I know, why would we ?
We currently live in NZ and have done for getting on 12 years now. Its lovely i must say….but…..
rather strangely having just returned from a UK trip we both admitted that actually, we might like to go back for various reasons-
1) family and proximity to – spending time with ageing parents, neices, nephews, sisters, brothers etc and possibly having our own so the kids know their grandparents
2) culture and history – NZ is so young its got **** all history really

Now thats not much to base a move on but there does seem to be something behind this for the first time ever. Maybe its my age and having just got married life is changing. Struck me as interesting though that everyone we speak to says “Wow i’d love to live in NZ” and then we say “errr we might move back” !

Probably not a good time to do it but certanly could be on the cards. Anyone been away for a while and then gone back ? How did it go ? regret or not ?

I moved out to Hong Kong. Stayed there for two years. Came back for yearly visits. But that wasn’t the same as being back and seeing my parents and grand parents more regularly. My father passed away with a sudden illness not long ago and time spent back here has been all the more precious. So no regrets.

12 years is not long in the grand scheme of life put it this way. I have been away double that …

To move away and to live in another place your heart needs to be away first before your head.

If head first then you will always feel that something is being left behind and one day you might want to go back to get them. That is when you want to go home.

Culture and history are not a major concern really but family members and friends etc are. They are the ones that bring back a lot of emotion if you cannot let go.

Age might also be the reason where you now want to find a place to settle and nest down. You might want your children to grow up the way you were once. Who knows.

Put it bluntly do you really want to be very close to your relatives? Friends etc? Or do you simply miss your parents?

My best mate who is in Auckland keeps asking me to go there but for whatever reason I like the place but only for a short while so decides to stay.

Do you get along well with the natives?

Should be decided not to go instead decided to stay in the GeordieLand.

Probably not a good time to do it but certanly could be on the cards.

Probably the best time in years to do it considering the economy here is f**ked, house prices have dropped drastically, interest rates are the lowest they’ve ever been and the £ has devalued against pretty much every other currency in the world to the point where it’s been the most economically viable time to move back to the UK for decades!

Though I would DEFINITELY say if you’re going to do it, move back into a guaranteed job. Unemployment is at a 12 year high right now, and is set to sky rocket because of the economic crisis and a labour govt that is totally inept at dealing with any problems thrown its way, borne out by the fact that in a global financial crisis it’s the UK that is suffering more than most (sorry, shouldn’t get political here)!

I know of people that have emigrated back to the UK, though a long time ago, so can’t really comment on their situation versus yours. Would say that as much as you may want to come back, you may begin to miss the things you’ve become accustomed to in NZ quite quickly too, and want to go back. Though I know many people who have visited NZ and their criticisms were that they could never live there cos it’s too remote, too quiet, no history/culture, and most of the population live in Auckland so there’s bugger all to do unless it’s in Auckland!

That said, a couple of my mates are in Australia right now. All talk prior to the global financial crisis was of the Australian economy being about to cash in big time, primarily from the mining industry but from others too. Things are quiet there at the mo I’m told, but the moment things start to recover, and people want steel/uranium/gold again then Australia will be the place to be!

chewkw – yep have a fantastic life here – own business thats booming, house, friends etc etc but for some reason we seem to value being able to spend some time with family as a higher priority. Theres probably a compromise position where we go backwards and forwards a bit more but its hard then to have holidays as well as trips home. Doesn;t always feel like a relaxing time !

Depends what your priorities are. If spending time with close family is a higher priority then there is no other way to get that… unless you convince them to move over to NZ…

I would go stir crazy in the UK, but I place a very high priority on being able to get away into the mountains very quickly to go biking/skiing/tramping. Here in Chch I can wake up in the morning, look at the ski-field webcam and decide whether I should go skiing today or not (yep, we are snow-snobs). I have great mtb trails on my doorstep, and fantastic mountains to go biking in only an hours drive away. i can go tramping and walk off into the mountains and not see another person for days on end. I like that it is so easy to get away and into nature here, and that there are large chunks of land that are barely touched by humans.

I work a job that is a 5 to 10 min commute from the house I own and I can afford toys like bikes, skis and a vehicle.

