Six months
Well, as of yesterday, Friday the 14th, we have been here six months. I wasn't viewing it as a particularly significant anniversary until Friday actually arrived. We had discussed marking the date in some way (and have decided on cheesecake from the Cheesecake shop for tonight), but it wasn't until Friday arrived that I thought - "well there you go, six months". I felt a sense of "being here now". We can tick all the major boxes, we have a home, transport, we all have work and we had a really good time getting to NZ.
However, I think it is also true to say that our life in NZ is still very much a work in progress. We are renting not buying our home. I would like a car which is more fun to drive. Nicky would like full-time permanent hours. I would like to be earning more. Claires' job is a job, not a career. But we have made a start. I never set any time scale on achieving things, but six months seems an appropriate point to look back at what we have achieved, and to gain a sense that we are moving in the right direction.
One of the things which I think has re-inforced for me what we have done is that I ordered a photo book (via the Apple iPhoto software) of our leaving the UK and travelling across America. It helped me remember what a significant time leaving the UK was, and what a wonderful trip across the USA we had. We will probably never have another holiday or experience like it. The book arriving gave me a strong feeling of "we did that".
I find this very helpful as moving to NZ has not been the easiest thing I have ever done in my life, but I think that because the three of us have worked together as a family and a team, we have successfully achieved the first step of our new lives.
There are things we all miss about the UK; family, friends, Radio 4, roundabouts, familiarity, being known and appreciated. But we have family here, and are making friends (Nicky, as always, is the best at this) and accepting the roundabouts, and becoming known and valued in our workplaces. There is however, nothing we can do about Radio 4. It is not so much the individual programmes, most of them we can download or get as podcasts. What we miss is turning on the radio and getting instant good quality news reporting and entertainment. I don't feel a need to listen to the Today programme to find out what is happening in the UK, but I want the team at Radio 4 to come over here so I can find out what is happening in NZ! The equivalent radio station here, National, is just not as good a Radio 4.
Combine this with the fact that we don't have NZ TV yet, and the upshot is that I am starting to enjoy reading The New Zealand Herald. One thing I have realised compared to The Independent is this: 4 million people get up to a lot less than 56 million people do. Not as much happens here. That is not to say that nothing happens here, oh no, but but there is not the same quantity of cock-ups, shenanigans, and general felonies. The Herald's ability to reduce the news from the rest of the world to just two, or sometimes even one, side of a broadsheet however is precis at its best.
Along with this I am still having novel experiences which bring a smile to my face. Walking to the station in the morning is now in the dark, but it is still warm enough to do it wearing a T-shirt. Coming home on the train I always look forward to pulling out of Avondale station. Not because it is the last one before my stop, but because from then on I get a good view of the mountains of the Waitakere Ranges. Being near mountains is for me second best to being by the sea.
Rick
However, I think it is also true to say that our life in NZ is still very much a work in progress. We are renting not buying our home. I would like a car which is more fun to drive. Nicky would like full-time permanent hours. I would like to be earning more. Claires' job is a job, not a career. But we have made a start. I never set any time scale on achieving things, but six months seems an appropriate point to look back at what we have achieved, and to gain a sense that we are moving in the right direction.
One of the things which I think has re-inforced for me what we have done is that I ordered a photo book (via the Apple iPhoto software) of our leaving the UK and travelling across America. It helped me remember what a significant time leaving the UK was, and what a wonderful trip across the USA we had. We will probably never have another holiday or experience like it. The book arriving gave me a strong feeling of "we did that".
I find this very helpful as moving to NZ has not been the easiest thing I have ever done in my life, but I think that because the three of us have worked together as a family and a team, we have successfully achieved the first step of our new lives.
There are things we all miss about the UK; family, friends, Radio 4, roundabouts, familiarity, being known and appreciated. But we have family here, and are making friends (Nicky, as always, is the best at this) and accepting the roundabouts, and becoming known and valued in our workplaces. There is however, nothing we can do about Radio 4. It is not so much the individual programmes, most of them we can download or get as podcasts. What we miss is turning on the radio and getting instant good quality news reporting and entertainment. I don't feel a need to listen to the Today programme to find out what is happening in the UK, but I want the team at Radio 4 to come over here so I can find out what is happening in NZ! The equivalent radio station here, National, is just not as good a Radio 4.
Combine this with the fact that we don't have NZ TV yet, and the upshot is that I am starting to enjoy reading The New Zealand Herald. One thing I have realised compared to The Independent is this: 4 million people get up to a lot less than 56 million people do. Not as much happens here. That is not to say that nothing happens here, oh no, but but there is not the same quantity of cock-ups, shenanigans, and general felonies. The Herald's ability to reduce the news from the rest of the world to just two, or sometimes even one, side of a broadsheet however is precis at its best.
Along with this I am still having novel experiences which bring a smile to my face. Walking to the station in the morning is now in the dark, but it is still warm enough to do it wearing a T-shirt. Coming home on the train I always look forward to pulling out of Avondale station. Not because it is the last one before my stop, but because from then on I get a good view of the mountains of the Waitakere Ranges. Being near mountains is for me second best to being by the sea.
Rick
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