I am toying with the idea of emmigrating to NZ (along with my wife and 4 kids) - if anybody is familiar with New Zealand, I would love to hear from you, with regard to the following queries:
1/I love trad Irish music, and would be sad to leave Ireland for this reason - whats NZ like for good trad sessions?
2/I also love swimming, and here in Limerick in Ireland we have a great 50m UL pool - wherever I move to, should have a 50m pool with an active swim Masters club.
3/I dont want to live in a city, but in the countryside, close to the sea, where I could go surfing, yet I dont want a long commute to work every day.
4/Finally, good educational infrastructure for my kids, both at primary adn secondary level.
As I living in a dreamworld, is there any location in NewZealand that woudl fit in with my aspirations?
Out of interest I posted this query on another site and the response I got was as follows:
"Apart from the trad sessions (GET OVER IT!!!) everything you need is in the Tauranga/Mount Maunganui area, or anywhere in the Bay of Plenty area really. Great weather and awesome beaches and surf."
NZ is a beautiful place to be. All the things that you seem to need to justify the move are all there. The cities are relatively small so commuting shouldn't be too much of a problem. As far as an outlet for your music goes, you might need to sow the seeds necessary for that to happen but I'll bet it will.
I travelled to Nelson for the Ceol Aneas last year and there were about 80 or so mad keen trad players there, all from NZ.
And a great bunch organising it too.
Do it.
You're never more than 80 miles from the sea in NZ but not all of the coastline is good for surfing. There's a healthyish session in scene in Dunedin (great surf), Christchurch (no surf), Nelson (no surf), Wellington (some surf but travel involved) and Auckland (gotta have wheels to surf) but don't set your sights too high. Me ? I'm taking the wife and kids back to Gizzy within the year, best consistent surfing beaches in the Southern hemisphere, loads of swimming pools, kids grade way above average for the country which ranks highly internationally, a two crop growing season and everything can be done by bicycle and most importantly one of the world's great Chardonney's is vinted right there. The best kept secret down under. There are a number of regular visitors here from NZ/Aoteoroa to get some good informed advice.
Hey hey - there is definitely surf in Christchurch! Just not so frequently as other places - I've surfed monster stuff off Sumner beach!
Wellington probably has the best trad sessions. There's good stuff in Auckland too, but call me biased, it's a cow of a place to go anywhere from or to.
Massive surfing around Dunedin, my hometown - 30 beaches within an hours drive. The water is cold. I've heard that there is an excellent group of session musicians down in Dunedin too. I've played with a few of them and they're frendly as. However be warned - there is a relatively small community of trad musicians here
Christchurch, where I live, has some excellent musicians but the session is a little irregular... but more keen folks can only be good.
Personally I wouldn't suggest you live in the countryside near Wellington or Auckland for the surfing and the sessions - the travel is likely to be a bit prohibitive/annoying. Then again I'm biased toward the wonderful south B-)
Re Gisborne's CBD was fairly damaged, but not totalled. We are the Shakey Isles! NZ probably has the most geologically active landmass of anywhere in the world - outside of a couple of the Hawaiian Islands. Raging rivers, Volcanoes, Landslides, Earthquakes, then there's the winds! it's one of the things that makes this place so special and different.
Sure other places may be richer than NZ, but that's not the most important thing around.... Fore many people the lifestyle is excellent - sure you can punish yourself and your family with work, if you like. But there is the opportunity to live at a better pace too..
Within two hours drive on almost empty roads, I can be completely alone in dense rainforests or on my way up a 2200metre mountain, or I can go for a mountain bike ride in some of the best terrain anywhere, just outside my backdoor. I've got free access to millions of hectares of wilnderness to go hunting for deer, chamois, or tramping, rockclimbing. The education system is pretty good. We're making some steps environmentally to live a bit more sustainably - food is great quality. etc etc. Sorry to rant, but I don't think I could live anywhere else. Sure we're isolated... but sometimes that's a plus...
As for surf in ChCh I've seen it come and seen it go but have always had good waves at Taylor's Mistake. By the way Brown Creeper, have you bumped into Pat Murphy at a session recently ?
Be brave, get involved, if you move ~ there will always be a certain 'shock', what some folks call 'culture shock'! It is real. Its effects and length can be age dependant. Children are more adaptive here too. You need time to adjust, and that isn't just about time zones, latitude, longitude and weather differences. It happens even moving from one environment to another, like leaving home in your teens. For an adult you have to persist and stick it out for at least, a guestimate variable dependant on people and situations ~ 3 years. Be brave and be determined. If you make the move, please, give it at least 3 years to just settle in to your new environment.
