Can't convince the Kids.

Well we are home from our long visit to Australia and New Zealand and it seems I've been outvoted by 3-1 in favour of OZ over NZ.

My Wife and Kids thought that although very nice, they didn't want to live in New Zealand.
We all agreed that Kerikeri was very nice and I was all for putting the BV request in untill we saw what Queensland had to offer.
Just as much opportunity, better weather and a more switched on way of life. My Kids absolutely adored the place and I have to admit that it won me over too.

Well for now it seems that New Zealand is off the menu, although I'm glad we had a look first as it would have been tough if we just came over blind and found we couldn't settle.

Anyone considering bringing a Family over should really take a look first in my opinion.

Good luck to everyone making the move.

Awww lanzilla, you're not joining us?!

NZ certainly has its own way of life, and if you want a bit more of a lively life, then quite a lot of areas in NZ may not be what you are looking for.

I wish you all the best in whatever move you decide to make, and you may well still move to NZ when the Queensland heat becomes too much!

Make sure you keep us posted in your adventures anyway...

All the best

Hi Aaron,

Yes ... sad to hear you've decided on Australia as we think NZ is much better. :smiley20: But of course, we are all different, and I wish you well. :icon_cool:

Have a confession to make ... we toured NZ in Dec03 and then Oz in Easter04. I have a particularly soft spot for NZ as I have been to school and worked there before, but hubby prefered Oz - the opportunities, weather, houses, shopping malls ... everything seemed better than NZ. My daughter did not like it as she was the member of the family who had an uncanny knack of locating the snakes, huntsmen spiders and other creepie crawlies. :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif (Not trying to put you folks off ... :icon_wink: :icon_biggrin: )

Anyhow, we investigated the emigration procedure - their business visa, as we could not afford their investor visa. The cost involved (it is prudent to have an agent when applying for any Oz visa) and the timescale meant we could be waiting a year before acceptance. On top of that it was only a temporary visa for four years with conditions attached. I even think we would have to pay for our children to go to school for that four years (and we've got 4 :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif ). We also tried the more popular route with getting a job, but there they required certain qualifications my hubby did not have and it would still have taken 'an average of 50 weeks' we was told. Have not checked the visas operative now, but no doubt you will.

By then we were thinking more of NZ. We are not a 'hot weather' family, and never go to hot destinations in summer - Australia's temperatures worried us a little. My daughter was dead set against Oz except for future holidays and hubby began to think that way too. We put in our application (done without an agent) and got our acceptance in principle three and a half months later. :icon_biggrin:

Must say I am very pleased at our choice and look forward to going 'home'. :icon_biggrin: In fact, we are all looking foward to slipping out of 'limbo' and onto that flight with a one-way ticket.

Best wishes and good luck with your choice. :icon_razz:

Glenda.

Hi Glenda,

Now that i've made the decision to go for Australia and the entire Family are for it, I have to give it my best shot.

I realise that the criteria of the BV is tough for OZ, but it is my only real avenue in.

I will be using Four Corners Emigration Service as they have come highly recommended. Not cheap but they are very thorough.

You said earlier that some of your Kids will go to School in Kawakawa. Have you been there??
We were quite shocked when we visited the famous toilet that Billy Connolly raved about as it was in a vile state. We were also a little intimidated by the number of Maori people hanging round in large groups around the high street. It didn't seem like a very nice place and we were happy to leave a bit sharpish. Is the unemployment rate high amongst Maoris as not many seemed to be working?

I'm not knocking the place, just saying what I saw.

[quote:86c9c6daa6="lanzilla"]Hi Glenda,

Now that i've made the decision to go for Australia and the entire Family are for it, I have to give it my best shot.

I realise that the criteria of the BV is tough for OZ, but it is my only real avenue in.

I will be using Four Corners Emigration Service as they have come highly recommended. Not cheap but they are very thorough.

You said earlier that some of your Kids will go to School in Kawakawa. Have you been there??
We were quite shocked when we visited the famous toilet that Billy Connolly raved about as it was in a vile state. We were also a little intimidated by the number of Maori people hanging round in large groups around the high street. It didn't seem like a very nice place and we were happy to leave a bit sharpish. Is the unemployment rate high amongst Maoris as not many seemed to be working?

I'm not knocking the place, just saying what I saw.[/quote:86c9c6daa6]

Hi Aaron,

Good grief, no. The kids will go to Kerikeri. We will live in Kerikeri. If we wanted to live in Paihia then they would have to go to Kawakawa for secondary schooling - we did not want that.

Our eldest is gifted and will go to the private Springbank School in Kerikieri. The others will go to Kerikeri High and Kerikeri Primary, both of which have a good report.

It did not escape our notice that the Kerikeri area is an excellent area in what is a poorer region of New Zealand. Bit of an oasis. This, plus the milder climate, decided the issue for us. Whether we will stay there, I do not know, it may be that we will move to another part of the country or even end up in Australia 5/10 years later. We have accepted that we may never settle in the perfect "home" as our requirements and expectations change. I would, though, certainly like to get my two eldest through school at least before moving on.

Good luck with your application. :023: You are probably doing what is best - most people rave about Queensland. We liked the area about three hours south of Sydney ... rambling now ... :icon_lol:

Glenda.

That'll teach me to read your postings more carefully Glenda, I read your earlier one wrong and thought you were sending your Kids to school in Kawakawa....My mistake...Sorry. :icon_rolleyes:

Good luck with the move.