Fed up with the UK and thinking about moving to New Zealand,Auckland area.

[midnightcelt]

My 6 yr. old son has high functioning autism, and we have moved to Raumati Beach on the Kapiti Coast. Can anyone recommend a school here that might be good (Raumati South or Raumati Beach, etc.?). We are also open to home schooling. I am interested in a good school for my son, but also concerned about bullying. Cheers!

[loopylinda]

Originally Posted by midnightcelt

My 6 yr. old son has high functioning autism, and we have moved to Raumati Beach on the Kapiti Coast. Can anyone recommend a school here that might be good (Raumati South or Raumati Beach, etc.?). We are also open to home schooling.* I am interested in a good school for my son, but also concerned about bullying.* Cheers!

Hi there!We moved to New Zealand in December 2007 and in February 2008 our Son, aged 10, joined Raumati South School.* He was removed by us August 2008.* He was sexually harrassed, bored out of his mind cause he is highly intelligent and yet he was the only child in his class to know what a decimal point is used for!* Basically I have been home educating him.* We were told by the Principal that to receive any help from the education system here, a child with Aspergers has to be either having learning difficulties or behavioural problems.* Unless if your Son has ADHD or is incredibly naughty, well you won't get anywhere here (sorry if that offends).I wrote a letter via the Board of Trustees and received a reply that stated "we are aware of the problems with bullyilng in our School and are in emergency meetings with our staff".* Do not put your child in Raumati South School .... I implore you!You might be best off putting your Son in the Beach School.* Another thing I have worked out here in the locality is that with regard to our year 3 child, in Beach School they are doing multiplication, division as well as addition and subtraction yet at the South School my Daughter was expected to do dot to dot for maths.* Notice I said "was" cause I have taken her out of there two days before end of this term ended, 25th September!* You will have to get your Son rediagnosed at your own cost in New Zealand (cost $140) as your UK diagnosis will not be recognised.* We had an appointment on a private basis on 3rd September and it was cancelled by the Consultant's Secretary and I was advised that there are many kids "waiting for a diagnosis" and our Son already has one!* Therefore it was being put off until April next year from September this year!Now I am not saying your lad will not cope cause I have not met him but 6 year old Aspergers are different to when they reach teenage puberty years.* Our lad has hit puberty already and on a scale of 1 to 10, I would say he is probably an 8 for having Aspergers seriously!* We are returning to the UK in January 2009 (may as well enjoy another Summer here lol) and we have been promised a place at an Aspergers Unit attached to a mainstream School.I would say that from our experience of Raumati South School, they have very little understanding of the condition.* In fact, when our Son was recently taken on by the Kapiti Mental Health Team children's department, I had to explain to them what samantic pragmatic disorder was cause they hadn't heard of it before!I do not regret coming to New Zealand.* If the education system was as good as the rest of the country, I would say that it would be great but for us, I cannot be bothered to waste any more time and we are putting our Son back a year when we return to the UK in School.* Our Daughter should be fine even though she has not learnt anything new and has managed to forget most of her multiplication times tables since last Christmas.I now home educate both kids myself although to do this you have to get an exemption certificate for your child not to attend School as he is now 6.* For your information, on the first Wednesday of every month at the Beach School in the West Wing, there is a support group from 7.30-9.30pm.* A nice bunch of people although I have only been once.** Take along a plate of food to put towards the buffet if you go.Anything else I can help you with in this regard, just ask! (although don't feel I have helped you much at all saying all of this).
Take care!

[matt carlin]

Originally Posted by vanboy

Hi,as the title mentions we're thinking about NZ.We're both in out early/mid 40's and have 3 children aged 3,10 and 12 and really want out of Britain.I know several people that have made the move to NZ in the last year or so and general consensus of opinion is that NZ is great with opportunity to make a good life (obviously with hard work!),any opinions please from experienced ex-pats.Cheers,Mick.

