My first post on moving to NZ

As they say in here New Zealand this is ‘Awesome’…. my first ever blog…

I am going to go through every step of moving to the other side of the world from the UK, from the moment you decide it could be for you….this site is really for all of my fellow brits in particular to help and advise them with everything and more that you need or would want to know about emigration to New Zealand. There will be different sections for you to look through from attending an Expo in the UK to finding employment here and current information on buying a home, where to settle and costs to be able to move here. I have loved researching and also writing my guidebook to accompany this blog and hope you will love it too!

Getting started

Before you decide to pack up and go, I would strongly recommend doing your own thorough research as I can assure you that New Zealand is a very different country to the UK, which mistakenly we didn’t realise even though I had family who had already moved here and had visited many times over many years before.

I personally found the best thing to do was to write lists of Pro’s and cons of living in UK versus New Zealand and here are some of things from my list, I am sure you will find some similarities when you create yours and it helps to focus your mind and to fully understand and be sure of why you are going.

UK – Pro’s                                                                                     UK con’s

Family/friends                                                                           Too busy congested

Familiarity                                                                                 Rising house prices and cost of living

Cost of living and shopping                                                Ageism

Local pubs and restaurants                                                Less family in UK than NZ

NZ – Pro’s                                                                                NZ Con’s

Quality of Life                                                                         Its an expensive place to live!

Outdoor Lifestyle                                                                    Very little history compared to UK

Family                                                                                     Leaving some family behind

Job Opportunities                                                                  Less Job Opportunities and Kiwi’s first         

Cheaper housing & Land                                                      Can be Poorer standard of housing

Developing country Health                                                 Cost of private health                                                                          

Small population                                                                      Making new friends and being accepted in a new community