Moving to NZ, concerned about employment...

[lndngg]

I am from NZ and my husband is British, we currently live in London although property prices mean we probably can't stay more than a few years (we are currently in a 2 bed flat). I'd love to move back to NZ, but again property prices mean Auckland is out of the question and I'm concerned we won't be able to find good employment in the provinces - any advice? My husband works in Public Affairs and I'm a SAHP thinking of retraining...

Whereabouts would you have in mind? North or South Island? I'm in the provinces (I live in Otago but I commute to Dunedin). I am going to be honest you would be hard pressed to find a decent job with good pay within the public relations sector in Otago / Southland. I'm currently trying to find a new job within the business sector in Dunedin and am not having much luck.

That said, you would most likely have better luck of finding jobs in North Island provinces such as the Bay of Plenty (Tauranga is booming at the moment) and Hawkes Bay. It still will be difficult though..

Sadly, a lot of corporate jobs have shifted to Auckland (and Wellington to an extent) in the last 10 years and there's not much left in the provinces other than manual, hospo/retail and basic administration jobs.

I wish I could give you a better answer :(

What about Wellington? It's the capital and political centre so would assume that there would potentially be work available for your husband there? There are decent universities if you want to retrain, house prices are not nearly so bad as Auckland, and it's a great city to live in (compact, but enough going on that it will be much more interesting than the provinces). If I were you though I'd suggest your husband get in touch with a local recruitment agency and see what the job market is like there in his particular area - I've moved cities / countries several times and generally found this a helpful pace to start.

Public affairs type jobs in NZ are pretty much limited to Auckland and Wellington. Since Auckland is out you're left with Wellington. I'd echo pp's comments about Wellington, it is a great city to live in (albeit a bit shaky!). Have a look on seek website for jobs to give you an idea of what's out there.

Wellington is great! And due to the latest earthquakes there are some absolute bargains to be had property wise :)

I work in Comms here in NZ :) in the South Island, you'd have to be in Christchurch for a well paying jo. There are some in Dunedin at the uni and at the council that don't pay as well but property is cheaper so it works out well that way. Otherwise government Comms and a bit of private sector in Wellington and private sector in Auckland and some of the bigger district councils like Taupo probably pay quite well if your husband likes local govt work.

For Wellington, Jackson stone and Robert Walters would be the recruitment companies to chat to.

You can pm me if you want more info re Pr jobs in Wellington and Christchurch as I've worked in both cities :)

Thanks for the replies! I was really hoping we could move to Hawkes Bay but also do love Wellington.

One more question, in NZ do you find that people are more flexible in terms of the experience you have? I know a few people that have made interesting side-aways moves in their careers in NZ. This may be very wishful thinking! I'm hoping Public Affairs might translate to a more communications type role for hubby.

Yes he could pretty much look at any Comms/marketing/media role with public affairs experience. I started off as a graduate in a govt media team and am now a consultant for a PR and Marketing firm.

He might be able to get marketing work at one of the Hawkes Bay wineries but
I'd say most of the Comms work would be with local councils and district health boards.

Harder for you to retrain around there though unless it's something you can do at polytech/extramurally through Massey.

Often jobs here are who you know I think, at least in the smaller regions. My dh was offered a job in Christchurch from the UK and we lived there for several years, then the Hawkes Bay office of his company had a vacancy and they offered it to DH as he'd done some work with them. It wasn't an advertised position. In fact I think all the latest people in this office were internal transfers. So that might be an option, get a foot in the door in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch, then move later?

If you need any help with stuff from someone in Hawkes Bay pm me though, happy to help ☺

Just posing a different question, have you thought about just moving to another UK city, instead of moving home? London is expensive but not all of the UK is. Worth the thought.

Just thought I'd add - I keep meeting people at kids parties etc who have recently moved here, to Auckland from London , with British partners etc. They seem to think Auckland housing isn't as bad as London prices etc ( I'm in waitakeres area). There are trains this way too.

I would seriously consider Wellington, as this will be the best-foot-in-the-door, 'home' experience route.

From that, he'll have more options to consider other moves, if that feels right for you.

We spent a year in AKL on our return, before fleeing and reverting to the original plan of Welly, which suited us way better. Obviously many, many people really like/love Auckland, so you need to figure out what's right for you.

Surprised to see lots of other Hawke's Bay devotees on this thread - I would move (back) there in a heartbeat! I think it's the only place in the whole Goddamn country that's actually had a summer this year! 😩 Spent three blissful weeks there over the break. ☀☀☀

I work in marketing so can only offer you my own experience. But I found that roles can be more specialist in the U.K. Whereas here we tend to have smaller teams and a more generalist scope. I am in a specialist role here which is unusual (not many companies here would have such a role, though plenty would in London). So yes I think there's likely to be flexibility to move, and UK experience is typically valued in my industry at least.

thedowager I was thinking the same thing, I've never heard Hawkes Bay mentioned on here so much! I wonder if there are some other mumsnetters lurking who live here too?

We have had a pretty great summer here Crazy weather in Wellington, hope those of you there haven't suffered too much.

Another vote for Wellington. Great city. Especially when the sun's out.