My name is Manny Claveria, I am a mental health nurse by profession from the United Kingdom. I came to New Zealand in June 2018 on a visitor's visa to visit my fiancé as part of a year’s sabbatical leave from NHS Trust in U.K.
I had visited New Zealand a couple of times before and have always been amazed by the beauty of the nature, the general cleanliness of the country and the kindness and welcoming nature of the people. Eventually I decided that I wanted to stay so I looked for opportunities to work and live here.
I applied for a job through Accent and easily found a role thanks to the wonderful support they provided, especially from Kristin McNaughton. I found the nurse training is quite similar here to the U.K. and I was surprised to find that a majority of my colleagues from different health professions were also from the U.K. This helped me to easily adjust to my new working environment.
I would say that the most challenging part for me was waiting to hear if my nursing registration and work visa applications were successful, both of which I am happy to say were granted.
I have not been able to explore New Zealand fully yet but I have been to Queenstown and some other parts of the South and North Islands and I am so awed by the beauty. One of my favourite things about NZ is the rich cultural diversity and my personal experiences in meeting and dealing with people from different backgrounds all of which adds to my life experience. There are still a lot of places to discover and this makes me excited more than ever. I definitely miss my friends and colleagues in the U.K. but I already feel at home here.
