Well its been 9 weeks and I am still loving it here. I am missing everyone one in the UK immensely, but I meeting new people all the time. Have just got back from watching the Rugby. New Zealand have won by one point. The cricket is still going, but hopefully the result will be in England's favour soon.
Have taken my first big road trip in New Zealand. Auckland to Rotorua, to Wellington, to Hamilton and then home to Auckland. 1500 KMs of the most beautiful and sometimes rugged landscape I have ever see, simply amazing. The weather was not always on my side, but the activities and the landscape more than made up for it.
Rotorua presents the visitor with an interesting question. Do you spend big bucks and have the spa treatments at a expensive complex, or do you spend a more modest amount for an equally good treatment at a building that has clearly seen better days. I took the later and had a great spa bath and massage. It was great.
Waka village in Rotorua was fantastic. A tiny village, but steeped in history. The people clearly have a great passion for living in a sustainable way and are keen to show this to the outside world. The buried village is a good place to goto. The walk in the grounds shows how some of the buildings survived a massive volcanic eruption, it also has a stream running through the grounds, which ends up in a beautiful waterfall. The view was amazing. The walk to the waterfall is not for the faint hearted though.
Wellington is a fine city. Compact and bijou. All the bits are within a 10 minute walk and there is lots to do. Currently the museum has a F1 section and it is great to see some of the cars from yester year. Highly recommend the Botanic Gardens and the Cable Car ride to it is great, even for those that have a fear of hieghts.
Did not get to see too much of Hamilton, but will be going back.
Finally got to the Viaduct are of Auckland. It tries to be a mini Darling Harbour, but sort of fails. I much prefer Darling. But had a good meal down there. Again NZ seems to try and be a little bit of the US, Australia and the UK all rolled up into one. But it is great !!!!.
Work is hard, like any startup it is 2 steps forward and 1 back. Stability will come, I am sure. We need one good deal and we will really be going well. But the guys I work with are fantastic and I have not been on a plane for the last 10 days.
So integrating is hard, I have met a lot of friendly people but they have their own lifes and at the end of the day coming home to an empty house is hard anywhere. The weather is warming up nicely and hopefully the exercise routine is going to improve.
Hope you are all well and will write more soon. :)
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Friday, 10 July 2009
1 Month In :D
Well its one month in and I suppose I ought to give an update, mainly for myself and for those that may be reading this. First Impressions of New Zealand - Great. However I will not go over board and gush.I have only been here a short time, but things are beginning to take shape.
If you are intending to come here points to note.
1) Accomodation - Check it is winter proof. The house I am in, is extremely cold and I am only just getting used to living in it. Having said that - the house is lovely, I just know that there are better ones for winter. In summer this place would be great. Winters in the North Island are not as cold as in the UK, but remember a lot of the older properties here have no double glazing, no insulation and can get very cold and damp.
2) Working - Forget the writings of those who say New Zealand is laid back and you get a good work life balance. New Zealand is just like any other country - it depends on your career. Working in Telecoms here is just as hectic as in the UK and the hours are long. I will admit not as long but still if you think you are coming down here for a jolly forget it. There very well maybe careers where the work life balance is better than the UK, but I have yet to see them. I will however say that if you look for them, the opportunities for relaxation when you do get time to yourself are much better. Holiday and sick leave are a lot stricter than the UK and as such vacation time is very important. I am offsetting this at the moment with Time in Lieu. It seems you can build this up.
3) Visas - Get a Residency or a long term Work Visa. One year visa's are virtually useless here. Currently the Government here has a hard on for those with 1 year work visa's and is trying to send quite a few people home. I am ok at the moment, but a couple of people I have met here are sweating on the renewal and may just have to sell up and come back to the UK. Interesting to note that these are people with very good jobs and also were on the Skills Shortage list.
4) Money - Do NOT come down here to make money. The NZ Dollar is a very weak currency at the moment and as such - food,accomodation,cars and electronics are as expensive if not more expensive than the UK. Other things such as fuel are between 20 to 40% cheaper. A good salary in New Zealand is an low to average in the UK. Exceptions are where they really NEED you and you can basically quote your own price :-D.
5) The People - I have never in my life met a friendly bunch of people, they have the same issues as we have in the UK, and the same concerns for the future, but they seem adjusted to what will be will be, and also seem to accept strangers a lot better than in the UK. I have met nothing but kindness and the sooner you try and fit in the sooner you will get NZ friends.
6) Cars - Cars are slightly more expensive here than in the UK. If you have a petrol UK car and you have had it over 1 year it may actaully pay you to bring it over. Most people so not seem to care what car they are drving so you will see some absolute classics here. Car Insurance is easy, just make sure that you bring a UK No claims bonus with you - IT WILL HELP. Also getting a full driving licence here is easy. Take the full UK licence to an AA shop, fill in a form, do an eye Test and 2 weeks later you NZ Full Driving licence arrives. Unlike Australia they do not rip up your UK one, they will just hand it back and tell you it is illegal to use it again in NZ. In the city and surburban areas police are extremely strict on the speed limits, in the countryside it seems a lot laxer - you have been warned !!!
