beenhad
Scottish expat in New Zealand
Forum posts
29
About me
Scottish
Lives in timuka
Registration: 10 November 2013
Best cities for retirement in New Zealand
Hallo l have been in NZ for 8 years and chose to live in the South Island in a small town where l retired and to be honest with you if you want a active retirement there is very little to choose from That is interesting. So if you do retire out ... Read More
Sense of humour in New Zealand
Can only speak for this part of the South Island, the average older Kiwi does not seem to have much of a sense of humour as l have found out to my cost . As one Kiwi has told me their sense of humour is totally different from the rest of the ... Read More
Cost of living in New Zealand - 2017 by Priscilla
Hello, Before moving to New Zealand, it is important to investigate the cost of living in the country. As we did in 2015, we give you the opportunity to share your experience and tell us more about products and services average recorded ...
I live in a small town on the South Island where I paid nearly $300,000 (about 150,000 pounds) 4 years ago for a 3 bedroomed house that by European standards is very poorly built and has no insulation with hardboard on the inner walls (although ... Read More
Is there racism in New Zealand towards black people by estherl
I am a Ugandan female coming to New Zealand on a study visa for 2 years for my masters degree. I need to know if there is racism in New Zealand. Are there many black people from Africa? How are they treated? Would a little black boy of 5 years be ...
must agree that guy was so unbelievable, not on the same planet as most people. Read More
Property prices in New Zealand by Priscilla
Hello everyone, Finding affordable housing in New Zealand is number one priority for newcomers. Tell us more about the estate market in your district/city/region. What are the most desired places to live? What are the most affordable ones? ...
Hallo as it happens my son lives near Dunedin and he had been looking round for a couple of years now and we have gone to some of the viewing days and to put it mildly you would wonder wether a blind person built/repaired some of the buildings we ... Read More
Disappointment of life in NZ
Hallo all, how many people actually regret emigrating out to NZ due to the standard of living compared to where theycome from?. The reason I ask is I continually hear about people especially Brits who tend to spend a couple of years over here there ... Read More
Property prices in New Zealand by Priscilla
Hello everyone, Finding affordable housing in New Zealand is number one priority for newcomers. Tell us more about the estate market in your district/city/region. What are the most desired places to live? What are the most affordable ones? ...
I live in a sleepy little place called Temuka on the South Island where in reality there is very little activity in anything . Yet the houses sell here like hot cakes ! A average of about 2-3 weeks however In reality every house I looked at was ... Read More
New members of the New Zealand forum, introduce yourself here 聳 2016 by Julien
Hi all, Newbie on the New Zealand forum? Don聮t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more ...
Hallo,there is racism in New Zealand and you don't have to be coloured to experience it!. My daughter in law is Chinese and lives here with her British husband. She regularly experiences racism some of it subtle some not. Your average younger ... Read More
So how does this actually work? by Johnny2352
Good day all! This has probably been answered before, if so, I apologize. I would like to go abroad to NZ for 2 years+ to temporarily work and live there. This is not an intended permanent move. I'm just not sure how the process of obtaining ...
Hallo,I know from experience it is very very difficult to get a job here without a work permit and to get a work permit you need a job!. My son who was a senior IT manager in Hong Kong for 15 years,his experience didn't matter,he had lots of ... Read More
Customer care in New Zealand
There seems to be 2 levels of service,face to face in the shops,cafes etc you can only describe as helpful but after service for faulty goods can be hit and miss. On the other hand for example car insurance or any other form of business that ... Read More
New members of the New Zealand forum, introduce yourself here 聳 2016 by Julien
Hi all, Newbie on the New Zealand forum? Don聮t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more ...
Hallo Hussein, $300000 sounds a lot of money doesn't it, but in reality in New Zealand it won't go far and there are a lot of construction companies here , so think carefully about your choice of locations,down here in Canterbury there is a ... Read More
In retrospect, would you move again to New Zealand? by Christine
Hi all, If you had to look back on your expat experience in New Zealand, would you heartily say "let聮s do it again"? From the preparation stage to your actual everyday life in your new country, what did you enjoy the most? Would you do ...
Truthfully no I would not come to NZ if I knew then what I know now,mainly because you always have a feeling of being ignored and definitely not be trusted,Kiwis seem to live in a world where it'll be alright is the attitude and to try and get ... Read More
to work as a doctor by madushika lokuarachchi
Hi I'm planning to migrate to new Zealand with my husband.I would like to work as a doctor.anybody know how to get started?
Never a truer word said! And as for your average Kiwi driver they would have a crash within minutes in most other countries the way they drive. They don't have indicators on cars here because no one uses them,and they drive about 1 metre or so ... Read More
looking for job
Taken from experience of my son,he came to NZ hoping to get a job then get a work visa afterwords,he had a lot of interviews but was told time and time again,no work visa no job.! However he persevered and got a job with what you would call a dodgy ... Read More
New members of the New Zealand forum, introduce yourself here 聳 2016 by Julien
Hi all, Newbie on the New Zealand forum? Don聮t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more ...
