I have been receiving a lot of messages from friends regarding our move to NZ. It's really amazing how time flies and how time just pass us by. 6 months had passed since we made a life changing decision. Kumusta nga ba ang Team Loninia sa NZ makalipas ang 6 na buwan?
Nang dumating kami ng September 21, 2015. Isa ako sa pinagpalang nagkatrabaho matapos ang 4 na linggong pag jojob hunting. Actually, nagulat ako dahil conditioned myself to start working by January 2016! There goes my "supposedly" vacation and time with Baby James. But, who am I to turn down a good offer... I dare not decline it as the opportunity may never pass me by again.
WORK:
The work environment is very pleasant. Everyone is nice. People say good morning Princess, how are you this morning?
Hello Princess! can you help me with this?
Thanks for your help Princess! Youre a star! Your awesome.
Gone were the days where you see people complaining everyday. Gone were the days where you hear escalations to get things done. Gone were the days where you feel you work your ass out and yet feel unappreciated. More importantly, gone were the days where you get to go home 8pm at night feeling so drained.. so stressed and so tired!
Yes, True enough.. Work life in NZ is defintely way better than what I used to for the past career I ever had!
FAMILY:
When we moved to NZ - Family time is one of our primary objective. I am very delighted to say that we manage to achieve this with flying colors. We get to eat together on time, cooks our meals together, go to church together, do laundry and dishes together, watch TV together! Yes, this may be too shallow- but this we didn't manage to attain and embrace in SG. We were too busy working and by the time you reach home - you just feel so exhausted!
FRIENDS:
We have wonderful housemates who also makes our life in NZ worthwhile. We have found an extended family thru Tita Cariza's family and friends, whom we met only in FB and allow us to stay on their humble home when we arrived NZ.
Sa mga nag nanais na pumunta sa NZ - here's a pro's and cons' and a lil comparison of SG and NZ.
1. Food is expensive in NZ - Beefand Lamb meet is cheaper. Mura ang karne ng baka at ng lamb. Isang magandang steak for dinner will cost around $10nz so around 310 pesos. Not bad... Additionally, Unlike SG where you can buy bangus and tilapia, it's very rare for me to see those here in NZ. In fact, surprisingly, napaka onti ng fish sa Auckland. At napakamahal, including Hipon.
2. Fast foods are costly in NZ - unlike in SG where there's hawker centers - dito puro take aways shops for chinese, thai, indian, western food. Minimum around $10 per take away. I miss eating Ban Mian in SG for $3 only. Or chichen rice for $3.50. Wala akong nakitang ganyan kamurang kainan sa labas dito. On a positive note, this is because they promote family time thus you need to spend time at home cooking with family.
3. Car is very cheap. Kung di ka naman choosy, for as low as $1000 - or 31000 pesos, you can have a fair, good and nice running car enough to get you to places. This is a necessity in NZ - so if you don't know how to drive- learn how as early as now. :)
4. House rental - houses in NZ is more cheaper than SG - depends if you live in HDB or Condo though- and rental is paid every week.
5. Parks everywhere - libre pasyalan. Walang entrance, bring your food, your stories, your family and run on the park with all the greens! Priceless!
6. Unli Internet - It cost $109 for unli fiber connection. It's not as fast a what we used to have in SG- pero enough to keep me online 24/7. :)
7. Shoes and Clothes is expensive - in SG you can buy $40-100 shoes in Charles and Keith - wala akong nakitang ganyan kamura dito. At napakalimited ng stilletto's dito. Puro big flat heels! 1980's style!
8. Salary in NZ - minimum is $14 per hour. So do the math. If you work 40 hours in a week multiple by $14 = Thats $2240 for 4 weeks. This is kung minimum ang sweldo mo. If you are from SG - mostly confident ako sa mga IT na hindi naman siguro pang minimum ang experience nyo. So go for it. However, if you earn minimum- you can still survive NZ. Living within your means.
9. Far from Philippines. One of the cons of living in NZ is the distance to Philippines,. Unlike in SG where you can go home every month if my mga piso fare etc - That'll be a bit costly from NZ where a plane ticket each person cost $1000 ++.
10. Climate - we all know theres winter in NZ - It's starting to get cold now- Around 13 degrees na sa umaga. This is something I will never get used to. But I will try! Walang ganito sa SG. :) You can where Winter clothes and posh though.
11. Walang maid sa NZ - Unlike in SG where you can get your maid from PH and here as FDW- walang yaya sa NZ - Yezzz... The whole family help with each other with the house chores. Wash the clothes on weekend, washing the dishes daily, cleaning the room, the house etc etc etc and so on and on and on. Thanks to my husband Harris for being very very helpful on this. So if you are a family migrating here, make sure hindi tamad sa gawaing bahay si Mister!
12. Childcare is free for 30 hours for 3 years kids onwards. However if like Baby James who's below 3 years- we had to pay $150 every week for a 5 day -8 hours childcare.
I can go on and on and on. If you are someone from SG who thinks of migrating here. Yes, it is a lil bit costly compared to SG BUT - I can tell you if you are here for the same reason why we are.. It's all worth it. Family comes first.
Our 6 months adjusting period is not so tough as we thought it would be. The kids are all settled in. Thanks to technology we can chat via Facetime with family backhome. So, it's not so tough after all....
For those who intend to migrate NZ - weigh your options. If it's for the money- stay in SG. If you have kids and family - I think NZ is a perfect choice for you. However, like what I've said on my previous post - my fate and yours my be different. Pray to God and ask for signs and he will guide you on the right path.
