Retiring to NZ with 2 kids (10 & 8)

[Michaux]

We are thinking of moving from UK to NZ with our 2 boys, 10 and 8.
Location will be dictated by several factors:
Education - The boys are currently at a top private school and would normally be expected to go to St Paul's (my old school), Magdelen College in Oxford and then on to a top UK university.
Space - We currently enjoy the space we have - 5 acres, part of an old farm.
Hobbies - Sailing, water sports, horse riding, karting and rebuilding / tinkering with cars.
We would ideally want to have the same standards as listed above plus the well known benefits of NZ.
Can anyone who has similar experience advise?
Thanks in advance
Frank

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

Which question are you posing here? Are you, for instance, asking where you could live, whether there is equivalent education available, or if people think you should move?

[April]

You can of course get a huge property and pay for good schools if you can afford it - much like anywhere else. So as already said, could you be more specific in what you're asking advice on?

[Michaux]

Hello again,
We are here looking for advice on a location to live that is within 20 minutes drive of a top school (from age 8 to age 18),
probably somewhere near Auckland, as we are lead to believe that this will be the most international and broad-minded place to live (we may be wrong)
A house with space and garages / barn to tinker
Near the sea / overlooking the sea.

We are planning a 2 week trip in August so we would like to have a short list of schools and areas to visit.

Thanks

[newarrival]

Just to start with- I am sorry if that sounds extremely negative, but your intro makes me wonder if New Zealand is the best place for you to live!
If I recall a lot of the other threads on here, there are apparently huge disadvantages for a lot of British people who come to find a 'better' life here......, so after what you describe as your current lifestyle it sounds like you have found the perfect place

[Michaux]

Thanks for the message. We do not consider the UK the perfect place, certainly not longer term. We have both lived overseas (from the UK), myself for 18 years in places such as Panama and Madrid. So we are perhaps not average residents of the UK. We are looking for a better quality life of course and have done quite some paper research on locations and NZ comes top at present. Hence the need now for information and a visit.
I hope this clarifies things

[Tia Maria]

I think Kings, (in Otahuhu), is probably the school that most matches what you are use to:

http://www.kingscollege.school.nz/

It has been in the news a lot recently:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news...ectid=10733172

However, over the 5 years we've been here many secondary schools have had their fair share of the 'negative spotlight' and I think it's more a reflection of teaching the teenage years than anything wrong at these schools.

Other schools that tend to be mentioned in the same breath as Kings are Auckland Grammar (Mount Eden):

http://www.ags.school.nz/

And St Kentigern, (which is a two campus site depending on age - All Boys or All Girls, Years 1 to 8 in Remuera and Mixed year 7 - 13 in Pakuranga - I think I've got that right!):

http://www.saintkentigern.com/

I'm afraid my knowledge of the South side of the bridge is a bit limited but other might be able to tell you where is within 20 mins drive of these.

The wild card is probably Kristen, (in Albany):

http://www.kristin.school.nz/web/portal/home

It isn't as traditional as the other three, it's roots are explained here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_School

It does however allow you good acces to plenty of places North of Albany, where you'd be able to find your 5 acres and easily enjoy sailing.

Another option might be to consider a bach. Plenty of people in Auckland live centrally and have a bach, (a kind of holiday home), and will go up there most weekend and holidays to enjoy the beach/country lifestyle.

A final thing you might want to factor in is whether the kids will be involved in any sports etc, as you may find many of your Saturdays and Sundays can be taken up with this and, depending on which school/club they are involved in, could involve lots of travel around Auckland. Or, if they have a particular interest in something like sailing or horseriding you may want to suss out the locations of some good sailing/horseriding clubs in advance.

[Michaux]

Many thanks for this information.
At this early stage, I would envisage us living as far out of town as possible, in order to have the space we have grown used to in the UK and be able to have a social life that goes with living in 1 location. The boys love their outdoor sports and our elder boy especially is likely to have a very active extra curricular school life, so we will need to put time aside on week-ends for matches and clubs.
Stanmore Bay has been mentioned.
Kristin school is 30 mins or so from there, so would be feasible. But I have no information on how good the school is.
Thanks again
Kind Regards
Frank

[Tia Maria]

My knowledge is mainly based on what I've heard from various parents over the last few years...so please take it in that context. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm very wrong!

I believe St Kents does mainly NCEA and while others do offer NCEA the impression is that they get their more able students to do CIE or IB. Kings & AGS prefer CIE and Kristen offers the IB. These exam systems are based on different principles and value different skills so it is worth familiarising yourself with them.

Whenever I've heard of a particularly talented child, who has chosen to not go with the local option, they have normally gone to Kings or St Kents, often with various scholarships.

Lots of local parents send their children to Kristen and have been very happy with it. Some have complained they haven't had value for money but that may be the case with all private schools but I just get to hear about this one. I have also known of a couple of people who have sold their houses to fund their children at Kristen, so that should give you an example of how highly some parents regard it.

If the tradition side of things is important to you then Kings is probably top of your list. For instance the image of the parents at Kristen is that they are Doctors and Lawyers, the image of the kinds of parents you get at Kings is that they are Magistrates and Surgeons - obviously a gross generalisation and I'm not sure how much of it is based on reality...but it gives you an idea of the two different images.

I think the selection processes for the schools varies too, some will comprise of an exam, (and therefore the opportunity to cherry pick students), while others rely solely on interviews. I'm not sure what happens if you arrive half way through the school year...

As mentioned before all this is based on what I've heard and therefore far from a complete picture. However, I do appreciate that when you arrive in a new country you arrive without this kind of background information that everyone else takes for granted.

Look out for the Metro edition that contains info on schools coming out in the next few months...they often have some very up to date and interesting comments. In fact Metro magazine is a good read for those new to Auckland that are interested in 'All things Auckland'...you can usually get back copies at the library:

https://www.facebook.com/metroNZ

[April]

Personally I prefer Wellington over Auckland - why not look into it? A large part of Auckland city is a collection of suburbs which I never warm to, whereas Wellington feels more like a city with outlying towns. It's very clean and attractive too and even in the city centre feels friendly. Lots of lovely coastline too.

As for lifestyle - NZ is very different class wise to the UK - there is no system, so work life balance, outdoor lifestyle is probably where you'll find the difference. E.g. we are in a cheap rental at the moment (temporarily) and are living next door to a doctor (in the same type of house) - just to give you an idea of one of the major differences we've found here. :-)