My partner is from Auckland and would like to be living there again, but I would miss the access I have to the mountains here, and really dont like the idea of living in Auckland at all! I would have to put up with higher house prices, rush hour traffic, hours of driving to get to trails etc etc.

To me the thought of the UK is just an even more extreme version of moving to Auckland. More people, more traffic, even higher house prices and even more effort to get out and into the great outdoors. There are some great things going for the UK, but my priorities mean that i would prefer to be here.

To be honest the History of a place is reasonably irrelevant to me. I lived in La Paz, Bolivia for a couple of years but would rather live here in NZ. Their history goes back a looooong way back too.

Sure, we Kiwi’s dont have a lot of culture, but I can easily find friends who are always keen to get out and play in the mountains with me, which is really important to me as well!!

There’s that culture issue again. What exactly do you mean by that?
Theatre?
Opera?
Live music?
Cafes & pubs?
Galleries?
Nightlife?
You can find them all in NZ & Australia too for that matter.
As for the history of NZ, it only goes back about 1200 years, but it is history. The natural history is a different world altogether.

I’m not sure i can explain the cultural thing particularly well in the written form – seriously. Look, i’m not bagging NZ, i have lived here for long enough and would consider myself to be more Kiwi than a lot of Kiwis but I suppose the driving force would be family then…
Considering what I do most of the time (adventure racing) i wouldn’t be looking to live in central london as I spend the majority of my time in the outdoors and value easy access as much as the next outdoors enthusiast. Thanks for the input though – good fodder to think about.

Would a longer trip back to the UK be a good idea.. get based there in a realistic representation of how you’d be if you made the move and see how it is to be back there aside from the somewhat tainted view you get when visiting on holiday. Everyone making the big visit effort, which in reality probably isn’t how it’d be once the novelty of you being home has worn off.
The grass is always greener and it sounds like you’ve established the life you want.
Playing devils advocate(?), what happens if you commit to the permanent return, then realise you miss aspects of NZ life more than you appreciate those aspects you’ve got back in your lives since returning.

Fortunately, my parents have always been super supportive and have told me on many occasions to follow my own path in life.. the GF’s parents weren’t overly supportive on her making the move… until they came to visit and realised just why we don’t want to be in the UK. It made it hard for the GF until she knew her folks accepted and ultimately approved of the move.

I guess from my point of view here in BC.. if I need to go home, its only a 10 hour flight and if theres a real need to go.. I’d go regardless.
Also, my family (apart from aging grandparents, 90yrs+) visit every year anyway and along with weekly phonecalls, we’re really not that far removed from family life over here and I’m back once a year for ‘business’.
Parents arrive tomorrow for 3 weeks and my big sis was here over xmas/NY.

Tough call though, either way I’d imagine there will be regrets.

My parents (and my wifes parents) are 110% behind us being here, no question on that. Its not about any pressure other than something we have been thinking about. You are absolutely right though, there would be enormous regrets and gaps with our lives both ways – i guess that is the price you pay for living halfway round the world from your family. Up until recently everyone has visited and i generally paid to them what it would cost me to go back to the UK as i simply did not want to go. Unfortunately my dad is terminally ill and so cannot travel this far hence the triggering I suppose of some thoughts that when he is gone it might be nice to spend some more time with my mum and support her, then we only have 3 parents left to do the same with etc. I’ve been back 3 times now in the last 6 months and i can;t keep doing that for financial, time and health reasons – its really not cool to fly 12000kms for 5 days ! I think maybe taking a month off would work better. Just interesting that we could even consider it seeing as our lives are out here now !

my sister & her first husband emigrated to Canada in 82. Came back in 88ish to look after his family business.

It didn’t last. Eldest son was born in the UK, but his two younger brothers are Canadian born & bred. They all live in Alberta now.

I have great mtb trails on my doorstep, and fantastic mountains to go biking in only an hours drive away.

But Inzane you live in Christchurch which is a white trash filled smog ridden place which is flat boring and folk think their coffee needs a litre of milk with it

LOL good to know Im not the only unsettled soul…

I have pretty much always been on the move since I can remember, I’ve recently returned from a 2 year overseas trip that took me to some of the worlds most beautiful and often dangerous places.

