[jason44mag]

Hi All

Basically im looking at moving from good old blighty to New Zealand with my GF (she is a teacher).

Just wondered if anyone can give me some general advice about the differences between the UK & NZ, and perhaps some heads up on bits and pieces.

Just to get the ball rowling, at the mo im really stressed self employed & hoping this move will mean a different pace of life etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

Also what do i need to do about watching all my fav (region 2) dvds over there ??

Cheers
Jason

[Duncan G]

There's lots of sheep.


http://www.nzemigrate.co.nz/

http://newzealand.govt.nz/record?tid...&recordid=1108

http://www.learnerkiwi.com/

http://www.emigratenz.org/EmigratingToWellington.html

[jason44mag]

Originally Posted by Duncan G

There's lots of sheep.


http://www.nzemigrate.co.nz/

http://newzealand.govt.nz/record?tid...&recordid=1108

http://www.learnerkiwi.com/

http://www.emigratenz.org/EmigratingToWellington.html

Thanks Dude

Ill check those out later,

Anyone got any hands on experience?

Cheers

[DJT75]

I met a couple from Newcastle whilst in New Zealand years ago. They were on their way to Australia to live but they'd never been there before
So I assume you've never been there but you're prepared to move there also?

[paul1967]

Went there a few yrs ago to Auckland, nice people ,nice place , the landscape reminded me of wales but bigger, kept loosing my bearing think it was because i was upside down .

[paul1967]

Just noticed your girlfriend is a teacher is supposed to be a lot less stressfull, in that job also they screaming out for trades , ie plumbers, elects, engs, and telephone eng.

[hermanmunster]

A guy in his early thirties used to work for me decided to move to NZ. It took about 18 months to finally sort but he found a job sponsor out there in an IT company. This guy wasn't the best engioneer but he did work hard. He found a home at a much better price and location than here and also found a new job very quickly. He currently travels throughout Australasia working for Dell servicing and repairing servers. Great job, great pay...the boy did very well indeed.
And if he's reading this I'm very pleased for him.

Go for it there are loads of opportunities for skilled people.

[jason44mag]

Originally Posted by DJT75

I met a couple from Newcastle whilst in New Zealand years ago. They were on their way to Australia to live but they'd never been there before
So I assume you've never been there but you're prepared to move there also?

No ive never been there.

Just thought at the mo its the perfect time to try something different you know.

I havent got a mortgage or children so i guess there wouldnt be a better time to go.

Thanks for all the replies

[kraiklyn]

We are moving out there in March , you will need a job offer before you get out there if you want to apply for a permanent residency visa before you arrive.

Alternatively you can go out on a holiday 6 months visa and look for work. Once you have an offer you can visit the immigration service and convert this to a working/ work to residency visa I believe.

I would recommend a trip out to NZ before you go, to get a feel for the people and culture.

I found this site invaluable in making plans and doing research;

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/

Best of luck!

[SParker]

I spent just over a month there recently. I was interested in moving there, but to be honest quite looked forward to getting back to the UK. Guess it just depends on the sort of things you like. There is great scenery and things to look at, but everything is very small and quiet compared to the UK, I felt that if I stayed in one place for too long I would get bored.

Houses are very cheap there though so you can easily afford to have a huge house if moving there from the UK leaving plenty of money left over to entertain yourselves down there.

One of the biggest things I didn't like was the roads, not of a particularly bad quality, they just don't have proper motorways so a few hundred mile drive might take you all day driving on winding mountain roads. You'll quickly notice tons of white crosses on the roads too where people have died, I saw some of the worst driving ever whilst there!

Sorry to sound so negative, but wanted toget across that you should go and spent a good period of time there before putting too much into it as I was dead set on wanting to move there, but after spending the time there I changed my mind. Just something to think about before you get too far down the line. Good luck with whatever you chose though!

[wombar]

If you're going to emmigrate somewhere, make sure you go there BEFORE you make the big move. I've heard a lot of positive stuff about NZ but it's not for everyone.

One of my mums friends moved out there just after Xmas and the whole family is now coming back because they don't like the culture. I don't know the ins and outs but it's a long, expensive way to find out you'd have rather moved around the UK before moving country.

I'm probably going to be emmigrating over the next 5 years to somewhere like Canada or perhaps NZ/Oz but before I do it, I'll spend a few months out there. I run my owns business at the moment which I hope I can take out there or just live out there and work remotely (I'm a web developer btw). Either way, it's a long way to go, just make sure it's what you really want.

Let us know how you get on.