Yep the sun is shining and all looks good, but remember it rains in New Zealand, it gets cold and can be very damp. Read the papers, realise that the problems you are used to haven't magically passed NZ by. There are P houses, social deprivation, gangs, mugging and domestic violence just like home.
I am not being negative, this is simple practical advice, YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY, you have to know it. To take a family without really looking at where you are going is folly. You are not going on holiday, you are going to live there 24/7. Watch TV, listen to the radio, listen to politicians. Do you agree, is NZ right wing, conservative, liberal. I guess it seems like a green living environmental nirvana on holiday but is it. Do the population generally share the liberal views of North London?
New Zealand is a great place, but you have to know it yourself and know you can live there. November is a great time to go and get a feel for the place. The Airlines haven't yet hiked their prices as they do over the festive period. The weather is often good in an NZ spring. So if you are thinking go for a pre live. Shop for food that you cook yourself, get to know the prices of what you like to eat. Don't convert the money from sterling or US dollars - work out what you are likely to earn in NZ dollars and start thinking in terms of what percentage of your salary you are spending on the basics. A $30 bottle of wine seem ok when 2NZD = 1GBP its only 15 quid. But if you ear 750GBP per week and in NZ you are earning 750NZD a week that wine is actually like buying a 60 pound bottle of wine in the UK, that hurts. Think like you are living their not on holiday, if you do and you love it you will love NZ!
3 comments:
Great advice Jonathan and you've highlighted the key aspects to look at in a very wise article. If it wasn't for my hubbie having a business here, that's going well, I'd have moved back to England long ago. I do love our life here, but I'd love it in England for different reasons and top of that list is family. Best wishes to you and your family.
Great advice and very true. I have been out to NZ twice now and am now heading over there to try and see if I could live out there. I am a Londoner too and work in television so although I absolutely love NZ I am very wary as to whether it will be enough for me. Both countries are different and brilliant for different reasons, we shall see what I make of actually living out there! Best of luck to you all back in the UK!
Hmmm, I dont know about this one! We find the UK and NZ a million miles apart, regardless of all the bad stuff we find it truly amazing. We live in a smaller house, earn less money, have less stuff and yet have never been happier. We couldnt find that happiness in the UK. I have questioned that maybe we are trying harder as we want to succeed, but I dont think so, if anything we are trying less. Confusing one I think!
Post a Comment