Welcome to New Zealand

We arrived home from Spain on December 22 – just in time for Christmas. After celebrating the holidays with our families, we got down to business. Dusty worked a few shifts at the hospital. And we made our final preparations for the big move. What do you pack for a move to the other side of the world???

The Move – Logistics

We decided to move the simple way. We looked at shipping furniture, but it was very expensive and would take anywhere from 3-6 months to arrive. So we sold most of our stuff and decided to start fresh. We shipped five boxes – mostly clothes, shoes and camping gear. We used Send My Bag and they made it very easy! They provided the customs forms we needed and a when everything was packed and inventoried, they picked the boxes up. Incredibly, they arrived in about 10 days! It was way easier than expected. Now I wish I would have shipped more clothes!

A Surprise – Hotty Toddy!

We were scheduled to leave New Orleans on Friday, January 9. One thing we did not plan – Ole Miss football made a historic run and was set to play in the semifinal playoff game on January 8. In Phoenix, Arizona. So, YOLO, we bought tickets to the game and flights. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. And it was a special experience – the city was full of Ole Miss fans including family and friends. The game was incredible, even though Ole Miss came up just short. No regrets!

The (Many) Flights

The down side of traveling to the bowl game – we added another leg of travel to our already long trek to New Zealand. We left Phoenix around 7 AM and arrived to New Orleans, via Las Vegas, around 1:00 pm. Luckily, Lauren’s Mom and Dad met us at the airport with our New Zealand luggage. This was a big chore – we were checking three bags each! Luckily all of our flights were on time and the extra travel was smooth. We had enough time to check all of those bags and spend some time together in the airport. Finally, at 5:30 pm we were on our way to New Zealand!

Air New Zealand is our airline of choice. They have regular non-stop flights from Houston to Auckland, but the flight is a whopping 14 hours! Through the years, we have become good fliers and we are both able to sleep on the long haul flights. The key is an eye mask, neck pillow and headphones. This allows you to block out the noise, light and commotion and get decent rest. It’s also very glamorous (lol)!

We arrived in Auckland on Sunday, January 11 and were greeted by a lovely sunrise. Welcome to New Zealand!

From Auckland, we had to gather all of those checked bags and make our way through customs. After we breezed through, we checked our bags back in and switched to the domestic terminal to wait for our final flight to Palmerston North. When we arrived to the gate we were very confused – there was no security at all. You show your boarding pass and walk right onto the tarmac and onto the plane!

When we arrived to Palmy it was very windy, especially in the small propeller plane. As we began to land, the pilot touched the plane down and then went right back up! He announced that it was a little too windy and we would circle Palmy and try again! Luckily, after about 10 minutes we were able to land. From there we picked up our rental car and headed to our Airbnb. First stop – shower – after traveling for about 30 hours!

Palmy

Now, to explore. Although we traveled to New Zealand twice before, we had never visited Palmy. We were pleasantly surprised! It’s a nice sized town (for us) with lots of local stores and restaurants. Plus, the town has beautiful green spaces, trees and flowers.

Palmy is surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and New Zealand’s biggest wind farm! Best of all, even though it is summer, the high temperatures have been in the mid-70’s!

Settling In

Once we caught our breath and adjusted to the time change (+19 hours!), it was time to get to work. First up – setting up a bank account, new phone numbers, buying a car, and finding a rental house. Dusty set us up with several home viewings on Monday (our first full day). Before we arrived, we were told that the rental market can be competitive and that it might take a little time to find a house. We got so lucky – we really liked the first house we visited. We applied and were accepted by the landlord on Wednesday, and moved in on Friday – less than a week from our arrival!

We then set to work furnishing the house. We shopped for new mattresses, bedding and cookware at the local Palmy stores. All of the people we met are happy to help and very interested in how we ended up here. An example – we stopped by a home improvement store to buy a tape measure. When the staff heard what we needed, they asked if we would simply like to borrow one! There seems to be a real sense of community and kindness here.

New Zealand has a big resale market and we got most of our big stuff – couch, tv, washer/dryer, dining room, bedroom suits – secondhand. Shopping for secondhand items brought us to some of the nearby towns and helped us explore the area a little more. It is a joy to drive around rural New Zealand and take in the views of the lush green fields, mountains, cows and of course sheep! We also had a chance to check out nearby Foxton Beach!

We have been in New Zealand for almost three weeks and things have been “easy as.” For the first time in months, it is time to get back into a regular routine. Dusty started work at the hospital this week. Lauren is enrolled as a student at Victoria University of Wellington to meet requirements to practice law in New Zealand. Classes begin in February!

We are so excited to finally be here – this has been our dream for eight years. We cannot wait to share the funny stories, cultural differences, and the adventure that comes with living as an expat. Sweet as!