2015 – The Decision Year
The year began and ended in New Zealand!
On 1st January we were house and pet sitting Sarah and Nathan Chant’s ragdolls, Ollie and Cosmo, while they undertook their extended honeymoon trip. Cosmo took a while to befriend us but eventually came round. Ollie was a big smooch from early on.
We subsequently returned to Mike and Linden Johnson’s superb apartment at Point View House. This had become our regular base to stay in Howick since we had found it on our first visit. It was just a few minutes drive from Dougal and the family enabling us to spend time with them before school resumed in February.
Rowan started school on his 5th birthday and we were able to see him off in his new uniform on his first day and thereafter collect him regularly at the end of each day. This gave us time to explore the surrounds of Auckland during the day.
We were also able to do the Waiheke Wine Trip (a Christmas present from the family).
But the time passed too quickly and with our flights back to the UK looming, we took one final trip to the Far North, staying at the Acacia Lodge motel in Mongonui. The trip coincided with the impact of Typhoon Pam passing down the east coast of the country and gave us a very blustery day.
Towards the end of the visit we learned that NZ Immigration had changed the residency rules to streamline the queue of residency applications in the ‘parental category’ and it had become possible for us to envisage gaining residency in a feasible timescale. We returned to the UK mid-March determined to take up the option.
Back in the UK
While we were away, Ciaron and Naomi had done a superb job of re-decorating the inside of our house in Northampton. We were a little shame-faced to admit that we intended to sell the house with a view to emigrating if our residency application was accepted. Nevertheless, we set about tidying up the outside of the house and garden ready to put it on the market. This took most of the spring.
Having placed the house onto the market we set about down-sizing the contents and spent many enjoyable weekends at car-boot sales.
Meanwhile, Ciaron and Naomi were finalising the extension of their house in Bromham.
Late in the summer, we submitted our Expression of Interest to NZ Immigration.
An offer on our house was made and accepted in August with completion in November. In the meantime we sold most of our furniture, putting the basics that we would want to send to NZ into storage.
We were now officially homeless!
After a short coach trip to Scotland, we waved good-bye to Ciaron, Naomi and Taylor and returned to NZ for our second long visit.
Back in NZ
During our absence, Dougal and Jacqui had decided that, in view of the high cost of living in Auckland, a move to Tauranga was called for and their house in Howick had been sold and, when we arrived, they were house hunting in Tauranga. They had found a couple of houses that were shortly up for auction.
The apartment at Point View House wasn’t immediately available so, after a couple of days saying hello to the family, we set out to explore Tauranga and its surrounds and attend the auction(s). Dougal and Jacqui were to bid on the phone. The preferred house was great and the auction successful so planning started to make the move by February so that Lexie and Rowan could start at their new schools.
The house purchase put in place, we started on a trip to Hawkes Bay via Rotorua and Gisburne and returning via Lake Taupo in time to move into Point View House and spend Christmas and the New Year with the family.
