"We are Kelly and Filipa, we came to New Zealand in March 2015 from the UK (however Filipa is originally from Portugal)
It took 1 year exactly from meeting Prudence at the London expo to when we boarded the plane in Heathrow
Easiest part of the process: having the guidance and help of Accent Health Recruitment, especially Pru - she gave us so much advice and help, from the initial skype informing us what to do first to the prep for the interview, and eventually the help once we arrived in NZ (and everything that happened in the middle for the year it took). Prue was just brilliant, helping us find a job, a place to stay, giving us contacts, an address for NZ and recently meeting for coffee to chat.
Most challenging part: sometimes it feels like the process is never ending, you feel for every step forward there is always another step waiting......also you get everything completed as soon as you can but you still have to wait for others to do their bit, for example the nursing council and visa, the waiting is unbearable at times.
First impressions: after over a day on planes (and a rubbish transfer in the USA) we were greeted by sun and friendly people in New Zealand which was just what we needed and a wonderful welcome. On the trip from the airport to our accommodation we looked around in delight at the lack of traffic and the differences in houses from the UK. Over the first week we accumulated our first impressions which were just so positive with heaps of outdoor activities at your fingertips, lots of social opportunities and some lovely weather how could it be anything other than positive.
Best parts of NZ: Overall we love that within an hour or so we can be at the beach or the slopes, the laid back and genuinely friendly personalities and feeling of NZ and its occupants and the range of Asian food :) and obviously the beer and wine!!! specifically we loved Hanmer, Queenstown and Akarora and we have so much more to see yet!!
What I miss most: Without a doubt this has to be family and friends; skype, whats app, face book and viber help but there is nothing like spending time with your loved ones and friends :(
cheap supermarkets!!! the price of food still shocks us!!
Advice: decide on the particulars of selling, storing and shipping things....for a long time your waiting for news and then suddenly it happens!! Try to get an address of somewhere you will stay in NZ, you can set up a bank account from UK but ours couldn’t be verified without a nz address which left us without banking for a few days....
Have an open mind when house hunting the houses are very different from the UK. Make sure you have ways to contact friends and family..... it helps the missing them!!
ABOUT OUR NZ WORKPLACE:
Our job is quite similar overall there are some differences though:
Kelly could do the role of anaesthetic technician in UK but cannot here.
We assist in surgery more than in the UK (as its private and they do not bring registrars and assistants).
We worked in NHS before but this is private so we are getting used to charging for things etc...
You address the surgeons/anaesthetist by their Christian name.
Similarities; language/terminology, many of the instruments are called the same and many pieces of equipment/machines are same. We have previous experience so are used to sterility and surgeries.
Overall we would like to thank Accent Health Recruitment for all of their help; the process was made so much easier by having them. NZ is a wonderful country filled with many experiences and awesome experiences!!!! We would recommend it!!!"
Current Time in Wellington, New Zealand
