Two years already? Surely not!?!

On the 1st November 2007 at some ungodly hour in the morning, I landed in Auckland with a Residence Visa in my passport and a whole world of new stuff ahead of me.

After two whole years we are applying for our permanent returning resident's visas and I think that it's worth taking some time to reflect.

In some ways our lives are the same:

We go to work, spend time with friends, sit in traffic, pop to the supermarket and sometimes get bogged down in the boring stuff.

We have given up some important things:

a familiar way of life, local family and friends, commuting 3 hours a day, a public transport system that works, black snot (sorry guys, but it's that London thing!) and good curry

There have been some things to get used to:

terrible drivers, silly accents, fruit that we've never heard of (feijoas, tamarillos, mangosteens), supermarkets that close at night, not being able to buy booze at the supermarket, awful TV (truly, truly awful), making fun of Australians, the local national rugby team winning every now and then and very expensive books

We have taken on new challenges:

we arrived and knew no-one and have successfully grown a fantastic group of friends and acquaintances.

Will arrived and started work when he had no idea what he'd let himself in for!

I learned the hard way that there is a difference in working culture between UK and NZ and that sometimes you have to cut your losses and work out the difference between trying really hard to fit in and doing the right thing for yourself.

Will learned to swim and is now learning to save lives on the 4th most dangerous beach in NZ.

I'm learning to massage his poor aching post-heroic-activities muscles!

We are both considering starting our own businesses.

There are some things that we have gained:

Improved health, a piece of NZ earth to call our own, a naughty moggy, an accent (? you tell me), better weather, better working lives, an insight into what a house at 4 degrees C feels like at 6am (we miss central heating) greenery and lots of it, a sea view from the office (both of us, but I get to see the dolphins!), the islands just 3 hours flight away (see Niue pictures)

We have grown into a more simple life:

I grow veggies

We socialise over a good barbie and nice wine

We head out for a walk or off to the beach with our friends for a day out of the city

We eat more seasonally

We try to eat more locally (not having a producer the size of Europe next door helps)

We have a house that is very comfortable and meets our green sensibilities for the time being (I wonder if Kevin from Grand Designs would like to come out when we build)

Our work is a much less dominant part of our lives (in terms of stress and the negative impact on our lives), but I certainly feel more connected and valued in my work than I ever have before. Will is exploring the opportunities that exist to consider starting his own business. We seem to be surrounded by friendly business owners who are successful and maintain their work-life balance.

Work travel opens opportunities for us to see NZ in a way that I never expected.

So, on balance, has it been a good move? I have to come back with a resounding YES. However, there are challenges and it is hard to be away from family and friends. Missing the little people growing up is hard. Is it home? Definitely.

We hope that life finds you all well and that the run into the festive season is healthy and enjoyable.

If you want to join us, we'll be on the beach until March!

Kirsten (Will and Gordon)

xx

PS, sorry there are no pictures. The iMac is still packed away.