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!!

In wellington you have to pay the surcharge for scans at Pacific Radiology but not at Horizon Radiology - so may be the same where you are . . . you just had to wait a couple more days to get a booking with Horizon as they were obvioulsy busier.

Cold here too! Moved the heater back into the girls' room tonight.

I so miss radiators and double glazing!

Hi everone,yes tis nippy isn't it?!! I've also got the heater in the baby's room and two blankets on the beds of the others! I've been lying on the sofa with my duvet all night with fluffy socks& a hoodie on!brrrr. An expat of around late 50 early 60's said to me that it was exactly like the UK when she was little. There was no double glazing,no insulation and no central heating. She said she never imagined she would still be freezing her arse off at this age!
4 months til the spring?!That seems aaaages away!

buzzy thanks,but I don't think dd is gifted. She is a bright spark alright,but not that much! Thanks for the school info,thats what I was worying over. If all the kids can't go to the same school.
I have been reading the ERO reports on 2 or 3 schools. There is a catholic school that seems very good,but I worry it might be tooo Catholic if you see what I mean?!
I have spoken to another Mum of a child in dd's class.She is totally unimpressed too. She thinks teacher is lazy. When we went in on the first day,the walls were bare. She should've been in there before the new school year started,making the classroom look splendiferous for my 5 year old and her peers. Nope,bare walls. Then instead of sitting the children down and introducing them to each other,and herself to them...she started doing CUTTING! Apparantly,she needed things cut out for the first lesson

There was also an instance last week where I dropped dd off,and there was no teacher in the room,I waited.The bell went.I waited. Then she appeared 9.08 accross the playground. She had to pass me at the door and said "oooh,haha,meetings meetings!" Bullshit,there are no meetings after the bell has gone.You were having cup of tea and a natter with the caretaker!
grrrr

AB - she sounds shite tbh. Ds1 settled in his school with no issue - much more of a deal for me than him I think.

I concede that I'm now cold in my tinderbox with windows that don't shut. My mum shoved foil in them last week to fill in the gaps - did I mention she's gone back to UK - can't remember if I did. This was the fourth emigration - 4 weeks in total. Cat still in UK.

Oh it got cold cold cold last night. One of the more unpleasant parts of night feeds in the winter is the cold little hands on bare skin. Brrrr.

We're thinking of asking the landlady if she'd be happy to go halves with us on putting in a wood-burning stove in the living room. DH reckons it'd still be cheaper than running electric heaters all the time. Although, unless he feels like getting up at 5am to light it, we'll still be cold in the morning.

I miss my central heating.

Hi, well police forms are filled and ready to be sent off, still not sure where DP is going to be based yet though. I'm getting all excited looking through rental properties though.

I was (randomly) thinking about birthdays last night. About how in NZ we'll wake up at 7am on our birthdays but if we where still in the UK it wouldn't actually be our birthday yet. Did anyone else think about random things like that or is it just me.

13 C in our living room last night- and 16 in DD's room with a rad on!

Vvviola- your landlord can get a grant towards the cost of a heat pump and insulation. We got $1300 towards our insulation. I hope they come to fit it soon!

Lolly- I got some fab UGG style boot slippers from warehouse last year for about $15. They made quite a difference to how warm I was.

Hi ladies,

Can I join the thread? I posted a wee bit early on the first thread (different username)....so pleased to see you have made it to NZ AB and congrats on your pregnancy.

I have lurked occasionally and you seem like a friendly lot!

I am a kiwi living in London, British DH and two DDs. Got quite homesick after first DD born and now the time is coming where we are making the decision to move to NZ or not. Have done our flat up and ready to put on the market in the next few weeks, will likely rent in London for six months or so and then decide whether to stay in the UK (and move to where DH's family are) or home to NZ. Priority for us at the moment is to be near family (well, jobs etc of course, but we really want to be near one side of the family). If we can we may do a bit of a recce to NZ June/July/August, but part of me thinks we could use that money to ship everything over, but just not sure it is fair on DH to not have a visit first. I am 90% sure that NZ is the right move for us, but have lived in UK for the last 10 years so a bit nervous that I am seeing NZ through rose tinted glasses. I came over to UK to work i.e not to leave NZ for any particular reason, but get the wobbles every now and then mostly about low wages and financial security.

I kind of need somewhere to log my progress and get it out of my head! It feels quite stressful now that we are about to make the big decision soon. I think given the chance though I would move tomorrow!

So can I post my mindless dribble here? I can update you all on useless UK gossip and info and I can get my kiwi fix and not drive my family demented by asking them silly questions about 50c lolly mixtures, and chocolate dipped ice-creams!!