Been in NZ for the last 2yrs, and still not sure it's the place for me my wife and oldest daughter love it here 5yr old twins dont know better.
Im not sure NZ is a good move for all WAGES ARE POOR in relation to cost of living/house prices seem cheap when you think in pounds but in reality they are very expensive in relation to wage rates and intrest rates +- 8% (and historiclly high) If your looking for a change of life then go to the South Island, we live 40mis from Wellington the drive is easy ( BEWARE KIWI DRIVERS ARE USLESS AT IT) but it's no differant than living in Lancashire. We lived in the SOUTH ISLAND for 12mths before transfer up here and are looking to get back asap, this is not what i signed up for (Wellington) but the south is is much more of what we all hoped for when we 1st thought about NZ
We'd had enough of the UK too Best country in the world just RUN WRONG

[midnightcelt]

Originally Posted by loopylinda

Hi there!We moved to New Zealand in December 2007 and in February 2008 our Son, aged 10, joined Raumati South School.* He was removed by us August 2008.* He was sexually harrassed, bored out of his mind cause he is highly intelligent and yet he was the only child in his class to know what a decimal point is used for!* Basically I have been home educating him.* We were told by the Principal that to receive any help from the education system here, a child with Aspergers has to be either having learning difficulties or behavioural problems.* Unless if your Son has ADHD or is incredibly naughty, well you won't get anywhere here (sorry if that offends).I wrote a letter via the Board of Trustees and received a reply that stated "we are aware of the problems with bullyilng in our School and are in emergency meetings with our staff".* Do not put your child in Raumati South School .... I implore you!You might be best off putting your Son in the Beach School.* Another thing I have worked out here in the locality is that with regard to our year 3 child, in Beach School they are doing multiplication, division as well as addition and subtraction yet at the South School my Daughter was expected to do dot to dot for maths.* Notice I said "was" cause I have taken her out of there two days before end of this term ended, 25th September!* You will have to get your Son rediagnosed at your own cost in New Zealand (cost $140) as your UK diagnosis will not be recognised.* We had an appointment on a private basis on 3rd September and it was cancelled by the Consultant's Secretary and I was advised that there are many kids "waiting for a diagnosis" and our Son already has one!* Therefore it was being put off until April next year from September this year!Now I am not saying your lad will not cope cause I have not met him but 6 year old Aspergers are different to when they reach teenage puberty years.* Our lad has hit puberty already and on a scale of 1 to 10, I would say he is probably an 8 for having Aspergers seriously!* We are returning to the UK in January 2009 (may as well enjoy another Summer here lol) and we have been promised a place at an Aspergers Unit attached to a mainstream School.I would say that from our experience of Raumati South School, they have very little understanding of the condition.* In fact, when our Son was recently taken on by the Kapiti Mental Health Team children's department, I had to explain to them what samantic pragmatic disorder was cause they hadn't heard of it before!I do not regret coming to New Zealand.* If the education system was as good as the rest of the country, I would say that it would be great but for us, I cannot be bothered to waste any more time and we are putting our Son back a year when we return to the UK in School.* Our Daughter should be fine even though she has not learnt anything new and has managed to forget most of her multiplication times tables since last Christmas.I now home educate both kids myself although to do this you have to get an exemption certificate for your child not to attend School as he is now 6.* For your information, on the first Wednesday of every month at the Beach School in the West Wing, there is a support group from 7.30-9.30pm.* A nice bunch of people although I have only been once.** Take along a plate of food to put towards the buffet if you go.Anything else I can help you with in this regard, just ask! (although don't feel I have helped you much at all saying all of this).
Take care!

Oh my! Well, that pretty much backs up my experiences of touring both of these schools (Raumati South in particular). With regard to Raumati South, something just held me back when they handed me the enrollment papers. I just had a 'feeling' that I shouldn't. Now I know why! Thank you for helping me in my decision to home school while we remain in NZ. Because we cannot get what we need for our son here, we will be going to live permanently in the U.S. in May of 2009 (when our rent is up here). I don't regret coming here... this is an amazing place to spend a year, etc. If only the knowledge and support of autism here were better!!! Many many thanks for sharing your experience with me.

