Emigrating to New Zealand. Have you - would you...advice, opinions please!

[earthtomummy]

DH and I have been considering this really seriously over the Christmas period and would like to go next year to Auckland. We just would like to travel with the kids, experience a different lifestyle to our current one and take advantage of this before the kids get more tricky to move. Had considered Canada too (esp. Vancouver).. Ds would be 6, DD 4 and other DD 2. Are there any mumsnetters in NZ who could offer advice, or anyone who has emigrated and could give me their perspective. We've heard mixed stories. We were thinking of going to Auckland. How long would it take to get visas etc sorted. DH is v. experienced social worker who will have qualified as a family therapist next summer - when we hope to go and social work is on the skills shortage list. Any advice??

sounds like you have a fantastic opportunity - bumping for you -

There is a longish thread on this here that might help - will dig it out for you & post link. We're considering moving to Christchurch this year but slightly easier for me as I have citizenship & my parents will be living there.
Have also been looking on this site which seems quite helpful but I expect you know it, anyway here it is here

yes, should really check my posts first - that was the link!
also interested in any further stories about going to NZ as we're quite serious about it but I'm terrified of leaving England in many ways

georginars, thanks for the link. Really helpful. V. exciting but also quite a scary prospect - largely because of leaving family - esp. my sister and her children. Also concerned re. unsettling the kids, esp. DS who will be 6 and isn't great at settling down and is dyspraxic. At same time, children adapt so fast and are sp resilient..and he'd have to move within the UK if we don't emigrate. With 3 young kids all seems so complicated visas have just utterly confused me and I'm supposed to be an educated woman! Where have you thought of going? We're considering any major city - Auckland, Wellington (which our friends loved) and Christchurch. DH's colleague was employed as an ed. psych. in a more rural area nr. the coast and had a terrible time. Is Nikkiw still posting on this site?

I don't know about nikkiw - could do some stalkerish searching though to see when she last posted. But I know lots of the other NZ Mnetters are still about, I'm sure they'll see this if we keep bumping it and help you out.
We are definitely going to start out in Christchurch because that is where my parents live. In many ways it's not really that huge a move for us as I have plenty of family there and also ChCh is quite English in a lot of ways. DD is only 13 months so we thought it would be best to do it before she starts school. And also we have no propsect of being able to move into a house or have another baby sensibly here without leaving London - and for me, if I'm going to leave London I might as well go to NZ - drastic but that's how I feel!
We are worried about leaving DH's parents though as he is an only child, but they do understand why we're doing it, and the world is so small these days. When my parents moved to the UK in 1963, it was 6 weeks on a boat and you didn't even phone NZ without a really good reason because it was so expensive. These days, people will come and see us (I hope!) I will be upset at leaving my brother and sister and all my friends, but we're coming to the conclusion that the pros outweight the cons. We just can't afford to live decently in London any more.
Jobwise, I'm hoping not to have to go back to a full time job, but I may have to if DH has probs getting work (he's kind of in marketing but in a fairly weird classical music job which won't exist in NZ) - I worked in IT so there are masses of jobs available for me. However, I want to try going back to my previous career in music, playing, teaching and maybe doing baby music classes etc. as IT leaves me a bit cold.
Afraid I'm not much help on Visas etc. because of my citizenship, but I'm sure someone else will know the score. also DD will be too young to be really afftected, but you know your own children best when it comes to how they'll cope. And they are resilient

Georginars
One of my good friends moved back to christchurch 5 years ago.She was from Christchurch but had lived over here for 10 years and married a welsh man.It took her a long time to adapt back.In fact her husband settled quicker.Still misses the shops over here for childrens clothes.The children have a great live over there and they have made lots of friends since moving back.

I think if you rely on the points system you get more points for moving to a city other than Akld or Wellington
I'm an ex Welligtonian and am thinking of heading back with dh and dd when ds finishes secondary school and has a gap year, then he can choose to tertiary study in NZ or here as he is dual nationality.
Go for it

Thanks all. It's just so wierd to think of such a radical life change, without ever having visited the destination! We just can't really afford that, or should I see it as a case of money well spent in the long term? We are looking for somewhere that's laid back with beuatiful scenery on the doorstep and nice beaches. It doesn't have to be a really cool happening place, basically with 3 kids - poss. 4 by the time we go, we dont' have much time for being cool and happening. I'd just like to think there were more opportunities to do things in our free time than exist in Notts. Poss. not that tricky..!!Our DS is going through an assessment for poss. mild dyspraxia and I'm assuming that NZ schools would manage this. What's the education system like there. We find the English system quite high pressure for DS with its key targets etc. Without any relatives in NZ and one onld longlost friend in Auckland, so you think we'd feel isolated in Wellington or C'church more than in Auckland??

Snap on the not looking for somewhere 'happening' thing - I'm much more bothered about a nice life for DD and (hopefully) other kids as well as for DH who I think would much prefer a more laid back lifestyle (I must be getting old ). My mother worries I might be bored, but she doesn't seem to realise that although I live in London I barely go there anymore! Thanks Marbeth, I do think it will take me longer to get used to it than DH but I do think that children seem to have a lovely time over there.
Earthtomummy, I do think you should try to visit first maybe and check it out. We're going in 5 weeks time to do a recce and make sure we want to go ahead, even though we've been before. It can be really expensive, but it would be money wll worth spending in the long run, and if you decide against going at least you'd have had a nice holiday!

Schoolswise, I don't know many specifics other than the NZ educational system is well respected. There might be some stuff on that other thread?

