# My partner has been offered a job in Taranaki



## empressaphrodite2011

Hello there

My boyfriend has been offered a job in NZ, Taranaki to be precise, and I am interested in chatting with anyone who may live in or around the area of New Plymouth.

I have never visited NZ and have the difficult dilemma of deciding whether or not to go with him.

We are both from the UK, he is being sponsored by his company so visa isnt an issue for him however I am not. We have researched the visa issue and it appears that as long as we can prove that we are in a stable relationship and have been living together for a while then I should be able to get a visa which will allow me to work, on the back of his visa.

My question though is what is it like as a place to live and also what sort of work there might be for someone in my position.

I am 35, senior management level running customer service / client liaison departments. I have heard that New Plymouth - where we would most likely be living, is quite a small town and so I am unsure what (if any) sort of work opportunity there might be for someone like me?

If anyone can help or advise on life there I would be so grateful as at the moment it is like a walk into the complete unknown! 

Hope to hear from some of you soon.


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## inhamilton

New Plymouth has about 70,000 people. It's a city that's supported, to a large extent, by the surrounding fertile dairy industry and the oil and gas industries. It's a little bit out on a limb, being roughly the same distance away from Auckland and Wellington, roughly 3 1/2 hours drive in either direction. It's hard to say whether you would able to get a senior management job there. One of NZ's major banks is run from there (TSB), the only non-government, NZ owned bank, so perhaps that might offer something in your field. And there's the natural gas industry. Obviously, a population of 70,000 means there needs to be a fair bit of infrastructure, so there are jobs. The unemployment rate would be around the 5% mark. It has some beautiful scenery with Mt Egmont, an almost perfectly shaped extinct volcano at the forefront, and Pukekura Park gardens. It also attracts some concerts. Fleetwood Mac played at the Pukekura Bowl not long ago. Otherwise, it's probably just your run of the mill NZ town.


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## kiwigser

empressaphrodite2011 said:


> Hello there
> 
> My boyfriend has been offered a job in NZ, Taranaki to be precise, and I am interested in chatting with anyone who may live in or around the area of New Plymouth.
> 
> I have never visited NZ and have the difficult dilemma of deciding whether or not to go with him.
> 
> We are both from the UK, he is being sponsored by his company so visa isnt an issue for him however I am not. We have researched the visa issue and it appears that as long as we can prove that we are in a stable relationship and have been living together for a while then I should be able to get a visa which will allow me to work, on the back of his visa.
> 
> My question though is what is it like as a place to live and also what sort of work there might be for someone in my position.
> 
> I am 35, senior management level running customer service / client liaison departments. I have heard that New Plymouth - where we would most likely be living, is quite a small town and so I am unsure what (if any) sort of work opportunity there might be for someone like me?
> 
> If anyone can help or advise on life there I would be so grateful as at the moment it is like a walk into the complete unknown!
> 
> Hope to hear from some of you soon.


Impossible to answer, there is a family moving to that area on the forum, so hopefully they will answer as well. It depends whether you are willing to try out something off your current comfort zone. Its very easy to stay safe in your present job or do you take the risk, you only live once. 

Anyway once you are here, you are not tied to Taranaki, if it does not work, you can move to Auckland or Wellie or go back home. Its not easy to get into NZ, so you could look at this as an opportunity.

Too prove the long term relationship, holiday invoices, bank accounts, utility statements with both names, helps a lot.

One thing I can guarantee, if you move here your life will change, hopefully for the better.

Good luck


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## Song_Si

*Taranaki info*

Hi

I left NP late 1990s so rather than give you my dated memories . . . this site will provide you with some info









New Plymouth, with Mt Taranaki in the background​

*Taranaki Lifestyle Toolkit
Taranaki offers a lifestyle like no other. *

From the region's picture-perfect peak to the countless surf spots around its coast, Taranaki offers you the opportunity to achieve a work/life balance you can only dream about in many other parts of the world.

Team this action-packed landscape with good job prospects in a range of industries, a spectacular major events calendar, affordable housing and a regional economy that's growing faster than the national average, and you'll see why Taranaki was judged home to the best place to live in New Zealand. 

