adversecamber

if the cap fits

2010-01-26T12:48:00.002+13:00

I know this is Aussie-based abuse, but the way the Kiwis feel about us isn't that much different...

a quick catchup

2010-01-04T20:45:00.007+13:00

We've been in New Zealand for over 12 months now, and yet another new year dawns with many previous and ancient resolutions stagnant and/or unfulfilled.

I'm not a big fan of new year, as it brings the realisation that yet another cycle has passed without the following taking place:

Weight loss - it's been 20 years now that I've been unhappy with my mass and dimensions, and that's far too long to be continually pissed off.
Getting fit - it goes hand-in-hand with the weight loss, but this year made me realise that even back in the day I wasn't really fit; so why I thought I could go from zero to a football tournament is beyond me.
Writing - ideas by the score pop into my head and are duly noted in various books and journals. The making notes is a good thing, the failure to do anything with them is a bad thing.
Poetry - okay, it's a subset of writing, but I've not completed a poem for at least 6 years (and probably closer to 10) and each time I attempt to update youthinkthisisntme.com a little bit of me dies inside.

However it's not all bad - so many good things have happened this year including (but not limited to):

Living in New Zealand - we really love it here and feel part of the Sumner community. It's a welcoming and social place full of families like us and people have gone out of their way to make us feel incredibly welcome (even though we're yet another gang of poms!)
The kids - seeing them adapt and grow here, as well as adding another year under their collective belts, fills us both full of pride. Even in this short year there have been many 'firsts' that we won't forget.
Moving house - we left our previous rental and are now renting 'up the hill' and the views are worth the hill-walking and the 50+ steps. It's the kind of house you never get bored of coming home to and one where we know we'll enjoy entertaining.

Like it says in the title it's only a quick catchup, but my new year resolution is 'no resolutions, but must try harder'...

just chillin' © adverseCamber 2009

me and sisyphus

2009-10-20T15:01:00.007+13:00

The first anniversary of my recce to New Zealand for a months work has been and gone, and the first anniversary of the family arrival is only 2 months away. Spring has sprung in all its schitzophrenic randomness (Wikipedia tells me that Four Seasons in One Day was written about Melbourne but it could have quite easily been about Christchurch) and summer is only around the corner. I won't moan about the winter just gone, but thankfully it has, and we won't be quite so naive again.

We're making plans to move in the new year, probably to another rental (although this time one which doesn't lose the sun at 3.30pm due to close proximity to the mountains) although we are actively house-hunting. We saw our 'perfect' home just up the hill a couple of weeks ago but missed out as offers had already been accepted - the fact that it went for $55k under our budget made it all the more galling. Still, more are coming on the market each week as the weather steadily improves and already I can see myself spending each sunday trudging around open-home after open-home.

Cathy's plan of getting to know absolutely everyone in Sumner is a couple of months ahead of schedule. I'm often getting separately introduced to people in the pub who inform me "I think I know your wife - isn't she the one who runs playgroup / music time / carries that really cute-but-heavy child around town?" Sumner is a small place and I reckon that even 2 degrees of separation doesn't do it justice. She met someone the other morning who happens to be married to my work lunch-buddy (i.e. the guy I go to lunch with, and no we don't hold hands) - this is the way it works over here and it keeps you on your toes. There's no side-sniping or back-stabbing because it will always rebound back on you.

friday sisyphus © Diametrik 2009

My plan of having too many things to concentrate on - and therefore achieving nothing - is also coming to fruition. Things are incredibly busy for me with regular work and extra evening work, not to mention trying to get fit (although to a casual onlooker it looks like i'm a vowel out there) and hopefully doing fun things with the kids. It's all good though (to coin a phrase) and I have no complaints other than to wish we could watch more than 2 episodes a night of The Wire. I've not been this addicted to a DVD boxset since The Mighty Boosh (and I didn't mope when season 1 of that came to an end). I do sometimes feel like I'm pushing a boulder up a hill, but as time progress the thankless tasks become a bit more, er, thankful?

By the way my much anticipated phoenix-like reintroduction into the ways of football fell flat due to predictable achilles and ankle problems. I don't want to talk about it other than to focus on probably still being injured when the season starts proper in February. Me and Torres, we're like two peas in a pod.

that's torn it

2009-09-16T21:46:00.010+12:00

A couple of weeks my brother and sister-in-law took receipt of a beautiful new baby girl, which of course made me an uncle again. This was brilliant news and we became quite excited at the thought of a bubba in the family again. Then we remembered that we're a long way from home and probably wouldn't get to see her for at least another couple of years - suddenly it feels like it's the other side of the world rather than a skype of phone-call away.

