New Zealand mamas! Info please! :)

[Marlet]

DH is VERY interestd in moving to NZ. He has been asking if we can for a year and a half now. I don't know anything about it so I can't say yes or no yet. Tell me everything about living there! Convince me to say yes!!!! If I agree to it the move would possibly be within the next year. I'll take any and all information! What do you think of it? What do you not like about it? What's the economy like? What's the average diet like? Is it easy to live naturally/organically there? Tell me everything.

[loveharps]

Wow, thats alot of information you want!

I love New Zealand, I feel so lucky to have been born here.
I'm not sure about what I don't like about it, probably how (no offence) Americanised it seems to be getting.
I find it quite easy to live naturally here. Unless your living right in the centre of a city, nearly all houses have room for a vege garden. Its quite easy to find shops that specialize in organic food, also most supermarkets stock a small amount of organic food as well.
I'm not sure about the average diet, it used to be just a basic diet, but now that the fast food industry is spreading all over NZ people are eating out more. Fast food is a bit different here (but not alot!) the servings are smaller that the USA and I think there are more options. New zealanders are very high consumers of meat and dairy, are suppose because those a some of our biggest industries.
The economy is pretty strong at the moment, which of course means that all the experts are predicting a slump pretty soon, but i don't know how accurate those people tend to be.
The system of Government is MMP, this link will explain it better that I can http://www.mmp.org.nz/mmpfpp.html. Hospital healthcare is free, but doctors are very expensive, although it is free for under 6 year olds to see a doctor. At the moment it is very easy to get natural health products, but the government is trying to bring in a policy of joint regulation with Australia which will mean that some natural health products will only be sold with a prescription. (Which basically means that you'll have to see a doctor to get a presciption, which they probably won't give because pharmacuetical companies have doctors in their pockets - but I'll save that rant for another time!) So lets hope that it doesn't come through.


I'm not really sure what else to say. Anything alse you want to know? I'm happy to answer any other questions.

[Marlet]

Ahhh never mind. I'll just pm you instead!!

[writermommy]

I'm subscribing to this thread! My dh has been wanting to move to New Zealand for a few years now. I actually interned and taught at a school in Florida that is based on New Zealand schools. Our principal spent a year there studying the system before our school opened. I loved that school! It had a great educational environment that I haven't seen in any other US school. I'll be reading this thread with great interest.

[twinmamakat]

Moving in Two Weeks!

Hello Mamas,
I would encourage you to follow your dreams. My family and I are moving to NZ in a little over two weeks. I'm new to this community and find it fascinating. We simply find that our cultural and political differences with the US make it impossible to stay here. I am at home with my twin two year olds and we are very excited about the move. Any advice from any and everyone? I can sense that the boys are getting anxious. We are going to stay 7 months on a solar-powered organic village at Karuna Falls. Does anyone know of this village? After our stay there we hope to aquire residency but I'm wondering if this is possible. My partner works in the field of sustainability and I hear there is a much better job market there for his line of work. I would love any advice or info as well. :

[Castle]

twinmamakat,

That's so cool! My family and I are planning on moving to NZ in a few years, and we plan on building ourselves a solar powered, eco-friendly place to settle. We're actually making a trip over in February to look for land to buy. I don't know much about getting residency (DH is a Kiwi, so we don't have to deal with that) but I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

I've never heard of Karuna Falls, it sounds really neat. What part of the country is it in?

[inlovemama]

Hi, I lived in NZ for a while. I would suggest a long (at least a month) visit before you commit to anything. It's a beautiful country but very, very different from the States. The organic selection of foods is quite limited, although getting better. You can email me if you want to "talk" more/want more info.

[KachinaK'ang]

Right there with you girls!!

Hello!

