If you wondered where I have disappeared in the past 2 months or so (apologies) – I have just moved to New Zealand from the UK. As I explained in previous post, New Zealand is the 5th continent I have lived in. It’s completely a privilege which I am super thankful about. I am located in Hamilton, in tne North Island, only 90 minutes drive from Auckland. So you can expect more New Zealand content hopefully from now on! But first let’s talk about some major questions people have asked:
Why did I move to New Zealand?
I’ve always dreamed of living in Australasia. I think it’s also accentuated with the fact that I’ve lived in all the other 4 continents. I was born and grew up in Indonesia, then moved to Nigeria when I was 15. 2 years later, I moved to the UK to study with a short stint in the US as an exchange student. Despite growing up in Indonesia, I’ve never been to Australia, as it’s very expensive for Indonesians to visit Australia.
It is very common for doctors in the UK to do a stint in Australia and New Zealand, especially emergency doctors which my husband is doing currently. We then looked into it, and then made the move. So it’s a combination of ambition and opportunity, I’d say.
My First Impression about New Zealand
I have been having the best time ever in New Zealand, and the best impressions about the land of the Kiwis. The weather has been absolutely excellent, the people are very kind and friendly, and I’ve been having a great time. However, I am also aware I’m most likely still in honeymoon period, so yeah it may change after a few weeks or months, I’m not sure. After living in the UK for the longest time, weather being the biggest complaint, New Zealand especially the north island feels like a paradise.
I do recognise some drawbacks though, the lack of public transport in New Zealand being one, especially compared to Europe. We got a car and bike sorted for now, so it’s not a big problem for now. The country is absolutely beautiful and so many places to go!
What’s it Like Living in New Zealand?
The weather in New Zealand is absolutely perfect, especially for outdoor person like me. It’s the upper 20s during the day and low 10s at night (of course in Celsius, sorry Americans). It’s warm enough for me to swim outdoors during the afternoon, and cool enough for me to sleep soundly at night. Well, it helps that the southern hemisphere is having a summer season right now, which is the total opposite to the UK which is deep in the middle of winter right now.
Groceries and cost of living is more expensive than north of England where we were, which is totally expected, and we’ve done the calculations to ensure we can support ourselves in New Zealand while living here. There is a lack of public transport, especially between cities, but car ownership is relatively cheap compared to the UK. The nature is absolutely stunning in New Zealand, so we take our cars to see the great New Zealand outdoors!
The Kiwis are very friendly and welcoming, so I am feeling very welcomed so far and really not feeling isolated at all.
How Hard was it to Move to New Zealand?
Moving abroad is never easy peasy, but I’d say relatively straightforward in this case! We are both UK citizens which makes us eligible for Working Holiday visa. Working Holiday visas are available for people up to mostly 30 years old, but 35 years old for UK citizens and it was so easy to apply. We got our approval in 3 days! Obviously I’m not a legal professional so I can’t give any legal advice, this is just my experience.
The NZ medical system seems to sync up with the UK system nicely, so while working abroad is never 100% straightforward, I think it was as straightforward as possible really. There is this paradox where there are a lot of people who complains that it’s really hard to get a job, and at the same time there’s news that New Zealand is struggling to attract talent. I’m not sure which one, in our case it’s the former but I think doctors is probably a bit of an exception, I’m not sure.
That’s it for now, but I’ll be writing more about New Zealand content – so please stay tuned! Do leave a comment if you have a topic you want to know 🙂
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