Where's Best to Live in NZ and what do we need to know: PART TWO!!!

[AngryBeaver]

Wow,have just gone to post and it wouldn't except it! So have had to start a new thread. Hope everyone finds it ok.I feel a bit like we've all been out for the night and somehow got seperated and no one has their mobile!!
Anyway,this was the question I've had to cut and paste from the old thread:...

Sorry,have had a quick look but can't see...has anyone used emirates?
I think the sky couch thing looks good,but we'd have to buy a couple and that would be pricey.
Dh reckons Emirates are fine,but I don't think he's anticipating how different it's going to be travelling that disatnce with 3 exhausted infants.
He has limited travel experience as it is and the longest he has been on a plane with them is 3 hours. He keeps saying it will be fine,they'll sleep for loads of it...somehow I'm thinking this will not happen!!

The 18 month old will probably potter on the side while the 3 and 5 slip and slide. Its safer than a paddling pool as no body of water as such. My DH 'bowled' my twin nephews down the slip and slide when they were younger than 18months and they had a ball!! Its a kiwi backyard must have and on special at the Warehouse at the moment!

justabout I would love some advice about the medicals and ASD, we are intending to emmigrate in two years when DS1 completes his a levels. Our intention is that I will get a job (am on the long term shortage list as is my husband) and our 4 children will come with us. However DS1 has aspergers syndrome, his plan would be to study marine biology at Auckland. He would be 18 nearly 19 at the time of our planned emmigration and would have applied to Auckland uni as an overseas student whilst in his final year of a levels. Do yu think his ASD would cuase complications/a refusal with the medical? Thanks :)

Well happy new year everyone! Hope you all had great times at Christmas too.

OK, all you Hamilton and Cambridge dwellers ..... I hear there is an English food shop nearby. We are passing through on the way to Rotorua next week and I would soooo like to find a packet of fig rolls. Can anyone tell me where it is? Have tried Google, but no luck. Ta very much

Hi shels,Happy New Year everyone!!
I will make it my life's work to find you some[baulk] fif rolls!

Fig!! (but still baulk)

There is talk of said shop on the ENZ forum,but no address...I shall hunt further

Morning (or evening ladies). Happy new year - xmas has been full on childcare for us as everything shut and today has been very hard work as Scotland takes NY very seriously. Can't wait for school and nursery to resume. Watching with interest on the fig rolls as they are Dh's favourite. I'm more of a jammy dodger lady myself.

I've booked a load of folk to come quote for the removal of our stuff and waiting on DS1's passport to return before the forms go off. I have a further couple of questions I'm afraid

• money transfers - who would you recommend as I'd need to send some over in advance and then some back to the UK on a regular basis for our token pensions, etc?

• cars - we need a 7 seater. DH is getting all excited about a Ford Territory which is a bit premature when we don't even have a visa yet but are there any other ones we should be looking at? I presume you can haggle on the prices like the UK.

Thanks in advance. Another quake in Christchurch DH tells me tonight? Is everyone OK?

shelscrape if you can't find an English food shop in Hamilton/Cambridge have you seen the website for [[http://www.theenglishcornershop.co.nz/
The English Corner Shop]] they deliver all over NZ. Outside of Auckland to the North Island is $10 delivery, they have Jacobs Fig Rolls on there under the Biscuits section.

If you're travelling through Auckland I know of 3 English food shops in Auckland, one in Orewa which is easy to stop at (and has a lovely beach).

lollystix I've only ever transferred money over with a bank (Westpac) so don't know any money transfer companies to recommend

The pak and save at Sylvia Park has a good selection of UK food if you fancy a stop off Shelscrape.

Countdown in Botany Downs, Auckland and Why Knot in East Tamaki also have Brit food.

Actualy our New World seems to be stocking lots of British food too lately. It just taunts me though - I see the Shreddies but I cannot possibly justify spending $12 on a pack so I have to walk on by.

Dh did buy me a pack just before Christmas, my 4 yo dd decided she liked them. No chance they're mine.

I know NZ has cadbury's cos I went to the factory in Dunedin but I can't remember if Creme Eggs are indigenous?

Thanks for looking AB. Will have a nose around myself as we pass through. But Pak n Save at Sylvia Park? Hmmmm may well have to investigate on the way home. Our local New World sells a limited English selection of Walkers Crisps, Angel Delight (WTF?), Bisto, mushy peas and Fray Bentos Pies. My lovely mum keeps me supplied with Yorkshire Tea though Poor old DH was very sad and dejected he couldn't get any Wenslydale cheese at Christmas ... poor lad.

lollystix although you get Cadbury's here it is not the same, tastes very different. English Cadbury's is far superior. I have taken a liking to Whittakers Chocolate which is much nicer IMHO.

Yorkshire tea on the shelves in Botany Countdown. I'm over the moon!

Creme eggs here are different to the UK ones. Ours are runnier.