[matt carlin]

Originally Posted by joanne

Hi, Thanks for getting back to me. It was good to hear from you. We were thinking on going on a residency permit. My husband is a joiner, although he is not Qualified(dont know if this makes any difference) he has been doing the job for 20 years. We were going to rent for that duration then look at property to buy. we will make some profit from the sale of our house so will put that towards a house.We were looking at the bay of plenty, thought that looked quite nice. think its just an hour or so down from you. have you heard anything about it? Do you need to be in the country a certain amount of time before you can get a mortgage? Are house prices reasonable? weve had a look on the net(trade me)but it would be good to hear from you as you're there! Did you ship anything over(house stuff,car) or is it cheap enough to start again? can you give me the names of shops like comet etc to see if i can check prices on the net? Hope to hear from you soon. Joanne. x

I f your husband is not qualified he'd be better going to the south island (it's better there) we spent our first year in the westcoast TRADESMEN are like rocking horse S$%^.but there few and far between everywhere. Be careful when dealing with estate agent's the minute they hear your Brits the price go up, my advise to you is take $20,000 of the asking price.
Bring EVERYTHING you can here, we where told not to bother bringing our stuff but it's cost us about $40,000 to replace the things we had in the uk, (you can always get rid of it here.
Wages are very poor in relation to costs of house's and other stuff try NOT to convert back to POUNDS or you'll find youself skint very soon, ( if your earning $$$$ you need to be thinkling in $$$$$$) We live in the Kapiti coast 40 mins from Wellington 4bed house Brick and tile $400,000+depending on area.
Hope this helps matt
Shops like comet
Harvey norman ,Noal leeming,the warehouse( only buy from here if you intend to throw it away sooooooooon CRAP)
Ps If you do come stay for at least 2yrs before you decide ( i wanted to go home after the first month and up to about a year later but here i am 2and a half years on
Good luck
Matt

[Soonout]

Originally Posted by vanboy

Hi,as the title mentions we're thinking about NZ.We're both in out early/mid 40's and have 3 children aged 3,10 and 12 and really want out of Britain.I know several people that have made the move to NZ in the last year or so and general consensus of opinion is that NZ is great with opportunity to make a good life (obviously with hard work!),any opinions please from experienced ex-pats.Cheers,Mick.

Hello Mick, I moved here from the UK over 2 years ago and live in Auckland. Between me and the wife we earn about 120,000 a year and god we need it. I have read most of the replies to your posting and I guess everyone has a different opinion but I'll give you mine anyway.
Firstly, if you own your own home in the UK please do not sell up and come here. Rent it out if you can but do not make the mistake we made. The truth is we are returning asap and our biggest error was selling our home over there. The houses here are damp, cold and inferior to what you may have over there. You will get sucked in by estate agents trying to sell you something which may look pretty and cute but wait till you actually have to live in it.
Fuel prices in the UK are incredibly high but the electricity here is astronomical, Me and the wife work full time and we are on our own and our bill is approx 160- 200 dollars a month, work it out for yourself.
There is little or no consumer rights here, if you buy a TV and it breaks, under warranty, expect to wait 6 weeks without one while they TRY and fix it. No trading standards here mate.
Don't even consider trying to find a TRADESMAN who will do a good job when you need some work done, I ain't found one yet.
If you do buy a house and want to make some alterations you will be asking the lovely councils here if it is okay, at a price, and then pay them to come and check it's good enough.
Be prepared to be blamed for everything wrong in NZ, you are British after all. No point arguing, just ignore it safe in the knowledge that envy is everywhere.
I may sound negative, I guess I am, but my god I know how you feel trying to get out of that place but what does it tell you that I'm so desperate to get back.
I wish you well, have a long holiday here first, it's the only advice I can give apart from the obvious, don't do it, try OZ instead.
Good luck

[YoungsSpecialLondon]

I moved here seven years ago and now live in Hamilton. My experience of living in NZ has been generally positive, and I now have two children born here. Just to pick up on preceding comments:-

Houses:
- Auckland is very expensive comparative to the rest of the country; Wellington is also pricey. Prices generally have dropped, but disproportionately at the top end. Houses that were selling for about 300K last year still seem to be selling for that amount.

- Houses generally are quite cold, and damp can be a problem

- Don't buy anything built after 1990. The Building Act was rewritten that year and standards were relaxed. The result has been a spate of jerry-built houses, many of which leak like sieves. Older houses are better.

- Beware when buying. House sales tend to go through fast - and buyers often cut corners by not requiring a building inspection or land information. You will be encouraged to do the same. Don't be tempted.

- On the upside, land is cheaper. It's easy to find a house with a big garden, especially if one avoids Auckland.

Consumer rights and tradesmen:-
- Disagree with Soonout re trading standards: the law is substantially no different from the UK in my experience, and the Consumer Guarantees Act gives very substantial rights.
- Agree with Soonout in that tradesmen are often not great: they can cut corners.