This is why it's good to do lots of family things together, and last weekend was favourite fun day out this year. Katie decided as part of her birthday treat that she didn't want a party this year, but instead wanted to spend some time alone with each of us and do something special. This is really sweet, and sterotypically Katie is looking forward to spending the day shopping with Cathy this weekend, birthday money ready to spend.

My time with her was to go bike riding at McLeans Forest in the Waimakariri River Regional Park, and this was an absolute joy. I was concerned that 10k may be too much for Katie (and, if I'm being honest, for me), but we spent an enjoyable hour zipping through the forest up and down playful slopes and over gentle banks. There were a couple of steeper slopes which made it more exciting, and we took it in turn to take the lead and 'gee' the other up. I can't really overestimate how much fun I had, and I was sorry when we left.

not the bike you were thinking of © Catherine White 2009

Biking is just one of the many and varied ways I'm honing my near 40-year-old body (one that's rarely moved away from a computer desk for 15 years) to be ready for the South Island Masters Tournament and specifically the social soccer (and yes I know it's 'football', but i'm getting sick of people presuming I'm referring to rugby all the time). Hilariously I have just over two weeks to get ready to play at least 45 minutes at least three times over a single weekend. I'm abolutely bricking it.

I've bought football boots and been for a run in them, and that felt a bit weird. All the things I can do easily with a ball on the beach or in the garden suddenly become complex maneuvers that my bumbling body and sausage feet are ill-equipped to cope with when I'm on grass. The boots feel more like ballet shoes rather than the chunky trainers that I'm used to, and there wasn't even another overweight pommy father of three running at me with all the unstoppable force of 226 bags of sugar. I can't wait to play again, but any joy I feel has been smothered an avalanche of insecurity and the fear that I may make an absolute idiot of myself.

Training has already included (but is not wholly limited to) a pulled calf muscle and a strained achilles. The nightmare scenario of having to hobble off 30 seconds into my first and only appearence due to a torn hamstring has a certain inevitable feel about it...

weak as i am

2009-08-24T22:22:00.003+12:00

There comes a time when things just don't feel right, and a great need for comfort and a reminder of home is just what the ex-pat ordered. To this end I have forsaken my new found outdoor appetite and bare-bones approach to home living and have, for a couple of months at the most, taken out a subscription to Sky Sports. Rugby, as I'm sure everyone will agree, is rubbish and it's very disappointing to have to endure the four-bloody-simultaneous-channel coverage of both codes. However those tantalising glimpes of Premier League football, and a 2.55am wake up to watch Liverpool roll over against Spurs has begun to make the winter bearable.

And as an added bonus I get to watch Robbie Fowler heave his hefty torso around various A-League grounds as he imitates the goal-scoring wonder of yesteryear. It's not much, but it'll do for now.

EDIT

Well, that was less than enjoyable... current stats: watched two, lost two.

How is it possible to jinx the team from this far away? The brief enjoyment gained from ManUre getting beat by Burnley is already a distant memory. I reckon it's time to get into Aussie Rules and its mental arbitrary regulations.

different as

2009-08-10T20:55:00.015+12:00

Being in a new place, irrespective of country, continent or hemi-sphere, we get to meet a steady stream of new people who all ask the same question - "how long have you been here?"

The answer should be (and obviously is in a numerical sense) straighforward. As I write we've been in New Zealand for 230 days, or 7 months and 18 days (courtesy of this), but the query only raises more questions and a feeling that something less specific would be more appropriate.

It would be easy to say something like "2008", "last year" or "last christmas" as they're all literally correct, but what I'd really like to say is something like "a while now..." because that's what it feels like.

It's true that emotional ties apart, the UK seems like a long, long time ago, and this has been aided in no small part by our constant mental confusion over where exactly we are at in relation to the seasons. Sure we know it's winter, the cold frosty mornings and sky-high heating bills will attest to this, but it's easy to be confused when enjoying a perfect ever-so-slightly sunburnt afternoon on a beautiful sunny beach in august.

okains bay 2006 © Paul Allan White

In a reality where one has to work to put food on the table, any place can feel like home. This is especially true when you're in a country where MPs are being roundly and rightly abused for rorting the system and double-dipping their expenses. In the current economic climate (© & ^tm everyone everywhere) attention is now turning to making sure that migrants aren't unfairly taking Kiwi jobs, especially as many Kiwis are returning home due to the bleak job outlook in Australia, Europe and beyond. Despite casual racism being alive and well over here, there is thankfully no equivalent to The Sun or News of the World to help fan the flames.

Luckily for us IT workers are much in demand, and our passports have been upgraded to allow us to stay indefinitely with Section 18A restrictions being removed. After over six months at work I'm finally working on, and thoroughly enjoying might I add, concentrating on web work.