My family live in NZ.

I live here in the UK, granted I live in a beautiful part of this ere island and within great mtb routes and windsurfing spots….but I still occasionally wonder what life would be like ‘over the fence’.

As my ex girlfriend once said to me ‘Richard, I don’t think you will ever be truly happy’ … and I guess she is right. Im just one of those people who is always searching, looking over the fence to see what else is out there.

It’s not a bad thing as long as you realise that ‘is what you are’.

Im renovating a place at the momment and its really exciting, I have a sense of place, and I am surrounded by things and people that are important to me.

However I do miss my family and would love to see my nieces growing up…..but hey ho.

You really cannot have everything in life!

John_Key – Member
But Inzane you live in Christchurch which is a white trash filled smog ridden place which is flat boring and folk think their coffee needs a litre of milk with it

Yeh, I know… but I put up with it for this sort of stuff…

and these sort of trails on my doorstep

Awww… are you jealous John?? 😐

How old is that Diamondback?
Or is the photo from back in the day. I used to live in Chch in 93 & rode all the trails I could there.
As for the going home, I live in Tassie now, but NZ is a fairly easy trip, even at short notice. 🙁 🙁 now.
Good luck with making a hard decision.

I would go stir crazy in the UK, but I place a very high priority on being able to get away into the mountains very quickly to go biking/skiing/tramping.

Yeah cos you can’t do that in the UK 🙄

Britain isn’t the South East. Go and live in Wales, the North, Scotland, the West country if you want that.

Unless you’re moving back to the middle of nowhere you may have issues coming to terms with how bad the country has got in the twelve years since you left. Some on here think that having this opinion is plain wrong, but then they probably live in the middle of nowhere or are themselves pushing this grand “social enrichment” experiment. Me, I’m moving from the (greater London) town I grew up in because it’s too much like being in a Airport Terminal, one of five at best speak English as their native language. I feel like a bit of a refugee but hey there you go. Bring on the “drivel-spouting nazi” jibes…

Oh and you couldnt have picked a worse time (economically) to be moving back to blighty

The problem with the UK is that it can be tricky to organise living in the really nice bits. Still quite possible though – depends on what your business is.

My wife and I have been living “offshore” for some 8 years now and are seriously considering a move back to the UK as I’m not certain we can make it through another winter here. We’re fairly flexible on where we can live but don’t want to return to our roots in Staffordshire though I used to love Cannock Chase for its accessability from our place in Slitting Mill – it was quite literally a hop over the garden gate.

We just don’t know where to go. Employment isn’t a major consideration fortunately.

Well to be honest most of the country is great – just avoid the big cities.

My mate lives in a normal town and the view from his living room window is like this:

But better – can see the whole range.

He lives in Brecon?

Bit too small to be called proper town isn’t it?

I can’t wait to leave!

But I will miss pals and family but I hardly have time due to work to visit my parents-3 times a year for a week?

I hardly see my pals-with workload.

I just want to be in the Sun.

Seriously you’ll get over it-you miss your family for sure but use Messenger and talk to them till you get sick of it!

Bit too small to be called proper town isn’t it?

No. Not to me, it’s bigger than where I grew up. It’s got supermarkets, shops, banks, pubs, people, an LBS, whatever you need – and it’s slap bang in the middle of more great riding than you could shake a mini-pump at.

Inzane – I would go stir crazy in the UK, but I place a very high priority on being able to get away into the mountains very quickly to go biking/skiing/tramping.

molgrips – Yeah cos you can’t do that in the UK

Britain isn’t the South East. Go and live in Wales, the North, Scotland, the West country if you want that.

Not trying to be nasty, but Britan does not have what I consider to be real “Mountains”, not like the French Alps, or the Southern Alps. There are however lots of big hills, with trails for miles… but it is different to what we have here, or what you find in the Alps.

Oh, and I have lived in Wales 😉

kiwijohn
How old is that Diamondback?
Or is the photo from back in the day. I used to live in Chch in 93 & rode all the trails I could there.

