Any advice and guidence would be appreciated

[Andrew Family]

I saw 'movetonz' on the tv show 'wanted down under' and due to being really interested in moving to NZ I searched for the site on the web. I must say that I have spent a fair bit of time reading really interesting messages and I am glad that I found it as the information has already been invaluable.
About the Andrew Family.: My name is Dawn and I am married to Nick. We have two very young children and have decided to look into moving to New Zealand to improve our families quality of life. I work as a HR Advisor (mainly with a medical staffing background i.e. junior doctors but with a generalist input/knowledge that is expanded rapidly) and have been advised that due to working in HR for 5 years and being part-qualified I would be eligable for a work visa (hope that is right). I am also qualified as a holistic massage therapist and a qualified beauty therapist to NVQ level 2 (not sure if they would be of any use although I would rather work from home with these and for myself opposed to an employer). We are using an agency and I know that many people go through the process without them but we have been recommended a good one and would like to go through the process without too much stress. We are not sure where to live but looking at the job front it looks like Auckland or Wellington might be the best options although I will admit I am not keen on working in a city so any advice on this front would be fantastic.
Any advice on schools as youngest will be 5 years old in 2008 so no rush but childcare options/info, accommodation or areas would be appreciated.
Thanks

[MotherBear]

Dawn. Good to see you here.

With regard to accommodation, if you're looking to rent a place, there's a selection of real estate agents on the NZ Website List at the top of the Making the Move category. Look for Real Estate. I can't guarantee that all links are still functioning as companies do like to muck about with their websites without notifiying me first.

Here's a general overview of schooling in NZ to get you started. If your youngest is 5 this year she can start school on her 5th birthday. I posted another couple of links about schools on another thread yesterday if you haven't already come across them. Hopefully, if you have some specific questions about it you'd like to post on here, other members who already have children in school in NZ can fill you in.

[Andrew Family]

You can tell that I was tired when typing the info due to spelling guidance wrong and then saying that our youngest would be 5 in 2009. Basically we have two children who are currently aged 3 years and 5 months, which is why information on what childcare options are available in NZ and approximate costs would be welcomed due to both of us possibily having to work (would rather not though).
Thanks

[MotherBear]

Not sure if they mention costs in these, but here's a few sites you could look at for ideas.

Home Grown Kids
Babysitters4u
NZ Childcare
Plunket
NZS.com
Childcare Online
Porsenz -home-based nanny service.
Wellington early education

[zummerzet_lou]

Welcome Dawn ...

I can't answer your questions, but wanted to say "hello" as we are in a very similar situation.

I'm married to Jon (Banjo Jon on here), and we have 2 young children, 4yrs and 18months. We are hopig to emigrate to NZ and firmly believe that it will offer them a better life. We are doing our application ourselves, and have submitted out ITA so we are hoping to have a VISA within the next 5 month or so, and also praying that we can sell our house by then!

Look forward to chatting with you, and hearing how your application goes,
Lou

[Andrew Family]

Hi Lou
I hope everything goes through ok for you. How long do the ITA sections normally take? We are so new to this process that I am still having to look up the abbreviations. Have you been over to NZ? Where are you looking to work/live? Are you both going to work? We are hoping to receive the pack from the agency this week (not brave enough to go through the process alone) and hoping to go out to NZ this year for a look around. We will hopefully end up around the Auckland area due to the work being in that area, but I think we will be looking to live around the papakura area to avoid the traffic jams into the city plus house prices look reasonable there. I am dreading the flight with two young children, well the 3 year old most as the youngest is still only a baby and cannot run up and down the plane!! All is hinging on if we can get the residency permits, fingers crossed.
I am really interested in how you and others are getting on and where you are looking to move to and for what reasons as I am sure you will have alot more knowledge and info that we could take into consideration. Have you been watching 'Wanted Down Under', it is a brilliant show and does make you think sensibly about your choices and the reasons for wanting to make the change.
Nice to hear from you, kind regards
Dawn

[alan&moyra]

Hi Andrew Family
On child care we have our 2 year old daughter with Kindercare cant remember the fees but will find out tonight and let you know

[Andrew Family]

Hi Alan & Moyra

What hours is kindergarden open (approx)? What made you pick Christchurch?
Many Thanks

[keeweegal]

Hi Dawn & Welcome from Scotland!

As a returning kiwi I'm afraid I can't help with any of your questions as firstly I don't need a visa (yay!) & second, I've been away far too long (8 years) to be of much help with areas.

We (Scottish OH & moi) are hoping to return in July (delayed due to the housing market) and looking to settle in Hamilton or surrounding areas.

Anyway, you're certainly in the right place, there's a wealth of information here

Sal

[alan&moyra]

Originally Posted by Andrew Family

Hi Alan & Moyra

What hours is kindergarden open (approx)? What made you pick Christchurch?
Many Thanks

Our Kindi is open from 7.30 am till 5.30pm but I know that there are some who are open till 6pm, the only thing we need to provide is nappies, they do the rest. We pay $198 a week for full time care. which if you base it on UK costs it is pretty cheap.

We chose Chch well firstly because my OH got a job offer here but even with that anybody we talked to that had visited all said if they were going to live anywhere Chch would be their choice.
Best move we have made, anything else I can help with let me know, removals, flights, housing here......... etc.

Alan