Work is settled, Cathy is working (and playing) hard at her playgroup and music groups along with Maddie, and Katie and Hannah are loving school, netball, football and art-club. Not that it felt like it, but I reckon we're over the hump...

out of season

2009-07-06T21:49:00.008+12:00

I've mentioned before the number of things that we had to leave behind, most material things being of little real consequence, but today we finally managed to get a replacement for something that we have missed far more than we thought. After paying the small amount of $30 via TradeMe (and the considerably larger amount of $200 for delivery), I came home today from work to find our new piano standing in a place where it looks like it's always stood.

Apart from the fact that we've all (kids especially) missed playing about on it, the piano makes everything feel a bit more, well, Christmassy. I know that's a bit weird, but having a Winter holiday with no festivities is a little weird too, and the only tune I know is "Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

hannah at the new/old piano
image © Paul Allan White

good sport

2009-07-02T22:07:00.011+12:00

There are two main topics of conversation in the office, discussed at length in the kitchen area between coffees.

The first is the weather, which makes me feel right at home, and is easy to agree and sympathise with. Apparently it's the worst winter for years and - as I'm sure I've whinged about before - it's cold. And when you're living in a country where most houses appear to be made out of carboard and tissue paper, it feels even colder. But that's okay because, and there is no hint of sarcasm here, it's still a lot better than the usual winters at home. I don't think I'll ever get used to having Christmas in the summer - it's just plain wrong - but we were mostly prepared for what winter can throw at us.

The second topic of conversation is that of sports, or more specifially kids sport - events that usually take place at some point over the weekend. Mondays are filled with tales of woe regarding disrupted plans and long travelling distances, fridays with hopes of cancellation fuelled by excessively cold or wet weather. Inbetween there are constant murmourings when viewing the projected weather forecast, both positive and negative.

This was at first something unknown to me as there didn't seem anything similar at home - at least not for something our kids really wanted to do. However it took a matter of weeks before I was joining in the same conversations and making the same noises. Saturday morning netball for Katie and - at first at least - football for Hannah had changed things.

The truth is that the positives massively outweigh the negatives. In fact there are many positives but only one single negative.

Katie really enjoys both being physically active and being part of a team, and one that is made up from children spanning two school years and four classes. It's a social gathering that participants, siblings and parents all enjoy. There's no pushy parents and it's nice to meet people and feel part of a community.

Hannah enjoyed some of the football, but felt slightly insecure at the prospect of having a kickaround with boys, some older by 18 months or so. However it's something we're sure she'll persevere with. The first session is especially memorable for me as it was part of the worst hangover I've had in as long as I can remember. The night before was the first social night out that I had organised with work, and a combination of some free beer, a 4.30pm start, and a collective forgetfulness in remembering to eat any food, conspired to make my eventual bed-time merely 4 drunken hours before having to get up for sports.

On a working weekday, the alarm goes off at 6.45am. It's horrible, yet we're getting used to it, work being a means to an end all that. Mondays are hard but things ease up a bit as the working week winds down. Saturday morning netball, and a meet-up time of 8.20 at Hagley Park, means that we need to get up roughly at the same time. That wasn't meant to happen!

I know it's selfish to moan about something that is positive in so many ways, and we certainly don't begrudge doing it as it's the first thing we can do as a family during a busy week. It's nice that we're all together cheering Katie on, and the increasingly wintery weather is held at bay with scarves and hot chocolate.

All that being said however, there was something enjoyable about hearing the news that there is a 3 week winter break. The fact that this weekend is the first weekend off in 10 weeks makes it all the more sweet. We'll miss it in the meantime, but we've got 3 saturday morning lie-ins to look forward to (where 8.30 is the maximum we can push it) and I can't wait.

katie at netball
image © not known

i like: travelling time

2009-06-24T20:47:00.008+12:00

When I first arrived at the new job in October before we all moved over together, the inevitable questions were politely asked and I was very quickly made to feel welcome and at home (well, as homely as any job can be at any rate). The main query raised however was "where are you planning to live when you get here?"

On our previous trips to New Zealand - and specifically the South Island (or whatever it's real name is meant to be) - we always knew that we would settle in or around Christchurch. We had already decided that the lesser populated island was the one for us, taking the hopefully not unreasonable view that there was little point in leaving the UK to live in another large and busy city such as Auckland or Wellington. We wanted space and a bit of freedom, and most importantly - for our livelihood rather than for quality of life - I needed a job. There are plenty of IT jobs in Christchurch, less so elsewhere on the South Island, and certainly not many in our preferred destination of Nelson. Rest assured, choosing Christchurch was - and has proven to be - no hardship; it's a nice city to be in.

