New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[davetapson]

On 7/14/2021 at 8:24 AM, patches said:

wife

Quiet change of status there Patches...?

If so, congratulations...

[Slowbee]

MIQ voucher issued.

 

A new chapter will be starting soon. It is amazing how much material excess we keep in our lives #minimalism

 

[davetapson]

On 7/23/2021 at 11:44 PM, Slowbee said:

MIQ voucher issued.

 

A new chapter will be starting soon. It is amazing how much material excess we keep in our lives #minimalism

 

Has to be the quickest zero to go I've heard of...

[Rocket-Boy]

On 7/23/2021 at 1:44 PM, Slowbee said:

MIQ voucher issued.

 

A new chapter will be starting soon. It is amazing how much material excess we keep in our lives #minimalism

 

Congratulations, Im sure you will be very happy

I get so sad when I hear of people leaving for Aus/NZ, its all selfish though because I really want to go myself, my wife flatly refuses and the only way I would be leaving SA would be as a single man.

At least I can live vicariously through the rest of you!

[patham]

On 7/14/2021 at 6:24 AM, patches said:

 

Also, they gave me 2 years again. Now just to wait for NSW to get their act together

Funny enough, I (a Saffer with the little green book) can now legally go to Australia but my wife (an Australian) cannot (her passport expired a couple of weeks ago, haha).

You could be waiting a while. The little travel bubble to anywhere in Aus has also well and truly popped.

[patham]

On 7/23/2021 at 9:44 PM, Slowbee said:

MIQ voucher issued.

 

A new chapter will be starting soon. It is amazing how much material excess we keep in our lives #minimalism

 

Congrats. Be ruthless with chucking things out now.

 

From our own experience, I wonder what kicking off migration with a 2 weeks confinement feels like? Its a given that with young kids it would be a nightmare to keep them happy, for our first few weeks the local park was well frequented. With Brisbane summer heat and the effects of jet-lag, late night excursions to the park were invaluable.

 

But purely from an adults point of view, maybe it has some postives as long as you have a suitable internet device. It's possibly a chance to do all the last minute arrangements, research, get a feel for local traffic, transport, media, ads, shopping and brands all whilst the basics of life are being tended to by others. Because there sure isn't enough time on the S.A. side to do that in the last few weeks.

 

   

[patches]

On 7/23/2021 at 11:44 PM, Slowbee said:

MIQ voucher issued.

 

A new chapter will be starting soon. It is amazing how much material excess we keep in our lives #minimalism

 

Congrats Slowbee! I'm guessing you're moving to Auckland?

I moved over super-minimalist. 2 duffle bags, a backpack, and a bike in a box. However I was a single guy in my early 30's and didn't need too much. 

My sister, brother-in-law and their little one did the container shipment thing. pros and cons to that too. One bit of advice I had for them was:

"Unless your TV is top end and less than 1yr old, don't bother bringing it. Rather get one this end."

Reason being, TV's here have Freeview (like free digital television with On Demand streaming etc). I don't think SA smart TV's are compatible and although one can pay like $100 to get a Freeview decoder, it's probably best just to get a new TV unless your current one is super-duper.

My Sister didn't listen and brought a thick bezel, 5yr old Samsung 40" over. She waited 3 months for it and regretted  

Anyway, there's no shortage of advice, personal experience and option on this thread. But all that aside I hope this is a great new adventure for you and your family, and as you know we're always here to help out where we can.

14 hours ago, Rocket-Boy said:

Congratulations, Im sure you will be very happy

I get so sad when I hear of people leaving for Aus/NZ, its all selfish though because I really want to go myself, my wife flatly refuses and the only way I would be leaving SA would be as a single man.

At least I can live vicariously through the rest of you!

A little while ago a close friend and I were having a chat about him returning to SA. There were a few life events etc that he was missing out on by being in NZ and he was feeling rather homesick.

I asked him if he could assign percentages to what the biggest draw is, what would the pie-chart look like. Is it things like missing the places (scenery, climate, wildlife, etc)? Missing the people (South Africans as a whole) and culture? Missing friends and family? Missing certain conveniences and luxuries?

