Ever considered Emigrating?

czc

czc

Thread Killer Mk VIII
So I stayed at this guesthouse on Wednesday and the owners were very chatty. Telling everyone that they want to emigrate to New Zealand. That New Zealand is so great. Apparently the cut off age is 56. And there are points involved etc...

I've never really considered emigrating. Have any of you? I know a few mygammers are already overseas.
 
Not really - this is my home, my family and friends are all here, we live a good life despite all the negatives. Plus there's no way we'd have enough money to emigrate.
 
I would go in a heartbeat for a better work situation. Unfortunately, I missed out on Aus and NZ with 5 points each - thanks to going to a technikon instead of uni. Currently I can't afford to try again, next will be Canada. I loved what I have seen of the world so far, there is a fair bit of reasons to go.
 
I have been thinking about it for years. I saw my pension being at a high value at retirement, now I see it dwindle to the point of that I wanna cry. Either Zuma caused my pension to become really rubbish or the people handling it did a terrible job.
Though I really don't know the methods or how to start it, or will I be accepted etc.. [MENTION=2226]InSanity[/MENTION] did it, doing very well. Would love to know the process he went through.
 
ArchieChoke said:
I have been thinking about it for years. I saw my pension being at a high value at retirement, now I see it dwindle to the point of that I wanna cry. Either Zuma caused my pension to become really rubbish or the people handling it did a terrible job.
Though I really don't know the methods or how to start it, or will I be accepted etc.. [MENTION=2226]InSanity[/MENTION] did it, doing very well. Would love to know the process he went through.
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So my 50 cents, I love it here and yes I loved it in SA as well but I cant even compare what it feels like taking my kids to the parks even at night or catching a bus at midnight from the middle of town after having a few drinks at a pub. For me as much as I love South Africa I just didn't like the paranoia attached like stopping at every robot at night and doing 360 degree checks or getting woken up at night by the wife who thinks she heard something or the dogs going mad. I mean the headlines in the news here is actually laughable and doesn't leave you feeling depressed (most of the time). Is this country perfect hell no there are things I hate like parking is an absolute nightmare i have to park like a 15 minute walk from my office or pay for parking and property here is retarded expensive(well in Auckland anyway).

as for the process it wasn't too bad it is a bit pricey but i did it with my pregnant wife and a kid already if you don't have that kind of luggage its really not that bad, It just takes time the longest part is trying to find the Job from South Africa after that its simple enough.

TL;DR: I have applied for my residency I love it here, I will always still support the springboks over the all blacks(last weekend i was screaming for the Cheetahs at Eden Park against the Blues :P). The process is a bit Hardcore but not too bad.

Oh and they also really appreciate hard work here my company is going through a big restructure and today I got called in and told I'm getting a promotion and a raise I will be heading up my own team I have been working for the company for 7 months so this was literally just the cherry on top.
 
InSanity said:
So my 50 cents, I love it here and yes I loved it in SA as well but I cant even compare what it feels like taking my kids to the parks even at night or catching a bus at midnight from the middle of town after having a few drinks at a pub. For me as much as I love South Africa I just didn't like the paranoia attached like stopping at every robot at night and doing 360 degree checks or getting woken up at night by the wife who thinks she heard something or the dogs going mad. I mean the headlines in the news here is actually laughable and doesn't leave you feeling depressed (most of the time). Is this country perfect hell no there are things I hate like parking is an absolute nightmare i have to park like a 15 minute walk from my office or pay for parking and property here is retarded expensive(well in Auckland anyway).

as for the process it wasn't too bad it is a bit pricey but i did it with my pregnant wife and a kid already if you don't have that kind of luggage its really not that bad, It just takes time the longest part is trying to find the Job from South Africa after that its simple enough.

TL;DR: I have applied for my residency I love it here, I will always still support the springboks over the all blacks(last weekend i was screaming for the Cheetahs at Eden Park against the Blues :P). The process is a bit Hardcore but not too bad.

Oh and they also really appreciate hard work here my company is going through a big restructure and today I got called in and told I'm getting a promotion and a raise I will be heading up my own team I have been working for the company for 7 months so this was literally just the cherry on top.
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Thanks, really appreciate the feedback.
Which agents assisted?
Do you think its possible to survive on minimum wage there? Just want to get a feel if its like here where R3500 makes government think you can live off.
 
