Hi lovely readers!
So my first attempt at starting out as a blogger was a spectacular fail! After an intial good first effort I’ve neglected the blog for a significant period of time. I promise you there is a very good reason (or actually several!) why I have been distracted for the past few months. So I thought I’d start my return to the blog with a bit of a life update.
So grab a drink and a snack this may take a while – a lot has been happening!
Big News!
First news is that I’m typing this blog post with a 4 week old baby on my lap…….that’s right 4 weeks ago I gave birth to the mini kiwi. Which is the main reason that much as I love it, writing hs taken a bit of a backseat for the past few months. However, the good news is I now have several months of maternity leave and lots of new ideas for blog posts. I have heaps of travel to report on from before and during pregnancy and will also be adding some pregnancy and baby related posts, specifically from the point of view of an expat living in New Zealand which will hopefully help any of you in the same position.
Clearly there is a lot mroe to tell you than just leaving it at ‘I had a baby!’ but here isn’t the place. I plan on writing posts detailing my pregnancy labour and dealing with the first few weeks post-partum so watch this space!
The house
The last post I wrote about housing was this one on finding somewhere to live in New Zealand. At the time I wrote this we had recently moved into a rental property and I thought it would be helpful to document the differences between property in the UK and here in NZ. Well in December 2016 we decided to look for somewhere to buy in Auckland. After 8 months in New Zealand the Kiwi and I had decided to stay put for the foreseeable future and so we thought it made sense to make our move a bit more permanent by getting on the New Zealand property ladder.
The buying process is definitely worth documenting in a blog post as I found it very different to the UK. So I’ll be adding that post shortly.
In March 2017 (and after attending a huge number of open homes!) we finally found a property that ticked all of our boxes (of which there were many) and most importantly seemed to be within our price range. I say seemed to be because in New Zealand buying at auction is very common and the property we’d set our sights on was for sale at auction. So on a very wet March evening in Auckland we headed along to the auction not knowing what to expect…….and we left the auction having bought a property!
The great thing about buying in New Zealand is that the conveyancing process is much shorter than in the UK so 4 weeks later we moved into our own little piece of New Zealand. We’re really enjoying the property and I’m very pleased that after bringing little kiwi home the property is working well for all 3 of us.
Work
When I decided to move to New Zealand I was really fortunate to secure a role with a company I’d previously worked for in London for 5 years. Since the role was in an area designated as an identified future growth area by Immigration New Zealand this meant I was able to secure a Skilled Migrant visa. It also meant that after the upheaval of moving halfway across the world and settlng into a new country, settling into my new role was made slightly easier by knowing the company well.
The company in New Zealand is very different to the UK. In the UK there are multiple offices with over a thousand employees, the majority of which work in a large office in central London. In contrast, in New Zealand, there are under 100 employees split between offices in Auckland and Wellington. Despite the huge differences I’ve settled in really quickly and love the role and all of my colleagues. It’s a really dynamic team of people and the projects we’re working on are very exciting. The small size of the company here means that we are more agile and able to get new ideas off the ground much more quickly than in the UK.
So in April 2017 I was absolutely delighted to be promoted to the Senior Leadership Team. Even better the company did so with full knowledge that I was pregnant and would shortly be embarking on maternity leave.
And that’s it! So after 16 months in Auckland I think its fair to say the move has been a success. That isn’t to say it’s all been easy – leaving London and most importantly my family and friends is easily the most difficult thing I have ever done. Along the way there have been many moments where I’ve questioned me decision but I can now day that it was the right decision at the right time. If you’d told me 2 years ago I’d be living on the other side of the world with a new born baby I’d have thought you were crazy. That’s the great thing about life though – sometimes it throws surprises at you and sometimes they change your life in the most incredible way. I can honestly say I’ve never been happier and whilst I’m hoping life calms down a bit for the immediate, sleep deprived future – I can’t wait to see what other surprises are in store for us.
So for anyone who is having a rough time, unhappy or confused about what they want I guess my message is that you never know what the future has in store. Sometimes you have to take a risk and throw caution to the wind (even if that is completely out of character for you) and you never know what happiness that risk could bring.
And now you’re up to date! Thanks for reading and I promise not to leave it so long until my next update!
From 39 to 3 