WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW:PART 3!!!!(HOLY SHIT!)

[AngryBeaver]

Can you believe we've finished finished off another thread? Jeez we can talk!!
Just an update..we've found a nice double glazed,4 bed house,with nice garden. So that's one stress off the last.
Hilongwhitecloud

AE we've had a lovely autumn in Auckland, warm sunny days, about 20 C. Lots of trips to the park and beach for us

12 weeks - hmm, if you arrive August hopefully the worst of the winter will be over. Temperatures almost always get to double figures in Akl even in winter - but some winter days will be nasty rainy windy days of 11 C and some will be pleasant sunny days of about 15 C. Spring is very variable - it can rain a lot - you can get warm days (which fool you into thinking summer is nearly here), followed by cold/rainy days.

we did it in about 12 weeks - Beware AE - our visas took 5 days to come once we sent off all the paperwork so that kind of took the rug out from under us. Don't drag it out with family - we did and it was painful (see previous threads) - we could have come 4 weeks earlier tbh. And yes St Heliers is a bit hilly but not too bad.

Been to CBD today to meet my new team mates - only 5 of them - all a bit small but in a good way. Offices fab. Nanny almost sorted (lovely lass but not great references - hopefully she'll work out for us as she's local).

Discovered stonefields market on a sunday - how cheap is the fruit and veg?? It's half the price of pak n save!

5 days? Or did you mean 5 weeks?

We've already told the family, everyone is really happy and excited for us.

Contract is signed and returned, all police check/medical/passport forms have been filled out. We've just got to get a couple endorsed/countersigned and we can send off and book appointment for medicals.

DP still off the fags. Over 48hrs now. He's drinking a whole lot of orange juice though.

We sent medicals with all the forms and they received them on the Monday and by Saturday we had visas - talent accredited route

Wow that's quicker than I was expecting.

Yep,our vis (also talent)...back very quickly. We did it in about 7 weeks I think.
lolly what do you mean they were all small in a good way???!
Got last lot of results back. All fine. Have early scan booked for next week. Will be very anxious...and I'll have to go on my own

Wow the third incarnation of the Where's Best To Live In NZ thread - well done everyone!! I will put my hand up as a long time lurker, occasional poster from back in the day when AB was UK based :) i thought it only right to say hulloooo on your shiny new thread and warmest congrats on your pregnancy AB xx

longwhitecloud our situations are quite similar :) apart from my DH being kiwi too and we are Nth Islanders :) We have been here ten yrs, now have 2 DC (4yrs & 1yrs) and have been ummming and ahhhing for years about going home, someone once told us that we'll know when we are done cos the financial won't have nearly as much influence as the emotional, we turned that corner at the beginning of the year and are now making our plans to finish up here in the next 2 years (clear debt/save). We'll be based in Auckland tho cos my In Laws are there and they have missed most of the kids early years but I think they will be in their element with older children.

Can I ask the NZ based peeps, would it make any sense to stock up on things like clothes washing liquid, I can get 108 washes of Persil small and mighty for £9 so around $18/20nzd, I figure half a dzn bottles won't take up much room in a container??? But it's possible ;) that I'm getting ahead of myself and just trying to think of relocating things so I can think of relocating things ;)

kiwidreamer just had a quick look on the Countdown website and Persil Small and Mighty is priced at $7.99 for 875 ml on there (normally $11, it's on special), so you could compare that to what it costs in the UK.

54 wash bottle is 1900mls for £6 at Tesco on special that's the same as the normal price for 850ml, ah well it seems good value might be worth thinking about, I can get two 54 wash bottles for £9 from Costco.

anxiously excited glad things are moving for you. So great that your family have taken it well, I think that makes things much easier!

kiwidreamer hello! I mean this is the nicest possible way, but you need to get out more!! . I will be stuffing our container with as many M&S pants/knickers as I can fit in, make-up and kids clothing for at least 10 years!

I totally know what you mean about the financial vs emotional. That is pretty much what happened with us, we realised that the fun and nice things in our life pretty much always had to be paid for. The little "luxuries" that make our life worthwhile all add up. I don't want to be a slave to a massive mortgage in London and still not get the lifestyle I want. So do you think you will be in UK for another couple of years?

Our kitchen is finally finished, now just some final touches to the flat and then we will put on the market. We have busted our guts to get it finished so I hope it all pays off.