I grew up in Hawaii but have lived in Los Angeles, California, Seattle, Washington and currently Las Vegasm, NV with my partner of 11 years, Jesse and our children, Iolana 9y/o and Marcus 5y/o. We are so disgusted with America and it's government. I just can't fathum the thought of staying here much longer. Bush is driving us into the ground, our country is full of deep seeded racism and everyone walks around with a grudge. Living in the here and now is not a common theme. Living for MORE, MORE, MORE is. I don't want my children to grow up in this country any longer. Although there are wonderful things about America....the only thing I would really miss would be my in-laws, my grandma, friends and Trader Joe's. But, none of that is enough and out weighs my children's well being....and my sanity.

My dad is from NZ but hasn't been back for 20 years. I would like us all to visit as inlovemama suggests. I would like to visit the midwives and find out about the natural birthing community. I am a doula and own a labor tub business. I wonder how easy it would be to work in the field. I also wonder how easy it would be for my partner to continue his field. He is a entertainment producer...ie, books bands for casino show, events coordinator, etc. It's more deep than that but he knows about everything involving theatre, concerts and night clubs.

Anyway, I would love to hear what others have said that have emailed privately.

Thank you!

[loveharps]

Hi Kachina
All maternity care in NZ is free (paid for buy the government) and practically everyone uses midwives and some choose to have a combination of midwife and doctor care. I'm not sure about doulas. I had never heard of a doula until a met a lady from the US who told us about them. I don't think doulas would get the government funding that midwives do, so it might be hard to find paid work. As for the birthing pool business, sorry I can't give any advice on that one, I do know some people who have had home water births, but I don't know where they got the pool from - I think they maybe hired it from the hospital.
The entertainment business in NZ isn't a very big business - due to the fact that this isn't a very big country I'm sure your partner would be able to find work in the bigger cities - Auckland, Christchurch, maybe Wellington. But It probably wouldn't be on the same scale as he would be used to in the US.

I hope this helps a little, let me know if you need any more info and I'll try and help some more!

[KachinaK'ang]

This is great info to know. Thank you so much. I actually am self employed so the families hire me to support them in labor and if they are having a homebirth they can hire my tubs as well. I am just starting to get into the hospitals with the tubs here in Las Vegas but it's slow going and lots of politics.

Anyway, what is the pay scale there? I don't think either my husband or I are really married to what we do for a living. We are easily adaptable and wouldn't mind doing other things. But, I would like to make sure that we could actually make a living, have a small home, a car that can get us from point a to point b and enough money left over to do fun things with our kids.

How would one even find a job before coming over. I have looked online but I don't think I am looking in the right places. I even looked at the classifieds in the NZ newspapers but not sure if that is the correct place. What would you suggest?

Thanks for your help.

[loveharps]

The best job wedsite (well the most well known one anyway) is http://www.seek.co.nz/
The pay rates here are alot lower than in other countries, but the cost of living is lower too. House and property prices are going up and its getting very hard for people on low incomes to buy a house these days. Cars aren't very cheap either, as they all have to be imported. Second hand Japanese inports are very easy to buy here - and cheapest.

[kiahnsmum]

http://www.homebirth.org.nz/

http://www.greens.org.nz/

http://www.organicpathways.co.nz/

http://www.anthroposophy.org.nz/Sect...n%20report.htm

http://www.montessori.org.nz/

http://home.school.nz/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NZUnschoolers/

[5gifts]

Hi!
We are planning a move to NZ from Georgia.
My hubby is a diesel mechanic & can get a job with a dealer that has branches in 16 cities there. We don't want to live in a Florida heat type climate - done that for 13 years!
We are looking for a climate not too extreme on either end, natural beauty around us, country type living - lots of bike riding/mountain biking, plenty of nearby places for outings/camping. We'd like to live within easy access to a community that has a real sense of community & belonging with things like a decent library, sports teams for the kids, music & art oppertunities & lessons.
We homeschool, we are laid back & don't watch tv or like to 'shop' much
We don't want to live somewhere 'busy'.

So of these places offered to us, what do you think?
Napier, Rotorua, Hamilton, Wellington, Greymouth

[loveharps]

From those choices I would probaby suggest Rotorua or Napier. I wouldn't reccomend Hamilton. Greymouth is quite small. I love Welington, but I'm not sure if it would have the 'community' feel that your looking for.

