hi and need advice plz

[moondust_frenzy]

hi to all,
i am sorry if all these questions have been asked before but this is my first post and im really confused. :-?

some things at the top of my head are;

alot of household items could do with renewing is it worth doing know and shipping out or buying once in nz.

do televisions from the uk work or not in nz

how much money would be enough to take out to start off with.

and any other info would be gratefully recieved. :)

[MotherBear]

? Hi Moondust_frenzy, ?

Welcome to the forum. ?What an unusual name. ? 8-)

Firstly, here's a link to an old thread about taking TVs to NZ. ?Basically, if you have an older set (cathode ray tube) it may not work down there but more modern LCDs and plasma ones should be OK. ?Some folks take their old sets down with them to use for playing DVDs or games on. ?

If you feel your household stuff isn't worth taking with you, you could try to sell it before you go and buy new in NZ. You need to weigh up how much you think it's worth compared to the cost of shipping it, which won't be cheap. ?Household items aren't particularly cheap in NZ and you'd do well to either try to do a deal with the retailers by offering cash payments or keep an eye open for any sales and buy then.

The 'How much money would be enough' is always a difficult one. ?Obviously, the more you can bring the better start you will have in NZ. ?It depends on whether you will have any income coming into the home shortly after you get there to supplement the money you're taking with you. ?If you don't have a job to go to immediately, you will need extra money to keep you going, compared to someone who does have a job. ?If you want to buy a house and a car when you arrive, that will take a whole lot more money than someone who wants to rent a place and commute by bus/train. ? ?

[moondust_frenzy]

thanks for the reply helped loads. :)

i think at the moment i will go with the flow and do some more research into it.

as with the financial side of it i will not have loads at the start but am hoping to get a job before coming out (i know this is easier said than done).

from stuff i have read can living in new zealand really be a struggle when it comes to the financial side as i currently live in uk with my hubbie and 2 children, we are struggling financially at the moment and cant even afford to buy a house or have no hope of moving with our council over here, all we are looking for really is to have a better quality of life and maybe a garden for the kids (i live in a flat).
we are not materilistic but would like enough money to get by on and maybe go out for the day on the odd occassion, which we cant do know.

is this at all possible or should i look at forgetting the whole plan, which i dont really wont to. :(

[Dawn]

Hi moondust frenzy - now here's what I'm hoping with a name like that - that you're a new old style hippie spiritualist looking to find the deeper meaning of this life and working out what you're coming back as in your next life - that way I'll have someone to talk to on here that gets where I'm coming from and just doesn't think I'm out of my tree. On the other hand, you could have just picked a fab and groovy name. Fingers crossed ;)

Anyway - our philosophy is that whatever you want can be whatever you want it to be if you believe in it and yourselves enough to make it so. We have sold our house and can't afford to stay here, not without a drastic change in lifestyle at any rate, and we're not prepared to give up our quality of life for more hours at work. We're heading over without a house, without a job, without knowing even where we want to go, we just know we want to go and have a look-see. The closer it gets the more scary it becomes but we know it will be down to us to make things happen. Like no one's gonna come and knock on your door and say, 'hey I heard you just moved here and you know, I've got the perfect job for the two of you and while we're at it I'll give you a generous salary and a house to live in for free and a nanny to look after your great kids'. If you're determined enough, your lives can be whatever you want them to be.

Do your research, take your time to listen to others, read as much as you can and come on ere and ask lots of people daft questions THEN.......ignore them all and follow your dream ;) because that's one thing that no one can ever take from you.

Good luck

[missvee]

Hi Moondustfrenzy, can I call you Moonie?
I say follow your dream.New Zealand isn't a Utopia, it still has it's problems but nowhere near on the scale of the UK.
I am a single mum and taking my 13 year old daughter. I have the luxury of a job when I get there and temporary accomodation.
I am going for quality of life, I am not going to be rich. On the occasion when I have spoke or contacted people in NZ they are friendly and helpful. We will be living in a small town of about 17000. I want a different life for my daughter where she doesn't think a fun day out is the Trafford Centre and she doesn't have the peer pressure of wearing the wrong clothes etc.
I can walk on the beach after work and possibly grow my own veg and belong to a community. I'm hoping to buy some land and build my own house, well thats the plan. ::)
I am dreading being homesick and missing friends and family.
I will say it has been very expensive.
My Expression of Interest was ?100+
Medicals, just short of ?400, thats 1 adult, 1 child
Registering as a midwife, $1000, about ?340-?360
Invitation to Apply ?525
Sundries, sending documents and getting documents certified, sending to NZ, getting full birth certificates, probably ?100+
I have probably forgot something, oh yes solicitor, this is because i have to get consent from my daughters father, to take her to NZ, at the moment about ?400+
If anyone knows if I have forgotten anything they will probably let you know.
I want to work outside of the confines of the NHS and get away from political correctness and flaming nanny state and ambulance chasers.
I would like to look at tress and grass and not another house.
Have I convinced you yet?
Have a look at the NZ Immigration website and here.
If you place your mouse over the Kiwi on this page, it takes you to a quite informative bit.
Missvee

