How long did it take you to become acquainted with NZ and its people?

[ralf-nz]

This is a discussion I recently have been engaged in: 'How long did it take you to become acquainted with NZ and its people?' What is your experience and/or opinion on this? And how does this compare with similar experiences of the past when you relocated to different regions/countries?

[JandM]

Supplementary question - how do you know when you have? After all, everyone can still come up against surprises and things/areas/customs they didn't know, even in their country of origin, maybe even in their PLACE of origin. Extreme example: In 1980, I moved to a small country town in the south of England, 14 miles (about 22 1/2 km) from the coast. At that time, it was still possible to meet locals who had never seen the sea. Could one of those people be said to be acquainted with England and its people? - of course not. Yet they were living and working perfectly contentedly and successfully (if you count success as earning a living and raising their family) within (a tiny bit of) England. And the new experience they had at that time was people like me buying some of the new houses that were being built, coming in with knowledge of places BEYOND, and expectations of more possibilities than could be had within the town.

[dharder]

This is a discussion I recently have been engaged in: 'How long did it take you to become acquainted with NZ and its people?'

What, became acquainted with each individual? Surely that would depend on how long you wanted to spend with each. If one was intent on doing more than just insult each one personally, that could take years... Or acquainted with that homogenous group "New Zealander"? No time at all, met the group in London.

But apart from the facetious reply, I'm not quite sure what you are getting at. In what way do you mean acquainted? Be aware of terms of speech? Familiar with the geographic layout? And in the sense of just being aware of it, or adjusting, or assimilating?

Daniela

[Familyofmonkeys]

Supplementary question - how do you know when you have? After all, everyone can still come up against surprises and things/areas/customs they didn't know, even in their country of origin, maybe even in their PLACE of origin. Extreme example: In 1980, I moved to a small country town in the south of England, 14 miles (about 22 1/2 km) from the coast. At that time, it was still possible to meet locals who had never seen the sea. Could one of those people be said to be acquainted with England and its people? - of course not. Yet they were living and working perfectly contentedly and successfully (if you count success as earning a living and raising their family) within (a tiny bit of) England. And the new experience they had at that time was people like me buying some of the new houses that were being built, coming in with knowledge of places BEYOND, and expectations of more possibilities than could be had within the town.

I've had very similar experiences to this. I lived the first part of my childhood in a tiny close-knit north Oxfordshire village, 12 miles north of Oxford. When I was a young child in the late 1970's and early 1980's, a number of the elderly folk had never visited Oxford and the furthest they had ever ventured was Bicester, 3.5 miles away. Even at that young age, I found it really hard to imagine never leaving the area or going on holiday anywhere. But these people were very content with their lives, and their knowledge of the village history and immediate vicinity was staggering. I used to love sitting next to the village pond listening to people tell me stories of their own childhood. Of course, the place has changed beyond recognition since then.

[slw]

My experience is that it takes around a year to feel "at home" after moving someplace different. I think that it often happens without realizing it, something doesn't suddenly click and you're a Kiwi.

I realized how settled I was about a year and a half after moving when my in-laws visited. Little customary things that puzzled them seemed like second nature to me, yet I remember a month after my arrival being just as confused.

In terms of relationships, I made some very good friends at my job, but darned if it didn't take awhile - again, about a year and a half. Still scratching my head about that one. It's like the planets aligned just right, and suddenly I was one of them. I am somewhat reserved so I'm sure that didn't help.

[JandM]

Which village, FoM?

[Familyofmonkeys]

Which village, FoM?

Souldern

[JandM]

Still not exactly built up, despite the modern era!

[Familyofmonkeys]

Still not exactly built up, despite the modern era!

It's more the little changes that have crept in over the years. First the tiny post-office closed when the lovely lady who ran in retired and no-one took over. Then Kallows (?) the friendly little village shop closed. The once empty village lanes are now chock-full of parked cars, because most of the houses were built circa 1600, and they didn't have a need for off-street parking. And now some of my favourite old horse fields and the road to the old mill, which we used to wander through almost daily, have been turned into developments of executive houses, and all the council houses have been privately bought. It's always been a village full of millionaires, but it's obviously gone even more upmarket and all the poor folk (like my family were) have slowly been squeezed out. We lived in a tiny 1603 thatched cottage, that my grandparents owned. We had an outdoor toilet and no bathroom, so we used to have a weekly bath at my grandparents house next door. I do have very fond memories of living there.

[JandM]

Aww... same story with a lot of Dorset villages.