Toddboy, ex-pat: Interesting. Its important to note at no point have I expressed dissatissfaction with my life here – I absolutely love it, the lifestyle, good opportunities, environment etc Why would we even consider leaving ? Shipping grandparents around the world is not going to work for various reasons, and therefore I thought I might as well add to the original thread about what we were pondering. I know, its amazing, we have to make a decision that we will be respnsible and accountable for.

But thanks for your contribution – all very interesting.

Like you said mate, lots of pros and cons, just like the decision to leave good old blighty in the first place. You're right though, circumstances change, if my circumstances change here, then I may consider moving back, just not yet.

NZCol,

Can you point out where i asked for the perfect place to live ?

Aren't we all trying to find the nicest place to live? Are you saying you are there only for work? If so then you have never left but only for long term holiday.

If i was a **** plumber the Internet isn't exactly going to help now is it ? Twunt.

I did not know you were a plumber but then some plumber can be a pain in the backside too.

I find your response really interesting as you seem to think I am asking for a solution which i quite clearly am not, i was updating the thread because there was some relevant stuff on it.

Not a solution but you need help in making your mind up. So my suggestion is to stay since you are already there.

However, you;ve obviosuly got something to get off your chest so I'm glad you have – thanks, its helped me immensely.

Nope. I nearly ended up in Manukau but then I thought NZ was "isolated".

You could of course consider the fact that many of your points are utter c0ck really. Particularly your homesick line.

If not homesick then what? I mean you can get practically the same things all over the world nowadays apart from your close ones.

I think you'll find I'm not actually but balancing the relative merits of where we are now versus access to family.

Ok, so basically you want to be near to your family but don't you think deep down you want "your" surrounding to be the same as you were before except at the place you want them to be now?

Indeed i did think about that 12 yrs ago when i 'moved' here but, well maybe not in your life perhaps, circumstances change and drivers to do stuff do as well.

Of course things change but that is the nature of things. You choose NZ because life was good then.

Tell me, where do the rest of my family Live ? you don;t have a fckn clue so you can't actually comment you twunt.

Please give us the full details otherwise if one is to guess one will be labeled some silly name.
Let me guess. You are in NZ but the rest of your relative somewhere else.

However I have finished my sushi lunch now so i will go back to my plumbing. Have fun *kiss*

Watch out raw fish might comes with parasites if not prepare properly and have fun plumbing. The polish people are doing a good job here.

😀

Alexathome: I don't live in ChCh. Try again.

Sorry you live in Wellington don't you! You probably don't have a patio heater then do you, it'd get blown away! 😆

I guess the problem is weighing up the pro's and con's of being close to family, and the benefits that this has, and the benefits that you and your family will retain by staying in NZ.

No one on an internet forum can really help with this, we don't know what you want for yourself and your family, we don't know how much they value or will value the physical proximaty of family. I think if we were seriously thinking of moving back to the UK then we'd sit down as a family and discuss it. Then take a 4 month trip back to the UK to see what we thought, sit down discuss it again and then maybe decide.

Whatever you decide, good luck to you.

And i'll still take your patio heater if you've got one, how many BBQ's did you ever have in the UK, you won't be needing it there!

do you have Long service leave? you can use that to live for a few months to see if you like it.

I guess the problem is weighing up the pro's and con's of being close to family, and the benefits that this has, and the benefits that you and your family will retain by staying in NZ.

Yep thats exactly it. I put up a new post because it was an interesting topic that was being debated by ex-pats all over the place not just me. I'm not seeking a solution because only we can make that decision, just thought it was interesting.

