WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW: PART 5!

[AngryBeaver]

Look at us Chatty Cathy's!
Justa oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
(I'm not sure )

AB- did they say what sort of funny going's on?

Oh good!
They said all the curtains have been closed for at least a week, no cars on property for ages, no sign of family, then a small white van came early this morning parked under car port, left then came back and did same!

She thinks they may be moving out. Just want to get rid of it, can't be doing with the hassle.

I have shingles :(

Hi All, again have been following posts but lying low. TO add to recent dramas dh was made redundant on Wednesday, he was told informally last Friday that it would happen so it was hanging in the air all over the long weekend. Of course neither of us are very impressed but strangely enough now it has happened it feels as though a weight has been lifted and he can plan. On Friday he managed to get a job interview for this Wednesday (Aussie company didn't realise it was a public holiday). This one is Auckland based. The only others (apart from setting up his own business which is an option) are in OZ. So I have started a thread about Adelaide!! He has a skype interview for there this week as well.

I really don't want to move but we need his salary.

So, that's my news!!!

Oh AB shingles?! You poor thing.
Hopefully the tenant thing will just turn out to be something completely innocent. We are desperately trying to hold on to our tenant at the moment, although I'd love to be rid of the place, no chance in the current market.

Sibble that's dreadful news about your DH. Fingers crossed the interview on Wednesday turns up something for him.

Posting and dashing ladies - sold for $200K over CV. And not to us!

so high 900's, lollystix, blimey.

Sibble hope it works out for your dh. I know I came here and started from scratch but the thought of having to do it all over again now wouldn't fill me with enthusiasm. Though Adelaide is pretty nice and i think property is cheaper than a lot of the other big cities in Oz.

AB ouch to shingles. Hope you're better soon. Just what you need on top of all the other stresses in life at the mo...

Sorry to hear that Lolly.

It's not the first house in the area that I've seen go a bit bonkers- or for 100+ over C.V. even if a do up. So it doesn't mean that all houses round here will go for that at the moment. Sometimes a place just goes crazy cos a few people want it. I'm sure there are better buys at almost 1M$. Gulp.

As DH once said: Who'd have thought it'd be so hard too spend that much money.

Not gutted about that particular house - not dream home at all and to be honest although I know it's worth what the market pays I think they are bonkers paying that. To sort out will be another $25K so $1m for a very small 4 bed house with zero land - think there will be better out there to be honest. Just shame we lost cash on building report.

Sibble - you were also thinking about potential move back to UK a few weeks ago what with all your family stuff that went on over xmas - you still keeping that option on the table? You work too FT don't you? We can't live on DHs salary alone though either. Are you settled in your new house cos I remember you being a bit unconvinced?

AB - have you got shingles from being run down with the stress and the worry? How goes Waihekegate? When does DH have to decide on the role?

Sorry to hear about that sibble. I hope he gets the job on Wednesday (it's not in journalism is it??!)

lolly, yep that's a crazy price. I'd be irked about losing the $ on the building report, too!

Yep, shingles from emotional stress. I feel pretty shit. And I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant...
Dh has meeting on thurs with Oz boss who is flying to see him.
Pretty sure we will end up on Waihelke. He briefly considered Whangaporoa, we could afford to buy there, but it seemed pretty built up with small gardens, and the ferry ride was longer.
Feel a bit better since I saw that they are building a very nice Library on Waiheke that will be finished soon. We spend quite a lot of time in ours. Dd is a real bookworm, so she will be happy with that.

lollystix shame about the house but as you say crazy to pay so much more than it is potentially worth - resale etc..... I'm not sure about the move to the UK. It looks as though BIL may be being made redundant in the UK and his brother has just declared himself bankrupt. Sister said this week they are about to head into another recession - not a good time to go. What I'd been thinking about is going for 3 months and deciding. DS1 can spend a term in the UK next year with school, thought we could all take a sabbatical/get short term work over there. DS2 could go to school (sis and sil are teachers/head). Had it all planned in my head. DH did point out the reality of me leaving ds1 in Oz and going to the other side of the world is slim, but I said if he was near relatives/friends there I would (maybe!!! lol)

AB no not journalism, dh is in construction. Sorry about shingles - that sucks.

Yes, I do work as well which is just as well at the moment. I am on contract so at the moment am putting in all the hours I can to bank the money. DH is doing school pick up and drop off. Luckily they told him to clear his desk and go but could keep car etc...until contract is up. 40 people have gone in past 3-4 months. Not good.

Our house - still not in love with it but dh will finish the lounge while he is off (if I keep nagging!) while looking for a job. Needs painting and new wooden floor. Will finish it in case we need to sell it! Apart from reclaiming the garden which seems like a never ending feat it will be ready to sell.

