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

[Kranswurm]

Yip....again things are cheaper here. Unskilled labour being one of them and yes, I pay to get my car washed / lawn mowed / house cleaned / clothes washed and ironed. If you can afford a domestic, why not.

Absolutely

I am away for a month at a time ,sometimes two.

I have a housekeeper.She looks after my house.Does the garden,washes irons changes bulbs,does shopping ,waters the garden,etc etc.Even arrives in her own car.......which really pisses the verkrampte neighbours off.

[Guest notmyname]

Yip....again things are cheaper here. Unskilled labour being one of them and yes, I pay to get my car washed / lawn mowed / house cleaned / clothes washed and ironed. If you can afford a domestic, why not.

I agree whole heartedly. You're providing employment for the basically unemployable.

[Andrew Steer]

I agree whole heartedly. You're providing employment for the basically unemployable.

 

And in terms of quality of life... the less time I spend ironing and mowing the lawn, the more time I can spend with my kids. It's a no brainer

[Bateleur1]

The last couple of years we had so much trouble with our domestic.  We ended paying someone a salary and we had to do the work ourselves in anyway.  So retrenched her and saw it as preparation for our move to Europe.  We have so little ironing to do, I iron about once a month while watching TV for an hour or two

[Guest notmyname]

And in terms of quality of life... the less time I spend ironing and mowing the lawn, the more time I can spend with my kids. It's a no brainer

Flock of birds with one stone.

[Odinson]

Absolutely

I am away for a month at a time ,sometimes two.

I have a housekeeper.She looks after my house.Does the garden,washes irons changes bulbs,does shopping ,waters the garden,etc etc.Even arrives in her own car.......which really pisses the verkrampte neighbours off.

 

Whose dirty clothes does she wash and iron when you've been abroad for a month or two?

[Kranswurm]

Whose dirty clothes does she wash and iron when you've been abroad for a month or two?

None

Then she buggers off early.Her time is her own

Reminds me I must teach her to tune my guitars

[Andrew Steer]

How do you guys overseas manage without seeing your family etc?

 

Obviously crime here limits our freedom to a degree, and that's the obvious plus to being over there from what I can see - but seeing ageing parents, best friends etc only once every 2/3 years is something I just could not bring myself to do...

 

My friends and family are pretty much the most important things in my life, and even if I was a little happier, less stressed somewhere else, it wouldn't mean all that much with not being able to share it with them. It's probably the no1 reason why I won't even consider the whole upheaval until it's absolutely necessary...

 

So how are you guys coping, how big an impact do your family and friends have in your life?

Have a lot of them gone over already?

[Odinson]

None

Then she buggers off early.Her time is her own

Reminds me I must teach her to tune my guitars

 

La domestic vita!

[hayleyearth]

How do you guys overseas manage without seeing your family etc?

 

Obviously crime here limits our freedom to a degree, and that's the obvious plus to being over there from what I can see - but seeing ageing parents, best friends etc only once every 2/3 years is something I just could not bring myself to do...

 

My friends and family are pretty much the most important things in my life, and even if I was a little happier, less stressed somewhere else, it wouldn't mean all that much with not being able to share it with them. It's probably the no1 reason why I won't even consider the whole upheaval until it's absolutely necessary...

 

So how are you guys coping, how big an impact do your family and friends have in your life?

Have a lot of them gone over already?

 

Since 2003 basically I haven't lived in the same provinces as any of my family members, and saw my folks max 2 or 3 times a year the last 4 years. For me coming to a new place where I have no family or pre-known friends really (met a few on this thread back home but we never did anything together there) is the easy part at this moment. When my folks need me now it is still for simple things, however when they get older /sick /injured it will be a different story. 

 

I'm lucky that the Potgieters are here though. Hanging out with them and stopping by for a short 5 min coffee (okay, it's never just 5min) on my way home from work gives me my family feel dose. 

 

It seems my sis will also visit the whole of the Dec and Jan holiday and I will probably visit  home in August next year. (that's if my folks don't come before that) 

[Wayne Potgieter]

How do you guys overseas manage without seeing your family etc?

 

Obviously crime here limits our freedom to a degree, and that's the obvious plus to being over there from what I can see - but seeing ageing parents, best friends etc only once every 2/3 years is something I just could not bring myself to do...

 

My friends and family are pretty much the most important things in my life, and even if I was a little happier, less stressed somewhere else, it wouldn't mean all that much with not being able to share it with them. It's probably the no1 reason why I won't even consider the whole upheaval until it's absolutely necessary...