The worst thing you can do is go with the idea you are escaping something. I promise you, you will drag any hangups along with you. It shouldn't be taken as a 'cure'... Go for the adventure and the challenge, but not to escape yourselves... Often the problems we percieve aren't around us but within us...
As someone who has moved back and forth between Northern and Southern hemispheres, and met many expats and immigrants, particularly from UK & Ireland living down under, my feeling is that if you aren't happy where you are, then you won't be happy anywhere. And if you *are* happy where you are, then why leave? Of course there are many answers to that one - swimming and surfing being good ones I suppose.
I visit the Taranaki area on business quite a lot, and it would suit you in many ways, not the least being that it is prosperous and offers employment. However, I've never found a session there, though I've seen Andy Irvine performing to 30 people in the New Plymouth arts centre. And they have WOMAD in New Plymouth every two years
Hey you've forgotten about Hamilton, between Auckland and Tauranga in the line-up too! A great group of trad musicians there, with a few lovely Oirishmen and women as well as a few Scotsmen. It's a city with a few above average educational options, 2 indoor pools (plus High Schools and Primary have them too) and one outdoor pool downtown; Raglan Beach is world renown for their Left Break surf and children can swim safely further along too, free of most major weather disturbances around the rest of the North Island. You can live 20-30 mins out of Hamitlon at Ragland by the sea or countryside or centre yourself in Ham and live 5 mins from the countryside too then go surf each weekend - there's even a Surf School there. What instruments do you play?
emmigrating to NZ
emmigrating to NZ
I am toying with the idea of emmigrating to NZ (along with my wife and 4 kids) - if anybody is familiar with New Zealand, I would love to hear from you, with regard to the following queries:
1/I love trad Irish music, and would be sad to leave Ireland for this reason - whats NZ like for good trad sessions?
2/I also love swimming, and here in Limerick in Ireland we have a great 50m UL pool - wherever I move to, should have a 50m pool with an active swim Masters club.
3/I dont want to live in a city, but in the countryside, close to the sea, where I could go surfing, yet I dont want a long commute to work every day.
4/Finally, good educational infrastructure for my kids, both at primary adn secondary level.
As I living in a dreamworld, is there any location in NewZealand that woudl fit in with my aspirations?
Out of interest I posted this query on another site and the response I got was as follows:
"Apart from the trad sessions (GET OVER IT!!!) everything you need is in the Tauranga/Mount Maunganui area, or anywhere in the Bay of Plenty area really. Great weather and awesome beaches and surf."
me again - get over it? NO WAY MAN!!!
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by BanjoBongo
Re: emmigrating to NZ
NZ is a beautiful place to be. All the things that you seem to need to justify the move are all there. The cities are relatively small so commuting shouldn't be too much of a problem. As far as an outlet for your music goes, you might need to sow the seeds necessary for that to happen but I'll bet it will.
I travelled to Nelson for the Ceol Aneas last year and there were about 80 or so mad keen trad players there, all from NZ.
And a great bunch organising it too.
Do it.
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by zookman2
Re: emmigrating to NZ
You're never more than 80 miles from the sea in NZ but not all of the coastline is good for surfing. There's a healthyish session in scene in Dunedin (great surf), Christchurch (no surf), Nelson (no surf), Wellington (some surf but travel involved) and Auckland (gotta have wheels to surf) but don't set your sights too high. Me ? I'm taking the wife and kids back to Gizzy within the year, best consistent surfing beaches in the Southern hemisphere, loads of swimming pools, kids grade way above average for the country which ranks highly internationally, a two crop growing season and everything can be done by bicycle and most importantly one of the world's great Chardonney's is vinted right there. The best kept secret down under. There are a number of regular visitors here from NZ/Aoteoroa to get some good informed advice.
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: emmigrating to NZ
sorry Patwiki but where is Gizzy, in Newzealand?
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by BanjoBongo
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Gisborne, East Coast North Island.
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Just curious - Why would you want to leave? I thought nowadays people from rich countries would want to emmigrate to an even richer country - Ireland.
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by Kheelch
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Wasn't Gisborne damaged by an earthquake recently?
BanjoBongo, maybe you'll find something useful here:
http://stuart.co.nz/
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by Ramiro
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Yep,
A lot of the CBD was pretty much flattenned.
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Hey hey - there is definitely surf in Christchurch! Just not so frequently as other places - I've surfed monster stuff off Sumner beach!
Wellington probably has the best trad sessions. There's good stuff in Auckland too, but call me biased, it's a cow of a place to go anywhere from or to.
