It's been four years now since we set foot in New Zealand and despite the recent set back of being made redundant I'm really confident that we are in for a good year. I started my new job yesyerday and we moved into New Offices. The real work will start next week and it's going to be a challenge that I'm looking forward to. Julie has also accepted a new job and is going to be trained as a pilates instructor. She's been lucky in that she will be working at the pilates centre in Hamilton which works with top NZ sports stars as well as the public and the course she has to complete is recognised around the world (although we are not emigrating again !) The new NZ immigration figures have just been released and it breakdown roughly like this.

53,000 per year given residence

20 + thousand per year moving overseas from NZ

Top three countries whose people are moving to NZ are

UK followed by China and then South Africa.

It's been like this for a number of years now and doesn't seem set to change much.

I'm off to Raglan tomorrow evening to take Sam fishing off the jetty as I just bought myself a fishing set ( Sam already has one) Raglan has been a nice new discovery for us this summer as we are spending more time there and liking it more and more. Went body boarding last week which was great fun as the waves at Raglan are world famous and I prefer the black sand as it doesn't blow round as much as the more powdery golden stuff.  Well here's to a weekend of fishing, mowing the lawn and a BBQ in the sun.

P

Hi all,

  well we've been through a pretty hellish time recently! Kiwi Ora hit funding issues and so most of the staff including myself and Julie were made redundant just before Xmas. This was just after we bought the new house so the timing wasn't great but the worst thing is that NZ may now loose a great programme that helped thousands of people settle in New Zealand. The good news is that unemployment is very low in NZ so there are quite a few jobs around and I will be taking up an exciting new role as business development manager for www.newlifenewzealand.com who are immigration/recruitment/settlement agents here in Hamilton NZ. So if you are serious about moving to NZ check out the website and get in touch. I was over in the UK recently at the NZ expo's and will be back in the UK March/April touring the country with my new employers giving out info on how to move to new zealand. I'll post more details on here once I have them. Good news is that part of my new role will involve updating this site more often ! I'm writing a new version of my book and that should be out in the coming months. It will be a more balanced view now we have been here for 4 years and will be far less focused on running a business here and more about setlling into a new life. Anyhow stay tuned !

bye for now

Paul

well summer is finally here in NZ. In fact we had a really mild winter so all is good. We are off to Australia for xmas and a well earned break. I'm making some changes to the site and adding some more links. I'm now getting to travel a bit more around Nea Zealand so will put links up for places i've visited. In fact I just spent the last two days in Napier and I must say it's a really nice place with plenty to do so check it out when you get over here. I'll also be putting more content on the site for the people who are already here in NZ especially events that are happening in Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua etc. It's xmas by the lake in Hamilton tomorrow night so I think we'll go down and watch steriogram play . Anyhow, check out the updated site and feel free to use the forum or email me anytime pgoddardbb@hotmail.com

Well we get on the plane for that long flight back to the UK tomorrow ! The kids are really excited and it'll be good to catch up and see what the UK's like again. We are going to be on the Kiwi-Ora/Emigrtion group stands at both the Manchester and London expo's. I'll be speaking at a Kiwi Ora seminar at 3p.m. on the Saturday and Sunday in London and we are holding seminars all day long (both days) at the Manchester expo so make sure you come along and say hello. If you (or your kids) are into rock music I hope you've bought the current issue of Rocksound magazine which has the free CD with Kiwi rock bands on it. I'll be meeting with the editor while we are in London to see if I can keep the UK informed on the NZ  music scene. I sold the Car Care business so it's another new start for us in NZ. I know this trip back will be a mixture of hard work and fun but I'm really excited about what the future holds for us in NZ. Anyhow if any of you can make it see you at the expos

15th-16th earls court london
22nd - 23rd jarvis picadilly manchester

Paul

Hey everyone,

    after two and a half years running a business in NZ we have finally been granted permanent residence !!!!! It is a big relief and means we are now able to move forward with our plans. I have been offered a job and will be selling the Car Care business. Julie is working full time and the issue of Rocksound Magazine featuring the NZ Cd we put together has just been released in the UK so it's been a great week. We've had our share of ups and downs but it all seems worth it now. We are busy making plans for our trip back to the UK in October to appear at the NZ expo's and hope some of you will be there and come and say hello. Sam can't wait to go to his first football game at Coventry stadium with his grandad so even though we'll be working we should have a good time. By the way if anyone knows of any good rock bands playing in London on Friday 14th October then let me know as it' s my birthday and the grandparents have got the kids ! Bye for now

Paul

We are going to be at the emigration expo's in London and Manchester at the end of October. We will be on the KIWI ORA stand so come along and have a chat. I've never been to one of these things so it should be interesting. It'll be good to see family and catch up with mates again. We are busy as usual and have just applied for permanent residence through our long term business visa so i'll keep you posted as to how we get on. The LTBV seems to have a lot of grey areas and a lot of people at NZIS who give different answers to queries but hopefully we will be OK. Winter hasn't been too bad in Hamilton. We get a bit of fog in the morning but it soon clears and spring is on it's way already. Had some good tornado's in NZ though recently. I'd love to see one but from a distance. Anyhow gotta dash.......