 

So how are you guys coping, how big an impact do your family and friends have in your life?

Have a lot of them gone over already?

For me its pretty easy. I dont have any family. My entire family is my wife and kids.

 

My wife has a small family in the east rand, but they are not super close

 

Most of our south african friends understood our reasons for leaving and thus supported it.

 

The hardest part for me has been losing touch with mates. I used to love cheap steaks nights on mondays with the boys and weekend rides with mates. It will take time to build up social circles here. It is already happening.

 

It is not a decision to take lightly. I occasionally have days when i question my decision. But they are quickly dismissed and i move on.

 

We have adopted hayley as our weird 30 something daughter and my kids adore her. Ramsdens family are totally awesome as well. We are all heading to the ski slopes in a couple of weeks with some local friends as well so we are developing a good social structure with people to share experiences with. This is critical to your happiness here.

 

Honestly, the good FAAAAARR outweighs the bad.

 

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[Ramrod]

For me its pretty easy. I dont have any family. My entire family is my wife and kids.

 

My wife has a small family in the east rand, but they are not super close

 

Most of our south african friends understood our reasons for leaving and thus supported it.

 

The hardest part for me has been losing touch with mates. I used to love cheap steaks nights on mondays with the boys and weekend rides with mates. It will take time to build up social circles here. It is already happening.

 

It is not a decision to take lightly. I occasionally have days when i question my decision. But they are quickly dismissed and i move on.

 

We have adopted hayley as our weird 30 something daughter and my kids adore her. Ramsdens family are totally awesome as well. We are all heading to the ski slopes in a couple of weeks with some local friends as well so we are developing a good social structure with people to share experiences with. This is critical to your happiness here.

 

Honestly, the good FAAAAARR outweighs the bad.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Agreed. The separation of family is generally more important to the female species.  I do miss my family but miss my mates more. Another thing is that we are not very open socialites so making friends for us takes time.  That being said when we do make friends they are good friendships that last.

 

We have skype and WhatsApp calls on a regular basis with home.  It helps to keep in touch. Not the same as going for a coffee/birthday party/ ride with your good mates.

 

I console myself by reminding myself why I moved to a different country. Wayne and his family have been a saving grace and the fact that our wives have become friends makes life easier. Also knowing that they are going through the same emotions as us helps us to feel normal in a very different state of adjustment.

[Ramrod]

Agreed. The separation of family is generally more important to the female species.  I do miss my family but miss my mates more. Another thing is that we are not very open socialites so making friends for us takes time.  That being said when we do make friends they are good friendships that last.

 

We have skype and WhatsApp calls on a regular basis with home.  It helps to keep in touch. Not the same as going for a coffee/birthday party/ ride with your good mates.

 

I console myself by reminding myself why I moved to a different country. Wayne and his family have been a saving grace and the fact that our wives have become friends makes life easier. Also knowing that they are going through the same emotions as us helps us to feel normal in a very different state of adjustment.

I also forgot to mention that his kids are just so well behaved and awesome and his daughter is the cutest thing on two legs.

[hayleyearth]

I also forgot to mention that his kids are just so well behaved and awesome and his daughter is the cutest thing on two legs.

 

I have tons of fun around them! I almost wet my pants in the car on Tuesday eve! Flip she needs to go do drama or acting or something, she is SOOOOO entertaining! And each boy should be sent to Wayne to be taught the lessons on how to be a gentleman, their son is far ahead of kids his age I think regarding that.

[rouxtjie]

None

Then she buggers off early.Her time is her own

Reminds me I must teach her to tune my guitars

Eb.....klaar gepraat

[rouxtjie]

How do you guys overseas manage without seeing your family etc?

 

Obviously crime here limits our freedom to a degree, and that's the obvious plus to being over there from what I can see - but seeing ageing parents, best friends etc only once every 2/3 years is something I just could not bring myself to do...

 

My friends and family are pretty much the most important things in my life, and even if I was a little happier, less stressed somewhere else, it wouldn't mean all that much with not being able to share it with them. It's probably the no1 reason why I won't even consider the whole upheaval until it's absolutely necessary...

 

So how are you guys coping, how big an impact do your family and friends have in your life?

Have a lot of them gone over already?

Good question A....I will kill my parents and in-laws should we decide to pack it in...It is the single most important factor keeping us in SA. Their grand children are their everything...