Except we don't actually live in Christchuch, we live in Sumner, a seaside town to the east of the city. Sumner - or Pomner as it's known locally due to the proliferation of British migrants who have made the place their home - is around 11k from Christchurch centre and has a nice village feel to it. We never planned to be part of an ex-pat community (which conjures up images of obscenely tanned essex wideboys on the Costa del Sol), but there must be something about living near the sea - and it's hard to be more than 5 minutes walk wherever you live on the flat (the area not in the hills) - that obviously appeals to many people here.

I'll expand upon Sumner itself at later date, but taking you back to the start of this entry and the question asked by people in work. "Sumner, " they'd reply, "that's a bit of a way out!" And in Christchurch terms I suppose it is. I drive (or car-share) to work each morning as it's too far to walk or cycle, and it takes anywhere between 18 and 25 minutes each way. That's right, it takes considerably less than my old commute from York to Leeds (anywhere between 60 and 80 minutes on a morning commute) and is just the right amount of time for my shell-shocked mind to recover from it's rude awakening and ready itself for a day's honest toil (or cutting and pasting as Cathy likes to disparagingly describe software development).

I really enjoy the drive to work, but it's fair to say that I always enjoy the drive home more.

what we didn't pack

2009-06-22T21:53:00.012+12:00

Between gaining acceptance on the 18th November and leaving the UK on the 21st December there was an awful lot to cram in, both figuratively and literally. Of course we had been expecting/hoping that the final confirmation was imminent, but there had been a number of frustrating false starts re medicals that meant that we were in a semi-limbo state, albeit one that involved writing a large number of cheques to private consultants in order for them to tell me what I already knew (well, mostly).

So there were leaving-drinks to arrange, family visits (to Liverpool and Middlesbrough), flights, accomodation in and around Christchurch, money to transfer, paid work to finish off, house-cleaning for any new tenants, and the new tenants themselves. And we had to pack.

Kiwi friends who had migrated back home 5 or so years earlier had regularly told us that they wished they'd brought more possessions back with them. However over the years we had - like 99.9% of the population I'd imagine - accumulated a vast amount of what can only be described as crap. We had been together for over 12 years and there were still suitcases and boxes from our first rented flat back in 1996. Boxes full of photographs and 'treasured' possessions rotting silently caked in years of damp and neglect. Surely never a better time to take stock and organise.

Personally I sold, gave away or destroyed many things I kind of, sort of still wanted, but realised that I would never use. This included 25+ years of comics, an unused-for-5-years guitar, books, clothes (patiently waiting until I could once again fit into a 34inch waist), shoes, vhs videos and assorted technical and electrical goods and paraphenalia such as phone-chargers, modems, manuals, cd-roms and routers.

As a family we gave away our lovely piano to friends. I bought it for £10 (plus £100 delivery) 4 years earlier, and Katie - my eldest daughter - and I were taking lessons at the same time with the same teacher. We knew it couldn't come with us as there was 100% chance the MAF would condemn it as a health risk, but I do miss walking past and playing the first few bars of 'Hark The Herald Angels Sing' to the continued annoyance of the rest of the family. (There may be something inherently wrong in playing christmas carols in the blazing sunshine, but that's a gripe for another time...)

If I was honest, there's not much materially that I regret leaving behind. Most things can be bought here, New Zealand being, after all, a pretty civilised nation. However there are two items I regret not stocking up on, and it's only now - and too late - that I realise how much a creature of clothing habit I have become over at least the last 8 years.

Next Jeans - 36 inch waist (yes, I know) long leg, boot-fit. It took me years to find jeans that I loved wearing - and I really did experiment for many years after leaving university and entering the realm of the moderately paid - and once I found them I never let them go. Except I left one pair in Middlesbrough, and the two remaining pairs I brought with me are pretty 'well-worn'.

Adidas Superstar II trainers - size 11, white (mostly), stripe colour negotiable, shell-toe mandatory. Again, my love affair with these classics took a while to take off, and I'm vaguely aware that there is a slightly chav-like element to wearing them, but I'll enjoy them until the transition to cardigan and slippers becomes inevitable.

So instead of paying £20 for jeans and £25 for trainers back home, buying them in bulk to fill the empty space in the container, I have just paid over twice as much in total through ebay to have one pair of each shipped over. I don't get much post, and I have to admit I'm really looking forward to their arrival.

our possessions arrive at last
image © Paul Allan White

six months on

2009-06-14T20:24:00.019+12:00

Non essential work - which is what blogging quickly began to feel like not long into our new life in New Zealand - was always likely to fall far beneath the able-to-fit-into-my-hectic-schedule threshold once I started work in an office. Leaving the house at 7.30am on a weekday morning was a monumental shock to the system that has yet to fully dissipate, and I've found that there is little time left available in my working day to empty my thoughts onto my laptop, and that's even taking into account the paucity of watchable programmes available on five 'free-to-air' tv channels.

