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 )

You can spread them but it makes more economic sense to take them all thru porse as you get the 50c extra plus the full year (52 weeks). It's very easy to change. Just complete a form at kindy

Yep - I get something like $50 a week or something crazy - its all a bonus. My nanny is $20 an hour but with one set of ECE and the subsidies I pay about $17.50 an hour over the 50 hours.

meerkate and xminerva, stop fighting over the basement! You can each have your turn (is it just me or is this sounding kinky ???)

Yay, for the job meerkate, let's hope dh gets something quick, and we will be seeing you soon smile]

kiwi, yes, I think I am actually quite into the flax weaving idea! I am quite crafty, so I might possibly sign up!

We are going over again this Fri. Have to drive up, dump the car at the hotel, peg it down to the harbour and get the 11 am ferry.

Then we have appointments at the schools and kindy, and possibly a circus skills sesh, but maybe run out of time.
I have asked locals on their fb community page, where we should go to best appreciate the island, and had some great suggestions.
Hopefully, this trip will be more successful.

In other news, dh resigned today...and they offered him a substantial amount and normal hours if he would stay! When he said he really eanted a new opportunity, his boss was really supportive and offered loads of advice.
He thinks he should ask for more money.

Dh is unsure as he doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

Dh also told me, in the 2nd week of work he will be flying to Sydney for a week.

Soooo, you're going to dump me on a bloody isand, then bugger off to Oz??? geeereat

Good you're feeling quite positive about it AB. I think Waiheke has a higher-than-average number of artistic/creative types of folk living there so hopefully there will be quite a lot of stuff to do once there.

Are you looking at any rentals while there?

Oh and I fully expect you to be juggling 4 fire clubs by the time you get back on Friday!

Welcome Frik- you must be in the country now somewhere

Probably sitting in a hotel room, jetlagged, staring with disbelief at morning TV . (I do quite like the breakfast show with Rawdon though)

Haha, wss!
My Mum is agog at morning tv.
I don't have time to watch ! you slattern

Whaddya mean, slattern??? . I'm watching Tom and Jerry at the mo, highly educational.

What's daytime tv? In fact what's tv? We not got one of those.

Interview in one hour. Nervous!

Thanks for all info on ECE. Will check it out later.

I'm afraid I own not a single skirt, black or otherwise. Dd1 is most unimpressed with my ungirliness and informs me that no prince will be interested in me (should one happen to visit west Auckland any time soon).

Justa - I shall have a rummage about. I know I certainly did have some, but they may have gone into the charity bin when I did my last clear out.

I know I have one with white details on the skirt but it's pretty small (I can't quite fit into it) but you are welcome to give it a try if it would pass the dress code.

Ok - rummaging done: no idea what size you take, but if any of these are a possibility you are very welcome to them:

1 skirt (plain black, chiffon-y overlay) size 18; one skirt with white embroidery on end size 14; both knee length.

Or if you can wear trousers I have a couple of pairs size 16/18 you'd be welcome to try.

Justa - sent you a text, but in case your phone went MIA again: Yes, no problem. A bit chaotic here between 7 & 9, but any time is fine (it just might be a bit louder between those times!)

Glad you're sorted justa. That sounds interesting. What is a Kohanga?

Just packing up to try and get out early tomorrow. Hopefully leavign at 8 to get into Auk in time for ferry.
Then we have to pick up car and be at first school by 12.15. It will be a pretty full on day.
I thought the kids may like to join in the Circus Skills class, "under the palms at Palm Beach"!! But, it's 2 hours long...maybe too much.
Also, thinkng of going to the Wild on Waiheke vineyard, they have a bar menu and playground. Sounds nice.

Will be knackered after all that!!

Had some friends round today, we had such a giggle. I will really miss everyone here when we go.

Kohanga is Maori-language pre-school.

Palm Beach is lovely. My favorite Waiheke beach, of the ones I've been to.

Ah, I see.

I just asked if the inflatable was still on in Matiatia (on waiheke community fb page) and a woman replied saying "Isn't that what businesses are about? Making money?" oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, handbag!