From what I know of NZ, Auckland is much more the big city and more like big cities elsewhere, which actually means it could well be less friendly and contribute to feelings of isolation in that way. Wellington is great, slightly bohemian and hippy (I have a totally bonker cousin who lives in a tin shack type house on a hill held up by books and works in a library), more relaxed than Auckland. Christchurch is a very English sort of place, but recently has become much more lively and also there is loads of technology/IT stuff going on so it's attracted lots of new and young people. NZers are generally very friendly and open though, meeting people and making friends should be pretty easy and the whole lifestyle is much more relaxed in my experience.

I'm hoping someone who knows more than me will come along and help you out! especially on the schools. I bought a book called 'Living and working in New Zealand' which told me quite a lot about schools and stuff, might be worth you taking a look?

Definitely visit first before deciding

One of my cousins married a kiwi and I've been over twice. She loves it over there but I would be bored. If you love outdoor activities it is great

Earthtomummy, sorry have only got a brief moment to post. Beware that house prices in Auckland and environs are horrendously expensive at present.

Will get get back to to this thread, but I'm sure the Kiwi contigent will be around soon and with more direct advice!

Thanks. I'll try to persuade DH (and mortgage co)( that hol to NZ is vital!! Interested in property prices because we don't want to replicate our financial position in NZ by getting a big mortgage. I have looked at real estate websites but they only offer a snapshot and you never really get a true reflection because it's impossible to know what an area is like even if the house seems nice and affordable. I am interested in Wellington and Christchurch although I guess it's where the jobs are. Should I be asking where in NZ NOT to move to?? Can anyone advise - I really din't want to live out in the sticks but would be happy in a small city or large town like Nelson, say. Currently live in med. size market town after leaving london.

just bumping in case anyone else can help!

Hi mummy, not read the whole thread, but caught my eye as dh and i worked out there when we first got married. GO go go go go go. We came back because i was pregnant and had no family out there (ist child) We have been back in uk for 4 yrs and have been wanting to go back the whole time. You do get home sick but as long as you keep busy and strong you get use to it, then you never want to leave. We lived in Auckland and it was so friendly, people just fall over themselves to help you, I know the universities are good? Crime is very low, what they would class as a bad area are actually ok. There is some gang related crime, but it is isolated. Your dh would easily get a job if he is a social worker. There is a points system, but if you have some qualifications are fairly young or have a job offer out there, its a walk over. Im a radiographer and dh is in it and they were handing us emigration papers etc while applying for the visa. You wont regret it and having kids means contact with other mums so get going {smile]

Thanks Going4potty for such a positive response. Almost booked my air tickets there and then. DH and I discussing it lots. How did you find work? DH is in family therapy but is a social worker too which is on the ong term skills shortage list. Problem is, a few of the jobs I've found online (not many) are not in areas where I'd want to be - gen. landlocked and I'm not moving us all to NZ to live in yet another landlocked town!!

I found work on the internet with interview on phone in uk and dh found work while we were out there. Took him a while, but even on one wage we were ok. Money goes a lot further there. If you dont find work exactly where you want, go anyway and move later, you'll have more experience about the country and get to see more places. Know you have kids, but Kiwis are use totravelling around. My friend went out same time as us, got a job in wellinton then moved to auckland later. Be positive and go for it.

Just been looking up jobs. Seems that a lot of therapist/social work positions are in the Bay of Plenty area around Tauranga. Any idea what it is like there? Not somewhere we thought about. Like you say, DH may have to take a job he's not enthused about and then he can job hunt again after a while I guess. I'm all for being adventurous, although I have to admit I feel slightly constrained by 3 little ones - supose they'll be that bit older by the time we go.

Lets just say that I met dh in Auckland, he is a Kiwi. We recently returned after 6 years away.
I did say this before we got married, that although I love the place I wouldn't live there, simply because I would miss here very badly.
After our last trip that is now VERY DEFINITE!!!

Mummy, dh tells me bay of plenty and tauranga are ok to go to, he had to travel a lot.

Earthtomummy; we have friends who live in Tauranga! They are a Brit/Kiwi couple and they really like it.

Nelson sounds like a good place too, good beaches, arty community, vineyards & restaurants etc.

The sort of things you need to consider though are:-

You have to pay for healthcare, even for children

You must be able to drive, public transport is very limited

You are a long way from home/family; holidays may well be restricted to NZ/Australia/Fiji for years to come. It's expensive for Kiwis to come to the UK.

I really think you should visit at least once if not 3/4 times before making any decisions (advice given by Tauranga friend!)

Start saving now!!!!!!!!!!

Im so excited for you NZ is such a lovely place to bring up kids and live your life. People were so fab, our neighbours were are best allies. We went all over the place with them. I miss it so much.

Do it!

We live near Wellington and love it. Wellington is big enough to have lots going on, yet small enough that you can live out of town and easily commute in (unlike London for instance).

Really the only disadvantage of NZ is being far from family and friends - it's expensive to travel when you're earning kiwi dollars.

Apart from this, it is truly a great place to live and lovely for kids.

I'd love to visit but it is just so expensive that I'm not sure how realistic that is. Mercy, glad to hear your friends like Tauranga. Keen to hear more. Am scared re. leaving family. Lived in Indonesia for a year (before internet) so v. little contact. What is difficult is taking the children away from their extended family.Part of me feels we need an adventure befroe secondary school kicks in and even if it is for 2 or 3 yrs the children will still know their cousins etc. I feel like we always play it safe, but have these dreams. Unfortunately NZ is so far away. That's why we had also considered Canada.

i agree with wellie, if you have the luxury of keeping on a small property in the uk and renting it out, that would be ideal. My Bro has been living in japan and did the same. Helps when you want to go visiting.

I have recently had rellies move from kenya to america, and although i would never consider moving there. They are unqualified and have found good jobs with 4 children, i just married, i at uni, 2 at school. They have a nice house and go on holiday too.