To help you achieve a lifestyle like no other, Venture Taranaki has developed a 'Lifestyle Toolkit' full of helpful resources for anyone considering a move to Taranaki - whether they're moving town or city or moving country.

The 5 part toolkit provides an overview of the region, moving here, living here, working here and the key industry sectors.

*****​
and more general info here, and even more here

The New Plymouth Settlement Support group has a list of employment sites


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## dawnclaremaddox

empressaphrodite2011 said:


> Hello there
> 
> My boyfriend has been offered a job in NZ, Taranaki to be precise, and I am interested in chatting with anyone who may live in or around the area of New Plymouth.
> 
> I have never visited NZ and have the difficult dilemma of deciding whether or not to go with him.
> 
> We are both from the UK, he is being sponsored by his company so visa isnt an issue for him however I am not. We have researched the visa issue and it appears that as long as we can prove that we are in a stable relationship and have been living together for a while then I should be able to get a visa which will allow me to work, on the back of his visa.
> 
> My question though is what is it like as a place to live and also what sort of work there might be for someone in my position.
> 
> I am 35, senior management level running customer service / client liaison departments. I have heard that New Plymouth - where we would most likely be living, is quite a small town and so I am unsure what (if any) sort of work opportunity there might be for someone like me?
> 
> If anyone can help or advise on life there I would be so grateful as at the moment it is like a walk into the complete unknown!
> 
> Hope to hear from some of you soon.


Hi there, we're relocating to Taranaki at beginning of next month. We went on holiday there Nov/Dec, mainly to show other half what it was like and to convince him that there are other places to live that are as good, if not better than the UK. 

He just pointed to the map at Taranaki and that's where he applied for a job. It wasn't advertised, we just sent his CV to 1 company and when he contacted them the next day, they offered him a job over the phone. Maybe you could do the same? Look online at companies that need people with your experience and send your CV by email with a covering letter. You can find a website to show you how NZ like their CV's done (I'll ask him where he found it tonight, if he can remember that is!).

Also depends on what you want in life, I think a lot of people think that they can get their 4/5 bed, 2/3 bath, plot of land and outbuildings (maybe even a swimming pool) for half the price of their property in the UK and earn twice the salary over there. Most of the time it doesn't work like that. Some things are more expensive over there and some things are similar prices. You have to see for yourself and swot up on the internet, look at grocery stores, Pack 'n' Save are one and Woolworths another.

We are under no illusion that we are doing the right thing. It's a bit like marmite, you either like it or hate it!!


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## philconnell

hi there,what line of work is your other half in,and how did he go about getting offered a post? thanks


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## dawnclaremaddox

philconnell said:


> hi there,what line of work is your other half in,and how did he go about getting offered a post? thanks


Hi Phil, He's an Electrician, although the job offer is Appliance Engineer (you have to be an Electrician to be the latter in NZ)

We were lucky, he picked his area of preferrence and sent his CV with a covering letter by email, no agents involved and doesn't cost anything.


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## carrie thorne

Hi there, Congrats on your partner's job offer - that's great!
I'm english and I moved to NZ 7 years ago. I came over to New Plymouth with my boyf for a 1 year working visa and never left. I love it here, although it did take alittle getting used to! I would definitely say give it a go. I work for the RDA so we have heaps of information and tools and services to help you get in touch with the right people, setttle in etc. regarding jobs for your self, we have a jobs website you can register on and apply for jobs through. It is a relatively small an amazingly vibrant and cosmopolitan place to live (I'd never go back to the UK) and there are good but a limited number ofjob opportunities but I can help you here. if you want to correspond more, please email me on _[email address deleted]_ thanks!


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## topcat83

carrie thorne said:


> Hi there, Congrats on your partner's job offer - that's great!
> I'm english and I moved to NZ 7 years ago. I came over to New Plymouth with my boyf for a 1 year working visa and never left. I love it here, although it did take alittle getting used to! I would definitely say give it a go. I work for the RDA so we have heaps of information and tools and services to help you get in touch with the right people, setttle in etc. regarding jobs for your self, we have a jobs website you can register on and apply for jobs through. It is a relatively small an amazingly vibrant and cosmopolitan place to live (I'd never go back to the UK) and there are good but a limited number ofjob opportunities but I can help you here. if you want to correspond more, please email me on _[email address deleted]_ thanks!


