Simply can't afford to live in NZ

[Dawn]

As you wish. There was certainly no nastiness on my part. Good luck with your future, wherever it takes you :)

The rest of you guys, I know that the sun is much stronger there, even when the temperature is lower, in view of this I would have thought they would have made sun protection afforable for all. I was pretty sure I'd read somewhere on here that it was available free at certain outdoor events. Is it much more expensive there than here? If it is, I may well stock up and bring a load with us, 3 kids go through a lot of sun block!

[missvee]

Oh dear, seems like some raw nerves have been hit again. I am sorry to hear that NZ is not the place some people think it is.
I hope I will not be disallusioned with New Zealand. I know I am not going to be rich, I know I will have to watch the pennies and I won't have many, if any luxuries. I am what is classed as a professional here in the UK. I am a single mum and earn a relatively good wage but I struggle. I work to pay bills, I haven't had a holiday abroad for a few years. I don't buy expensive creams and cosmetics. veery rarely go out for meals etc., I am overdrawn in the bank and have very little savings. I don't have a good quality of life and hate working in the NHS, I have to work nights most weeks because I earn more. The last time I did that I ended up being very ill. My daughter wants all the designer clothes and gadgets, her day out is the Trafford centre or she is on her PC because there is nothing for her to do here.
I am looking for quality of life, less traffic, noise pollution, people, politics and terrorism. I would like to be able to leave my door open when I go out to the shop. I want to grow my own veg and have chickens. I can't do that hear because I can't afford to buy a house. There are many other reasons why I choose New Zealand to live. I looked around New Zealand to compare house prices and population sizes, crime rates and looked at schooling. I looked at what places had to offer in terms of things to do, resteraunts cinema and shopping, (I do have a teenager) beaches and scenery. I have done a lot of research about the place I am going to live. I think I know more about it than the town I live in.
What I am trying to say is as I have said before, I know NZ isn't a Utopia and it has it's problems like any other country. I think it has something I need and that isn't something I can quantify. It isn't just for me it's for my daughter too. I know what struggling is, I have done it for the last 13 years with a daughter. I am not going to New Zealand with my eyes shut.
I am writing this for other people who are thinking of going to New Zealand. Think very carefully. If you want certain things from life and you have a certain standard in the UK then New Zealand may not be for you. We are all different, we come to expect certain things from life and what makes us happy, that isn't wrong, it's the differences in us.
Dawn you are most welcome to have a cuppa with me, when I eventually get there. Do they have decent tea bags in NZ? If not I'm not going. ;)
Vee

[Welshgirl]

?I think that a lot of people on this site are totally blinkered and see NZ as some kind of paradise. ?

Sorry gossage, but I think you are the one who is talking nonsense now. We have members on this site who are already living in NZ and are aware that it is not some kind of paradise, but have still chosen to stick it out and make it their home. We have also known people who have found that NZ is not for them, and we welcome their insight into the downside of NZ. It is all about balance. We are in NZ and have been for 2 1/2 years. Our wages are not wonderful compared to the UK, and yet we are still here - are we blinkered? I'm sorry you felt that NZ was not for you, but for us and a lot of our other members, it still remains where we want to live - whether we can afford cosmetics or not. Please don't accuse our members of not being intelligent enough to have a realistic opinion.

And by the way Vee, yes the teabags here are lovely, would love to make you a cuppa one day to prove it ;D

[missvee]

;D Lovely, get the kettle on I'm on the next plane, ooopss forgot bloody immigration officer still hasn't looked at my paperwork.

I actually don't mind if people don't want to live in New Zealand, we don't want it looking like the UK, full of people and cars. We want like minded people. Anyway when Dawn and I get there we will have to have a tea party. ;) Vee

[Dawn]

Tea all round then, got any choccie biscuits? ;)

[Welshgirl]

Umm, of course, only the best for me - Mcvities choccie digestives - yum :)

Any more like-minded people for tea?

[missvee]

:D That's two for tea and I think Dawn wants to have a cuppa and I like McVities digestives. Then again with things being tight I might make some.
Cheers!! ;D

[firing1]

Hi all,
we've been in NZ for four years now and at times have really struggled with money. However we have got a beautiful house and a great lifestyle and wouldn't swap it for anything. The comparison of wages with the UK is one of the biggest issues I have come across and it seems most people go through this when they first move out or look at NZ. The reality is it's all about perception and budgeting. The best advice I was given was to stop converting everything back into pounds. (although it took me a year to do this).Also make your own opportunities, I started here on a low wage but vowed to do better and that's what I have done without having to give my weekends up on overtime as well. Salaries can vary widely as well even for the same role so look around. Money is essential to live but our main goal was lifestyle and we have that now and feel very lucky. Most Kiwi's do not live in poverty and i've seen people look at the wages compared to the UK and ask themselves how do they manage to have the nice house and car and boat? They budget, they work and they enjoy life. Oh and you'll be pleased to know that you can get cheap sunscreen out here.

Paul

[Dawn]

Good to hear about the sunscreen Paul, thanks for that. Our oldest daughter is rather fair.

I agree with what you say about comparison. Natty has reiterated the same thing - he didn't truly get to grips with NZ life until he stopped doing the converting everything into pounds thing and comparing salaries, conditions, lifestyle, people, cultures etc with the UK. If you make the decision to go then you make the decision to accept it for what it is, to adapt to a different way of life. If you want to up and take your UK life to NZ and expect it to be the same then you'll be disappointed

I've never been called a do-gooder before. I don't think it was meant as a compliment! All I try to do is live my life honestly so that I can sleep at night. As a family we understand that we have a part to play albeit very small. I believe that life is a gift and that we should do something positive with it, try to leave the world a tiny bit of a better place for having been here. I read a saying once, it was probably Buddhist, 'We do not inherit the world from our ancestors but borrow it from our children'. I like that. It preaches responsibility, purpose and direction. And no, I'm not a religious fanatic either before anybody comes up with another label for me. ?;)

I remember Stevie once suggesting I was a cannibis smoking, sandal wearing, free thinking hippie - he was quite a way off the mark too, but at least he meant it kindly! :) I think :-?

Welshgirl, McVities chocolate digestives would have it clinched it for me but if Vee's doing home-made.......? E-mail me a map and leave room on your drive for a campervan. :)

[missvee]

Sorry Dawn, the camper van has just clinched it for me. I am going to stereotype you, they do go hand in hand with free thinking, pot smoking, sandal wearing hippies, ;). Actually I would love a camper van but I know my stereotypical teenager wouldn't be seen dead in it. :o
The biscuit making I was going to wait till I get to NZ, seeing as I will be dirt poor, I can still just afford a packet of digestives. I will be homeless soon too, I have given notice on the flat in preparation for the move.
Are you thinking of staying anywhere particular when you get to NZ?
I am putting down roots in Whakatane, thats if immigration don't drag their feet anymore and I lose my job. :(
Vee