Moving to Wellington - now what??

[TexastoNZ]

Well, after much back and forth (most out of our control), my OH has landed a job in Wellington. We're moving to NZ from the US - mostly on a whim because our two children are ages 6 and 9 and it seems like it's now or never to do the family adventure abroad we've always talked about. So the visas are in progress, the house is sold (gasp), the cars are almost sold, the UPACKWESHIP arrives on Monday to take all of our stuff away by ship. I'm typing this from the bottom reaches of a pile of boxes, actually. The problem is, where will we go when we arrive? I know we need to be there already to get a sense of places and schools, but I'd really like to narrow it down and know as much as I can ahead of time. Any help or insight is greatly appreciated. OH will be working in Lower Hutt, but I don't think we want to live there from what I've been told about climate. . . I think we'd also like to be closer to the city, if possible.

1.) Does anyone have advice about what suburb we should focus on? I'm thinking about (thanks to the Internet) Khandallah, Brooklyn, Ngaio, Hataitai, and Eastbourne. I chose these after researching as best I could (yes, on these threads too) re: community feel, distance from Wellington, good schools, and family friendliness. The hard part is getting a sense of these neighborhoods/areas. We're pretty artsy, I guess, for lack of a better adjective. I'm a writer and work from home. I guess if I could say, I'd like an area that feels something like San Francisco here in the US?

2.) The shipping container leaves so soon! Anything we should stuff in there while we can? We have our beds and basic furniture, winter clothes, bedding, and kitchen stuff. I'm deliberating bringing bikes or buying used there. I also packed a box of vitamins and ibuprofen and sunscreen, since many seem to suggest those are much cheaper here.

We're coming from Texas, so I guess I'm going to have to just get used to life without real salsa

[Dell]

My son, daughter-in-law and family are also moving to NZ (their 'big' adventure) in about a year - though they're moving from Arizona. When my daughter-in-law visited me in NZ in March, we discussed how to make salsa. I'm a Kiwi Gringo so don't know much about making Mexican food but she decided all the raw ingredients are available, including jalapenos. DS & DIL use dried pinto beans for all their Mexican meals. I found dried pinto beans for $8 kg at Bin Inn. Canned pinto beans are insanely expensive - El Paso brand for $5 a can, but you can find black beans for less than $2. (all prices in NZ $). Cilantro (called coriander in NZ) is easy to find in all grocery stores but it's also easy to grow in NZ's climate.

My DIL said she is definitely buying a tortilla press to bring with her. Ready-made flour tortillas are expensive - 8 burrito size for about $4.95 but you can get them on sale for about $3. They're easy to make in a bread machine. I haven't seen corn tortillas anywhere!

If you're bringing beds, make sure you have enough sheets to fit as NZ mattresses are a different size.

[TexastoNZ]

Aha, thank you! The tortilla concern has kept me up nights I was thinking also of bringing a tortilla press. I guess I'll get stopped if I try to smuggle in corn tortillas? My OH is a great cook, so I'm relying on him to use local ingredients to approximate - if there's cilantro, there's hope. I have heard limes are very expensive, though . . .

[Dell]

Yes - limes are expensive! I think you can bring corn tortillas in your luggage as long as you declare them on the form that you'll be given before you land. What kind of flour is used for corn tortillas? You might be able to bring some in your container - but again, you'll have to declare it. I know you can't bring popcorn but as the corn is ground into flour, I'm guessing it'll be OK. You might want to email NZ customs and ask.

[Dell]

Maybe you'll get hooked on Indian food - there's lots of it available!

[kiwieagle]

How exciting!

We brought our bikes. We simply cleaned the frames and tyres with pine sol and they made it through inspection easy peasy.

Do you do lots of outdoor activities like camping, etc? If so, make sure to stock up on gear as you can get much better quality for much cheaper in the States.

Stock up on hair products as good quality products are double here.

I'm not a huge mixed drinks drinker but if I had to do it again, I would bring the staples like a decent mixing tequila, Angostura bitters, vermouth, a decent mixing whisky, a good gin. That way on the rare occasion I want a Manhattan, an Old Fashioned or a Margarita, I would be set.

Another thing I would have done is buy good value Spanish and French red wines for special occasions, as they are rare and dear here. A Spanish red you might pay $15 for in the States is above $40 here. I also would have stocked up on a few bottles of nice champagne and a few California brands made by French and Spanish makers (Gloria Ferrer, Roederer Estate, Chandon). Not that I would drink only these because there are lovely NZ and Australian wines for decent prices but the varieties in my price range get a bit dull. It would be nice to have a Crianza, Cotes du Rhone or a California Zin to pull out for a bit of interest. As you can get a decent bottle in the States for under $20, I wish I had stocked up a bit for "collection" purposes. Obviously, this wouldn't have lasted forever but I still wish I had done it.

You'll miss real salsa but since you won't be able to get real corn chips either, you'll not feel so bad. Actually, I've been able to source all the ingredients to make corn tortillas and salsa verde myself but because it's not cheap, I make it as a special thing. I may even attempt tamales this Christmas! I buy from mexicanspecialties.co.nz. There is another source I'll try when my masa runs out, mexifoods.co.nz, with slightly lower prices and $5 shipping. This summer we'll be doing a green house to get super hot peppers. I tweak a lot of Asian foods to strengthen my Mexican flavours. One thing you'll need to know, fresh cilantro is called coriander here. Limes are also very expensive but this time of year they are at their best price and I'll be squeezing and freezing the juice for later use in recipes.

As far as the San Francisco-Wellington comparison, I believe it's a decent comparison. I lived in SF in the 90's and Welly gives me that feel on the small scale.

[kiwieagle]

Aha, thank you! The tortilla concern has kept me up nights I was thinking also of bringing a tortilla press. I guess I'll get stopped if I try to smuggle in corn tortillas? My OH is a great cook, so I'm relying on him to use local ingredients to approximate - if there's cilantro, there's hope. I have heard limes are very expensive, though . . .

You can bring corn tortillas. My mother brought me heaps when she visited. I'm not sure if you can bring masa.

[kiwieagle]

Sorry for the repeat info. I second Dell's advise about Bin Inn for beans. That's where I get all my beans for chili and refried beans. I never buy canned beans because even the "plain" ones have sugar in them.

[girlwithanewf]

Hard to advise re suburbs as I am sure you have realised some are more expensive than others. It also depends if you want to live closer to the sea or not. I would perhaps start with the schools first - look at the list of schools and their websites and work backwards from there.
Have a look at their decile rating - more information about that here. http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducatio...leRatings.aspx You generally have to live in the school zone to be able to attend that school.
List of schools here: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents/Al...oolSearch.aspx
As you see, some primaries run to year 8, and some just to year 6 and then they have 2 years of intermediate. So if you are envisaging being here longer, and don't want your children changing schools for a couple of years then perhaps look at year 8 primaries. But then again, not all children want to be in primary school until they are nearly 13.

Bring your bikes in your container - if you have a container coming anyway, just fill it up.

[Anne Goulding]

Hi, hope the move goes well! We moved from UK to Wellington in Feb and live in Karori - climate not Texan but a nice community feel, sufficient shops (including a great Italian deli) and 2 good schools. Housing is quite expensive here, though. We pay a high rent and will be pushing it to afford to buy a large enough house for all our needs (3 kids). We really want to stay here, though, if possible as it's close to the city and has some great walks nearby.

Anne