To be fair, I am home by 6pm at the absolute latest (and that sometime includes time for a cheeky drink either in work or in the local bar over the road from my rented house), but for someone who has spent the best part of the last five years working at home and for himself, this takes some getting used to.

So, that's the piss-poor excuse out of the way... The reality is that real-life, as I've no doubt tediously mentioned more times than anyone can care to remember, gets in the way; at least it does for me.

We arrived in Christchurch nearly six months ago on December 23rd, and headed straight to our rented farm house (which happened to be free on condition of feeding the cats, doves, horses, etc) for a peculiarly jet-lagged and overly warm Christmas. This was followed by friends coming to stay with us into the new year, and all was good as effectively we were on holiday and annoyances such as work and earning money for a living were pushed to the back of our collective minds. We, or rather Cathy, even managed to keep a log / diary of events with the intention that we would chronicle at least our first year here. Fanciful ideas regarding writing a book based on our emigration experience were half-heartedly endorsed as something fun (and, ultimately of course, financially rewarding).

So, it didn't quite pan out the way I planned it, and the few people (i.e. friends and family) who actually bothered to read the blog in the first place drifted away presuming that all's just ticking over nicely and event-free. Which it is by the way, but my lethargy and plain bone-idle nature means that I've not been communicating enough with people 'back home' (and by this I mean by any medium including emails, telephone calls and Skype), something I intend to immediately rectify before I become one of those people who never keep in touch and only have myself to blame when becoming a bitter, lonely old fool.

This blog entry is a line in the sand, and if you're interested in what we've been up to over the last six months and beyond - including our take on all those differences inherent in living on the other side of the world - then please come back now and again as I intend to update at least weekly.

I was relatively prolific while venting my frustrations regarding the NZ Immigration process, so please feel free to read any previous posts while I get around to filling in the six month blanks...

the whites in sumner
image © Alan Riboldi-Tunnicliffe

in the meantime

2009-02-17T22:13:00.007+13:00

I've been pretty crap at updating the blog with our New Zealand exploits, so in the meantime here's a video of Maddie who is finally starting to walk...

gaining acceptance

2008-11-20T11:12:00.013+13:00

It's been an incredibly busy 24hours, but our application for residence in New Zealand has finally been accepted. In now-typical fashion the wording - 'Approval in Principle' doesn't make it seem as though we're finally there, but the following paragraphs makes it more clear;

'Approval in Principle' means that you have almost successfully satisfied all criteria under the Skilled Migrant Category. Now all you need to do is complete these last few steps and I will be able to confirm final approval of your application for residence.

We need to send our passports and a Migrant Levy of £450 to complete the process. The passports will be returned with shiny new visas inside, and then we're done!

Not content with shelling out another load of money, I spent a fair few hours on the phone to various agents trying to secure 5 seats on flights from Manchester to Christchurch on December 20th/21st. I knew this would be difficult, but it was more time-consuming, stress-inducing and hideously-expensive than I expected. But it's now done after a number of games of brinkmanship, and Cathay Pacific won the tender to fly us to our new home by virtue of the fact that no-one else could match the dates. I've never been to Hong Kong before, and I'm looking forward to our 90minute stay there!

Finally, we've booked the removal people to come on December 10th and 11th to ship all our stuff away in a sea-bound container. This gives us a week to clean up before our new tenants move in, but does mean that we'll be possession free until some time in late January / early February. No matter how it was planned this was always going to happen. Luckily t-shirts, shorts and jandals are de rigeur at my new office...

inch vs mile

2008-11-18T01:55:00.010+13:00

Confirmation has come through regarding Maddie's medical, and NZIS are now happy that she doesn't pose any financial risk to the already precarious New Zealand economy.

This is obviously a massive relief to us all as it now means that all obstacles have been removed and that the relevant visas can now be processed. Well, they will be once all documents have been compiled and have been reviewed by someone other than our visa officer to ensure that all is present and correct. This is likely to be nothing more than a formality but, well, we're still a distance (albeit a small one) from the final, absolute, gratifying long awaited "yes!". Let's just say we're 99.9% of the way there...

The most frustrating aspect of the delays is that it's hard to move on and organise flights, accomodation, house-buying and school enrollment without knowing an exact date of departure. We've already revised our likely leaving date as now somewhere around the 20th december, but until I get the tickets booked (and these will be the hideously expensive and scarce tickets due to the popular time we'll be travelling) we're still in limbo.