[Castle]

From the places you listed I would pick Napier or Wellington. Rotorua is kinda nice, but really touristy and kinda smelly (because of the all the sulfur and geothermal activity). Hamilton is kinda boring and doesn't have too much outdoorsy stuff nearby, because it's almost all farmland. Greymouth is really small and pretty remote, but would be the best in terms of having mountainous activities nearby.

Wellington is a nice city, but it's still a city, one of the largest in NZ, so I'm not sure how much a community feel you'd get there. I'm sure some neighborhoods would have what you're looking for though. I'm just not sure which ones.

Napier is a smaller city, but has another small city, Hastings, right next to it, so together they'd have pretty much anything you'd need. I think it's got a really good atmosphere, because of the climate, its seaside location, and the architecture of the downtown, which is mostly art deco. DH was born and raised in Napier, his mum is still there. The climate in summer is gorgeous, not at all like GA! It's hot, but dry, with a nice breeze. But really, nowhere in NZ has weather like Florida, even the farthest north region doesn't have humidity like that.

[5gifts]

Great info! If we go through with this I don't know how we'll settle on where to live. We'll be going over sight unseen - and treat it like a 3 yr vacation!

DH is leaning toward the south island. We'll have to investigate from Nelson - Greymouth. I want to also consider between Napier - Wellington.

Is it like a rain forest around Greymouth? Is Reefton near there? Well, I Know nothing about this at all!! Gee, I need to get a decent map to look at!!

Another question, how are they on vax requirements? my 2 youngest have none.

Thanks again!

[Castle]

Well shoot. If I had known Nelson was an option, I wouldn't have had to write out all that other info.

Move to Nelson! That's where we're planning on settling down, when we move back to NZ in a few years. It's on the South Island, which is a major plus for us, nearer more National Parks and places for backpacking. It's right near Abel Tasman National Park, which is GORGEOUS in the summer. Lots of golden sand beaches. It's beautiful in the winter as well, just a bit chilly. It's also close to the Marlborough Sound region, which IMO is the most beautiful part of the whole country. Nelson itsellf is a nice, small city, but not too small.

Greymouth is on the West Coast, so it is really rainy. Rain forest rainy, but it's not what you might think of when someone says "rain forest". It's not like the rain forests in Brazil, mainly because it's not warm. And even though it's on the coast, you can't really go swimming in the ocean there. The coastline is very steep/rocky along the West Coast, very beautiful, in a rugged, impressive way. Reefton is in the area, but not too close to Greymouth.

As far as I've heard, vaccinations are strongly encouraged, but there's no law that says you have to get them, even for school. My kids are unvaxed as well.

Oh, and I've only visited NZ several times. If anyone who actually lives there wants to contradict anything I've said, feel free.

[5gifts]

Hmm... now this is going to send me on a search of all things 'Nelson'. Yesterday I researched Greymouth like crazy, and got quite interested. Really low rent & house prices! Arial shot of the town looks neat. It has some beach area - rock, not sand! - I wonder how warm it is to swim in the summer?

I'd like to be near the national parks and such - anything cool to see and do outdoors, we want to see/do it!

Currently there's no openings for DH at the Nelson branch - oh well.

[5gifts]

I looked a bit, Nelson does sound & look REALLY tempting!

One of the Greymouth job openings is actually a resident mechanic at a mine operation in Westport. We could live near there & be in a 2hr driving distance of all that great stuff at the top of the SI. Maybe? DH wents to work for the CAT dealer, like he does here. They have branches all over, but we were just given openings in those 5 I first named

We could see the sights in one area & then transfer Were going to rent anyway!

[loveharps]

I'd have to agree with Castle - If I'd known Nelson was an option I would definately have suggested there as well!

As for vax, its a matter of 'informed consent'. Vaccinating is really pushed here, but its not a legal requirement, and you don't need to apply for exemptions or anything like they do in the States.