Trying to make up my mind

[Zorack]

Hello,

I'm new this forum, I've been reading a lot of the threads and they have helped answer a bunch of my questions.

I'm currently living and working in Scotland and I'm looking for a change. I have been looking into moving myself, partner and our 2 young children somewhere they can have a more active lifestyle and give them more options on what they want to do when they are older.

I currently hold a HND in tech support, a Microsoft Cert (all be it for XP) and I'm almost finished gaining a Cisco CCNA. I have just over 3 years experience as a Network Administrator.

From everything I have read it shouldn't be hard for me to get a job and make more money than I currently am.

I guess my question is with the huge cost of moving over is it really as great as it seems to be or is the grass not as green as it seems to be?

Any feed back/ questions would be amazing

[girlwithanewf]

Welcome to the forum.
Definitely better weather than in Scotland.
I think people might be able to answer your questions better if you can say what kind of life you have in Scotland (town, country? And where are you looking in NZ?
Yes, you can potentially have a more active lifestyle, but not quite sure why your children would have more options for their future than in the UK? Or do you just mean in addition to what is possible in the UK?
Moving can cost a huge amount - starting with visas, medicals etc, selling your house if applicable, moving all your stuff, or buying stuff new in NZ, buying a car, rental/house purchase costs. Plus add on any trips back to the UK if you want that.
Definitely recommend it, but do lots of research.
I am sure lots of people will be able to give you job advice. Jobs are generally advertised on seek.co.nz
Good luck!

[Living Life]

Hello,

I'm currently living and working in Scotland and I'm looking for a change. I have been looking into moving myself, partner and our 2 young children somewhere they can have a more active lifestyle and give them more options on what they want to do when they are older.


I guess my question is with the huge cost of moving over is it really as great as it seems to be or is the grass not as green as it seems to be?

Any feed back/ questions would be amazing

Hi Zorack,

Welcome to this great forum, I have to say that certainly for us the 'Grass certainly is greener' we have a very active lifestyle, we love camping, cycling… we used to do mainly road cycling but now out here we mainly do the bike trails on mountain bikes which range from easy to hard. We love walking and much more! We have a nearly 21 month old and another one due very soon, how old are your children? We cannot think of a better place to raise children. I cannot comment on education side of things and better options for them with them being so young. The weather is a huge plus, winter here is just so different, you can still go outside and do lots of things like biking still and the best part I find is that you can spend as much or as little as you want when it comes to outings, there is so much free fun stuff to do!!

Its worth every penny we spent coming over, but like what 'girlwithanewf' said "but do lots of research"

I would recommend that if you was to come over to bring all your contents as some things can be quite expensive to replace. Have you been over to NZ before? Might be worth a holiday over?

Any questions, just keep asking!!

[Zorack]

Thanks for your reply Girlwithanewf.

I'm working almost everyday, I'm lucky if I get a day off from work. Even when I take annual leave I'm still getting calls from work. As you can imagine this annoys my partner and restricts what time I can spend with my kids.

Regarding my kids yeah that's what I mean as they can travel to the UK and work or stay in NZ or even travel Asia. If they wanted to that is.

I've been looking into this alot as it was a choice between NZ, Canada and Oz. NZ seems to fit everything, no massive crowds of people, better weather, good job opportunities for me and my partner. She is a nursery nurse.

We currently own our own house and would be looking at renting it out until we know for sure NZ is for us. I have wondered if it would be more eccomical to leave our big stuff here is sofa etc and get new there.

I've been leaning more towards Wellington, mostly due to jobs and seems that I can get more for my money. Which areas would people recommend for good schools and kid friendly activities?

[relocate2014]

Hi Zorack

My wife, 12 year old son and I moved from Durham to Auckland 6 months ago and we are all loving life here. The Auckland winter is something like a poor summer in Durham :-) We have yet to experience summer but Autumn was fabulous.

I'm also in IT (Project Manager) and I earn considerably more here in Auckland than in the NE of England. Some say prices are higher here (yes, homes) but everything else seems to be around the same, or less, outside of Auckland, homes are on par, or less than UK like-for-like.

If you are in IT, I'd probably recommend Auckland as there are plenty of jobs here, but go where you feel you'll be happiest of course.

There are many reasons why we are loving it here including - happy, friendly people, stunning scenery, better weather, better work/life balance, great schools, no crowds, even in Auckland, safety etc.

[manckiwi]

I smiled when I read the description of winter in Auckland being like a poor summer in Durham, because that's exactly how I always describe it to people (but Manchester instead of Durham). I agree with the above comments about the lifestyle being better and it being a great place to bring up kids. Like others have said, perhaps go for a holiday first to see if you like it as it's not for everyone, but the chances are you will love it and it will be a better lifestyle for you and your family. I also agree that Auckland might be a better place for IT jobs, and the climate is better there than Wellington.

I have been back in the UK for nearly 4 years after living in NZ for 5 years and have decided to return to NZ in January because I've come to the conclusion that for me, the grass is greener in NZ. :-)

[Zorack]

Thanks for your great feedback, I will have more of a look into Auckland to see what's there. I am planing on coming out to see the place and have a look at the two locations.

I have heard that Wellington can be windy but being from Scotland it doesn't really bother me to much lol.

On the house side of things the ones I've looked at online I would say are cheaper than in the UK but again this is just from an inexperienced eye looking at the prices.

It sounds like it might be worth putting our stuff in storage and once we know we are staying either ship it over or sell it.

[girlwithanewf]

Look here for Wellington wind statistics: http://www.windfinder.com/report/wellington
On a really stormy day I have seen gusts up to 13 on the Beaufort scale...

[Living Life]

We currently own our own house and would be looking at renting it out until we know for sure NZ is for us. I have wondered if it would be more eccomical to leave our big stuff here is sofa etc and get new there.

Hi Zorack,

It cost us £3'400 for a full container to move all of our stuff over here, look at the prices of furniture you are thinking of leaving behind and compare the prices to shipping, furniture can be expensive compared to the UK to replace. (Depending where you want to shop of course)

[Living Life]

I have been back in the UK for nearly 4 years after living in NZ for 5 years and have decided to return to NZ in January because I've come to the conclusion that for me, the grass is greener in NZ. :-)

I agree with you manckiwi. The grass is greener. Its what you make it I think over here. We have not been back to the UK since living out here and when we do go back it will be only for a holiday!!