However, we did get some good news regarding accomodation today; a holiday home we enquired about in the Christchurch suburbs has been offered to us for free on the condition that we feed the cats, doves and horses. Apparently the owner is just pleased that a family with kids will be around to do this, and the girls will be absolutely ecstatic about the horses. The house will also be big enough to accomodate our NZ friends who will be coming to stay for Christmas. Which is great.

waiting

2008-11-13T02:12:00.013+13:00

I'm back from my month's training in my soon-to-be new job in Christchurch (more on this later), but there are other pressing issues on my mind at the moment.

Today could be - and hopefully is - d-day finally bringing a resolution to the ongoing NZIS medicals saga. This time it's not me, but my youngest daughter Maddie. Her issues have been described by her consultant as (and I quote)

... treated amblyphobia, an exotropia and right homonymous hemianopia.

This sounds incredibly scary - and relates to problems with migration of the brain during development - but basically means that although she can see out of both eyes, she can only see through one of them at a time.

Just like with my own reports, it seems that NZIS are incredibly nervous about signing-off anything that could possibly cost NZ money further on down the line. I can understand this to a certain extent, but they seem to need to hear it three or four times from different sources before they can finally relax and relent.

The final letter from the consultant (and it has to be final because there really is nothing more to say) finishes with:

As she is still young (< 2 years), I would recommend continued attendance at the orthoptic department. I would expect this to require 3 or 4 visits per year over the next 2-3 years. It is likely that patching will be needed to maintain the current excellent vision.

In the meantime we've managed to find tenants for our house, and they move in on the 17th December. So, just like my panic in getting the work-visa - the clock is ticking once again...

finally there. finally here

2008-10-18T23:11:00.013+13:00

It's been a while (as per usual), but that's because things have finally started moving, and - at long last - I'm in New Zealand.

I've started doing some training at my new workplace in preparation for a start date of January 5th 2009 and all appears to be going well so far. There's plenty to learn and investigate, and it's vital preparation for when I start work proper. It also doesn't hurt to meet my future colleagues and attempt to integrate into the work environment. Anyway, so far so good, and everyone has gone out of their way to be friendly and helpful.

This has been interspersed with living in a bach, sussing out Sumner and Redcliffs (where we're hoping to live), searching for accomodation for when we all finally get over here, and checking out the local schools. Oh, and getting as much local knowledge as possible.

Of course, things can't be totally perfect, and we (as a family) still aren't completely sorted with regards to our residency. NZIS as *still* stalling over Maddie's medicals, and we're having to harras the already over-helpful and appreciative-of-our-plight consultants at York Hospital for even more information.

I've had to come over on a work permit rather than residency, so as ever we're nearly there, but as ever not quite there yet.

Video Skype has been my salvation in the lonely weeks that I've been away, but I'm desperately looking forward to getting back home on the 30th October and giving the girls a long and well-missed cuddle.

closer

2008-09-11T00:19:00.009+12:00

Things are still moving in the right direction - all the relevant expensive consultations have now taken place and all is well in my world. Well, it will be after the obligatory 2 week wait!

I've got the all clear on my heart murmur and raised ALT results, these being the only barriers to getting the required work permit. This is great, but the good news is tempered by the necessary delay in getting things written up, sent out and accepted.

If there's one good thing to come out of the interminable waiting while the due process slowly grinds on and on, it's the fact that it appears that I'm reasonably healthy. My cholesterol is low, my blood pressure is ideal, and due to the fact that I had to make sure I was in as best position as possible for the medicals, I've lost over a stone in weight (although I could probably stand to lose another one, but it's a step in the right direction).

All those things that have taken time to sort out would probably have been flagged up in any case some time in the near future, and I also now know that I have no nasty diseases lurking in my blood ready to surprise me some time in the future.

However I won't be fully happy until It's all over, and I'm possibly being a bit ambitious, but a start date of 29th September is looking a possibility and one that I'm certainly aiming for. Let's hope there's some cheap flights still available...

the trouble with medicals

2008-09-05T06:08:00.010+12:00

Just when we think everything is sorted and I'm finally on my way, another medical issue raises it's ugly head and spoils things.

I should actually be in Christchurch now, starting a 4-week training period for my new job in preparation of my 'real' start date of Jan 5th 2009. This would give me time to settle into the job and meet co-workers, as well as being a great opportunity to do some house-hunting and school-scouting for when we all emigrate together on or around mid-December.

However despite being passed as fit by my GP and paid-for private consultants, NZIS (or more specifically their medical department) want their pound of flesh and even more reports on things that have already been verified.

I was born with a "flow" heart murmur and had to have regular medical checks every couple of years until I was discharged when 18 (over 20 years ago). All the relevant paperwork has been sent to them, but only an expensive and private consultation with a cardiologist will be enough.

I also have what is known as a fatty liver. This can be caused by a number of factors - especially too much alcohol - but tests done by my GP and ultrasound scans from the hospital show there is no cause for alarm and my slight alcohol intake points to it not being serious. NZIS has this information, but wants more. Another expensive and private consultation awaits.

