Our New Zealand anniversary!

This week, we realised we’d been living in Auckland for a year!
Yes, it has been 12 months since we were belched off a very unpleasant Qantas flight and into the Brave New World that is Auckland.
I still remember the drive to our temporary city apartment. C. was so exhausted he fell asleep, and Miss 6. was so excited she kept describing everything as ‘funny.’ Including my husband’s boss!
After a quick shower and change, we ventured into busy Queen Street, where C. almost stepped into a puddle of vomit, and then dramatically announced this had been the Worst Day Of His Life. And we wondered: Had we made a massive mistake?
But as the weeks passed in a blur of house-hunting, car-buying, setting up bank accounts and settling into schools, we soon began to enjoy our new home.
And 12 months on, we have no regrets. Kiwis have been marvellously warm and welcoming, and living overseas, even just across the ditch, has been enriching for us as a family. We’ve enjoyed learning about different cultures, trying new foods, and exploring this breathtakingly gorgeous country. We’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
The worst thing about relocating a family overseas is missing your other family. We all miss our family and friends back home, and have our moments we feel homesick and sad. But we’ve been lucky enough to get home occasionally, and have really enjoyed getting visitors from time to time!
And of course, we hate not having pets – though regular readers will know we now have a kitty visitor who calls on us whenever she is hungry, thirsty, or in need of attention. So we get in a pet ‘fix’ every now and then with her.
Yes, moving a family overseas is huge – but it’s also exciting and fun. Here are some of the things we’ve learned:
· Get your kids into school/daycare as soon as possible. In NZ that’s tricky, because you need to live near your school before you can enrol! The minute our kids were in school, they settled down and relaxed. Okay, so it wasn’t quite what they were used to, but they were back into a routine and generally knew what was expected of them each day. That gave them an element of control over their lives, and gave us time to do the stuff we needed – like unpacking and dealing with red-tape - without stressing out the kids.
· Help make the move as ‘normal’ as possible. After arriving at our apartment, we immediately went out and bought soy milk, Milo, and a few other ‘comfort’ foods that we knew they would love.
· Stay in an apartment rather than a hotel while you find a permanent place to live. It’s not just about saving money (though that’s a help). After a couple of nights, eating out got boring, and the kids just wanted to chill out in front of the telly, like they would at home. Having a kitchen, meant we could cook up simple family meals like bangers and mash, instead of going out to eat every night. Not to mention, enjoying cereal and milk or toast in the mornings.
· Organise communication as soon as possible. It took us three weeks to get internet and phone at our new home, and I went slightly bonkers in the process!
· Reconsider a ‘relocation consultant’. They are expensive, and although my husband’s work kindly paid for one for us, to be honest, she wasn’t much help. She was a couple of days too late to take us on our tour of rental places (we found one ourselves in the meantime) and gave us horrendous advice about the best places for us to live. Worst of all, she didn’t tell us stuff we REALLY needed to know: Like registering for a doctor as soon as possible. (You need to be with a GP for at least 3 months before qualifying for reduced rates for visits and medication), and bringing in medication the family needs that is unavailable or hopelessly expensive here.
· Try to do most of the house-hunting legwork without the kids. Ours found it stressful and fairly boring being dragged from one place to another, but having just arrived, there were no family or friends to babysit, and we didn’t want to have them babysat by a stranger. Yes, they can still have a say if you like, but once you’ve narrowed it down.
· Obviously, your kids need to travel with any extra special toys, like teddies. Then, when the moving dudes arrive, make sure you set up their rooms first. The kids were at school during moving day, and when they got home, they got to add the finishing touches, and unpack their toys to their own satisfaction. .
· Bring photos, albums and pictures. We left many behind, thinking we wouldn’t have anywhere to put them. But the kids would have preferred to see familiar pictures in their own new rooms, and they constantly go through the photo albums we did bring.
· Let them have their home comforts. Miss 6 always has vegemite sandwiches for lunch, and Mr 8 likes his Tim Tams. It’s comforting for kids (or adults) to be surrounded by things/meals/drinks that they know. Luckily in NZ that’s easy, and their favourite things are readily available.
· Don’t trust the airline to deliver when it comes to food and entertainment. We were seated too close to the TV screens on Qantas for the kids to be able to watch the movie, and they ended up fidgeting and arguing for most of the flight. And the tiny pack of crayons and activities they were given was the same as they’d had on two previous domestic flights, so they lasted about, oh, all of five minutes. And don’t get me started on the food! Now, the kids always travel with a small backpack with DS games, activities, books and snacks. (Note: Not too many snacks, as you’ll have to bin any leftovers when you reach your destination). Usually forbidden treats like chewing gum works a treat. Also, I carry my laptop, and the kids watch movies and play games on that if they’re bored.

Has anyone else got any tips for relocating a family overseas?

Cars, house hunting and Donut Dude

Mmmm ....donuts!

After a busy few days hunting for cars and houses (and we've now found both) we were able to relax a bit and take a better look at our new city.
There has been a Pan Pacific gathering in Auckland this week, with most of the delegates staying at our hotel. This has meant loads of interesting encounters, and plenty of indulgence towards the kids. And probably people mean well, but it just encourages the kids, really
Anyway, this morning the kids were treated like celebrities when we arrived in the foyer. Fijian, Raratongan and other delegates, were taken by the Princess’s blonde curly hair, and the Little Man’s reddish-blonde hair. They insisted on loads of photos and even dragged me into a few! I tell you, it took us ages to get through the foyer, though the kids loved the attention. One woman even gave the Princess a beaded ring as a present, much to her delight!
Afterwards, we had our first experience of Auckland’s changeable weather. I took kids off to the park, while Husband went to morning tea at work. We spent a pleasant 40 mins or so there – kids making instant friends as they do, a shirt-less dero joining us for a few scary minutes (as they apparently do, here). We basked in the sun at the playground, then walked down to a nearby market. Kids spent some of their pocket money, then I realised the sunny skies had clouded over.
“Quick kids, we better get back before it rains,” I said, as giant-sized raindrops began pelting us in the head.
Luckily we were only a few blocks away! We soon found out the rain is cold here – not warm like in Brisbane.
We completed arrangements for the rental (and coughed up a small fortune for the privilege to do so).
In the meantime, we needed a bank cheque. Imagine our pleasant surprise, when we found out the cheque was free – “It’s your money, so you can use it the way you like” the teller said.
Even better, the bank had free interactive TV games for the kids to play while it was organised. If we’d been waiting for an appointment, we could even have enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea on them. I like the way NZ banks treat their customers!
Later, I nervously took the wheel of the new car, to follow Husband who was dropping off our rental. All went well, until my GPS took me to the wrong place. K, in the rental car, had no idea where I was and he’d left his mobile in our new car, so we had no way of knowing where each other was … luckily our ESP kicked in and we managed to find each other, but not after a few stressful moments.
We strolled around a market at nearby Aotea Square that evening, before finishing the night with another Asian meal. That night, the kids discovered Donut Dude - a long-haired, tattoed, bikie-type guy who apparently serves up the best donuts in the world from his little caravan.