Hallo, just a warning about coming to NZ without a work visa as my son did. He had a years visa and is well qualified in the IT business having worked in Hong Kong for 15 years before he came over to NZ, he applied for lots of IT jobs and had ... Read More
Is there racism in New Zealand towards black people by estherl
I am a Ugandan female coming to New Zealand on a study visa for 2 years for my masters degree. I need to know if there is racism in New Zealand. Are there many black people from Africa? How are they treated? Would a little black boy of 5 years be ...
Hallo,don't know about racism on the North island as I live in Canterbury but I know from experience there is definitely a consious /unconscious barrier between Kiwis and imports for a better word. You find out you are not necessarily excluded ... Read More
How to make friends in Wellington by expat.com
We have been talking about [url=/forum/viewtopic.php?id=891]loneliness when you are abroad[/url], let's now talk about how to make friends (locals or expatriates) when you're living in Wellington :top: [b]Which are your best ...
Must admit it isn't easy making friends in NZ as where we live most kiwis are very clicky, we have found on more than 1 occasion once you have joined a club such as the local bowling club when the locals have found all about you after a few ... Read More
How to make friends in Wellington by expat.com
We have been talking about [url=/forum/viewtopic.php?id=891]loneliness when you are abroad[/url], let's now talk about how to make friends (locals or expatriates) when you're living in Wellington :top: [b]Which are your best ...
We have been in NZ for just over 3 years and live in 1 of the smaller towns and have tried various groups such as the bowling,bridge,local men's club etc but we always find after the locals have found all about us ie where we are from etc they ... Read More
What do you like the most in New Zealand?
I like New Zealand because of the slower pace of life at least where we live! Also we feel safe when we walk about and not intimidated by gangs of ferrel youths,they do exist but tend to be part of bigger communities. you feel the Benefit of space ... Read More
Is a Immigration Agent worth the money? SA to NZ by EmmaJaneYp
Hi There, My husband and I have made the decision to move to NZ (I have family in Auckland). Our best plan is to come over on holiday and look for work and then apply for a work visa once we have a job offer. We will try and get a job first but ...
Hallo, must agree with the advice the previous blogger wrote, it is not the land of milk and honey as the image put about by these immigration agents, from some third world countries NZ is a major improvement in their standard of living but we have ... Read More
Driving in New Zealand by Maximilien
Hi, What do you think of the way people drive in New Zealand? How different is it from your home country? Respecting the road safety rules, driving etiquette such as general courtesy, speed excess聟 what are the characteristics of the driving ...
Forgot to tell you can legally drive here at the grand age of 15! So you can imagine how mature some of these drivers are! on the other end drivers still drive around in their 80s&90s. The top speed limit in NZ is 100k/60mph even on the few ... Read More
Driving in New Zealand by Maximilien
Hi, What do you think of the way people drive in New Zealand? How different is it from your home country? Respecting the road safety rules, driving etiquette such as general courtesy, speed excess聟 what are the characteristics of the driving ...
I have been driving on the South Island for 3 years now and find driving in the big cities a damn sight safer than driving in the rural areas where we live!, the answer being in the cities they tend to obay the rules of the road generally but away ... Read More
Safety in New Zealand by Christine
Hi, We would like to talk about a sensitive but important topic: do you feel safe in New Zealand? How would you define the level of safety in the country? Can you walk safely during the day and at night without any fear? Do you think ...
Hallo, thanks for your reply, not sure how to answer your question though, make no mistake NZ suffers from the same problem as the rest of the world with gangs drugs drinking cultures etc in the big towns especially on the north island. I ... Read More
Safety in New Zealand by Christine
Hi, We would like to talk about a sensitive but important topic: do you feel safe in New Zealand? How would you define the level of safety in the country? Can you walk safely during the day and at night without any fear? Do you think ...
I live on the South island in a sleepy little town and I generally feel safe at most times, however one of the bigger dangers round about here are the car drivers, they all drive as if there is no one else on the road, and generally tend to ignore ... Read More
Looking for a job offer in New Zealand or Australia by stefanschaefer
Hi I'm Stefan and would like to know the ins and outs about New Zealand and Australia. I'm seeking a job offer in New Zealand or Australia.
Hallo Stefan, my son secured a job as a electrician in New Zealand whilst living in the UK, it was a mixed blessing as his new company in NZ said they would supply accommodation for him as part of the employment package, it was a wooden shed with ... Read More
New members of the New Zealand forum, introduce yourself here by Julien
Hi all, Newbie on the New Zealand forum? Don聮t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more on ...
Hallo people, We moved out to NZ in 2012 to retire and to be with both our sons who live out here. We live on the South island about 140k away from Christchurch. Cant speak for the North island but depending where you choose to live be prepared for ... Read More