Cost of living:-
- Power: in Auckland I paid between $80 and $120 per month, and that's for a family or four. We didn't use much heating, and that can push it up because of the lack of insulation in the houses.
- Food: much better quality than in Britain: in Auckland I could buy rump steak from Westmere Butchery (run by an North Londoner) for $8 per kilo, magnificent quality, same with fruit and veg, and especially fish, however, Food prices have rocketed in the last two years.
- Rent: I paid $320 per week for a 3-bedroom house with a big garden in inner west Auckland. Not a great street, but not awful either.

Economics
- NZ was, I believe, in recession before Britain. The economy is actually worse here, but people tend to be quite relaxed about it. This is the country whose government out-Thatchered Thatcher in the 1980s; people don't get too worked up about it.
- The currency tends to bounce around a bit. Pick your moment to exchange. Find a decent forex trader. I use HiFX.
- Government benefits are pretty low, so don't lose your job, and make sure you have savings.
- Banks' customer service is very good, and they ofter very good rates on deposit. There's less choice regarding other investment packages (e.g. unit trusts and so on) and they tend not to produce such good rates.


Household goods, utensils etc
- bring them if you can. The quality in the shops here is worse than in Britain and prices are higher.
- The quality of men's clothing here is pants and prices are horrible. Women will be fine though.

Driving
- is awful, lots of tailgating and a big boy-racer culture. The road accident rate is higher than France.
- Insurance is not compulsory, so expect a long wait in the small claims court if you don't have fully comp insurance.
- Cars were cheaper than the UK when I bought mine, but that was seven years ago.

Crime
- Burglary is a problem; so are drugs-related offences, but I think violent crime is considerably lower.

Auckland generally
- Every part of town has its good streets and bad streets, but in general avoid South Auckland and treat West Auckland with caution. North Shore is nice, and east and central Auckland quite flash.
- I have had big problems with neighbours. Kiwis are more likely than Brits to have late outdoor parties with music turned up to the max. I have had two lots of neighbours who frequently partied late, drinking and fighting; getting them kicked out was a major pest.
- Auckland is the best place for a decent curry.
- Auckland has the best British pubs (and Galbraiths makes particularly good bitter)

New Zealanders
- They're generally a very friendly bunch but no better or worse disposed towards people than British people are. So if you're confused because the New Zealander you've known for a week seems to be treating you like a lifelong friend - don't be, because you aren't a lifelong friend. It's just the etiquette.
- They tend to be uninterested in world news, or anything intellectual.
- They are very conformist: group dynamics are very important in NZ.
- I've experienced no prejudice. I will say that NZers are very sensitive to criticism of NZ and genuinely appreciate praise of it. Be polite! British people are not really considered foreign: my wife (who is not British or NZ) has had much greater problems, but NZers HATE complaining.

[YoungsSpecialLondon]

Would like to add that when I was contemplating moving here the Government was doing quite a hard sell on the country. Beware. It is easy to be led to believe that your skills will be in demand, when in fact there is a surplus. Getting the first job can also be hard as lots of employment is made on personal recommendation. Unless you are VERY confident (or foolhardy, or have no responsibilities) line up a job first.

[joanne]

hey Matt thanks for that. we did look into the south island too. Property seems a bit cheaper there. What about DIY shops? What are those like? (hubby wants to know)
Cheers. Joanne

[matt carlin]

Originally Posted by joanne

hey Matt thanks for that. we did look into the south island too. Property seems a bit cheaper there. What about DIY shops? What are those like? (hubby wants to know)
Cheers. Joanne

Hi Joanne
DIYshops not to bad have a look at
Mitre 10 .co.nz
Placemakeres.co.nz
Hammer hardware.co.nz
Be warned paint cost a fortune, tools are about the same but seem to be cheaper for Dewalt, Makita, and the better brands. When comparing try to remmember you'll be earning $$$$$$$$ and not Pounds.
If you end up in the north try and stay away from the bigger city's, outlying areas are usually cheaper to buy house's in and you'll get more land for your money.
Estate agent's
Harcourts.co.nz Tommy's realestate.co.nz winkelrealestate.co.nz
When you look on the web at houses look at the square meterage of the land and house.hope this helps Matt