People & Places
The call of the wild
The Wild Harpers’ ‘can do’ attitude has led them halfway across the world in search of a better life in New Zealand. And, as they tell Hanna Lindon, they’ve never looked back
"We call ourselves the wild Harpers," Paul and Juliet Harper tell me. This is not, as they take pains to make clear, because they are particularly crazy – it's a name modelled on the cartoon family, the Wild Thornberrys. "We like to think that we will give our children every opportunity to explore the world, life and different cultures, and that is what the Wild Harpers / Thornberrys is all about." The Harper kids have certainly experienced more of the world than most of their contemporaries. Three years ago, Paul was made redundant from his job after 11 years, and the family decided they wanted a change. "We came to New Zealand looking for work and to take an extended holiday with our children. No suitable positions were available, so we decided to return to the UK, sell our property and move back to North Wales where we lived before moving south."
Their move to New Zealand was prompted by an unplanned phonecall to a friend three years later. "An opportunity came up to apply for a position with Air New Zealand," recalls Paul. "I had two interviews in the UK and one in New Zealand. And that was that! "The visa process was really quick, and this was mainly because we took some risks and applied for our police-checks, medicals and other documentation even before I knew I had been successful for the position. This was an expense; but we knew that if I got the job, they would want me to start by the beginning of September. We didn't want to risk being offered the position and having to wait for the visas to arrive. The NZ immigration office was excellent, and quick to make us aware of a couple of mistakes we made with our application." In the end, Paul was offered the job on the May 30th 2006. The Harpers applied for their visas on the 21st of August, and received them on September 2nd. "The visa application process, in the end, only took two weeks," they confirm."
It didn't take long for the Harpers to settle in to New Zealand – partly because the ethos of Paul's new company was so attuned to their family ethic. "Working for a company who support a culture of "can do", "being yourself" and "welcoming everyone as a friend" is perfect for me as these are the values we share as a family," enthuses Paul. "The business environment is very similar to a previous role I held in London – but even though the office is based in Auckland, it is significantly quieter than a Central-London head-office. "Being able to adapt the skills I have for a different industry does offer great job satisfaction, and Air New Zealand has been extremely supportive of the move. At a recent induction day for over 80 new starters across the company, the CEO suggested it would be a great idea for everyone to suggest places we could visit in New Zealand as a family. The ideas came through thick and fast – an example of how Kiwis love to share NZ". After living in a small town in North Wales, the Harpers could have been overwhelmed by their new home in Auckland – but they took it all in their stride and now love the city. "Where we live on the North Shore had all the amenities we need close by, including a supermarket, banks and shops," says Paul. "We now walk the children to school and don't have to use the car so much. We can walk to a restaurant or bar and choose from a large variety of different foods, and best of all I am only ten minutes from work compared to 30 minutes in Wales." The family also enjoy being so close to the sea. "We did live near the beach on the North-Wales coast, but we didn't really take advantage of it. In New Zealand, we spend lots more time on the beach!"
Paul, Juliet and their two children love the beach so much that they are keen to buy on the North Shore – but have found it much more expensive than they were led to believe. Although Paul admits that they could find something much more affordable further north, he is keen to be near his work so that he can spend more time with his wife and children. But the family are in no rush to purchase a property. "We haven't yet sold our property in Wales, and we're going to spend the time it takes to sell exploring different areas, speaking with friends at work and doing some research on what we can get for our money. We feel that NZ$600,000 would buy a lovely property for a family, but the key is to find a location as it is in any country. "One thing we don't understand in the housing market is that the majority of properties don't have any heating. You would think that, with the cost and restrictions of electricity, houses would have double glazing and good central heating, rather than expensive portable heaters." This, however, is the one negative thing that the Harpers have to say about New Zealand. Otherwise, life has never been better – especially for little Harpers Ethan (five) and Bryoni (nine). "Our children have grown in confidence," enthuses Paul. "We allow them more opportunities to do different things and also a little more rein to go and explore. It's not like when we were young, when we would go out in the morning and not come back until tea, but we are trying to shake off some of the paranoia we had in the UK about not letting them out of our sight." But it wasn't long ago that Paul and Juliet were worrying about how their kids would settle into a new life Down Under. "We were aware that this would be a very challenging time for Bryoni, as she had already experienced a similar move three years ago. Bryoni had done very well to settle into a new school in Wales, so we were very concerned about how she would react to the move." They needn't have worried. Bryoni and Ethan have both made friends very quickly, and love the fact that they can now walk to school. They also appreciate the smaller class sizes and the 'outdoor, sporty culture' of their new school. "A funny thing we noticed early on with NZ schools is how strong and flexible the children are," Paul jokes. "To see them swing around the monkey bars and climbing frames is quite amazing. At first our two children couldn't reach, never mind swing on, the bars – now they climb and swing across with ease. Bryoni is very proud of her blisters from practising this!"
When Paul and Juliet were considering the move to New Zealand, they decided to keep it quiet from their children, as well as friends and relatives – a course of action they would recommend to everyone. "Sometimes in life you can tell people too much," Paul says. "Most cannot deal with the indecision, and not knowing what will happen. It can be easier to say 'we are moving to New Zealand' rather than 'we are thinking of moving, what do you think?' This opens up a huge debate, which is what we experienced when we first looked at making the move. "The best advice we were given was to let everyone deal with the move in their own way. This was hard as it felt that we weren't considering other people's feelings – but we needed to focus on our family unit and put all our energy into making the move as successful as possible. Now that we have arrived in New Zealand, we know that our advice was excellent – and did actually help most people with us leaving."
So, having arrived, what do the Harpers' find most exciting about living in New Zealand? Again, the best bits centre around the kids. "We love spending more time with our children on evenings and weekends. The people we have met also share the same values as us and share the 'can do' attitude, which really helps. "We haven't had any regrets or second thoughts, although I guess this could be because it's still early days for us. We're just sitting back and enjoying the new lifestyle. It has helped that we have arrived at this time of year, as we have the summer on the way and Christmas. We feel that Kiwis are more sociable in summer, and we have all come out of hibernation!" "Everything about settling into a new culture is memorable. But I think that meeting such lovely people who treat us like their friends and are keen to see us settle is the best part. Our highlights would also include exploring the beaches and a trip to Waikheke Island." They also counsel potential emigrants to look for what is different in NZ life, not for what is better – with an interesting example: nudist beaches! "Nudist beaches are very much part of the culture in New Zealand, and not always so hidden away," they joke. "Those who have visited Long Bay will know what we mean. But, as they say, when in Rome....!"
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