7) Health Care - Health Care here appears to be half UK and half US. They have a NHS equiv - ACC. But you pay to see the doctor and prescriptions and also ambulance call outs. These are minimal fees provided you are covered under ACC. To qualify you need a minimum 2 year working Visa, or residency. Private Health care appears to be cheaper than the UK and I would strong suggest it. It appears that employers only have to pay for upto 5 days sick leave. Any longer and you do not get paid anything. We have been able to persuade the parent company to take out salary protection for us, so its something to check on.
I cannot comment on the countryside yet as work as been soo busy I am going to write a book on the inside of Auckland airport, it is becoming my second home. But as life calms down a lot more, will get out and see more things and will post my findings here and also put more pictures up on facebook. So far so good.
Hope you are All good and will write again soon.
If you are intending to come here points to note.
1) Accomodation - Check it is winter proof. The house I am in, is extremely cold and I am only just getting used to living in it. Having said that - the house is lovely, I just know that there are better ones for winter. In summer this place would be great. Winters in the North Island are not as cold as in the UK, but remember a lot of the older properties here have no double glazing, no insulation and can get very cold and damp.
2) Working - Forget the writings of those who say New Zealand is laid back and you get a good work life balance. New Zealand is just like any other country - it depends on your career. Working in Telecoms here is just as hectic as in the UK and the hours are long. I will admit not as long but still if you think you are coming down here for a jolly forget it. There very well maybe careers where the work life balance is better than the UK, but I have yet to see them. I will however say that if you look for them, the opportunities for relaxation when you do get time to yourself are much better. Holiday and sick leave are a lot stricter than the UK and as such vacation time is very important. I am offsetting this at the moment with Time in Lieu. It seems you can build this up.
3) Visas - Get a Residency or a long term Work Visa. One year visa's are virtually useless here. Currently the Government here has a hard on for those with 1 year work visa's and is trying to send quite a few people home. I am ok at the moment, but a couple of people I have met here are sweating on the renewal and may just have to sell up and come back to the UK. Interesting to note that these are people with very good jobs and also were on the Skills Shortage list.
4) Money - Do NOT come down here to make money. The NZ Dollar is a very weak currency at the moment and as such - food,accomodation,cars and electronics are as expensive if not more expensive than the UK. Other things such as fuel are between 20 to 40% cheaper. A good salary in New Zealand is an low to average in the UK. Exceptions are where they really NEED you and you can basically quote your own price :-D.
5) The People - I have never in my life met a friendly bunch of people, they have the same issues as we have in the UK, and the same concerns for the future, but they seem adjusted to what will be will be, and also seem to accept strangers a lot better than in the UK. I have met nothing but kindness and the sooner you try and fit in the sooner you will get NZ friends.
6) Cars - Cars are slightly more expensive here than in the UK. If you have a petrol UK car and you have had it over 1 year it may actaully pay you to bring it over. Most people so not seem to care what car they are drving so you will see some absolute classics here. Car Insurance is easy, just make sure that you bring a UK No claims bonus with you - IT WILL HELP. Also getting a full driving licence here is easy. Take the full UK licence to an AA shop, fill in a form, do an eye Test and 2 weeks later you NZ Full Driving licence arrives. Unlike Australia they do not rip up your UK one, they will just hand it back and tell you it is illegal to use it again in NZ. In the city and surburban areas police are extremely strict on the speed limits, in the countryside it seems a lot laxer - you have been warned !!!
7) Health Care - Health Care here appears to be half UK and half US. They have a NHS equiv - ACC. But you pay to see the doctor and prescriptions and also ambulance call outs. These are minimal fees provided you are covered under ACC. To qualify you need a minimum 2 year working Visa, or residency. Private Health care appears to be cheaper than the UK and I would strong suggest it. It appears that employers only have to pay for upto 5 days sick leave. Any longer and you do not get paid anything. We have been able to persuade the parent company to take out salary protection for us, so its something to check on.
I cannot comment on the countryside yet as work as been soo busy I am going to write a book on the inside of Auckland airport, it is becoming my second home. But as life calms down a lot more, will get out and see more things and will post my findings here and also put more pictures up on facebook. So far so good.
Hope you are All good and will write again soon.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Fear and Anxiety
Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive -- the risk to be alive and express what we really are........
I am so unhappy at a time that I should be excited and bouncing off the walls. In 14 days time I am supposed to wipe the dirt of my feet and start a new life. It is not going to be easy. So much to do so little time to do it.
Moving from one country to the next is not as much fun as people make out. Do not get me wrong when I get there I will experience it all to the full. But right here, right now I am terrified. Not of the process. It is, what it is. I am terrified of me. One morning I wake up and all is right with the world. The next I look at the drugs and think this is a good time to sleep for ever. I kow that very few people understand the feelings I am going though, and personally I would not wish them on my own worst enemy.
I think that I am wavering on the whole thing. I can sit here and be comfortable and do nothing for a few years and let the world pass me by, or I can grasp a few nettles in the way and find out if the grass is greener. I am not expecting it to be, all I can pray I find it is not too much worse.
So I leave with this thought.