However it's not the cost that is bugging me, it's the time delay. My visa depends on my job offer, and the job offer depends on my being there very soon. If the delays become too great there's a chance I may lose the job. If I lose the job, then the application form is ripped up (and the medicals go out-of-date) and I have to start all over again and find a job and pay for another application.

It's all very stressful and I need to have a chat with the company tonight to see if it's going to affect anything...

to sell, or not to sell

2008-08-27T04:07:00.029+12:00

In the middle of the stress-inducing nightmare that is the Invitation To Apply, we also have to try and decide what to do with our house in the UK.

Initially we were planning to keep the house as a fail-safe in case things didn't go according to plan, but we soon rejected this as it made the prospect of coming back far too easy. We have confidence in ourselves that integrating into the NZ culture won't be too much of a shock (we've spent a lot of time there over the last few years), and we want to make the whole move feel like it's 'for good'.

So selling it is! Except we didn't count on the pesky credit-crunch making this more difficult than expected. It's all very well everyone telling us that the house will "sell easily", but then they're not the ones wanting to buy it. Without going into specifics, the current market value of the house is twice that of the price we bought it for. If we manage to get this price we would have enough to put down a 50% deposit on a house in NZ.

However (a) we're not greedy, and (b) we realise that the house is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. Oh, and (c) we don't actually need the equity just yet as we're planning to rent for 12 months while we search for the house/area that we're happy to spend a good few years in.

If someone comes in with a reasonable offer (and we have a lower limit in mind) and we can complete before mid-december then that's great - we'll take the money and run. I know that this is a lot to ask, and I don't have any great faith in this happening.

But if - as the negligable interest shown so far indicates - we don't have an offer by the end of October, then we'll put on our "landlord" hats and rent the place out. And this means switching mortgages, getting an agent, and hoping that we can cover costs all costs.

Breaking even is something to aim for in this instance, but the truth is that I really can't be bothered with having something left behind that requires our attention and may spring some nasty surprises on us. It's not the clean break I envisaged...

relax, pause, scream

2008-08-16T05:20:00.016+12:00

It's been a tiring time over the past couple of weeks, and it's all been due to the medicals that we (or more specifically, I) have had to take at the behest of Immigration New Zealand (NZIS). My wife and girls all sailed through their respective medicals, but there were two very small sticking points raised on mine.

I was assured that there was nothing seriously wrong with me, and that all I needed was some clinical proof to confirm that this was the case. After speaking to my GP (and indeed all of the GPs at our practice who have - without fail - been completely helpful and supportive of us when we've needed help and quickly) he set the wheels in motion and threw his full medical weight behind us.

It was only the next day that I realised that the NHS at large would not be quite so accomodating. The NHS is a wonderful thing, and I've not resented one penny out of the thousands upon thousands I have contributed through my National Insurance. But - and there's always a "but" - it can't really help when you need expediency above all else.

I am still due to start work in Christchuch some time in the first week of September. The fact that I could lose the job is of no concern if the appointment to see the consultant is due to take place a good month after this. That's not their fault, but I was left with only one option - to go private.

The amount of money we have spent on applying for NZ residency has become a bit of a black hole, and private consultancy fees were just another necessity on the tedious and twisting road to emigrating. This took us to over £3,000, and I'm hopeful that the financial demands will ease off for some time.

So, I got seen the next day, got signed off immediately and finally - finally! - managed to get the Invitation to Apply in the post a mere month after it joyously plopped through our front door.

That's not to mention the last-minute blip re job references (which, considering I'd already gotten a job, I didn't think were necessary) that NZIS insisted upon. The fact that my current employer was literally on his way out of the door for a 2 week break when I just about accosted him for a written and signed reference, is yet another comedy of errors for another time...

things are moving

2008-07-25T07:46:00.022+12:00

As the title says, things are moving along now, with plenty of twists and turns punctuated by periods of condensed hyperactivity followed by tedious will-sapping lulls of NHS-inspired boredom... somehow I feel we're on the home straight without having anything resembling the finishing line in sight.

For my own sanity I think I'll just write a short-ish list of where we're at and I'll link through each item at a later date.

where we're at

I've got a job! This was the main reason why the blog has been so barren recently as I didn't want to jeopardise matters with any potentially ill-conceived comments.

We've been sent to Invitation To Apply (ITA) by New Zealand Immigration. This means that they're happy in principle with the job offer and things can now really start to happen.

I finally received a reply from Sheffield Hallam University which was underwhelming to say the least. Despite their best efforts, the system has really let me down.

We've had our medicals - and paid out a hefty amount of cash to do so. There's a few more final bits and pieces to sign-off (which may unfortunately take a couple of weeks).

