Moving to NZ- come and tell me what it's like...

[soph28]

DH has been headhunted 3 times now to work in NZ and we are now seriously interested. We have always wanted to go but I have been put off by being to far away from family.

I am SAHM and our 3dc are 3, 2 and 2mths. We love mountain biking, walking, swimming and skiing.

DH is an environmental conultant in contaminated land. He thinks the jobs would either be in Auckland or Christchurch. We are not really settled here and I am sick of the weather but not sure if it will be any better in NZ, have heard it is very wet, can be very cold and isn't at all reliable?

[meep]

my dh is from Auckland - lived out West near the beaches - but loads of lovely areas - Remuera, Ponsonby, Epson.

I also loved Christchurch - but it does get cold down there

The downside about teh winter is that most houses don't have central heating like we do and it can be just as cold - brrrrrrrr!!!

If you're into outdoor stuff you wil love it!

[soph28]

bump- for the nightshift and any NZ who are logging on!

Thanks Meep- how cold? Thing is I don't mind cold in the winter if the summer is warm...I just can't stand this constant wet and 12 celcius which we seem to be getting ATM!!

[SSSandy2]

Hi well hope your move works well for you. I was there a very long time ago, so my info would be too outdated to be of much help re the lifestyle etc .

I can tell you it gets cold in winter- depends where you live how cold. If there is a southerly blowing and it happens, then it will be FREEZING cold. A lot of the houses weren't brilliantly built to keep the cold out. I think this is something to do with them being mostly wood and earthquake-resistant. Might have changed now though, maybe they are generally better insulated. Winters are not excessively cold, nothign like here in Germany for instance but homes are much better heated here. I know one family who moved back here to Germany because they found the winters too cold in Auckland. Honestly! They just couldn't keep the house warm enough for their taste. Here in Berlin, we walk around indoors in a tshirt all winter so they got a nasty shock!

It can rain a lot in winter. Rain hard, not drizzle and depending where you live, can be blustery.

Christchurch is nice. Pretty town and good for skiers. I could imagine living in Christchurch.

[soph28]

ok thanks SSSandy2! But what about the summers what are they like?

[SSSandy2]

summer is nice, mostly not unbearably hot although the sun is stronger there. You will notice the difference. You burn much faster outdoors without protection there than you do in Europe.

Summer stretches each way into spring and autumn and winter is not unbearable but if rain is lashing down day after day, it can mean you get cabin fever if you arethe outdoor type!

You will see that NZ men are made of stern stuff and they will wear shorts outdoors in temperatures where you will want to snuggle up under a quilt indoors.

Would you be moving for a time or for good? If it is short-term,I'd definitely recommend it. If the plan is long-term, you could really find it hard being so far away from your family.

[soph28]

We're not sure but I think initially we would give ourselves 2-5yrs out there and would rent a house. Then we would decide if we wanted to stay longer. Most of my family would come and visit.

[SSSandy2]

Well I think for 2 years I would definitely go.

Your dc are a bit young for mountain biking, skiing etc so I'm not sure atm if you would both be able to enjoy those activities much since you wouldn't have families there to help out with babysitting. I am not sure how many days holiday your dh would get.It would be nice if you could get a camper van and travel round the country whilst you're there. It is very beautiful in parts but if you just get 2 weeks a year say, it's rather limiting.

You might be a bit lonely at home with the dc whilst dh is at work all day, mingling with other adults. I'd imagine you would have to look for some kind of organised toddler activities to get to know other mums. It is so much easier to make friends in a new place via work but Nzers are not stand-offish IMO and I think they tend to invite you back to their homes faster than say is common in the south of England.

[meep]

summer is definitely hot - but the sun is fierce - I managed to get burnt (missed a bit with the sun cream) and I still had a faint scar 3 years later! But if you're careful in the sun it is lovely - clear blue skies! I'm in Scotland and dh commented that NZ was similar only on a larger scale and with much warmer weather!

[soph28]

bump

[MrsJohnCusack]

soph I am going out in a mo but I'm posting so it comes up on my 'threads I'm on'. We moved to ChCh nearly 2 years ago. i'll come back and type more later. meanwhile, have you been through this section - there have been quite a few discussions on moving to NZ and I know I've crapped on at length typed quite a lot on them

[soph28]

Hello MrsJC- I was really hoping you would see this post as I did go through this section briefly and saw that you lived in ChCh. I will check this thread again tomorrow as i will probably be sleeping sweetly up feeding a 10wk baby while you are posting