That Diamondback is probably 1992 or something. That photo might be almost a year old…

There have been a lot of trails built up the hills since 93, and we are still building a lot more!!

This is probably the best thread Ive read on STW – for once nobody is trolling, no juvenile name calling – just good honest adult discourse, cheers guys you have really brightened up my day!

But to the meat of why I find this thread so appealing: Im a brit living in San Francisco with my G/f & her 2 kids & all the great bonuses that brings. My problem is that the W coast of the US is so far away from anywhere else (like NZ) that in fact Im closer to Tokyo than London!

Yeah I miss the buzz of London, I miss heading out for a long w/e with the bike, I miss packing up & going home at the end. But times & life changes – how dull would it be if we never moved to a new place? Rode a new trail? Some aspects of US culture drives me nuts but then so does a fair chunk of the UK’s culture..

NZCol do what feels right & only you know what that might be. Its tough to decide I know – there will always be aspects of both that you like & dislike, you just have to find a way to way them up.

Molgrips – great pic of the Beacons!

Brack – yep your not the only one oh & I hate to say it but I think an ex of mine said the same thing once..Maybe we need to talk 😉

s’alright – as i sat on the deck last night doing a con call in my shorts and t-shirt while gazing at Mt Tapuae U’Uenukue as the sun started to drop I realised that theres no danger of getting me back to the UK anytime soon so we’ve decided to put some strategies in place to let us have the best of both worlds 🙂

While we do have real mountains (and I have climbed a couple of the big ones here…) i tend not to take my bike up them ! but i can ride from the house easily, i can paddle my ski in < 5 mins from the house, i can get to work in <15mins and while the beer is not brilliant i can always heat it up in the microwave first 😉

Thanks all for the constructive comments – appreciate it.

Col, Wgtn and happy with that thanks !

NZCol, one thing I have been told by numerous people is that if I visit home (UK) beware the buzz factor. This is when its good to see old friends n family, places etc. If you do go back have a long visit first to get the initial excitement over with. http://WWW.EMIGRATENZ.ORG has a returning home section in the forum.

agreed on the south east thing, this place is slowly killing me inside!

There just isn’t any countryside!

The cotswolds/chilterns/south downs are just molehils surrouded by crap towns and smog.

NZ Col how long have you had that DB?

Looks very similar to one I had when in Christchurch….?

Good Thread. I moved to NZ with my wife and 2 kids 18 months ago, i stay at home and look after them which brings it’s own issues as i’m used to being in work and providing for my family rather than taking the eldest to kindi or changing napies.

we talk of going back to the UK (not that we would for quite a long time) or trying out another country like Austrailia, Canada, US etc. I feel sometimes that i miss the UK, the countryside (specifically cornwall: wales just looks like parts of NZ)the trails in UK, and sometimes family. The family issue is more important to the wife as she is closer to hers, but i do feel quite uneasy when mine are not well, and would prefer to be closer sometimes. Also i have nieces than i’d like my kids to meet someday.

What prevents us returning is what we have here and what we could never have in the UK is:
1) a 4 bedroom detached house in a ‘good’ part of Auckland 2km from a nice white sand beach.
2) walking distance to very good schools and kindi’s and parks without heroin needle on the slides (yes we had them in Somerset).
3) only one of us having to work to afford a resonable life style. So therefore the kids knowing both their parents (as the wife teaches and so basically doesn’t do a full days work, but don’t dare tell her that!)Also you can spend more time together as a family here.
4) lack of people, even in Auckland it’s easy to get away from people for a walk, ride or surf in relative peace and quiet.
5) being able to see the stars.
6) oh and about 400 UK a years for council tax – where they actually do stuff too!

Things i don’t much care about in NZ and make me want to leave!

1) being away from family and freinds from UK
2) Idiots – not so much chavs as just morons that hoon round in jap cars throwing beer bottles out the window – i think it’s an NZ and Oz thing – hard to go for a road ride without shreadding a tyre.
3) Apaling driving! i’ve driven all over europe (including Portugal) and i feel a lot safer there! (i was very nearly killed 2 days ago on a road ride – very scary)
4) Not the weather – it’s way better here!

