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13th October 2013, 08:45 PM
#1
3 months already Bro !
We landed on July 15th at Windy Welly, from the UK and via the Gold Coast for 3 weeks of hols.
After a recce in November 2012 we were undecided where to settle, it was either Kapiti or close to Wellington CBD. After much deliberation we chose Khandallah on a 6 month lease, based on the location to Wellington Girls College ( we have 2 teenage daughters) and easy commute for my wife who had arranged a job at Wellington Hospital.
The weather got gradually better, my wife met some friends at the Hospital and the kids coped with the all girls environment at school. We have shopped at all the large supermarkets and found the prices similar to the UK, generally no surprises. We have eaten out regularly and been pleasantly surprised with the service, standard and prices.
Khandallah has been a nice introduction to the Wellington lifestyle, hilly and very much dependant on weather, aspect & location for the sun and shade. Long term the house prices of Khandallah against size of section would ultimately force our hand and help us decide were our long term future would be .
I arrived in Welly without any employment arranged, and positive about my prospects. I got some great advice from a couple of recruitment agencies and kept plugging away. After approx 15 interviews over 10 weeks I finally got the offer of employment I was after.
Then I got another offer , then another,.... in all I got 4 offers in one week. Two of the offers were from interviews 6 weeks previous. The best advice I can give is to stick at and remain professional and keep in touch with the recruiters, interviewers and HR teams. Wellington is a small place and everyone knows each other. One of the offers I received came from a recruiter who I had not even met, a colleague recommended me to him.
I started work last week , the office is very close to Wellington Station and I will be travelling in on the train.
We moved house yesterday to Raumati South, got a rental with plenty of space on a long lease, good sized garden and plenty of sun!. We spoke with our landlord from Khandallah and came to an agreement to end our lease 3 months early.
Our kids will be starting another new school l - Kapiti College - Co Ed this time. Some of my wifes colleagues also live up the coast and there is a bunch of them to car share with when she is on shift.
I know there is a lot of debate about location on the forum , however, as a family we have moved 12000 miles to NZ and I am absolutely undaunted about a 40km commute if its makes us happy and gives us the lifestyle we are chasing.
Overall, in 3 months I have only had one experience that fell below my expectations. The people I have met have been welcoming, honest and full of advice. From some of the interviews I attended I did sense, on occasion, some reluctance to recruit from outside of their immediate circle, however that attitude is reflected all of the world and UK.
The 3 months have been good to us, lots of learning and spelling of place names ! We have no regrets what so ever.
As always , a big thumbs up for the forum for keeping positive and full of wisdom!
Its all good Bro !! & looking forward to the next 3 months and Christmas in the sun.
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13th October 2013, 08:54 PM
#2
Great review and good advice on the job front, I'll keep it in mind
We're only 2 weeks in and have been delighted so far by the service we've had and the range of great places to eat at reasonable prices. Could do with more bright sunny days like today though!
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13th October 2013, 10:11 PM
#3
Congratulations!
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13th October 2013, 11:22 PM
#4
Good positive note and all the best
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14th October 2013, 04:32 AM
#5
All the best.Thanks for sharing.
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14th October 2013, 08:28 AM
#6
Congratulations!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
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14th October 2013, 09:56 AM
#7
It's all go for you. Great news .
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15th October 2013, 01:12 AM
#8
Sounds like all is going well. Good to hear
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15th October 2013, 04:24 AM
#9
Great post, glad all is going well and you have settled nicely.
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17th October 2013, 03:23 PM
#10
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