That should be ds1 in Oz not UK!

AB have you done a test? Auckland libraries are great btw, I never buy books anymore, I just order everything from them and within (usually) a few days they have it sent to my nearest branch for me to pick up.

wow. so sorry to hear about your DH sibble, being made redundant sucks. shingles is awful AB my brother had them at university, also from stress. good news is that it didnt last long and he has never got it again, so heres hoping thats the same for you. POAS!!!
lolly, that sounds like a crazy amount to have spent on the house. i wonder if the next day the buyers didnt look at eachother and think wtf have we done!
littlest, your DH is exactly right, we are busy throwing money at landords in order to have the dog with us, and non are interested. who knew it would be so hard to spend money!!!
cant wait for libraries my itunes habit is getting out of control. i think weirdly that alot of our spending is going to go down in NZ just because we will have options. you dont HAVE to spend $$$ if you dont want to. here if i want a book i have to buy it. no libraries. or decent bookstores for that matter. anyway, only 6 days to go now. fuuuuuuuuuuuuck. must get off computer and go do the 100 things that need doing before the packers arrive

sibble, sounds like you have a lot to think about. We can't help you practically, but at least you can always come on here and unload.

Thanks for sympathy re shingles, I'm not suffering too badly. Feel pretty ropey, but soldiering on.It was ds's birthday party yesterday and one of the kids broke their arm not the best ending!

frick go and do STUFF...quick quick quick!!!!
(no haven't poas yet)

holy crap AB, how did they do that??

although, i had a bunch of kids round the other day and one managed to fall off the swing and split their chin open needing 10 stitches. theyve not been round since.................

DH has come down with the flu. packers arrive tomorrow. nothing is organised.

i am supremely calm and unruffled by the above.

so much so that other than having a shower, i am still pottering about with DD and the maid making piles of doll clothes and playing with them ready for the suitcase.

oh and i just got a call from the office saying please can i come in and give them back my laptop. which i had completely and utterly forgotten about! lol. suppose i sould change out of my trakkie bottoms then..........

Frick*, yeah yeah, you forgot

Ds1 invited 5 kindy friends to the soft play hell and there was a collision as they were running round like hot mad things! Poor little guy. His mum was so blase about it though. I think that's a kiwi thing. Pretty unflappable.
They're very "what dya mean your small intenstine is perforated?! Take a concret pill, she'll be right!"
I on the other hand panic like mad and need someone to grab my shoulders and shake me and say "AB, STOP PANICKING, WE WILL DO A,B &C AND IT WILL BE FIIIIINE!" So I think the kiwi's have the upper hand there!

Now frick stop mning and go and PACK!!

Frik - I remember being stressed about not being organised when they came in. They were like a plague of bloody locusts - just chucking it in boxes. They worked so hard.

Stressful for you.
And for you too Sibble and all your UK family - I think it sounds really bad - FIL just been laid off too from his part time pocket money job but do have loads of others - education in North East so not much hope of them finding something else

So I found another house on trade me that got passed in pre Xmas. It's nice but 3 beds. CV $890. I email agent to say what do they want so I can see if it's worth visiting. He calls to say it got passed in at $950 but they've had an offer of $1m today which they've rejected as they're hanging out for $1.125m! I just feel sad - 3 beds and a small square of garden! I suspect we'll be in the spider shed for another freezing winter if the landlord doesn't eject us before then.

Any other areas you'd consider, lollystix?

am at those prices lolly

please dear god, DH and i get good jobs!!!

Tauranga isn't as expensive frik! (though I don't think its super-cheap either)

Yep Tauranga won't be do bad - friends have a 3 bed there is in good area which is worth about $400-$500 apparently.

Sadly I love where I live and it's all about getting in the right school zones hence prices so crazy. We could move to a cheaper area but I feel like I'd be starting again and I just can't face that. Auckland so sprawling and I work such long hours that if I were to move I feel like I'd not be able to keep in touch with the friends that I've made. I'd have to move schools and kindy etc and I just don't have the mental and emotional energy for it. So we just need to work harder, work faster. It will be OK when I have more in school but with FT nanny to pay for and kindy (plus bllody speech therapy) we are absolutely brassic.

'kin' hell lolly!! Am wishing a lotto win your way And completely understand your reluctance to move again.
But the way I see it, it would be better to have your own home? Is there no where even just a bit further?
You sound wrung out though, I totally get that you can't face another move yet.

frick We weren't organised either!!
And don't worry....www.trademe.co.nz/property/residential-property-for-sale/auction-552215306.htm

I hear you on trying to stay in the same area once you are established, this bloody moving about malarkey is for the birds!

Lovely house - you could add a '1' to the front of that and it could be in my area .