My name is Rachel and I am a clinical lead for Healthvision so I have a caseload of patients as well as being Designated Provider for the community nurses.
My husband, Rob, and I had our hearts set on coming to New Zealand after seeing the AHR team twice at a few immigration expos in our home city of Liverpool.
As my role is very specialised, I was worried I would never be able to get a job in NZ. The emigration process is frustrating but stick with it. I used to go onto the Down Under webinars wondering why we weren’t getting anywhere with the whole thing but suddenly things fell into place and we moved very quickly once the VISA’s were through.
One day, I received the best possible news; a role had popped up for me in New Zealand and they wanted to interview me! The ACCENT team were so great and organised the whole thing; even guiding me through the arduous registration process of the Nurse’s Council.
Once I got the job, it all happened very quickly. Prudence from ACCENT assisted us with everything from furniture removals and shipping, to accommodation recommendations, and is now even advising us on the residency process. I arrived in NZ on the Saturday and started work on the Wednesday. It’s been a whirlwind but an absolute dream come true.
For us, we haven’t had a single doubt that moving to NZ was exactly the right thing to do. The lifestyle is amazing; Rob and I love cycling and there are so many opportunities to do that here. The hardest thing about living in NZ is keeping your eyes on the road because everything is just so beautiful!
Aside from the amazing scenery (especially the turquoise water which I get to see every day while I drive around for work), we love the evenings where we are able to come home and walk to the sea which is 2 minutes’ walk and have a swim or else getting into our spa pool to relax. I miss my son who is 20 and staying in the UK but has the intention to join us within the year.
My advice if you are planning to come to NZ is go for it…… I so wish I’d done it sooner. So far I have absolutely no regrets at all and fitting in really well. The people are all so friendly and we’ve made lots of new friends already.
