Has it been 6 months already!?
I can't believe it! We have been in New Zealand for officially 6 months today! What a whirlwind it has been! We arrived just in time to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm weather of summer and managed to skip the cold snowy winter back in Ohio. My hubby and I came with no jobs, just our savings from the sale of our home back in the US. We moved in with his family in Te Puke so we were fortunate to not have any expenses right away. My hubby is a NZ citizen and began the job search right away and accepted an offer within 3 weeks of us arriving. He didn't have to start until the first week of January, so we were able to enjoy several weeks of holiday and did a lot of sight-seeing including a 2 week road trip around the South Island, which was incredible! We were very fortunate to have so many pieces fall into place so early in our adventure.
I have to be honest, it hasn't all been easy. There have been many ups and downs along this journey. There are many things I love about New Zealand...the countryside is beautiful, the weather is very pleasant (at least what I've experienced so far in the BoP), the laid back lifestyle, and I am in love with the beach and living on the coast. But I have had difficultly adjusting to life here in NZ. I had not anticipated the somewhat negative attitude towards Americans (I know some of it is deserved, but we're not all bad and no country is perfect) and being treated like a tourist all the time. Although I will say that as time has gone by, this hasn't been an issue for me. I was also really surprised at how expensive everything is in comparison to where I am from. I knew things were more expensive, but I really didn't understand just how much more expensive and it has been a challenge to change my methods of budgeting and spending. But again, with time I am learning how to make adjustments and finding ways to make it work and I'm feeling pretty good about things financially.
The hardest thing for me is being so far from my loved ones back home. I am very close to my family and we have always been very involved in each other's lives, so it has been a big adjustment to be so far away and not there for all the little things happening in day to day living. But, we have been blessed with an IP phone with a local phone number from my hometown, so all our phone calls are free and we can talk to each other whenever we want. We have also taken advantage of Skype and it is so nice to be able to see each other on the webcam. Having easy communication has really helped ease my homesickness and made the distance seem a little smaller.
Getting our own place has also been key for my adjustment. We were living with his family for the first 4 months that we were here and it got very crowded very quickly as there were about 9 of us in a pretty small house. We greatly appreciated their hospitality, but moving out was a very good thing as living family can often get complicated. Even though we are just renting for now, I am so happy to be in our house! My adjustment and settling in process has really improved since we have our own space and my outlook on everything is much more positive these days. We finally received our shipment once we got our house and it has been so nice to have familiar things around us and I am slowly making this house feel more like home.
I am still unemployed and am looking for work, but not having much success. Thankfully my hubby has a good job and we can get by on his income. I am here on a WHV at the moment and am waiting for a CO for my PR application, so hopefully that will come through in the next few months. I am hoping that will help my job search. In the meantime I am looking for opportunities to get out and am considering volunteering at a few different places to help fill my time and to meet people.
We still don't have a lot of friends yet, but we are making a serious effort to get out and try to find ways to meet people and slowly but surely we are making acquaintances. I know that with time we will make new friends and develop some strong relationships and I know getting a social and support network will really help us feel settled and at home.
I know that seems like a lot of negativity, but I wanted to be honest and I always like to get the bad out of the way first and end on a positive note. Despite the struggles, I have really enjoyed this experience and am doing my best to soak it all up. All in all, we are doing great. My hubby and I firmly believe that we are supposed to be here for a reason and that confidence has really pulled us through it all.
My hubby is doing very well. While he has had a hard time leaving family behind as well, he really feels connected and grounded here in NZ as this is where he was born and grew up before leaving as a teenager. He is thriving in his job and I am so proud of him!! He is learning so much and really growing in his career and it seems there is a lot of potential for him in the company he works for. He loves the kiwi lifestyle and looks for opportunities to enjoy the outdoor wonderland waiting outside our door. He is so happy to be here and is really enjoying living here.
I have really grown to love New Zealand and what it has to offer. I was never much of an outdoors person, but I really enjoy hiking and have even taken up fishing. I'm even considering going camping (never done it before!). I really enjoy the laid back atmosphere and I can't get enough of the beach! I still go walking even though the weather is cooling down. I love going to the pub to watch rugby and everyone singing the national anthem with the TV. I love watching the kids in our neighborhood out and about just enjoying being kids and it is safe for them to do so. I LOVE hearing the ocean from my house and find it so soothing. I love that there is so much natural wonder so close to where I live. I love the general friendliness I find here in NZ. So really, I love New Zealand! I still miss my family and still have bouts of homesickness here and there, but I am really starting to settle into life here and am very excited about the future and really can't wait for it to feel like home. This has been an adventure thus far and I know the future is only going to get better!!
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