Gutted about the creme eggs but slightly offset by the news on Yorkshire Tea as it's the only tea DH will let us drink in this house

Happy New Year everybody. We had a very wet one (except a few days at the beginning). Yesterday I caved in, packed up and we're back from the beach early. Will head back tomorrow if the weather clears. Spent a week playing 'bored' games, walking on beach in light showers, running for cover in heavier downfalls etc etc. Spent yesterday trying to work out ds1s new ipod touch and my ipod. It's official I hate anything technical....managed to configure my ipod into polish or something and took me an hour to get it back to English, then couldn't download itunes etc etc.... All with a stinking cold and hangover (managed to get my only hangover of the festive season yesterday) - took to the wine after piggy back racing in mud and swimming in choppy rainy westcoast sea the night before and yesterday was not good....

Anyway, off to Botany today in the hope the sales are still on. Am sure there is a bargain I desperately need somewhere

Where were you Sibble? Lol about the polish iPod thingy (see I don't even know what they're called). Im like you - It took me 2 hours to set up the wii on Xmas day.

Would have loved to hit the sales today but 102mph winds in Edinburgh stopped play today. Yet another day spent in soft play with half of Scotland.

Mad mother update - remember she got on the plane again (after turning round on way to heathrow and driving to Devon ??). So after arriving in Freudian for about 2 weeks (less possibly), they are - waiting for it,...- coming home again. Apparently thru have decided they now can't afford to live Nz. If this were the case one would have thought she would have worked that out over the course of the last 2 'emigrations' in the last 2 years. That poor cat..... Shes only done a month and she'll be looking at another 6 months in quarantine

Freudian - now there's a slip on the iPad - I mean Greytown

lollistix your mum sounds more mad than mine and that takes some doing

We were at Port Waikato - just over an hour from Auckland. We have a bach there so spend most of summer there. It's west coast so wild and we love it. The surf can be dangerous at the best of times but rather worrying when the lifeguards are saying over the loudspeaker 'stay out the surf unless you are a confident swimmer, do not swim out of your depth' etc etc and 11 year old ds1 is a speck on the horizon on his board. I'm one minute in knee height waves in pouring rain and the next jumping waves while keeping an eye on ds2 on his board, grabbing him as he hurtles out towards the sea on the outgoing wave - such. All too much for the nerves.....

I have all this to look forward to.....at least in soft play they are relatively contained and safe.

I honestly despair with my mum. She used to be normal (well ish - still prone to drama and rash decisions and the need to fill any available worktop with small antique cups and lace doileys from charity shops) but then she retired and left her brain in her desk by accident.

Happy New Year everyone!
lolly...wow...!That's all I've got

I have found a shop that sells Briltish food,but it's more a dry food shop.Like,Branflakes to be weighed out. Didn't seem to have Jaffa Cakes or anything. I'll ask about.

Had a very weird Xmas and New Year. I didn't even realise it was NYE,til I heard next door having a party! Then i heard them all laughing and dancing and drinking..generally having a great time,and I felt quite sad and isolated.
This was probably the worst time of year to come. Everything shut down for ages (some places still closed) it was like a Ghost Town. Couldn't even go for a coffee.Dh working all the time.
Also,everyone went away to see family. This might have been bearable if the weather had been nice! So,stuck in the house for most of festive season. There was a few tears.
But ready to start making a life now,even more determined than ever. Once school starts,I'll take the boys to playgroups and Plunkett walks etc and make some friends.

Had a bit of a disaster with my first hair apt! I walked around the town looking in (closed)salon windows,seeing which ones looked good. Made an apt at first opportunity.Was really looking forward to it.A chance to get out the house and have a bit of 'me' time,and sort my bad hair month out!
Anyway, I usually have a long side fringe. I now have a full fringe (did not ask for that!) sooo short,that when I get up in the morning...well,think,There's Something About Mary!!! And then she dried it really crap,it was all frizzy and then she smeared finishing cream all over the root,so it was greasy ontop...and the rest frizzy! I smiled and said "Oh,that's lovely thank you" Then got in the car and cried all the way home!
I can laugh about it now...ok,that's a lie,but I can force a smile when dh laughs at me! Because I've had some great news...
my mum and her dh are coming out for 10 weeks at the end of Feb...I'm beyond excited!

Justabout Where are you again? Would love to come to your party and meet you all in person (although you might all think I'm a freak who cries over her hair!)but dh works til 12 am 6 day...and 4 hours is alot!! I want all the details though!!

Hi ladies - lol at the fringe incident. I have one but it's not a halfwayup forehead one. Nice lady at school gates has one of them and I can't help staring at it. Anyway mine does the something about Mary thing every am despite me having no hair volume at all - it's weird.

So justabout - I would love to come to your party but I may be late ( would you even want all 6 of us - we're quite chaotic?) Visa forms not dispatched to London yet. Discovered ds1 passport expired so hopefully that back this week and seeing lawyer tomorrow to sign statutory declarations. Dh asked his mum for his degree cert too (she knows not of the move yet) and she is getting suspicious something up and refusing to send it. He is considering 300 mile round trip home to get it out her wardrobe in desperation. IF she sends it then visa forms off this week hopefully. Pickfords been round to quote though and got crown tomorrow and pss and Anglo later this week. Also ebayed my life away tonight and made £130 - should pay for my visa!

And mad mother still in Nz this week according to her DH who is now replying to her emails. She was sleeping due to heavy rain apparently so too busy. Just down the road from that dreadful balloon incident which was all over UK news.

Ps I'm aiming for late march arrival IF we get visa- still could fail medical but gp was positive.