Should We Move To New Zealand

Hey everyone. My husband and I are having this argument and I'm hoping you will help us decide it.

I want to move to New Zealand because things are alot better there than here. We can make more money, education for our children will be better and the crime is less than half of what is in the US.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Hay, if you can make the move AND improve on your life, I have to ask, where's the question???

Any international move is going to be tough, there will be new challenges to things that you do without thinking every day and if you really want to go and your mate doesn't this will put an enormous strain on even the best relationship. Possibly one that may be able to break the relationship. So, I think you both have to be committed to each other and the location, that you both choose. Your husbnd may not be able to cope with a move of that magnitude. If there are other problems in your life; and i'm not saying that there are, a location change will not change your life. My wife had a friend that smoked crack, he lived in Alabama well one day he decided to move to Arizona in order to change his life, well it did change for a while but then he made the same friends all over again and got back into his old habits, after going to jail he moved back home and changed his lifestyle and was then able to move on with his life. So by moving you can't make all of your problems go away. As negative as this sounds if you can both agree to a location even if only for a limited time say 5 years, I think it can be a positive thing for both of you if you are both commited to it and each other. My wife and I are considering moving, we haven't decided where to though, we have been looking at Scotland, Ireland and possible Belize.

Well I tried to get him to move to Scotland and he said no. Then I suggested New Zealand and he said ok.

The problem is I want to move ASAP and he wants to wait 5 years after our kids are out of school.

We live in a small town with no opportunities and the biggest employer, my husband already works for them, is going to start laying off.

Our biggest problem is that we just bought a house in March and owe a large amount on it. I do have someone who I trust willing to rent it.

I think because he hasn't been out of PA he's afraid of change. He gets freaked when I change my hair color.

Well if the largest employer in the community is going to start laying off people you may be to late. This may affect the value and selling time of your home typically homes take between 3-6 months to sell and if every one is worried about staying employed they wont want to buy a house but they may dump their house for less money than it is worth driving down the value of your house. Plus the cost of moving is going to be out of this world, you just can't rent a uhaul truck and git. An important question is what do your kids think? They are what about 12 & 13? Are they going to college after school and will you be paying? Is there a close relationship with your extended famlies if there is will your family be able to cope without them? Another important factor is how much money you have in savings I know several countries require you to have a bank account with a significant sum of money just to make sure you don't come to the country and go on the dole. I would suggest that you take the total of both of your incomes and save 10% before taxes and put it into a savings account that you don't touch no matter what. Don't go out to the restaurants or the movies etc... I would suggest waiting 5 years. After 5 years you would have enough money from savings and the equity from the sale of your house to move there with little difficulty.

Thanks for the advice. We are going to wait 5 years and see what the kids are going to do. If they go to college it will be another 4 years and if they don't we will have enough money to move. We will be take a trip to New Zealand for our 10th wedding anniversary so we can really see what the country is like.

Yes, I'm packing as fast as possible. Do I need my passport?

Ten years ago I sold practically everything I owned, took three bags and my fiddle and moved to the Republic of Panama.

Now, does that mean anyone should do that? No, emphatically not, I had been down here off and on for several years, was familiar with the culture and language and knew quite a few people. It has not been easy despite that. I like it, but it is not for just anybody. There are things daily that breed frustration. I wonder if you all have even visited New Zealand. That would be the first step. You would be amazed about the number of emails I get from folks who have never been out of the states, asking about land prices, housing, food etc. The first step is to visit and ask questions. Even at that, living in a place is completely different then visiting somewhere.

If you are interested in some of the day to day things and thoughts that come up for an expatriate, I have a few online at http://www.geocities.com/commentsfromazuero/

I know you figure New Zealand is English speaking etc, and so should be easier to adjust to, but don't be all that sure.

Good luck whatever you do.

Leo

I thought New Zealand had a major restriction on who moves into their country..........age, employment, etc. My hubby was there for three weeks. Almost moved there himself. I have talked with several people from New Zealand in the last year and they said there was a great restriction now on how many people moved there and who. You might want to check into this first.

Another thought! The grass is always greener on the other side.........so it appears! We have friends in NZ and things are not perfect there either. It is very expensive there and you must have a good trade to survive.

WHy didn't you tell me that you play fiddle Leo?????

I would like to move to New Zealand and live on the set from Lord of the Rings Seriously my wife and I considered moving to Australia and driving trucks because we heard they had a shortage of drivers and it seemed like an adventure, but the money really just wasn't there.

As far as moving to another country for economic advancement, you might find that bit disappointing.

But if you are an adventurer at heart (like Leo) by all means you should give it a go. But if you are just looking to improve your lot in life ,,, the city of Indianapolis offers a plethora of opportunity and a reasonable cost of living. Good schools for the kids if you locate in one of the outlying areas and being from PA you are already used to Crappy winters

Not as exciting as New Zealand but it might be a step in the that direction and it might better serve your goals.

Good Luck

Mikel

Yes Raven, although I haven't played for awhile. I need to get my bow rehaired and am having trouble finding someone I trust enough to do it. Folks here like to invent a lot . I also like to play blues harp (harmonica), but that is a little tough here, lots of guitarists, but none of em play blues.

Oh well, still like the adventure though.

Leo

I have checked into the moving requirements that New Zealand has. My husband are professionals and qualify to move there. At the moment we're just waiting on the kids. Just can't get them to grow faster.

Well, great! You must be excited then! My husband always wanted to move there too and almost did many years ago. He spent three weeks there checking out both islands. Have you been there yet? Where do you think you would move to there?

I think your plan to visit there first, Liriel, is a sound one. Go for a long vacation, and check out jobs and prices. With the economy in flux over here, thing might work out for you guys yet.

Eamon

Thanks everyone. I have finally convinced him that this would be a good idea. But now he wants to go to Japan for a month and see what that's like. I wish he would make up his mind. He's making me crazy. I just might let him go to Japan and I'll go to New Zealand.