benefits. I'm not sure I would describe it as poor, more hippy/alternative/drop out. No hospital but it is only 30 mins on the ferry.