Massive surfing around Dunedin, my hometown - 30 beaches within an hours drive. The water is cold. I've heard that there is an excellent group of session musicians down in Dunedin too. I've played with a few of them and they're frendly as. However be warned - there is a relatively small community of trad musicians here
Christchurch, where I live, has some excellent musicians but the session is a little irregular... but more keen folks can only be good.
Personally I wouldn't suggest you live in the countryside near Wellington or Auckland for the surfing and the sessions - the travel is likely to be a bit prohibitive/annoying. Then again I'm biased toward the wonderful south B-)
Re Gisborne's CBD was fairly damaged, but not totalled. We are the Shakey Isles! NZ probably has the most geologically active landmass of anywhere in the world - outside of a couple of the Hawaiian Islands. Raging rivers, Volcanoes, Landslides, Earthquakes, then there's the winds! it's one of the things that makes this place so special and different.
Sure other places may be richer than NZ, but that's not the most important thing around.... Fore many people the lifestyle is excellent - sure you can punish yourself and your family with work, if you like. But there is the opportunity to live at a better pace too..
Within two hours drive on almost empty roads, I can be completely alone in dense rainforests or on my way up a 2200metre mountain, or I can go for a mountain bike ride in some of the best terrain anywhere, just outside my backdoor. I've got free access to millions of hectares of wilnderness to go hunting for deer, chamois, or tramping, rockclimbing. The education system is pretty good. We're making some steps environmentally to live a bit more sustainably - food is great quality. etc etc. Sorry to rant, but I don't think I could live anywhere else. Sure we're isolated... but sometimes that's a plus...
all the best
# Posted on April 4th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: emmigrating to NZ
The fish and chips are better than anywhere else in the world...
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by cag
Re: emmigrating to NZ
...their beer is better than the pish the Aussies serve as well. Try the Tui. Worth the trip all on it's own...
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by bc_box_player
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Fush and chups play havoc on yer instrument, remember to wipe yer hands.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: emmigrating to NZ
As for surf in ChCh I've seen it come and seen it go but have always had good waves at Taylor's Mistake. By the way Brown Creeper, have you bumped into Pat Murphy at a session recently ?
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Be brave, get involved, if you move ~ there will always be a certain 'shock', what some folks call 'culture shock'! It is real. Its effects and length can be age dependant. Children are more adaptive here too. You need time to adjust, and that isn't just about time zones, latitude, longitude and weather differences. It happens even moving from one environment to another, like leaving home in your teens. For an adult you have to persist and stick it out for at least, a guestimate variable dependant on people and situations ~ 3 years. Be brave and be determined. If you make the move, please, give it at least 3 years to just settle in to your new environment.
The worst thing you can do is go with the idea you are escaping something. I promise you, you will drag any hangups along with you. It shouldn't be taken as a 'cure'... Go for the adventure and the challenge, but not to escape yourselves... Often the problems we percieve aren't around us but within us...
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by ceolachan
Re: emmigrating to NZ
As someone who has moved back and forth between Northern and Southern hemispheres, and met many expats and immigrants, particularly from UK & Ireland living down under, my feeling is that if you aren't happy where you are, then you won't be happy anywhere. And if you *are* happy where you are, then why leave? Of course there are many answers to that one - swimming and surfing being good ones I suppose.
I visit the Taranaki area on business quite a lot, and it would suit you in many ways, not the least being that it is prosperous and offers employment. However, I've never found a session there, though I've seen Andy Irvine performing to 30 people in the New Plymouth arts centre. And they have WOMAD in New Plymouth every two years
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Bren
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Hi Patkiwi - I'm not sure - where does Pat live? I've not run into Pat round here, so far.
Yeah - I've been monstered a few times at Taylors... B-p
when it's pumping it's unbelieveable.
# Posted on April 6th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: emmigrating to NZ
Hey you've forgotten about Hamilton, between Auckland and Tauranga in the line-up too! A great group of trad musicians there, with a few lovely Oirishmen and women as well as a few Scotsmen. It's a city with a few above average educational options, 2 indoor pools (plus High Schools and Primary have them too) and one outdoor pool downtown; Raglan Beach is world renown for their Left Break surf and children can swim safely further along too, free of most major weather disturbances around the rest of the North Island. You can live 20-30 mins out of Hamitlon at Ragland by the sea or countryside or centre yourself in Ham and live 5 mins from the countryside too then go surf each weekend - there's even a Surf School there. What instruments do you play?
# Posted on April 6th 2008 by fiddlebd