People & Places
Our new life in Invercargill
What do you imagine you’ll miss when you arrive in New Zealand? Along with the typical things like family and friends, Tracy Hickman found palleting Kiwi mayonnaise a challenge
My partner and I used to live in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, but we moved to Invercargill in 2003. I came out first in October, and Stuart joined me in late December. Although we had no family living here, and only knew a friend who had emigrated a couple of years previously, we chose New Zealand because we had taken a holiday there and it seemed to offer the outdoor activities we enjoy, as well as a slower pace of life. My partner Stuart and I were just unhappy in our jobs in the UK, fed up with long commutes, long working hours and all the stress. The high mortgage costs and rising crime rates were also big factors.
To help our decision-making process we bought books on living and working in New Zealand, subscribed to Destination New Zealand (as Emigrate New Zealand was previously known) and searched for jobs, property and other information on the Internet. Initially, we considered a move to France, but we thought the language and culture would prove a barrier to finding work. We also considered Canada as it had many of the attractions of New Zealand but not the spread of scenery or climate in an area easy to cover for weekend breaks. We had both been in stressful jobs in Sussex, but my husband is now a Department of Conservation (DOC) Ranger, and I'm working part-time as an accountant.
It took me a month to find a job. My UK qualification (CIMA) was recognised in New Zealand, and I had to stay in this field to meet residency requirements. The only difficulty searching for a job was finding an employment agency that was willing to put me forward for jobs as I didn't have a work permit. Stuart used to work in Human Resources for the police, so it was a big career change for him. He initially did volunteer work for the DOC, but has since been employed on a contractual basis.
We were fortunate to gain from increases in UK property prices before we left, and our windfall paid for a huge home, the likes of which we could never have afforded back in the UK. When we moved we weren't sure whether shipping our belongings was the right thing to do, but in the end we shipped our cat and all our belongings here, and that helped us to feel at home very quickly.
Invercargill is such a friendly city, our work colleagues have made us feel very much part of the family. Stuart didn't arrive until 26th December, so on Christmas day when my neighbours noticed that I was alone they invited me to spend time with them and their family – even though we'd never met before! Then, when we moved into our own home, our new neighbours visited with home-made cakes to welcome us and say hello. We do miss the choice of vegetarian food in the UK. Although it's reasonable here, it's nowhere near as wide as Britain. We also miss Hellman's mayonnaise – Kiwi mayonnaise is like salad cream! Another aspect that we miss is the close proximity to Europe. We often used to travel to France and throughout Europe, and miss the ease of travel.
The hardest thing about starting a life in New Zealand was finding good quality rental accommodation as many of the rental properties we viewed were poorly maintained. However, purchasing a house is a very simple and quick process – I met another British couple in Invercargill who moved into a house just a week after first viewing it, and they had bought it in that time. Also, arranging life insurance was a lengthy process due to the lack of medical records we had here. I'd definitely advise trying to bring a copy of your medical records with you to prevent any issues in this area. Other than those things, it's very straightforward to move here, probably because most communities have a proportion of migrant families so they are used to the type of questions and issues that arise and are able to quickly deal with it. For example, when I went to our local AA office to ask about changing from a British to New Zealand driving licence, they were very well-informed and able to talk me through the process immediately.
Overall, the experience has been incredible, we have such fantastic lives here: a beautiful home, fulfiling jobs and lots of leisure time – our 'commute' takes all of five minutes, and we notice if we spend longer than 30 seconds at a junction! However, it's the outdoor life which has had the biggest impact on our lives – kayaking and tramping every weekend in the summer, running and walking on weekdays. And, having never been near a ski slope before, we now live only two hours away from a ski field and are now keen snowboarders every weekend in winter!
The only negative aspect of our move is that UK friends and family are so far away. However, phone calls are cheap, and we've already had several visits from relatives.
Realistically, we won't be going back to the UK more than once every couple of years, but through email and phone calls we manage to keep the homesickness at bay. New Zealand has definitely exceeded all our expectations. Initially we weren't sure how long we would stay here for, but now we're both convinced that the move is permanent. Without exaggeration, every aspect of our life has improved. Migrants' skills are desperately required here, especially in Southland and Otago. Apart from the erratic weather, Southland is a fantastic place to live – I don't understand why so many migrants move to Auckland!
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