Rob & Dianne, Derbyshire
Although Rob worked in London, his home and family were in Derbyshire. For two years he travelled three hours each way until eventually he started living in London full-time during the week, away from his family. Then, one day, after watching Billy Connelly’s “World Tour of New Zealand”, the Whight family was inspired to do something about their situation.
They decided to immigrate to New Zealand. So they started researching. And the more they found out, the more they liked the idea of living there.
Rob took the view early on that it was best to get through the visa application process and then apply for a job.
“We used the time to learn as much as we could and to plan, plan and plan.”
Rob then decided to attend the Opportunities New Zealand Expo.
“My primary focus was to see recruiters/employers; hopefully to land a job but also to find out what sort of people the recruiters were after and whether there was likely to be anything for me.
I treated the whole thing quite seriously on the basis that this could well be the first contact I would have with a potential future employer. I prepared CVs, took other background material, my best suit and all the evidence I had of our application. I was trying to show whoever I might meet that we were serious about this.”
Once Rob arrived he studied the stand layout and made a list of who he wanted to talk to.
“I took the opportunity to speak to as many people as I could and actually spent the most of the day there determined to soak up as much information as I possibly could. I left with a real sense of confirmation that this was the right thing to do.
After about a month, I followed up on all the CVs I had handed out to see if there were any leads. In early December, I received a phone call describing a role they had in mind. For me it was like getting to the end of the rainbow. In early January, I was confirmed as the preferred candidate and we closed the deal shortly thereafter.
Both confirming the job and getting the visas was really exciting. Then the mad rush of getting in packers (we sent the house contents early on the basis that it was easier to camp in an empty house in the UK, where we could borrow camping gear from neighbours, than it would be to try and buy everything on arrival in NZ – a move I recommend to all),
closing down our UK life, leaving work, saying goodbye the relatives and booking flights.”
They arrived in Wellington in early May. The kids adapted to their new school straight away and Rob settled into his new job. They rented a house and managed to move in, with the container arriving as they had hoped, a few days before he started work.
Rob has some words of wisdom for would-be migrants:
“I would strongly recommend that serious applicants go to the Expo. They’ll meet loads of friendly and helpful people and will get lots of free and useful advice. The events are extremely well organized and you get bags full of odd little freebies for the kids to play with. It’s as close to being in NZ as you can get without getting on a plane - and you never know, you could meet your future employer and take another step towards paradise.”