And yeah, no BBQ heater here just a very active anemometer 🙂

Hi NZCol, another scot stuck in paradise here, just thowing in my 2 cents, I moved here 11 years ago and love the country, ok i'm in auckland which is just like any other city but even here i think i'm better off than bakc in scotland. The wife and i flew back for xmas this year with the 18 month old slimtubling and within days it became apparent why nz will be a better environment fro her to grow up in. my brother in law mentioned that it was great when IT HAD NOT RAINED FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS and the lawn was dry enough for his kid to go out and play on. that really struck me how much i take this climate for granted now, My wee one is out in the garden every day, we got her outside 3 times in our month long stay in scotland.
If you're thinking of having kids their life will be infinately better here in nz. (imho)
my wife misses her family terribly and would return to sunny greenock tomorrow given the chance but she knows how much i love it here and at age 40 neither of us really relish the prospect of trying to rebuild the kind of social network we have here.
hope you find a solution to the issue until then, enjoy yourself here and just compare an average day in welly with for example glenrothes. no contest pal 🙂
Ps my pb for the karapoti was 4.12 and as fat biffer i was pretty stoked with that!! christ knows how the whippets do it in under 3 hours.

slimtubing – thanks, yeah absolutely I know where you are coming from. Don't for one minute think that I am thinking it will be better or more amazing or anything like that. Its just a question we are debating at the moment. Although to be fair if you want a small child to go outside in Welly you need to tether them to something extremely solid 😉 Sounds like your situation is v similar to mine (although i am considerably younger, well a bit younger, right well ok on the wrong side of 30 now….shiiiite !). I apologise for my K'poti times, i used to be fast, now the 's' has fallen out of that ! Cheers for your input, see you in Akl sometime

Interesting thread. I'd love to emigrate to Oz but it's actually the presence of our son that's made me want to go even more, I'd like to earn enough to help him on his way and even retire early – I really can;t see that opportunity happening in the UK unless I work to the extent that I don't see him much in the week. Even my missus has asked what we do when it's lashing it down in winter – he goes mad when house boudn all day (and I can fully sympathise)

I think the decision to move is definitely made easier when your parents know why you're going and what you're doing it for. I've had a friend over there for 12 years and I've probably spoken to him/seen him more over the years than I have with a mate just 25 minutes down the road from me. I also take the view that you can spend as long trying to get from one end of the UK to the other as you do on a flight from down under.

As for the culture/history thing I'm of the view that it may not have the history that is present in the UK but when you look at the natural history and the indigenous history than there's plenty of interest.

Anyway – I'll stop rambling, should do some work!

'd like to earn enough to help him on his way and even retire early – I really can;t see that opportunity happening in the UK

Is that more likely in Oz? Most of the Aussies and Kiwis I've spoken to are over here because they can't make much money at home.

I also take the view that you can spend as long trying to get from one end of the UK to the other as you do on a flight from down under

You don't have to drive to Land's end to Jon o Groats for any reason (not that it takes anything like as long) – but if your family is on the other side of the world you have no choice but to spend the best part of two days constantly travelling.

I can earn a lot more money in my profession over the other side of the world – it's one of the few current hotspots of demand…

I know I won't need to drive form Lands End to John'O'Groats but It was an illustartiojn of how small the world is nowadays. People spent weeks travelling cross country a few hundred years ago and we can now do 12,000 miles in a day….

albeit a really fkn boring day rammed into what feels like a veal crate 😉

Sounds morbid and I'm sorry, but if the main draw of "back home" is the grandparents, then how long will they be around? Is it worth uprooting to be close to them for just a few years?

I'm an expat too btw and can sympathise, ive tried living back in the uk but couldnt stand it. I'm a helluva a lot poorer and have no "career" but i'm happy enough, i get to ride my bike a lot in the sun. I probably need to be a bit more sensible now I'm approacing 40 though.

Again I've stumbled over this thread late!
We moved back for lots of the same reasons and it's 2 years now since we left OZ. All i can say is we feel it was the right decision at the time but we really miss the life style we left behind. England is a tougher meaner place to live and we will be going back one day but the Grandparents are fitter and happier than ever probably due to having us around so living heaps longer probably and the mention of us leaving is too painful. So if you do come back be prepared for a long trip! But there are many benefits for being here too like easy travel to Europe and lots of variety when it comes to Mtb'ing etc..