WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW: PART4!!!

[AngryBeaver]

Arrgh,had to start a new thread!

Yes,you can get more land in Tauranga. Well,somewhere like Omokoroa or somewhere.Wouldn't want to live much closer than that. And I woulkdn't want to live at he Mount. Lovely as it is. Too touristy,imo.
We would like enough land for a pool (eventually) maybe a sleepout and still enough for a veggie patch and garden for kids. Don't neeed acres +. Wouldn't say no though,if we could afford it! Be nice to have a few sheep or something/

I think Mum would have to fly to Tauranga. So that would be
Manchester-London,London-Singapore, Singapore-Aukland,Aukland- Tauranga
Bad.

justa howws the back? Hope physio was a help,we may have driven past you!
Your house sounds great.
My mums friend lives in Silverdale.She has about an acre with some sheep etc
Wasn't overly impressed at but didn't give it a proper look I suppose,just stopped to buy flowers for Mums friend! Always worth another look

Oh GOD - heat pumps... wood burners... the memories are coming flooding back... my wood burner was a friggin' NIGHTMARE in Dunedin - like a third and very difficult child, in terms of its demands and fractiousness and unpredictability...basically I soon gave up on it, and whenever DH was working in the evenings, I just had to put on three extra jumpers. It was a flashback to Glasgow Uni days and flat-sharing in freezing conditions for years on end! lolly - such depressing news re the demise of lovely Peckhams vviola did you say you lived in Belgium for a while? That's where I grew up (Brussels)

I am cold in Auckland ...and I have no wood burner or heat pump. I'm sitting buried in cushions trying to keep warm and watching Homelands.

AIBU - I am starting to like whittakers chocolate?

I agree, I didn't watch it at first because I'm on my own and it looked really scary. But I watched the Halloween one and thought it wasn't too bad. The gimp scares me though! But then the fainting sonographer had me rolling my eyes! Quite like Grimm, it's a bit daft, but then, so am I!
Caught a bit of Californication, looks good,might give it a go.
meerkate I had romantic notions of long summers in the sun, and Winters in front of a roaring fire. Ha! Those fires are the work of the devil! I hate them and want gas fire and radiators back! I have a scar on my hand from the door, and hate the way my hair stinks of smoke if I have to blow in it.
I get it started then have to go and change a pooey nappy or something, and when I get back, the fecker's gone out!!

shels How did you get on? Did you prosecute that drug baron mo fo?!

well, I did not squeak my pants .... trial is still going and will go to the end of next week at this rate. My opening speech went on for far too long and to top it all my boss wandered in half way through ... no pressure!

It is cold, even up in Northland I've got my electric blanket on

Glad no pant squeaking was to be heard during the trial! Well done

well done shels...you got through the worst.

Iam zooming towards cambridge, england. It is freezing here. I have a coat, scarf and gloves on. How will I cope with edinburgh?

Brrrlittelest you've made me feel nippy just reading that! Get the car heater on full blast!

No problems about the nappies justabout.

I'll never say no to cake though. Once I'm feeling better. Went docs this morning and got antibots for urine and kidney infection. Oh and I really dehydrated apparently so rehydration salts to drink to gross

In bed at the moment.

Very impressed with the doctors though. Much better than the uk.

Will catch up on thread once feeling better.

get well soon xminerva
I have had a very emotional morning. Been to the midwife. It was hard walking in again. When I sat down I knoew I regoncnised a very pregnant lady next to me. I worked out that we had been to the 12 week scans together,where I got bad news and she got good news. She is due in a few weeks.
Then had lots to go through with the mdwf,feel wrung out now

It must be so hard AB. All the check ups/scans etc that are normally exciting must be difficult. What's your midwife like, do you get on well?

Hmm, my head feels wrecked. I changed my mdwf because she was hopeless the last time. This one seems far more switched on. She was very kind to me. Had a bit of a breakdown and she said I could ring her day or night if I wanted to talk, my reply was "thank you for that, but I won't" She said "I know you won't!" then she sent me home to "have a burger!" She also said theat she was propared to scream and shout and stamp her feet to get thigs moving this time. That was reassuring. I just want to know asap. Anyway, I am having blood tests every 48 hours and then an early scan booked in. That's all they can do for now.
Very tired now after all that,and typically just when I need to stick a film on for the kids and llie down on the sofa for a while, ds1 has a friend round from kindy! great timing.

