During my training as a midwife I knew I wanted to work abroad with my job. I decided early on that the heat and creepy crawlies in Australia were enough to put me off living there; so I decided to give New Zealand a go after hearing only amazing things about it.
The team at ACCENT Health helped me to find a job before I left the U.K. and put me in touch with ASB bank to set up a bank account upon arrival. I saved for a couple of years before moving to cover my costs; however I found it a great help knowing I had a job lined up beforehand as it took off a lot of financial pressure. The registration process to become a registered midwife in NZ was lengthy, but the visa application process was thankfully very easy and only took about a week to arrive. I’m currently on a two year work visa and may apply for residency once this has run out.
Working in the NZ healthcare system has been amazing. The facilities are great and the people I work with are so welcoming. I do 12-hour shifts three days per week which gives me four days off to travel and explore. So far I’ve been camping in New Plymouth; taken a long weekend tramping, gone sea kayaking in Picton and gone to a few music festivals including seeing Fatboy Slim play in a vineyard!
The move has changed my life for the better! My work-life balance is so good. The outdoor lifestyle is such a big thing here and it has done wonders for my mental health. If I could do anything differently, I would give myself more time before starting work to travel the country as travelling can take a long time in NZ, but I have many more trips planned.
I miss my family, friends and some food items in the U.K. but I feel that the quality of life is much better here. Plus everyone here is so friendly and it has been easy feeling part of the community.
My advice to anyone thinking about coming to NZ is just to do it! It’s a great place and I would thoroughly recommend it.