Hi there Carrie

I've deleted your email address, as it's against Forum rules to put personal email addresses in the posts. Mainly for safety reasons - you don't want to be spammed. Once you've had 5 posts you can contact people by PM. 

And it's great to hear how much you're enjoying NZ.


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## Song_Si

from today's news, article on Taranaki






*Scaling Mt Taranaki *
SARAH CATHERALL Last updated 05:00 13/07/2011

It's been almost a decade since Taranaki was taken over by Japanese actors with shaved heads who were cast as samurai warriors.

When they weren't filming the Tom Cruise Hollywood blockbuster Last of the Samurai, the actors were out in the surf, or looking for a decent bite of the local fare in the city of New Plymouth.

Even though they've since left this western part of the North Island with its black sand beaches, their presence is still felt under the gaze of soaring Mt Taranaki. When filming took place, the Japanese actors enjoyed one of the best summers Taranaki had turned on – locals still dub a good summer "a samurai summer".

I last visited Taranaki in March for Womad, the global music festival that draws thousands each year. It was still warm and the New Plymouth racecourse, normally home to cantering horses, was filled with a sea of tents. I spent my days in the lush Brooklyn Bowl listening to musicians from Mongolia, America and Britain, along with favourites from Auckland and Wellington. At night, I slept on an airbed.

The samurai summer has long disappeared when we leave Wellington at Queen's Birthday Weekend, driving up the west coast towards New Plymouth.

rest of article here


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## Song_Si

and to provide some balance to all those images of clear sunny skies . . . 

*Taranaki's winter starts with near record rain*
14/07/2011


*Rain, rain and more rain – the first six weeks of Taranaki's winter have been among the wettest on record.*

And though no one really needs confirmation of this, Taranaki Regional Council rainfall figures make for some interesting morning tea conversation.

With 17 days to go before the end of the June/July period New Plymouth has already received 384 millimetres of rain, or 139 per cent of its usual June/July allocation.

Just down the road at much wetter Egmont Village, 522mm of rain has fallen, 117 per cent of the normal allocation.

While it seems much of the wet weather has come in the last few days, June was a champion wet month.

Respite from the rain and showers should arrive on Monday. The Metservice forecast then predicts three days of dry sunny weather.

more
The 319mm recorded at New Plymouth's Mangorei Rd water tanks was the most since records began in 1989. Inglewood's 345mm was the town's highest since the TRC began keeping records in 1999.

But it hasn't all been wetter than usual. Rain gauges at Cape Egmont, Hawera and Patea show just 74 per cent, 96 per cent and 90 per cent of their June/July allocation so far.


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## Song_Si

*New Plymouth - Taranaki*

an old National Film Unit short movie (hmm, some would say not much has changed since 1954!)


Four decades before starring in The Last Samurai, New Zealand’s most symmetrical volcano stole the limelight in this NFU short. 
Extolling a mantra of progress and change, Taranaki presents New Plymouth as regional hub and suburban paradise, surrounded by bays and gladioli. 
Narrator Paul Ricketts touches on a conflict-soaked past by recalling his great grandmother’s nightly refuge in a central city stockade, during the 1860s Taranaki Wars. Back in 1954, a fishing license costs two pounds, and co-operatively-run diary factories produce over half the nation’s cheese.

Taranaki - Short Film | NZ On Screen


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## Song_Si

you won't get snow in New Plymouth, but don't have to travel too far inland; Stratford is 43km away, Eltham a further 20, both on the main highway south heading towards Wellington. 









SNOWTIME: Debbie Sheehy's home on Rawhitiroa Rd, near Eltham, was coated in powdery white snow this morning.

LATEST: Police are urging people to stay off many roads in south Taranaki because of treacherous conditions caused by continued snowfall.

Opunake Rd and all roads around Kaponga, Kapuni and Manaia are becoming impassable, police said.

The New Plymouth District Council has also closed Egmont Rd from Peters Rd because of heavy snowfall.

But that hasn't stopped people from enjoying what many claim is a record dump by building snowmen.


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## Song_Si

My friends in Stratford, central Taranaki, sent some pics taken at their house today - looks lovely (if you like snow!). 
Hope to see some of the mountain if it clears.


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