[beenAwhile]

[quote:8398df63ed="Carolking58"]Hi guys
elderly parents left here? daughter 15 not quite as keen. Son says - "I don't want to move".
presume others have had these conflicts[/quote:8398df63ed]

Perhaps this is a bit after your original posting but I'll provide my two-penneth anyway...I find it quite therapeutic !

When my family came down to NZ we had to leave our son in the UK with his grandparents for 18 months to finish his schooling. It was hard on everyone as you can imagine. I had to come down when I did as a job offer was open at the time.

My daughter was 19 when we came here and she couldn't wait to leave the UK. However, she has had her ups and downs since arriving but is settling now (two years later). She did a year at Uni and then worked for 6 months. Now she is working FOR the Uni and studying part-time. It's a very felxible setup and is working well for her. She has a few friends but still misses home and old friends occasionally.

Like your son, my son really didn't want to come. Although he came for a holiday during his school break, which he really enjoyed, he really didn't want to leave his friends - and girlfriend. Imagine the guilt trip my wife and I went through when he had to leave.

Anyway, he had a tough first few months but is settling now. He has adopted Kiwi ways faster than all of us and now has steady employment with a local plumbing and roofing firm (Uni was never an option - even though he got the requisite 'A' level grades). He will be starting his apprenticeship soon - tradesmen are in short supply here and do very well financially when qualified. He has a couple of good friends and his UK girlfriend is coming to visit tomorrow for three weeks ! He has trips to the South Island (whale-watching etc) and North Island booked up - in his boy-racer car unfortunately...

You will all feel home-sick from time to time and you will undoubtedly experience problems that you weren't expecting before you got here. But you will get through them, and it will not take THAT long before things here start to feel as familiar as things back home. You and your children will quickly appreciate the benefits and opportunites that NZ has to offer. Don't lose sight of that...