It’s a tough decision to make, moving back – we just wouldn’t do it as the reasons we left still exist; having to work your ass off just to live, poor schooling (before you lot start – the schools here (at least where we are) are a lot better, my wife’s has taught in a lot of UK schools and two here so she keeps me up to date oh and cramped expensive housing that we’d be paying off for the rest of our lives. the constant feeling of being shafted by taxes just for being middle income – there is no stamp duty here, tax on most things is less.

Yes there is a lot to love about the UK, it certainly isn’t all bad by any means, except Luton, that really does stink – but we left so we could be a family – it just means that we can’t be physically near the rest of em.

brack – the DB isn;t mine, but I do have my rather fetching 1990 Kona Explosif which i ride to/from work on sometimes !

Hmm yeah interesting to read of others over here. My main worry is family but I think 12years down the line the UK would be too much of move for us and given our lifestyle here we can work a way to spend enough time there while still doing all the things we want to do in our lives.

And driving – oh yeah, i hear you. I was almost nailed 4 weeks ago on a road ride rather bizarrely by the lead vehicle for a Triathlon coming the other way. They decided to overtake another car even though i was coming towards her, she put me off the road into the buches. Incredible, doubly so considering what she was doing at the time. I reported them to the police and she fronted up very apologetic but still didn;t really grasp the concept that she could quite easily have killed me had i not been able to get off the road! She saw me, but carried on because “She had to get in front” – the police are keen to revoke her licence for 12 months….

brack

NZ Col how long have you had that DB?

Looks very similar to one I had when in Christchurch….?

That DB in the picture is mine. I have only had it about a year… It is all pretty original and in good running condition and I even have the original smoke tyres for it. There has been talk of running some retro racing (and there was one race run last year).

@alexathome. I agree, the driving and idiots in boy racer jap cars here in nz are appalling. Drivers and road manners etc in NZ are terrible!!

I thought it’d be different out of Auckland – but just as bad in Wellington! I was turning right (arm out at 90 degrees) just about to swing right (only doing about 15km) when i car hoons up from behind at about 120 km in an 80, i thought he was going to go to my left – but no the d1ck overtakes on my right, i just caught a glimps out my eye as i looked over my shoulder, one second more, or if i hadn’t of just seen him and swerved back and i’d of been at right angles to a car doing 120 km! i was so shaken up that i had to stand at the side of the road for a while and compose myself. i’d like to say it was the first time – now the wife wants me to give up road riding. Then again i wouldn’t ride down the A37 either!

That is one thing i miss i suppose – people from the UK are, although not generally as friendly are however more curtious, especially on the road – for a place with has a reputation for an easy going layed back sort of a place, put them behind the wheel of a car and they are **** idiots.

@alexathome. I agree, the driving and idiots in boy racer jap cars here in nz are appalling. Drivers and road manners etc in NZ are terrible!!

Inzane, dead right about Christchurch. The place is over run with chavs.

news story

I was there during that w/e. It was a shocker

walking distance to very good schools and kindi’s and parks

Got that here.

being able to see the stars

That too.

Don’t confuse living in crappy parts of the UK with living in the UK. The things that most people complain about in the UK aren’t ubiquitous by any means.

Exactly…. molgrips has a good point! Speaking as someone who’s work colleagues seem to be emigrating ( and returning) at a sheep like rate of knots??? (not too sure about that quote?).

I find it amazing that so many ‘couch dwellers’ think that just by relocating to the other side of the world that they will suddenly fall into a new way of life and become adrenaline sports junkies and bbq socialites overnight.

Most of those that have left have chosen to live in crappy areas of the UK and live their lives in a very mundane way…..if I lived in Slough I would be chomping at the bit to emigrate….but wouldn’t have got myself there in the first place and would consider moving elsewhere in the UK first.

I wonder how many people have comitted themselves to the big overseas move and have been to embarrased to back down for the worry of losing face?

Why not emigrate.. to Wales, or Scotland? 🙂 Great riding, cheap(er) houses, great riding.. quiet roads, small towns, peace and quiet, did I mention the great riding? 🙂

I love where I live !