Hi longwhitecloud. Which area in NZ would you be moving back to? It is a tough decision whether to come over for a visit first - so much money to spend but I can understand your dh may want to see the place first.

There was a thread from a couple of months back from a Kiwi who had moved back and wasn't too happy - especially with the cost of living. I guess it's different for everyone, I've been here 11 years and we're very happy here.

We can keep you updated on Very Important Kiwi News...apparently a couple of weeks ago the Aussies tried to claim Pineapple Lumps as their own invention...cue outrage in NZ

AE yes the time difference thing is a bit crazy...I have put pics of our Christmas morning up on Fb and it's still Christmas Eve for my family when they see them. My dd1 was born early in the morning on the 2nd of the month, when we phoned our families it was still the 1st there - some of them thought her birthday was the 1st for a while.

And it was 13 in our living room this morning but two hours later with sun streaming in through the windows it is a pleasant 18 degrees.

We would move back to Dunedin. We toyed with the idea of moving to Wellington (Auckland too big for me) but we really want to be near some family. ALL of my family are in South Island.

Loving the Very Important Kiwi News, I did read about the shortage of Marmite, thank god I am a vegemite girl!

DH has visited NZ twice before and we have visited NZ and Dunedin together before but it was fairly early on in our relationship and at that stage you are NOT looking at schools, houses etc, we were rather more interested in the crayfish and Speights.

Funnily enough I met another kiwi at a playgroup the other morning, she is married to a kiwi and I asked if she would ever move back and she said they couldn't afford to!!!!
It is quite scary how the cost of living has rocketed in NZ, exchange rate is awful...but things are difficult here too, reality is that we would probably always be better off financially in the UK, but it's more about the quality of life for me, which I think is better in NZ, however you can't eat scenery!!!

Ah the good thing about going to Dunedin is that houses would be much more affordable than up here in Auckland. I've only been once - years ago - it seemed like it would be a nice place to bring up a family. The South Island is so stunning too - we had a holiday in Queenstown this year and wow, it was amazing.

Yes, housing much more affordable and less dodgy areas, on the flip side less job opportunities and lower wages...but I think that is a problem the world over (bigger cities vs smaller cities). Dunedin is a great little city, I really do love it and as a hardy Southerner I will declare right here that I HATE central heating. I quite like going into a cold bedroom, having a nice cosy bed heated with an electric blanket...but I don't miss having to sit on the sofa with a duvet (fond student days).

The South Island is amazing whatshesaid, I love Central Otago with a passion. I used to think Queenstown was so touristy and busy, on my last visit it felt so quaint (still touristy of course) but I saw it in a totally new light.

Right off to bed for me.

I just stick to a hot water bottle, I feel like a right old nana having one but they are cheaper than electric blankets.

I have a duvet on the sofa though! feel like a student now despite being 40

My hot water bottle (with handknit cover) was lent to a friend, who promptly mislaid it :( it had been to 3 countries with me & I was quite attached to it.

We have those microwaveable ones that I'll use for DD. But I'm quite fond of the old fashioned ones.

I got a microwaveable one (which dd1 uses) from a pharmacy I think.

The regular-type hot water bottles can be bought from the Warehouse, supermarkets etc

I set fire to my wheat bag rather dramatically so hotties it is for me. Warehouse is a good place to look but they don't seem to last that long here. I'm on my second. The other was the first thing I bought on arrival that very cold June 4 years ago.

Welcome longwhite cloud!

wow, that's alot of posts today!! havn't read them all as rushing from work to boys sport but wanted to say - yes it's pigging cold! new house doesn't have a heater so it was 9 degrees in the lounge this morning and full frost all around (too cold ofr words). Heater has gone to the top of the must do list (has HRV but that doesn't kick in until there is heat in the roof and it was registering 1 degrees this morning)

Re birthdays - it works to ds1 advantage, his birthday is one day after my Dad's, so ds rings his Grandad on the NZ evening of his birthday and it's the morning of his Grandad's so they share a birthday albeit a day apart. Ds1 loves that!!!

I'm sniggering at Hotties NZ

Here, the Warehouse have ones with fleece covers for $9, www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Hot-Water-Bottle-With-Fleece-Cover-%28Assorted-Colours%29?SKU=1027824. I think Bed, Bath and Beyond has some too. I think some pharmacies have ones with cute animal covers.

Sibble your new place sounds freeeeezing, we didn't get any frost over here. Are you getting a heat pump put in?