New Zealand? Should I go live there or not?

Question

My husband and I recently got married in NZ and are now toying with the idea of emigrating for good. Its a beautiful country, clean, green and alot friendlier than UK any day.
I hate the British Government and what they are doing to this country. Slowly but surely this country is losing everything that was ever great about it. Im only 32 but feel if I stay here its only going to get worse. Crime, NHS, tax, poor wages, immigration, unemployment.....shall I go on!!
Only problem Ive got is Im an only child and dont really want to leave my mum behind. She is 60 this year and we are very close. My dad dies when I was young from cancer and ever since then we have a strong bond. My mum says she would live over there with us but my step-dad, who I love ...wont move. He is typical Uk born and bred and wont leave the country. I can understand that its my life I have to think of ( and my husbands!) and I would love to live in New Zealand but Im scared I would miss my mum so much.

Answer 1

im thinking about going to live in mooloo

its lovely there why not take the mother with you?

Answer 2

My sister moved there from the UK a year ago and never looked back - it is a beautiful country. You're absolutely right - the UK is overcrowded and going to the dogs!! The one thing you need to make sure of though is that you'll be able to find a job and are skilled / educated enough to compete in the (fairly limited) job market, as I've heard it said many times that they give preference to native New Zealanders.

My sister is very close to me and my mum as well, but you can make cheap phone calls to England, and at the end of the day, your happiness is no doubt more important to your mum than having you live round the corner. It's a difficult adjustment, but it does get easier. She has a husband, it's not as if she's alone. And they can come and visit. I say go for it if you can!

PS the ages are almost the same, my sis is 29 and my mum's nearly 60, recently divorced from my dad. You will miss each other, as they do, but my sister is so happy in NZ she never looked back, and my mum is just happy that my sister is having such a good life. Skype is excellent - you can make free video calls and all you need is a webcam - you will be able to speak to your mum whenever you want

Answer 3

We've moved here from the UK also, not too long ago, for much the same reasons. While it is true that NZ also has its problems with all the things you've mentioned, the intensity of that is far less obtrusive than it used to be in the UK.
Yes, we do get burglars here, quite a few, in fact - but they aren't as dangerous as the fellows who do this in the UK.
It's still only planet earth here, but on a far more good natured level than most other places I know.
It is perfectly feasible to bring in elderly parents once you've lived here for three years. During that time, you could certainly get your mother and stepfather to visit NZ repeatedly, and if it goes the way it normally goes with these visits, I'm pretty sure your stepfather's opinion will eventually sway in favour of moving here.
We are certainly not evangelizing for people to move here, but all our visitors who've ever visited us from Britain, Canada, Germany, Austria, France, the UK, and US, have by now filed their EOIs and want to move here.
I guess it just does this to people.
Good luck with your decision - keep in mind that it's also your life, and while it is nice to be so considerate toward your family, you'll be here longer than they might. And where will that be then? UK or NZ...? The immigration service awards points till you're 43.

Answer 4

What kind of lifestyle do you want? I know of a couple of people from the UK who live in isolated or places out of my town just because they can and love it. Other people want the cities, others want a rural town etc. If you want a decent city, the main ones are all ok I guess, but I prefer Christchurch as its the second largest in the country so it has lots of things to offer and is not too far from some amazing scenery eg west coast is only 3 or so hours away or to ski fields eg Mt hutt, there are the port Hills/Banks penisular which has mountain biking, walks etc. THe weather is better than the UK having more nicer days ( and hot ones in the summer) but getting a few southrly storms in the winter, a dump of snow per year and frosts ( with a touch of smog)...but its still good for the most part compared to the UK and places further south. I live in the South Island and have for most of my life ( living in Marlborough, Christchurch, Oamaru, near Franz Josef Glacier) as well as a couple of years in the UK ( and 6months in south auckland which we will not discuss). If you want a smaller town with decent weather then Nelson is nice as its on the water compared to the smaller Blenheim ( where I live). It has a couple of national parks ( able tasman and kahurangi), walks, beachs ( eg kaiteriteri is wonderful!), the Marlbrough Sounds are pretty amazing too! As I said it depends on what you are looking for as smaller places will not specialised jobs and different areas have different industires eg , viticulture, agriculture, horticulture, indusrty etc. More details would be great.

Answer 5

NZ is very beautiful, the people are generally good people and the weather is moderate.
But a radical change in geography are not the answer to getting away from the social issues you mention.

Every country in the world has the issues you mentioned. You need to focus on the good things in your life and don't stress about things you can't change. Learn to rise above. Low wages are a matter If you are complaining about low wages in UK wait until you experience the cost of living in NZ
NZ has its own issues.

Answer 6

Unfortunately what's happening to New Zealand is that we are being influenced by UK left liberals! Political madness gone wild adopted from the UK thanks to our immigration laws!

It wont be long before New Zealand ends up like the UK, Don't believe me.....Go check out your local womens refuge, your local secular community service, your local school BOT and you'll see what I mean. We're even adopting terms within our Ministry of Education from the UK

And then what? once New Zealand becomes like the UK will you leave and then stuff up somewhere else?

I say stay in the UK!

Answer 7

You lucky thing - go for it. I wish we had had the opportunity to do the same. Remember you are only a air ticket away from your mum. I'm sure she would love you to live your dream. I know I would feel an enormous wrench if either of my kids decided to emigrate but at the end of the day you have to learn to let go and let them get on with their lives.

Answer 8

go for it. If you don't like it, go back. But check Kiwi's post above - very accurate assessment if you ask me. I livbed in Wimbledon for 2 years and yearn to go back sometime to visit. (this might be "grass is greener" scenario). check out www.purenewzealand.com - awesome website to entice your stepfather. My very good friend from Glasgow immigrated here 15 years ago. Her parents (good strong Glaswegian folk) immigrated 2 years later - both aged in their mid-seventies. It has probabaly added 5 years to their lives each - they are still going strong. My friend is an only child too. She is heading back to Glasgow next week for a holiday, but will never return to live. Use technolgoy to keep in touch - your stepdad might change his mind.

Answer 9

You are just a little younger than my children and my advice is go. I f you wait until your mothers health breaks and see pops her clogs you will never go. It will break my heart if my children go. Make sure your motives and desires are there, because once you commit yourself and are away for a few years you will find it almost impossible to settle in UK again particularly once you have children.

Answer 10

my son emigrated there recently,and i same age as ya mum.i not saying it don't hurt cos it do.but i love my son as ya mum love you. she maybe upset but hopefully she want ya go where ya happy.i going out there soon doing a walkabout,if ya got web cam maybe she talk to ya regulary.ya mum got her life ya got have yours.remember ya can come back if hate it.an ya can get real cheap tickets these days
try not get to many guilt feelings,
good luck