ArchieChoke said:
Thanks, really appreciate the feedback.
Which agents assisted?
Do you think its possible to survive on minimum wage there? Just want to get a feel if its like here where R3500 makes government think you can live off.
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We didn't use any agents did it ourself's imho agents aren't worth the money you spend but that's just me and my wife was great at doing the research. tbh I'm not sure what minimum wage is here :( but I know cities not Auckland are way cheaper to stay in
 
InSanity said:
We didn't use any agents did it ourself's imho agents aren't worth the money you spend but that's just me and my wife was great at doing the research. tbh I'm not sure what minimum wage is here :( but I know cities not Auckland are way cheaper to stay in
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Awsum thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it, perhaps one of these days I'll catch her and ask her about the research.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
 
InSanity said:
We didn't use any agents did it ourself's imho agents aren't worth the money you spend but that's just me and my wife was great at doing the research. tbh I'm not sure what minimum wage is here :( but I know cities not Auckland are way cheaper to stay in
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The owner of the guesthouse said he paid the agents R75 000 for them to do the paperwork and he doesn't even have a job there yet.
 
czc said:
The owner of the guesthouse said he paid the agents R75 000 for them to do the paperwork and he doesn't even have a job there yet.
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Yeah most people go the route of agents I just dont think it's worth it but that is imho
 
InSanity said:
Yeah most people go the route of agents I just dont think it's worth it but that is imho
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I sway to your side.

Another question? Did you have a job lined up before you went or did you find one once you were there?

Also [MENTION=10401]Roomys[/MENTION] how is it in New Zealand for you?
 
czc said:
I sway to your side.

Another question? Did you have a job lined up before you went or did you find one once you were there?

Also [MENTION=10401]Roomys[/MENTION] how is it in New Zealand for you?
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I had one lined up I'm not a massive fan of taking risks :p
 
I dare say I'm a bit of an expert at this...emigrated a few years back, planning on another move soon & split my time between two countries anyway.

People tend to think about it in terms of "grass greener or not". A better perspective is to think of it in terms of trade-offs. Every country comes with trade-offs and each individual has different priorities. As a result you get massively biased answers to the "grass greener" question to the point where its useless info. This is also why you get people moving to "good" countries yet end up returning to SA - was just a bad fit.

That said there are some factors associated with SA that are objectively bad - Crime, Racism etc. Nobody prefers high crime levels.

Other bits of info:

  • Anyone going without a job lined up needs to get their head checked. You'll burn through that ZAR savings buffer in 6 seconds flat at 1st world rates. It's so bad that my employer hands new arrivals a thousand pounds cash because they know they won't cope.
  • You either need a passport or a job offer from an employer willing to sponsor a visa or some countries allow for a points system where the visa is not tied to an employer.
  • Don't underestimate the dangers associated with moving to a non-English country. Everyone tells themselves they'll totally learn the language & it'll be fine. Easier said than done.
  • If you're moving family / pets / big household then expect big costs associated with that (100k-250k).
  • If you studied in Afrikaans expect to do a language assessment
  • Some countries will make you do medical tests (NZ does for sure)
  • It's quite stressful. Was OKish for me because I'm a bachelor YOLOing it, but with a family - yoh must be rough.
  • If you can, try to move via a big global employer...they move people around all the time so they have processes in place
  • Total cost is all over the place. I'd estimate 75k-250k depending on circumstances.
  • Like for like I'd say living in a 1st world country result in higher disposal income.

On the negative front - really sucks being far away from parents etc. I worry a lot about them & what if something happens to them and I'm on the other side of the world & haven't seen them in 6 months. So it's not all roses & sunshine in that respect.

All things considered if you have the option I'd say do it! Not coming from a "SA is burning" angle, but rather...big world out there & lots of adventures to be had. Personally I think it's also a wise move strategically, but people have different views on where SA is going so lets leave that there.

Happy to elaborate on anything in more detail, but some stuff not on open forum naturally.

And now for the really important part: Yes your steam will change currency, but the wallet can't. Needs to be zero to convert.
 
I've been playing with the idea. Maybe somewhere in the US. Australia and New Zealand never really appealed to me and the US is big enough to find a state / area that I'll like (no idea where yet). However, we must first sell our company this side (and we're not actively looking for buyers, or ready for that matter) so until then, I'm pretty much staying put. Besides, I'm not willing to trade one moron president for another so I guess for at least the next 4 years we're not going anywhere. Canada would also have been nice if it wasn't for those darn winters.

Still, I am starting to warm to the idea, thinking and kinda dreaming about it. That's quite progress because my answer would have been a definite no if anyone asked me this a year ago.
 
ViperGTI said:
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US is probably the most difficult & from what I can tell comes with it's own challenges. I'd rather do Canada.

ViperGTI said:
Canada would also have been nice if it wasn't for those darn winters.
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I moved to a place with uhm...less than ideal weather. Honestly doesn't bother me at all. I figure if weather is #1 on my list of things that I bitch about then my life must be pretty damn awesome.

ViperGTI said:
find a state / area that I'll like (no idea where yet)
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Well I was in California recently and kept thinking "well this shrubbery looks very SA". So vibe like I'd probably aim for that. House prices are beyond fk'd though.
 
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