God things seem to be hectic at the moment. Julie has just accepted a position with Kiwi Ora so we are all having to adjust to her being at work. I'm trying to figure out what to do once I sell the business and have just applied to be a radio DJ !!! The Hamilton winter has finally hit and we are slowly getting used to the fog that lingers around here. Oh well, it's the shortest day today so it can only get better from here. Took a trip to the North Shore of Auckland and thought it was a great area. We especially liked Devonport and will definately be making weekend trips there next summer. In fact that is the plan once our careers are finally settled, to travel NZ a bit more in 2006 and maybe take another holiday in OZ. We really haven't seen enough of NZ and hopefully we'll get to try our hand at ski ing this year as the slopes open this weekend. Well maybe we'll settle into some sort of routine by the end of this year, can't believe how time is flying by. I've managed to put a couple more links on the site to a couple of excellent sites so check them out

went up to Auckland today for a meeting with the people at Kiwi Ora. Check out the kiwi ora page on my site for more info on the service these people offer to new migrants (and all free of charge!!!) . Anyhow I have been asked to speak at a seminar they are holding next tues evening in Auckland. There is also an invite on my website with all the details. It would be great to chat to a few recent british additions to NZ so see if you can make it. They are also giving away a limited edition Lions/allblacks shirt on the night which I wish I could win but as a speaker unfortunately I am excluded. so hope to see some of you there.

We nearly have our applcations for permanent residence complete now and so hopefully it won't be too long before we get that elusive visa. Early days yet but we may also be popping over to the UK in October to be at some of the emigration shows in Manchester and London so watch this space.

Up to Auckland again this coming friday to watch the band we manage play at a big gig at the kings arms (legendary nz music venue) then we have their national tour to oversee and hopefully the guys will be getting a video made as well. We plan to bring them over to the UK sometime soon and will be using our trip in Oct to finalise this. So all in all a busy time for us but oops I'm supposed to be paying the mortgage etc by grooming cars. Oh well I'll do that tomorrow. The weather's picked up again and Julie and I went for a walk along the waikato river on sunday as it was our 12th wedding anniversary. I think she's trying to kill me off actually as we walked for three hours!

Zoe has just been on school camp which seems to be a popular thing over here as in the two years we have lived here she has been camping with the school three times. It's great and she is loving school here despite becoming a moody teenager this fri. Anyhow check out the kiwi ora stuff and i'll be back again soon

Paul

Took Sam to his third football match for his school today. He played  blinder scoring the opening goal, clearing one of theirs off the goal line and wining man of the match.  One of those moments we'll remember forever. On a different subject...

Glad we moved to Hamilton after all the flooding they've had in Tauranga and Papamoa !  I was over there when the rain first came down and I've never seen rain like it. It lasted for hours and was so loud that it was drowning out the noise of the generator on my van. Peoples houses were flooded then there were landslides which wiped out about six homes in Tauranga. They declared a state of emergency and some people were evacuated. Luckily there were no fatalities but they have forcast more heavy rain there for tomorrow night. A quick tip, don't buy a house on the edge of a hill ! Check out www.xtra.co.nz for news on the floods.

Paul

NZ holds a music month every May. What this means is that the music industry is pushed extra hard for that month. Which is great because the news has music stories every night. There's loads of gigs going off and kids want to be rockstars. Why don't they do this in the UK? Julie and I appeared on C4 last week which is  a free to air music channel in NZ. We were talking about the NZ CD we are putting together for Rocksound magazine in the UK. It was great fun and we will be back on there again once the CD is finished so if you are in NZ watch this space.....

  We had vip passes for Shihad's free gig in Auckland last week and Sam really enjoyed himself rocking away with the other 7000 people who turned up in the pouring rain ! It seems we are in Auckland a hell of a lot since moving to Hamilton. There's always a gig to go to or someone to meet. We now manage a band from Auckland as well called Nova Echo www.novaecho.com and should be bringing them over to the Uk next year.

  We will be bringing a couple of UK bands over to NZ later this year as well (if all goes to plan) THORIA and FUME are keen to get over so we'll be sorting out an NZ tour for them. anyhow got to go C4 are just about to broadcast the C4 gig...... NZ ROCKS......