'You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.' - Eleanor Roosevelt
I am so unhappy at a time that I should be excited and bouncing off the walls. In 14 days time I am supposed to wipe the dirt of my feet and start a new life. It is not going to be easy. So much to do so little time to do it.
Moving from one country to the next is not as much fun as people make out. Do not get me wrong when I get there I will experience it all to the full. But right here, right now I am terrified. Not of the process. It is, what it is. I am terrified of me. One morning I wake up and all is right with the world. The next I look at the drugs and think this is a good time to sleep for ever. I kow that very few people understand the feelings I am going though, and personally I would not wish them on my own worst enemy.
I think that I am wavering on the whole thing. I can sit here and be comfortable and do nothing for a few years and let the world pass me by, or I can grasp a few nettles in the way and find out if the grass is greener. I am not expecting it to be, all I can pray I find it is not too much worse.
So I leave with this thought.
'You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.' - Eleanor Roosevelt
Sunday, 26 April 2009
So I finally have to get off my backside and get a job. Having read the telegraph on Friday, it appears like a lot of people, my future does not lie in this country. Hoping to get the last of the details worked out and I will let you know where and when, once I know.
It is scary to think that in order to find a satisfying and rewarding experience at work at the moment I have to go abroad. Life is good apart from that. Personal issues are slowly being worked out and if I am now at the bottom of the mine shaft, then it should be onwards and upwards from here on in.
My aussie friend left for home yesterday. I have now taken three friends to the airport for the last time. It is a strange experience to let you friends go like this and I would do anything for them. But there is very little work and it is an extremely intense experience to get the jobs that are out there.
Does anyone else feel alone at the moment. I have a good set of friends, most of whom are worried by me, but currently I look around and feel the weight of it all. So far I am surviving and that should be enough, but I want more. I want to have one day of hapiness. Life has to be better than this. I hope the decisions I am taking now will work towards that.
If there is one special person who reads this. I miss you, I miss you loads and at this moment, there is very little in my life keeping me going. But I will try not to give up, purely as I know, you would be a combination of both upset and angry at me.
It is scary to think that in order to find a satisfying and rewarding experience at work at the moment I have to go abroad. Life is good apart from that. Personal issues are slowly being worked out and if I am now at the bottom of the mine shaft, then it should be onwards and upwards from here on in.
My aussie friend left for home yesterday. I have now taken three friends to the airport for the last time. It is a strange experience to let you friends go like this and I would do anything for them. But there is very little work and it is an extremely intense experience to get the jobs that are out there.
Does anyone else feel alone at the moment. I have a good set of friends, most of whom are worried by me, but currently I look around and feel the weight of it all. So far I am surviving and that should be enough, but I want more. I want to have one day of hapiness. Life has to be better than this. I hope the decisions I am taking now will work towards that.
If there is one special person who reads this. I miss you, I miss you loads and at this moment, there is very little in my life keeping me going. But I will try not to give up, purely as I know, you would be a combination of both upset and angry at me.
Monday, 6 April 2009
My First Time
Well the time has finally come for me to plunge into the big wide world of blogging. Feel a bit like a virgin making out for the first time. So much needs to be said, and there is a big audience out there to be totally critical of me. Scary stuff. So where should I begin..........
2009 will be a year to remember for me. Lost my job in February. Finalised the divorce in April and who knows where the rest of the year will take me. For those of you, who like me who have lost your jobs, its not the end of the world and there are great opportunities out there. You just have to be brave and all good things will come to those that wait. I know a lot of you will disagree, but it is times like this you must be strong and believe in yourself and in the goodness of fate.
I take full responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage and despite what some have been told, I would still make a go of it with her. I just cannot stand there and be accused of things I never did. But in the cold light of day I also have to accept, that in accepting my fault of the breakup, I went too far in trying to give my ex what she wanted and now it is going to be difficult for her to accept that the situation has got to the point that it is this far and no further. She will learn that it is for her own good that I now stand up to her, and have to treat her as an adult now.
Anyway enough of the rambling this is the first post and I know that I will improve the mood of the blogs. Have to put my head down and get some sleep. Long day tomorrow. How the hell did I ever work and do all this stuff at the same time.
2009 will be a year to remember for me. Lost my job in February. Finalised the divorce in April and who knows where the rest of the year will take me. For those of you, who like me who have lost your jobs, its not the end of the world and there are great opportunities out there. You just have to be brave and all good things will come to those that wait. I know a lot of you will disagree, but it is times like this you must be strong and believe in yourself and in the goodness of fate.
I take full responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage and despite what some have been told, I would still make a go of it with her. I just cannot stand there and be accused of things I never did. But in the cold light of day I also have to accept, that in accepting my fault of the breakup, I went too far in trying to give my ex what she wanted and now it is going to be difficult for her to accept that the situation has got to the point that it is this far and no further. She will learn that it is for her own good that I now stand up to her, and have to treat her as an adult now.
Anyway enough of the rambling this is the first post and I know that I will improve the mood of the blogs. Have to put my head down and get some sleep. Long day tomorrow. How the hell did I ever work and do all this stuff at the same time.
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