As our departure date drew closer our attention slowly turned to what life we could and should create for ourselves. Me and my partner already had a rough idea of our plans when we arrived it goes something like job, apartment in the city, weekends exploring – for the first 6 months at the very least. So far so good!
During this time we want to decide on an area to live around Auckland (we aren’t city slickers, Mission Bay or somewhere near to the sea would be ideal!) and live more of suburban life, something we are more used to coming from Cornwall!
Personally one of the main ways of settling in would be to make new friends with similar interest. Sure you are going to make new friends though work but it good to find someone who has common interests.
My partner enjoys, rowing/kayaking and wants to join a gym, I however love tennis and swimming. We have agreed that we are going to find a fitness centre that we can both join together but then do the different activities separately. Then hopefully, eventually we will have developed some friendship groups (either together or separately) that will help us feel more at home.
Meet your neighbours
We are also not adverse to joining Community Groups either. There are some great ones around directed at helping “migrants” like us settle in and some other websites to help “love thee neighbour!”
The New Zealand Newcomers Network looks like a great network to join upon arrival to NZ, the website seems more focused on “migrants” settling into the kiwi way of life, full of tips on how to feel more part of the community that surrounds you.
Websites like Neighbourly and Meet Up could also be a good way to meet new people living close to where you settle. Neighbourly has recently been launched in New Zealand and is proving popular in many of Aucklands regions. It seems to be a good way to meet your neighbours, swap tips on the local area and generally gain trust within your neighbourhood. Meet Up is more of a proactive space, join the groups, meet the people, release a smile!
Kiwi Families is a site that is more directed to families making friends with other nearby families, great for family days out!
Be sure to be kept updated on these progresses over the coming months!