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Thread: A month in Auckland and couldn't be happier

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Howick near Auckland
    Posts
    93

    Default A month in Auckland and couldn't be happier

    Well, it's been exactly a month since my wife, 12 year old son and I landed in Auckland.

    We were in a lovely apartment on the harbour (organised by my company) for the first few weeks.

    In only three short weeks, we managed to get a lovely long term rental home in Howick (fantastic village feel) despite having a cat, a car, bank accounts and even a NZ Driving License!

    Our son has started school too and is loving it. The kids are so friendly and, well just kids (rather than edgy teens going on 30).

    I can get a ferry to work (30 minutes) from Half Moon Bay and across the road to the PWC Tower - what a way to start and end the day :-)

    Just need a job for my wife our container from the ship and a house to buy sometime in the future and we'll be really settled.

    Loving Auckland and New Zealand after nearly 50 years in UK.

    Thanks you NZ

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    Congratulations, and thanks for the update.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    made it to the other side
    Posts
    1,343

    Default

    Glad it is all working out

    Just wait for 'Midnight Madness' in Howick later in the year!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    NZ (Auckland; via Canada)
    Posts
    1,350

    Default

    well done

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Howick near Auckland
    Posts
    93

    Default

    I'm intrigued tea drinker,

    What's Midnight Madness? :-)

    Quote Originally Posted by tea drinker View Post
    Glad it is all working out

    Just wait for 'Midnight Madness' in Howick later in the year!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    made it to the other side
    Posts
    1,343

    Default

    Well..it happens at midnight and it's ...um...madness

    It is where the main street is shut to traffic for the evening, shops and cafes stay open for hours longer and there is a party atmosphere on the street
    It happens later in the year - watch out for balloons and poster going up on the lamp posts

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    UK - France - Wellington
    Posts
    387

    Default

    Sounds great - glad you're settling in

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Auckland<->Penang
    Posts
    221

    Default

    Midnight Madness? Finally some activity at night. I am moving to Howick! :O

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    3

    Default

    I hope you and your family settle well in NZ. I am making an guess here that you have an above average income (harbourside appartment organised by your company...). If you have money ,then a great living can be had in so many cities around the World. For Aucklanders on the median or less income have a tough time with rent swallowing a big chunk of their disposable income. NZ has one of worlds worst Gini coefficients with a vast income disparity between rich and poor....more so than back in the UK. Egalitarianism is well out of the frame now with a landed wealth aristocracy built up since the 1980's. There is no inheritance tax (death duties) and a proliferation of family trusts (NZ has liberal trust laws) which means wealth and the privilege it buys is passing down through the generations. When I arrived with my family from the UK...at age 12...back in the 1970's, UK was regarded by Kiwis as a land of extreme wealth and poverty. NZ's perceived egalitarianism was an attraction for many UK immigrants. That has been well put to rest now. I can tell you that since then, inherited wealth has built up in NZ and more easily passed down through the generations.

    Anti Brit feeling was high in the 1970's and it was tough as a 12 year old being teased for no other apparent reason other than being British. Especially tough since it was not your decision to move to the country. It sounds like your son was brought onboard the decision to migrate, which is good. Normally I would never recommend emigration to anyone who has a child over the age of about 8y - unless it is necessary for survival.

    Anyone I hope the novelty of NZ continues and that you have a house which is better made than the average. Even in an Auckland winter, houses are colder and damper than Uk houses...with insulation and heating nowhere near as good as in UK houses. If you have sufficient resources to afford copious heating and are in an above average quality house then you are in clover!
    Last edited by BillyBob; 18th May 2015 at 04:50 PM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Auckland
    Posts
    8

    Default

    I am pleased to hear that you are enjoying your new life. We have been here for 18 monthsnow and still feel very lucky to have moved to Auckland. We have brought a house now, which was very stressful, settled into jobs and try to spend as much time as possible discovering so many great places. All our middle aged friends in the UK, we're in our 50's wish that they could do something as exciting.

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