Topic: life in NZ

Hi, I am collecting all possible information about NZ. My bigest dream is to move to NZ permanently. I have already some applications for registering my RN license there and i am hoping to move there in December or the next year. Would somebody, please, let me know how is life there, is there safe ?
Is there very expensive ? I have 2 daughters - teenagers and would like to move to nice place. I think NZ is the best place on Earth
Thank you for your time
Best wishes to all

Boguslawa

Safety is usually a relative term.

If, for example, you currently live in Harlem, all NZ cities would be safer.

In general, yes, NZ is a safe place to live. As with any country though, there are always going to be people who can't play nicely with society, and cause trouble for others.

Whereabouts are you from?

If you want safe, dont goto Auckland or Hastings. Dunedin is relatively safe though.

Except that Dunedin is freezing cold most of the year !!!!!

Auckland is usually a good place to start out because it has all the good schools - or so I hear (we've had lots of people come over to work from the UK lately).

Check out some of the NZ websites as well, they'll give you more information.

You might want to stay away from a place called Rotorua ... it smells, like real bad.

I put a plug in for Christchurch

Nice garden city, you can travel from one side of town to the other in 20 mins.

Beach is 10 mins from the central city, ski fields are only a an hour and a half away.

And its now where near Auckland and doesn't rain every day.


And the coffee is just as good and not as expensive.

Yeah, dunedin is cold, but I lived through it!

And its not as bad as invercargill, lol.

Hi nursebo's NZ is ok just depends on where u go, however it is beautiful where ever. I live in the middle of the North Island the south end of the famous Lake Taupo, we have a range of mountains in the west the Tongariro National Park, Hot Springs 5mins from town, people r friendly only thing is the closest hospital is about 50k's away.

[B]Any Polonia there? Are there any Polish Churches? Please let me know. Thank you all very much. I am on my way to get registration as RN. Hopefully i'll be able to immigrate next year. Did anybody hear of big transporting companies eg transporting oversized loads, bridges, tanks etc. My husband is self-employed here, working as escort of oversized loads. We just wonder if he will be able to continue his profession in NZ. If not- he might built computers.......So many questions........can somebody wright me back....Thank you so much.
PS how is weather now - any rain ?

B

*looks outside*

It's pissing down in Auckland right now but then it is winter. At least it doesn't snow in Auckland.

There's an employment website called www.seek.co.nz - a lot of the companies who have job listings on there will consider overseas applicants so it's probably worth taking a look through the site. They get 9,000 new jobs every month (or so their ad on TV says).

I guess you'll probably want to locate yourself where your job will be so starting with the job might be the best bet.

As for Polish churches ... there's bound to be. I think there are a fair few Poles in NZ.

Originally Posted by nursebo

Hi, I am collecting all possible information about NZ. My bigest dream is to move to NZ permanently. I have already some applications for registering my RN license there and i am hoping to move there in December or the next year. Would somebody, please, let me know how is life there, is there safe ?
Is there very expensive ? I have 2 daughters - teenagers and would like to move to nice place. I think NZ is the best place on Earth
Thank you for your time
Best wishes to all

Boguslawa

Hi, I'm from the UK, and have been living in NZ for about 2.5 years, and it has been the best move I have ever made. Immigration have dragged their feet with my applications, but apart from that all has been fantastic.

Way of life is so much more chilled out, and it is promoted to have a good lifestyle without having to pay the earth for it.

As for safety, I have had no problems whatsoever <touch wood>, but then as has been said it does depend on where you go to, and if you really want to search it out.

I live in Hamilton, which has it's pro's and Con's. The plus side is that it is a really nice City with most of the amenities at hand, and also you can get to anything you want within 3 hours whether it be beach, ski, tramping etc. etc. and I do believe that some of the Schools in the area are very highly regarded.

Personally, I think NZ is a great place to bring up children and your daughters should fit in just fine (my teenage sisters are loving it over here, even after 5 years).

Be Warned that it does take about 1 to 2 years to properly settle down after such a big move, and at times it isn't easy, but you soon settle down and start making friends and find your way about.