Silly bint. Of course it's not a year round thing and I thought it might be gone now the schools are back. Tsk, some people.

Also got told off at Kindy ...seems I am pissing everyone off today!

been giggling my way through the latest messages...loving the prospect of you returning from your latest island recce juggling four fire clubs AB...

so listen, o wise wimmin of NZ, your thoughts on middlemore hospital please!

there is a mixed anaesthetic-ICU job coming up there. obviously it would be a great working experience for DH - 800-bedded hospital, tertiary referral centre and so on. however - we are pretty worried by the fact of its geographical location i.e. in the middle of da urban spraaaawl. where could one live? keep in mind that we currently live in a sleepy market town, pop 70,000, and DH has a ten-min stroll to work! we are definitely not on for some hideous traffic-snarled commute - too spoiled by our current set-up!

i am guessing the patient mix would be really interesting, high levels of maori/polynesian etc?

thanks girls! back soon. the sun has come out here for the first time in at least 8 months, at least that's how it feels

Yep, Middlemore serves very varied areas and is indeed in the middle of urban sprawl. To live, I guess you would look at places east (Howick? botany Downs? Whitford? I don't know the east that well but think all those areas are nice and prob others too) where it would maybe be a 15-20 min drive (non-rush hour) or possibly somewhere like Pukekohe or surrounding area which is out of "proper" Auckland, it's a little rural town to the south. 30 mins drive to Middlemore though. The areas within the immediate 5-10 mins drive of the hospital aren't the best, I think

. You could also commute from closer to the city, places like Royal Oak, One Tree Hill, south bit of Epsom, only 15 mins to Middlemore but not sure about how bad traffic is, you would be going against the flow of the city-bound traffic.

Hi meerkate Middlemore is my local (I also work there sometimes). It does serve a very diverse population Maori, Pacific, Asian (Indian and Chinese). We live on a lifestyle block (3 acres). We're towards Whitford and Clevedon which are both very nice places, rural, decile 10 schools, farmers markets close to the beach but equally close to shops and it takes me 15 mins (off peak) to Middlemore on the motorway. Areas around Pukekohe are also lovely and more reasonably priced. If you are after a new development with no land Karaka lakes would tick all the right boxes. Howick and surrounds are 'old' towns, sea view houses would cots $1 million plus but village is great for bars, restaurants and shopping. Or for beach life you could look at Maraetai or Beachlands. I am rare in that I love living South. I love the cultural diversity, going to Otara market, that my children have a diverse range of friends (from private school exposure to playing rugby league and being the only non-Maori/Pacific children on the team) we have been to hangi, tangi and experienced a culture we wouldn't have otherwise but I come from London so love that mix of vibrancy, life and noise.

Having said all that Auckland City Hospital is equally culturally diverse in that it covers a wide area (large Indian client group). Less culturally diverse would possibly be North Shore Hospital.

I am pretty sure that my friends wife is an anesthetist and at Middlemore (unless she has moved!)

To everybody else am enjoying following the thread at the moment. AB Christmas presents from you might be interesting this year! woven something....

Thanks so much WSS. DH definitely interested in it work-wise - I just have no idea about that part of Auckland, though, having intensively researched North Shore but nowhere else! Will do some more sleuthing tonight. In other news, I was on the Ramblings prog today on radio 4 with Clare Balding - is on the website, if you fancy a listen. I wouldn't be at all offended if you only managed the first few minutes - it is Ramblings, after all, so it's a little on the slow side! I had my head in my hands several times at how Godawful I was sounding (I managed to say 'no way, man' at one stage - like some sort of 16 yr-old rapper from the 'hood - WTF?) It's about mindful walking, so, not everyone's cup of tea

Ooh Sibble - X-posted there! Thank you so much too. That's given me such a flavour of the area and I do LONG for more cultural diversity, living where I do (gorgeous but very much white anglo-saxon). I will look at some of the areas you and WSS have mentioned tonight. Really grateful