[LilAmy]

Hi Moondust,

Welcome to the forum. You sound like most of us before we made the move. All your thoughts and feelings are natural. Going into the unknown always is. The amount of times Stu and I thought nah too much hassle and money lets just leave it...I am so glad we didnt tho. We've now been here 7 months and loving it!

It is tough to start with finding a job, place to live etc but then where ever you move to is.

On the plus side we've seen a lot of NZ looking for right places and moved around a bit as well.

The lifestyle here and ethics are different. Much more relaxed and chilled out. If we had upped stix and moved back in Scotland with no jobs and money I would have had a nervous breakdown I think. Here, doing it all was much more relaxed. Once you meet a few people everyone is bending over backwards to help you settle in and find jobs and places to live. Well that was what happened for us anyway.

Everyones experience is different and you just have to follow your heart. If you want to make the change then do it. All that will happen is in 5yrs time you'll look back and wonder 'what if'. My motto is only regret the things you didnt do in life!

Now onto finances...we only took a couple of hundred pounds with us and used that to put deposit down on rental appts here and just use our dollars to live off. We are in a slightly different situation where we're only here for 23months working holiday visa (WHV). We plan to go for residency but dont want to change our pounds into $'s just yet. We know we'll need to go back to the UK at some stage and would rather have pounds to spend than dollars. Remember you can always keep your bank account open back home and withdraw money here with a small charge with each transaction. Some people bring the full whack out of their accounts as well. I think it's all up to the individual. I suppose we're just being cautious incase things dont go to plan and we have to go back for one reason or another.

Well I think I've blabbed enough. As Missvee said any other questions just ask away - I'm sure yoou'll get a few essays back like mine tee hee ;D

[MotherBear]

My Expression of Interest was ?100+
Medicals, just short of ?400, thats 1 adult, 1 child
Registering as a midwife, $1000, about ?340-?360
Invitation to Apply ?525
Sundries, sending documents and getting documents certified, sending to NZ, getting full birth certificates, probably ?100+

Very useful info there, Missvee. ?

[Debd]

Hi Moondust,

We've been here for 6 months today! I'm here with my husband and two small children.You've really got nothing to lose in trying and taking a 'look' like Dawn mentioned. We also didn't have any property behind us so in a similar position to you. My husband was given a job with the health board and we came on 30 month WTR, (work to residence) visas. We're not sure whether we'll apply for residency just yet.
Everyone has their own experiences on this forum and most do sound wonderful.
Our children like it here alot but they are only 4 and 2 so would be happy in many places at their young age! We do feel happy that they get to go to the beach at any time.
Depending on where you're planning to live, the rental prices vary considerably. We live in Auckland so pay top whack unfortunately but it is nice here on the North Shore close to the city, (not that the city has anything unique to offer as far as we're concerned!). It's just full of the usual big names but is very pleasing on the eye!
We rent a traditional detached Kiwi villa, (beautiful but cold and draughty in the Spring!), it has 3 bedrooms, play room/dining room/kitchen, lounge, big garage and nice sized private garden for $380 per week which is quite alot on just one wage coming in but worth it to us. Mind you $380 is now deemed as pretty low round here!!!
I think as long as you know you'll get work easily for the wage you'll need to survive on,l then you'll be ok.If you need any personal info then please feel free to 'PM' me and I'll do my best to help,
Debra

[nattydread]

hi moondust..

we arrived 11 months ago today..
Our kids are 8 and 5 now.. and they love it..

The biggest single piece of advice i would give anyone and everyone..

DO NOT GET INTO THE HABIT OF THINKING 100 bucks is "only 30 or 40 quid"
It came very close to spoiling our dream and i'm almost certain it has cost a lot of people a whole heap of pain and expense.


if you're happy with a big old telly, ie not plasma or lcd.. you can pick a 21 incher up at the warehouse for 250 dollars.. maybe even less.. which isn't bad..

but you MUST give it a go..

good luck ..