Argh, I just wrote a really long reply and lost the connection! So now my answer is, yes they are and, it was fine

AB glad your appointment went well. Will have all fingers and toes ( and legs) crossed your little one is safely tucked up in there! Difficult to see the woman who is due soon Hope they take good care of you.

shels your job sounds very exciting.

xMinerva hope you feel better soon.

We have good news. We now have a pre-approved mortgage, so fingers crossed there is a lovely house for us to buy in January. I fear meerkate's bad experience of a cold, un-insulated rental house my be typical and maybe even worse in Dunedin, so we would quite like to buy ASAP. Although I hope to have some kind of sensible head on and not just buy for the sake of it.

Thanks longwhitecloud , can I ask that you keep your legs crossed until 7th June?
Hooray to the house, which area are you thinking?

I know justa it does seem a bit silly, but we have just been there in June (so have some idea of the properties and values, and how cold they can be in winter) and as I grew up in Dunedin I know it pretty well....but also don't want to panic buy either. I just loathe too many more changes for us all. I think I am the only one going to Dunedin. meerkate used to live in Dunedin but is headed to Auckland.

Very jealous of your meet ups, you never know though. We have a wedding on Waiheke Island in Feb. I have never been to Auckland before!

Not sure where we'll end up AB but hopefully out by St Clair beach.

Right, bed for me!

I'm with justa - we had to do it within 6 weeks when we arrived in Dunedin! Our first rental was tiny little box and we were all at each other's throats within days! We nearly bought in St Clair just one road back from the beach, longwhitecloud - a beautiful place but draughty and difficult to heat - in the end we went for Maori Hill. I still Google Earth it wistfully now and again with the kids - it was lovely and backed onto the golf course there. This time round though, we don't know whether we'll stay beyond a year (though DH fully intends to live his life out in NZ, as far as I can tell!) PLUS we just bloody well bought here!! We move next month. Not sure what we're doing there but it was all set in motion before DH's trip Down Under so we're just going to go through with it, and rent it out when/if we come out to Auckland/Tauranga. And then see what happens Our kids have moved house so often that they are, luckily, fairly cool on that front - longest we have stayed in any one house since they were born is 3.5 years, I think. School change matters much more to them, or at least affects them more, and I do sometimes feel bad for even thinking of taking them out of their current school. Then I think of how lucky they/we are to have the opportunity to go abroad to live and work, again, and think, 'oh well, they'll be okay' (!) - Let's hope so

How old are they meerkate?

11 (DD) and 9 (DS) AB - one hormonal and highly-strung, and one fairly mellow and into sports, so likely to love NZ. No prizes for guessing which one I worry about

Just spotted on another thread - M and S are doing free shipping to New Zealand and Australia. Link here

www.marksandspencer.com/International-Delivery/b/183243031?source=affwindow&extid=af_a_Uncategorised_78888&comgp=78888&awc=1402_1350501112_e97b975687a5e623a21d9b265e5c53ff

It says "for a limited time" so not sure how long for. I haven't bought anything from Marks for approx 12 years but lured by the promise of free shipping I am going to have a browse :)

Hi,

Glad your MW is on the ball AB Must make all the difference to you to have someone who is willing to scream and shout to make sure you get what you need.

Good luck with the trial shels

Yay to the pre approval longwhitecloud

Meerkate I'm sure they'll be fine once they are here and settled in schools.

I'm feeling much better, still got pains in my side which are only being soothed my VERY hot baths but at least I'm not shaking uncontrollably, burning a fever and being sick anymore. Really could do with something to perk me up a little though. With the flight and then the illnesses, my skin on my face has turned into horrible mess!

Will pm you now justa we have a playroom here and glitter and play dough. If you pop over the boys can cause havoc while we eat cake and drink tea.