As for work, I don't know your husbands industry that well, but believe that he wouldn't find it too hard to find work in that field

Best of luck with immigration and the move!!

Boguslawa? Is that your actual name?

I might suggest a quick legal change before you come to NZ. Might make coming through customs a whole lot easier.

Hi

Ther are lots of nice places in NZ. Nelson and Blenheim are nice for plenty of sun in the South Island.

Rod

You can pitch your tent anywhere in NZ and not have to worry about something dragging you off to eat you,or have to shake your boots out,because a snake,spider or scorpion has crawled in there overnight.In fact the only thing you have to fear in NZ is the 2 legged animal,much the same as anywhere else,I think.
I can tell you that there wouldn't be very many places you can go in NZ,that doesn't have its own Police station and Courthouse,which are always busiest on Thursdays and Fridays or that nearly every town in the North Island has a gang pad and a 'P' epidemic.
I've lived all over NZ and I much prefer the South Island,where the lifestyle is slower,the people are friendlier and the houses are cheaper.
Invercargill is pretty family oriented,with good schooling,cheaper housing,with all the amenities you'd expect to find in a city and it's not unusual to see women walking on their own after dark and I know people who can still go out leaving the windows open.Altho it can get pretty cold,it has its good days too,and there have been people living here for 7 or 8 generations,which speaks for itself.
I reckon that the best parts are from Oamaru,south.
However Christchurch which is called the garden city,is mostly flat,with a population of 348,000,has some 350 doctors in practice,with a pretty good hospital,with good schools et al,but it also has it's racists,white supremists and skinheads and on a good day looking down from the Sign of the Takahe (at the top of the Cashmere hills) you can't see Christchurch for the dirty brown smog that covers it,and it gets so hot and dry the grass isn't green,but goes grown and even the gorse dies and oh yeah,(nearly forgot)you might have to live there for at least 2 years before your neighbours will talk to you.
Still,regardless,I think that you both should be able to get work there and anyway it's going to be a fresh start for you wherever you go.

Yep, on my first visit to the South Island I couldn't get over how quiet the roads were.

Auckland is a great city - great food, wines, night life, culture/art/theater, lots to do, easy to get around

I lived in Southern California and Las Vegas in USA and highly recommend Auckland

We are looking for sales reps all over NZ www.kiwiled.co.NZ - we need people in all the corners of the country - we make our products in Auckland

Hi Bluey & Aquila,
Hopefully they didn't take your advice and moved to Christchurch eh?And what central city are you talking about?And sure it might not rain EVERY day,but it does rain and the average temperature is at least 3 degrees colder than the big smoke (Auckland) and these days you can get the same quality of coffee anywhere in NZ that actually costs much the same price everywhere.Did I read that right,where you reckon you can get from one side of the city to the other in 20 minutes?
What a crock of crap!Firstly you have to wait in long lines of congested traffic,which isn't really supposed to be on the road anyway.
And Cantabrians are the worst drivers,some of whom still talk on their cell phones as they drive along one handed and they don't always indicate.Another thing they do is because the roads are all mostly all flat,they can see that the traffic lights have turned red from half a mile away,so rather than have to stop behind the ones who are stopped at the lights,they just take their foot off the gas and slowly drift to a stop,which is exactly what the driver did in front of me one day and because he never thought to put his foot on the brake he failed to indicate and I very nearly crashed straight into the back of him.Actually my bike took off after him leaving me tumbling over on the road behind him and the chap in the car behind me stopped to ask me if I was alright and of course being a man I had to tell him that I was okay,even tho I was obviously bleeding from the back of my hand where I'd scraped the skin off on the road and it was lucky I could get up,because the chap in the 2nd vehicle back started to sling abuse at me because I had the cheek to overtake him back at the roundabout because he was only going about 5 kms an hour and he thought he owned that space ahead of him,but the reality is that if I hadn't overtaken him,he would only have been able to move ahead just that 1 space,to be stuck behind the same long queue ahead of him.Just because you can't,doesn't mean that I can't!And I guess being a north islander I don't have the patience to wait for idiots anyway!