I'm aiming to start a month's work (training and familiarisation) in September. That's right, September - which means that the tight schedule is getting tighter by the day...

Our house goes on the market in a couple of days. This in itself isn't stressful, but having builders, joiners and decorators in the house for the last couple of weeks has been. I'm glad that bit is over, believe me, but I fear there is more hassle to come...

I've also had a meeting with an independant financial advisor (IFA) in order to work out the best way to move monies over to NZ without either government getting any more than their due

Far from being the cathartic self-help exercise I envisaged, writing all that down has made me need a drink or two. I think I'll take a break before filling in the many gaps in the above.

to clarify

2008-06-26T01:06:00.022+12:00

My final comments on my last blog entry may have - in hindsight - been a touch dismissive regarding the possibility of sorting out a job before moving to New Zealand.

So for now we sit and wait - although our plans might have to slightly change. It's possible to make up for the shortfall in points by getting a job before we go. It's not ideal, but something I'm going to have to consider...

Although my preference was to gain a permit without the need of a job, it was because a number of sources made it clear to me that it would be incredibly difficult to secure the right role without at least one face-to-face interview. In fact it was their belief that companies wouldn't even entertain the notion of considering someone without their work-permit.

However since the points debacle (and while waiting for my old university - Sheffield Hallam University - to come out of enquiries lockdown) I received a belated email from a company that I had spoken to at the Leeds NZ Expo - or more specifically a colleague based in New Zealand that had all my details - and he said that there were a couple of companies on his list that were interested in my CV.

It's early days yet, but at least I have another option to ponder. An equally good one, mind...

first hurdle

2008-06-09T23:41:00.029+12:00

When filling out my 'expression of interest' for emigrating to New Zealand, I had a feeling that classifying my degree would be a minor problem in the process - something that would need explaining with corroborating evidence. Well damn my foresight, I was right! However the problem looks like it's a lot bigger than I had first thought.

Degree

I graduated in 1994 from Sheffield Hallam University with a 2:1 BSc in Applied Statistics. Although statistics is classified as a mathematical subject, my degree was classified as being part of the "computing and management sciences" faculty, presumably due to the large amount of computer science theory and use of statistical modelling software.

Expression of Interest (EOI)

The number of points gained in an EOI is vitally important with the process being used to weed out the time-wasters and unsuitable candidates. If the total is less than 100, then the process stops dead and there is no chance of becoming resident (unless the points threshold changes, which is does now and then). If 140+ points are gained an invitation to apply for residency is more or less assured. Anything between 100 and 140 is still good, but you may have to sit tight and wait. As it happens we managed to gain 135 points and were selected at the next ballot.

Out of these 135 points, 10 were gained for having a degree in an area of "absolute skills shortage" (computer sciences) and 15 for work experience in the same area.

Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)

The half-expected querying of my degree credentials came last week, with NZ Immegration requiring a transcript of my degree. I contacted SHU with my issue, confident that there should be no problems. Before I completed the EOI I had spoken to someone at SHU with precisely this issue and was assured that at the time of my graduation my degree could be classified as "computer sciences".

However I was informed that all transcripts for my degree have been destroyed as it was more than seven years ago. It may be possible to trawl the archives to find my individual results (and therefore the subject modules that made up the degree), but this wouldn't be possible until mid-July as the faculty was currently engaged in exam-marking and all queries of this nature are suspended.

The Result

I have to sit tight and wait for 6 weeks until SHU can look for my files in the archive. Success is not guaranteed, but I have been assured that all the information should be there.

However there is no guarantee that this information will be accepted by Immigration New Zealand, and if that's the case then my points total will become 110 - still enough to stay in the pool, but (from the last couple of ballots) not enough to be selected. It's frustrating as points gained from work experience are discounted due to not having a degree of the "absolute skills shortage" category, despite having 15+ years experience in exactly this field!

So for now we sit and wait - although our plans might have to slightly change. It's possible to make up for the shortfall in points by getting a job before we go. It's not ideal, but something I'm going to have to consider...

stage one acceptance

2008-04-16T03:42:00.023+12:00

I've just logged onto the Immigration New Zealand to check how our Expression of Interest (EOI) is coming along. Before you're allowed to apply to live/work/reside in NZ you have to do an EOI (and pay $400 for the privilege!) and reach a certain number of points before you're invited to apply.

I suppose that this sorts out the serious from the not-so-serious which means it's money well spent, and the good news is that after only sending it in last week, we've been "selected". This means that our EOI has been plucked from the pool and - once they've verified there are no lies - we'll soon be invited to apply for residence.

Very exciting, and a small weight of our shoulders. There's still a long way to go, but the process has gotten off to the best possible start...