7 months here in nelson....loving it!
Hi
i don't think i have posted on here since we arrived, which is in stark contrast to regular ramblings when in the uk and trying to get here.
we arrived in august 2009 in nelson and we absolutley love it..every bit of it! i had not stepped foot in nz prior to arriving here, so we were trusting OH big time! nelson is the most special place to live and we feel very lucky to be here. people are friendly and incredibly welcoming and we have not had one blip.
we have both found our jobs a bit frustrating though, but you have to make sure you are not always whinging on about how it was in the uk,so we have just run with it and got used to the kiwi ways...its all part of the journey i suppose.
the children have both settled extremely well and considering their ages 11 and 13 that is unbelievable. they are both in wonderful schools, again, different from their school in the uk, but still brilliant in other ways. they are under much less pressure and their creative and sporting abilities are getting an opportunity to shine. that is quite amazing as my daughter was not into sport at all, but it is the have a go attitude here that has helped her.
our very dyslexic son is having the time of his life. we have found an amazing out of school service for him and the support is excellent. he is under much less pressure here and despite having dyslexia it is not the big issue it was in the uk. children are allowed to cruise more and they all get there in the end. so, he feels really good about himself and is having a great time at school.
it is expensive here and i should imagine if anyone arrived in nz and funds were tight it could be a real problem. the phone bill is huge and considering we only know a few people over here it shouldn't be. we skype to the uk so can't even blame calls to there for the cost. the phone companies seem to be ripping people off. food bills too are costly, but i think you have to shop differently from the uk. i have watched my kiwi friends buying stuff that is in season and eating what is cheaper, very much like it was when i was little in the uk. i can remember my mum getting all excited because jersey royal potatoes were in the shops and strawberries. i do more home cooking too, which i love. many of our friends cook almost everything at home to keep costs down. bread makers seem big here and home made cakes are all the norm. it feels quite nice actually and once you get out of the habit of loading your trolley up with packs of biscuits etc the food bill drops. i feel like nigella!
i have got used to the driving now as that really freaked me out when we came, the left turn rule drove me mad and at one point i would go way out of my way so i didn't have to turn left! i am now ok with all that and the amount of traffic police no longer phases me either. it is not unusual for me to see 4 police cars on my 20 minute journey to work, but that is probably why crime is low too. the amount of young people killed in car accidents is scary though and i do get cross when i hear them hooning around on the road near us, especially as my son rides his bike up there and there are skid marks clearly showing the hoons were on the wrong side of the road. every so often the police have a real blitz on them though and it is not a huge problem in nelson i don't think.
we spend a lot of time out doors and enjoying all that nelson offers. there was so so much to do here over the summer and we hardly fitted any of it in, but we are here for good, not for a holiday, so there will be other summers.
so, for us it is all positive. we are living in an awesome place, we have a great bunch of friends and feel well supported. of course we miss our friends and family in the uk, but skype helps hugely.
i am going now to enjoy a coffee in the sun and listen to the tui's in my garden!
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