Quick school question about school. My eldest is an October baby, she'll be five next October. Would she start school when she turns five and then finish the year in Standard 1??Year 1(can you tell how old I am?) and then move up in Feb of the following year. I'm born in March so wasn't an issue for me. I am presuming the first year is pretty low key so won't matter if she is only in the first year for three months.

kiwidreamer thank you I'm just hoping it sticks. My dh just told me there is a girl that's 19 weeks at his work and apparantly our bumps are the same size thanks darling! (I'm about 8 weeks!)
You sound as if you're ready to come home. My advice is the same as longwhitecloud...stuff that container with everything you can!!Especially kids clothes and shoes! I am amazed at how expensive evebn the kids underwear is!! Yoiu could get a 6 pack of knickers from tesco for like £3, here they are about $20!!!!

My dd1 is a November birthday and as far as I understand it, she'll start in New Entrants on her birthday, be there till the end of term (about 7 weeks) and then go into Year 1 when the new school year begins in February. It's all new to me though.

Longwhitecloud: DD has an end July birthday. In her school they do the intro class for about 6 weeks and then into year 1. Then, depending on when their birthday is they either repeat year 1 or move up to Year 2. I think DD will be in the repeat Year1 group - which does have me a little concerned for when we move back home in case she is very far behind where she would be in the Irish system. But the school assure me it's the best way... so, fingers crossed it all works out.

I've found out that I'm almost definitely starting my university course in July, just 2 subjects. Suddenly I realise that I need to sort out childcare for DD2 & any maybe before/after school care for DD1. So, slight panic stations here

ds2 is an August birthday, he spent the first year as a 'new entrant' and then started year 1 the following Feb. There seems to be some loose rule about birthday's after Easter (which seems very early) repeat year 1 but seems to vary from school to school. ds1 with a Feb birthday is one of the oldest in his class.

Thanks all, info very helpful.

kiwidreamer do you have any weird kiwi cravings? I have just read yesterday's ODT online, looked at photos and ads just to see what is going on. I also peruse Woolworths online and occasionally do a little shop to see how much it will cost me. I love looking up familar foods and then seeing if I can get my usual grocery list from here.

Missing the familarity of home today, not anything in particular just that people at home are getting on with their lives, without me/us and how dare they?

vvviola are you in NZ on a short/medium term basis, when will you return to Ireland?

Longwhitecloud - we're here for at least 2 years, possibly more. I'm only on career break, so the plan at the moment is to head back when that's over. Although, you never know...

Can i ask those of you with school aged children. Do they have reading records?
I asked class teacher yesterday if they had a reading record ie how do they chart their progression...and she said "Oh I don't have one,I just trust that they read"
I mean obviously,dd reads at home as she loves reading. BUT,lots of kids don't and their parents may not have the time/inclination to see that they do it. Also,in school,at least in the UK,every child should be heard to read everyday and the book,page number, plus comment ,recorded . So the next time it's their chance to read,they go to the page they left off from and continue...pretty basic.
Is this not standard in NZ, or is this just one shite teacher?

Ds1 is Y1. He comes home with a book everynight and has a book that I record it in and the teacher initials it. He gets a sticker for every 25 nights of reading. Is that a reading record?

both dss at 2 different school have had books to bring home each night to read and a log that I have to sign to say that we have read the book. However, once they seem to be able to read at or above their reading age it seems to be able to stop. At least it did for ds1, the teacher said he had read all the books, was bored so could read whatever he liked as he obviously liked reading. So perhaps more flexible as has already been said? Unless you are early years then I would expect some reading record???

good question about the schooling. DD1 is 5 next September and i was wondering about that. Need to get onto reading the ERO reports for the local primaries too.

I would definately go to Primark and stock up on clothes for the kids (and yourself!) for the next few YEARS. Specially jumpers and underwear.

Sorry to move the conversation from
Schooling on quite quickly but can you tell me what your average food bills are per week and how many in your family.

Passports and Police Check forms sent off now. Things have started moving.

When did you all start looking into
Shipping?

Does anyone have any experience with PORSE or Barnardos for organising childcare? I'm totally torn between home-based care and a daycare centre for DD2, and without the word-of-mouth network I'd have at home I'm a bit lost. (and I'm conscious that when we were in a similar situation with DD1 a few years ago we ended up making a bad choice - nothing too extreme, but the place she ended up afterwards was 100 times better for her and she was so much happier)