Cold weather... house insulation.

[shagen]

Hi Upandrunning & Moorf,

So you guys just picked up and left after your EOI was selected?

The reason I am asking is coz I am in a similar situation. But we are not sure if we should also pack up and leave for NZ. Is getting the ITA just a matter formality or is there a possibility that it will not come through.

I am a little worried coz the website says that I was successful but I have not seen anything in the mail, other than the initial letter that said we were selected.

My plan was to leave for NZ in Feb/Mar next year to look for a job and settle things while the family comes down later. After reading your posts, am wondering if I should do it now than later next year. I am sure if I got a job then the work permit thing could be done and it is a route to PR.

What do you guys think?

Cheers,

[goldwheels]

[quote]Goldwheels

You and I must be talking about a different NZ !!!

Hi Diny
Not a different NZ, just a different island. :

When you see on the weather forcast the north island always seems to have more rain than Canterbury. Hasn't South Canterbury got the lowest rainfall though out the island. When NZ was suffering from all the floods on the north island we had hardly had a drop here.

May be others from the Christchurch area will agree with me that the weather is far much better to what they had in the UK.

Only just over a month ago we had the highest temperature for the island which was 24 degC. :cool

Yes it is cold at night, I have never before had an electric blanket on my bed until we came here.

[Moorf]

Hi Shagen

Personally I don't feel qualified to advise on what moves you should make and when , for us it was a risk assessment scenario, plus we don't have kids/family to ship over.

In our case we had already sold one property in preparation for the move and kept another in the UK as a "bolt hole" and income (it's rented). Whether or not we have our ITA in the near future I just don't know, we won't be top of the list as we don't have jobs.

Warren started talking to recruitment agencies today - his skills are certainly good for this area of NZ - but the agent did say that the job market was a bit "slack" at the moment. Thankfully we still run our co. in the UK and we also have a contract we can pick up at any time (again, via a client in the UK) so the risk to us is pretty minimal. We do feel that, at this point, we shall need to extend our visitors visa (you can do this online) to allow the EOI process to catch up with us.

If we don't get jobs, and we don't get our ITA/PR sorted by March - June next year then we have a return ticket and will just have to continue the process back in the UK and come back here again once sorted!!!

As you can see - we are quite flexible!!



Moorf

[shagen]

Hi Moorf,

Thanks for that. I have 2 kids so I am not planning on taking big risks. We can weather it out for awhile but after reading some dreadful stories of people not being able to find jobs at all, might not want to risk moving there without a job.

Now, when I call up recruitment companies I get one of two standard answers. "When you are in NZ, give us a call" or "When your PR is sorted out, then come and see us". So my dilemma really is, would an employer offer me a job with a visitor visa?

Glad you and Warren are progressing well. Let us know how it goes...

Cheers,

[Moorf]

Yep, they are the standard replies to job info requests when you are not in the country. Have to say, they are ALOT more accommodating when you are here... eager to meet, even if no jobs suitable at the time.

I have seen many posts on here where people have come over and landed jobs relatively easily. We haven't really tried v. hard - literally only spoken to 2 agents, so we're not going to worry just yet. We were just testing the water. Might be worth a "trip" here to chat to some agencies and do a bit of ground work?

[Timbo]

Getting back on topic, TARA, can you tell us all (if you have already...sorry) what the situation is like up in Northland with regard to cold/damp/condensation. Is it REALLY the winterless wonderland we are led to believe?

[Tara Sage]

Sorry Timbo :? I am not in Northland I'm in Rangiora just North of Christchurch.

It does get cold here, but we have a good logburner that once it is lit will heat virtually whole house!

We get a bit of condensation in the mornings, but nothing to major all in all things ok here, but I think we were lucky to find such a nice rental.

We viewed a few and some of them I didn't even want to go in let alone live in :?

[Timbo]

ops: ops: ops:
Anyone in Northland???? Rescue me please..

[Radders]

If it's anything like Auckland it rains an awful lot in the winters, but I never needed anything other than a fleece while I was there!

[Brit Guy]

Sorry I’ve not responded to some of the posts.. been in hospital for a spine op.

Anyway, it’s great to read the differing responses from all who have contributed. It seems clear to me that we are all individuals when it comes to how we prefer to heat (or not) our homes. Some of the more ‘hardy’ amongst you prefer the more regimental, cold shower, frosty start-to-the-day, whip-me-with-stinging-nettles approach, whilst to others, the thought of not being able to flick a switch to bring on the central heating, seems like living in the dark ages.
I would suggest that we are all individuals when it comes to what we consider to be acceptable. For those who would scoff and call folk who cannot (or would prefer not to) live without heat, I would say that acclimatising to something you are most definitely not used to can be somewhat of a shock. This works both ways, as I would suspect that you would be as uncomfortable in a warm/hot/dry centrally heated house, as those who are used to this environment would be if they had to live in your single glazed, wood burning, non-insulated, weatherboard clad home.
I think also that for the many folk here who are embarking on a quest for a ‘new life’, are also trying to make the transition as comfortable as possible. Lets face it, most of us in the UK complain bitterly about the weather, so why on earth would we want to move to the other side of the world, with all the stress and costs involved, only to live in a house that makes us feel ‘colder’ than we were back in dreary old England? As for me personally, up until a few years ago, I used to sleep with my windows open all year round! Now, unfortunately I have arthritis in my wrists, neck, back, fingers etc (possibly brought on by sleeping with my windows open all year round), and I find that cold weather really does not help. It isn’t so bad if I am walking and keeping warm, however when I am inactive, relaxing (or asleep), it really tells on me. So, for me, it will be essential to have adequate heating, and in so, I would insist on insulation of the highest spec, else you are just heating the atmosphere!
I would ask if anyone has any links to ‘heating systems’ ‘double glazing’ etc, that they leave a link or even start a new thread with the info…. It could benefit people (us included) who are looking to build their own house.


Regards


Kevin