Anyway, it came down to that 90% of it was missing friends and family. My answer would be the same, and I'm guessing your wifes' would too. It's a tough one! Especially now that travel isn't as free as it used to be.

37 minutes ago, patham said:

Congrats. Be ruthless with chucking things out now.

From our own experience, I wonder what kicking off migration with a 2 weeks confinement feels like? Its a given that with young kids it would be a nightmare to keep them happy, for our first few weeks the local park was well frequented. With Brisbane summer heat and the effects of jet-lag, late night excursions to the park were invaluable.

But purely from an adults point of view, maybe it has some postives as long as you have a suitable internet device. It's possibly a chance to do all the last minute arrangements, research, get a feel for local traffic, transport, media, ads, shopping and brands all whilst the basics of life are being tended to by others. Because there sure isn't enough time on the S.A. side to do that in the last few weeks.   

Good call! A little bit of time to adjust before jumping into it.

I was late for my 1st day of work (3 days after I arrived in NZ) because I overslept due to jet-lag   

[patches]

On 7/16/2021 at 5:15 PM, davetapson said:

Quiet change of status there Patches...?

If so, congratulations...

Thanks! yeah, quiet and small were the operative words. Very small occasion. Would have even been permissible under Level 3 rules  (9 people including celebrant and photographers)

1 hour ago, patham said:

You could be waiting a while. The little travel bubble to anywhere in Aus has also well and truly popped.

Yup, NSW is a circus at the moment. between rampant case number (rampant for Australia. Not rampant by world standards), and the protests. It's not looking great!

But yeah, we were lucky that the in-laws were able to come over in June, and with the wedding done and dusted the pressure of the travel bubble doesn't seem so critical. However I would like to get me some Aussie retail in before the end of the year, hahaha!

[davetapson]

Sounds like Gerald de Kock commentating on Olympics cross-country.

Dude knows his stuff.

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by davetapson

[Rocket-Boy]

9 hours ago, patches said:

 

A little while ago a close friend and I were having a chat about him returning to SA. There were a few life events etc that he was missing out on by being in NZ and he was feeling rather homesick.

I asked him if he could assign percentages to what the biggest draw is, what would the pie-chart look like. Is it things like missing the places (scenery, climate, wildlife, etc)? Missing the people (South Africans as a whole) and culture? Missing friends and family? Missing certain conveniences and luxuries?

Anyway, it came down to that 90% of it was missing friends and family. My answer would be the same, and I'm guessing your wifes' would too. It's a tough one! Especially now that travel isn't as free as it used to be.

 

Yeah man, the issue is she doesnt like change at all. 

Add to that her parents are 2 minutes from our house, her sister is 5 minutes and my whole family is 10 minutes away.

Im really unhappy in SA, living here is having a really negative effect on my mental wellbeing and negatively changing my personality. There are a number of other factors involved, but what I mostly want is safety.

I want to be able to go and enjoy the outdoors without having to worry about who was harassing me to watch my car when I parked, who is watching for mugging opportunities etc. I dont do a lot of that stuff anymore because its simply too dangerous without having a group of people.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

Hi all, I have a 516,60NZD gift card with Farmers that I need to sell on.
Anybody who may be interested or able to assist in getting it sold on please, it would be appreciated if you could PM me to discuss.
How I ended up with it is a long story, but it is valid for another 18 months and can be used as a debit card so does not require a single transaction when spending. Should be good at any Farmers store countrywide.
Thanks.

[IceCreamMan]

2 hours ago, Rocket-Boy said:

Yeah man, the issue is she doesnt like change at all. 

Add to that her parents are 2 minutes from our house, her sister is 5 minutes and my whole family is 10 minutes away.

Im really unhappy in SA, living here is having a really negative effect on my mental wellbeing and negatively changing my personality. There are a number of other factors involved, but what I mostly want is safety.

I want to be able to go and enjoy the outdoors without having to worry about who was harassing me to watch my car when I parked, who is watching for mugging opportunities etc. I dont do a lot of that stuff anymore because its simply too dangerous without having a group of people.

