Simply can't afford to live in NZ

[nattydread]

Originally Posted by gossage

You are obviously the do gooder type!!!!!!!!!

I really dont care about other people...................I am concerned about myself and my family!!!!!!!!! If I dont care for them who will.

By the way I didnt say I looked like a hag without cosmetics. What I said was I was not prepared to let my skin suffer in 'the sun' as I couldnt afford skin care products. In actual fact I consider myself above average beauty and extremely attractive!!! So please dont feel sorry for me, I have been very well blessed.

I didnt have my heart set on NZ either it was always going to be a stepping stone, it is Australia that I want to live in but they do not require research scientists. And therefore it was impossible to get through their immigration system.

I think this is turning nasty and probably should not continue, but thanks for your valued imput. ;)

For a high earner your grammar is terrible. I think you meant input at the end of that last sentence.

I don't know Dawn all that well, but I do know she is no do gooder. I think she was trying to offer an alternative viewpoint for you to think about.

I am quite pleased that you don't like New Zealand.
You sound like just the kind of person I came here to avoid.

My earnings have halved since I came here. But I don't live in poverty.
I eat, as does my wife and our two kids and our guinea pig and our dog.. yes we can afford ALL of that food..
Incredible isn't it..
We go to cinema's and eat out and do all the things that you seem to think is your god given right as a research scientist..

As a research scientist, I would have expected you to be aware of a rather wicked invention, i think you do get it in the UK, it's just never sunny enough to warrant buying any.. SUN BLOCK.. 10 bucks will get you the best the cancer society can offer.. It's not backed by the multi billion dollar corporations that supply you with your potions and brew's, it's just sun block.. millions of kiwi's swear buy it..

Please Please Please don't come to New Zealand.. You sound like a typical self centred (probably litigious )bitter whingeing pom and you'd only get pissed off being called a 'whingeing pom' every minute of every day..

Even if you dont look like a hag, you bloody well sound like one..
Stay there and grow older and more bitter with your me me me attitude.. there are millions and millions of you over there.. just stay there..



(sorry taffy and welshgirl.. i know what you're thinking ..he doesn't come on for ages then turns up and abuses the new recruits.. I just felt it had to be said..)

[Taffy]

So Craig, you're back then?!

[MotherBear]

Welcome back, Craig. Boy, what a re-entry. That must surely make you feel a lot better.

[nattydread]

yes..but if only i'd read the other 7 pages first.. DOH!!
Oh well.. i even apologised to welshgirl .. and 3 posts later she was putting the boot in too...
Telling the girl to chill out..

it certainly has livened up around here in my absence..

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by nattydread

.....it certainly has livened up around here in my absence..

Yes there were fun and games. See what happens when I take a few weeks off my mod job and go down to NZ. All hell breaks loose.

We do miss your presence on here as you always called a spade a spade (and me a lot of other things).

[Dawn]

Alright Craig? Nice to hear from you and thanks for the support

[Glenda]

Way to go, nattydread!

Whilst we all try to be supportive, understanding, sensitive to the poster's conclusions and opinion of NZ, then give advice and our individual perspectives of the problems brought up, ducking the missiles ... you see the "nail" and hit it firmly on the head! So refreshing.



Dawn, I support you too. What you have said makes complete sense, and I understand fully what you say about 'life forces' etc. affecting how one lives. You have put your arguments forward clearly and with empathy. We're with you too!

[ShellBda]

I really don't know what to say. I have been sitting here for an hour reading all of the posts on this thread and have experienced many emotions - anger, disbelief, amazement and joy! I was already to tell Dawn that I hope to meet her one day in NZ. I think she is truly amazing. And then...I read Craig's post. I have only read one post from Craig (re Palmy North) but it sounds like he is a real favorite on this forum and I can see why. Straight shooter - I like!!

I have lived on an island that is 20 miles long and 19 miles wide for 38 yrs, alright 42 yrs but I can still pass for 38! Trust me, I know what island fever is. We call is "rock fever".

My desire to move to NZ is not about money and I don't want it to be about money. I want to live! I mean really live life! I need more space! I need to be surrounded by people who are happy despite their financial situation. I have relatives in Ireland who are so poor but they are so enjoying life.

I used to own a 2 bedroom condo but I decided (it took me over a year to decide) that I wanted to be a mother (a single, older mother - we can't all be perfect) to a child who needed a mother. I decided to adopt a baby boy from Guatemala.

The adoption cost me approx. $40,000. I sold my condo knowing that once I paid off my mortgage, and paid for the adoption I would never be able to get back into the property market. I didn't and don't care! I brought my little boy home in Nov. 06 (he will be 19 months old next week). I now pay rent and nursery fees and my grocery bill has doubled, not to mention he has more clothes than I do. I have cut back on a lot of things so that I can pay my expenses and save a little each month. HE IS SO WORTH IT!

Since becoming a mother I look at life a bit differently. Yes, I want to give my son a good life but I don't want him to think that money buys happiness. I don't want him to think that he should get what he wants without working for it. I know it will be hard but I want to try. I also want him to be exposed to all that life has to offer - culturally and spiritually. I want him to respect everyone regardless of race or color. I want him to love life and love others. I want him to feel comfortable in his own skin. When people here see my son and say "hey Chinese" I think "my god, is this what life has become". An 18 month old child being categorized by the way he looks? I am not a do-gooder but I am a good person, have a big heart and treat everyone equally regardless of their race or color or financial situation. Money cannot fix the prejudices of the world and I certainly can't fix them but I try in little ways.

It is late and I am tired so I apologize if my thoughts seem a bit scattered! What I have been trying to say is:

1. Money can't buy ME happiness.
2. My son makes me happy.
3. I need to get off this island before I start having conversations with a volleyball.
4. I want to move to NZ because I believe it will give my son more opportunities to develop and grow.
5. I want to find a job that will pay the rent, food, gas for the car (and please Immigration)
6. I want to help children. I want my son to want to help children.
7. I want to be safe and want my son to be safe.
DAWN, THIS IS FOR YOU:
8. I want a man.
9. I want a man.
10. Where in the world is Dave Carter??

I will try to do better with future posts. I am used to writing drafts first! Please don't take portions of my post above and dissect it, it really won't do any good because I can't remember what I have written (this little box I am typing in doesn't help).

All the best and good night,
Shell

[KiwiHopeful]

ShellBda:

BTW, I'm taken, but from what you've said and the looks of the little picture you've posted #8 & #9 say more about the quality of the men you've met than about you!

[ShellBda]

All the good ones are taken Thanks for the compliment though and as I mentioned in my Shell Had A Dream post on the Coffee House thread, my experience with my last boyfriend requires its own lengthy thread and quite frankly I am just moving on with my life. I want to dwell on the positive and for me that would be my son and hopefully a new life in NZ.

That said, got any single friends?? lol