Two months in
Well I suppose it's about time I give an update.
I've arrived, but I'm not settled. I've got a job, a place to stay, a car, have joined a couple of clubs, but that's it. The overwhelming feeling is one of visiting. Now this is absolutely due to my wife still being back in the UK, and it's worse as we thought she'd be here by now, but the house sale is going backwards. And that's meaning that I'm deliberately not doing the things that most new arrivals will be doing. I'm not going to see things in NZ as I want to do that when Wifey75 gets here. So I'm finding excuses to work longer hour, work weekends, etc.
So what's life like here. Honestly, pretty much the same as in the UK, jsut a bit slower. Same work, same sort of day to day pressures, although the company I'm working for seems to be a lot more caring than I'd have expected in the UK. Can't say if it's the manager, the company, or NZ, I only know the one workplace here.
So on the plus side she's booking a trip over in Spetember so we've got that to look forward to. I've also found myself on the local Triathlon club committee and am now organiser for two pretty well known events which is a bit worrying bt should give me something else to do other than work.
The vast majority of people are friendly, although it's no paradise and there are a few people that are selfish, rude or othrwise unpleasant, but I've met a lower proportion of those than in the UK.
Food shopping - varies in price, between a lot (£100+ for a week for just me), down to £50. A few mistakes and a few 'startup' costs in the former (olive oil, sauces, etc that last a while), and ready diluted ribena instead of cordial.
Insurance is cheap. Cars, less so.
My main 'beef' with NZ so far is the amount of glass on the roads. Makes it a real pain to cycle round, and even driving round is risking things. And even in Tauranga there's a fair few hoons that screach around on a night.
Customer service places are great though - seem to want to find ways to make things happen, not like the Uk where they appear to be motivated to find a rule why they can't help.
What's tricky as a new arrival is knowing where to dgo for things. Not just where is 'such and such' a shop. But what's the equivalent to B&Q, or Asda. Where do you get birthday cards from. What do you take round when you go to dinner. Should you offer to buy a round in a pub, etc etc.
So 2 months in, but not really here. Seems like a really long business trip so far.
Not posting for sympathy, trust me I'm not after that. But posting as it's something that may help those that follow to be 'forewarned and forearmed'.
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