Cant put a price on that feeling of freedom. Good luck convincing the wife., Took me 8 years 

[patches]

13 hours ago, Rocket-Boy said:

Yeah man, the issue is she doesnt like change at all. 

Add to that her parents are 2 minutes from our house, her sister is 5 minutes and my whole family is 10 minutes away.

Im really unhappy in SA, living here is having a really negative effect on my mental wellbeing and negatively changing my personality. There are a number of other factors involved, but what I mostly want is safety.

I want to be able to go and enjoy the outdoors without having to worry about who was harassing me to watch my car when I parked, who is watching for mugging opportunities etc. I dont do a lot of that stuff anymore because its simply too dangerous without having a group of people.

Yeah, the adjustment can be daunting. 

But the old adage is true... change is the only constant in life, and when one thinks about it, SA has been changing (at a pretty rapid rate), so even the choice of staying/"no change" subjects one to change. The main differences are that one is relatively powerless over those changes and lately/sadly most of those changes have been for the worse.

But I get it. Those family who are so close become one of the more constants/anchors to weather the storms. So does lifestyle, comfort, familiarity and experience. We all have varying levels of "itchy feet". Some can't stay in a place for more than 2yrs. Others don't even like going away on holidays.

Emigration isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and there are definitely compromises involved. 

I was thinking about something a while ago (in connection with a friend who also had concerns about venturing into the unknown). I suggested they think of it like a secondment of sorts. Not uncommon when climbing corporate ladders, and a compromise between the parties that want to experience new things and those that are worried about the permanence of emigrating.

So the idea was to move over. Try it for 2 years/long enough to get permanent residency (so the ability to go back to NZ anytime in the future). That time should also allow one long enough to adjust to the new lifestyle (ride the wave of highs and lows) as well as get established career wise. Then if one wants to return to SA, they will generally be in a better position, whether that be financially (from a better salary market) or employability (from gaining overseas experience, not unlike a regular secondment),

Anyway, internet forum advice is free, and that's about what it's worth ???? But 2-3 years go quicker than one thinks. Ask anyone who has lived here for that long.

11 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

Cant put a price on that feeling of freedom. Good luck convincing the wife., Took me 8 years 

 

[davetapson]

As an ex-Zimbabwean, I have two observations:

1. Your friends will leave. (Your parents will leave too, one way or another.)
2. Every time you think "Well, at least it can't get worse"... it does.

And a few more delights:
For those that don't have a ticket to somewhere, assume it will get harder to emigrate to favourable places over time, and quicker than you'd choose.
Assume that your currency will retain less and less value against hard currencies. 
If you don't have an export business, assume you may find yourself with no hard currency what-so-ever.

Play that forward, figure out where you'd like to be, when.
 

Edited July 27, 2021 by davetapson

[davetapson]

As for wives, we emigrated too late... because my wife doesn't like change (and had a business, and had friends, and had a community, and her parents, and the dogs, and...)

Why too late?

• Takes decades to pay off a house (at least one, most likely more)
• Takes decades to build up retirement capital.

We'll likely be working til we die...

Would we do it again?

In a heart beat.

Given what she knows now, would my wife have emigrated earlier?

In a heart beat.

[IceCreamMan]

45 minutes ago, davetapson said:

As for wives, we emigrated too late... because my wife doesn't like change (and had a business, and had friends, and had a community, and her parents, and the dogs, and...)

Why too late?

• Takes decades to pay off a house (at least one, most likely more)
• Takes decades to build up retirement capital.

We'll likely be working til we die...

Would we do it again?

In a heart beat.

Given what she knows now, would my wife have emigrated earlier?

In a heart beat.

Similar story. 

My wife has admitted she would have left when i first started talking about it had she known, but i guess everything happens for a reason. 

The retirement issue is true. Unfortunately rand to pound is a huge step backwards. Would have been retired in ZA already living the dream on the coast. But alas needs must and here i work til i die. But i am cool with that. Its good to work i reckon. 

We makes our choices and we lives our lives. If inevitably you are going to emigrate rather sooner than later.