Thread: We've Arrived!
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Old 06-08-2007, 08:40 PM
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KiwiHopeful KiwiHopeful is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TobeornottobeaKiwi View Post
KH glad you and your family made it safe & sound.

I haven't read all the threads that you have posted, BUT what made you move to New Zealand? What were your other choices? Did you vist NZ before deciding to move there?

Your input is greatly appreciated, being from the USA.
(Mostly everyone is from UK.)
Hello ToBe ...

You ask a very big question. It's hard to explain all the reasons, but I think it comes down to three main ideas:
1. Believing that the US is headed down the wrong road. Not just with the disaster that has been the GWB presidency, but with the out of control corporations, the widening gap between rich and poor, the health care crisis ... and the failure of most people in the US to *demand* better from their government and to expect more from themselves.

2. Desiring to find a healthier lifestyle for my 2 sons. Not just physically healthier, but healthier in all senses of the word. As a high school teacher, I saw a lot of kids that really were damaged in many ways. Not that they had abusive parents or anything like that, but it was almost as though the steady diet of XBOX, artificial colors, and mall air was poisoning them.

3. Wanting adventure. I've lived in the US all my life, never traveled overseas before, and don't speak any other languages (except enough Spanish and French to ask where the bathroom is, and too much Latin and Greek). I didn't want to be like the majority of Americans who don't hold a passport or who never ventured further than Tijuana or Toronto. I wanted to have a better story.

So, nope, I never visited NZ before coming here. But the people I met on this forum as well as all the reading I had done (both books and online) convinced me that if I were to make a go of it, NZ would be the best place. Besides, Canada is just too darn cold!
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EOI Submitted: July 20, 2006
EOI Selected: August 2, 2006
ITA Received: October 12, 2006
ITA Submitted: February 2, 2007
Migrant Levy Paid & Visas Shipped: June 6, 2007
Arrived in NZ: July 26th, 2007
Leaving NZ: June 1st, 2008
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