Ok thanks to the various peeps who updated me on the whole central heating thing going on in New Zeland; have done a bit more work. It looks like heat pumps are being encoraged as the way to go. As I had no idea what a heat pump was I did a bit of research (Hope this helps@kiwimmigrator" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/twitter.com');" href="http://twitter.com/kiwimmigrator">@kiwimmigrator). Basically its a system by which electricity is used to move heat about - heat from a cool room to a warm room makes cool room cooler and warm room warmer. Does sound a bit odd and first time I read about it I thought it was a bit mental, but on closer examination it does make sense. By moving heat rather than generating heat, heating bills are reduced dramatically - however as they are expensive to install you tend to have to live in a house for about 3-4 years to recoup your inital costs. But saying that it can be used as an air conditioner in the summer if needed so bonus. However as efficiency drops in cold climates they can be unsuitable in some areas so would have to watch that.
So handy hint to people considering the move : Look for a house with a heat pump all ready installed or be prepared to consider it as an option when you make the move.
As you may all be aware Scotland is not what you would call a tropical location. In winter it can get very cold, windy and wet (it even occasionally snows) but the one thing I love about living here is the central heating. No matter how cold it is outside, when I come home I am greeted with tropical conditions in every room of the house. I was a bit surprised to learn that central heating is not common place in New Zealand or at least it seems to be. Some of the people on twitter that we follow have mentioned that they are freezing in their house, which I am struggling with - what no central heating. I have looked at various estate agents sites and central heating does not get mentioned at all or at least very rarely. What am I missing? Is it too expensive, Is it because of the environment? or Is it simply your winters aren’t long enough for anyone to have though it was worthing installing?
With this in mind I am seriously considering re-looking at our destination locations and are heading further north, so any tips would be welcome.
One thing I still have to work out is what I’m going to do with my time when we move to New Zealand. Other half has many strings to his bow so finding work he likes shouldn’t be a problem - worst case he becomes a Professional Magician. Me on the other hand - well what can I say. Spent time at University and then 6 years in chosen field - HATED IT. Spent the next 5 years being a mum, which I love but then when oldest started school ended up working within the school office, and have been there ever since in some capacity or other - enjoyable but not too challenging. I see moving to New Zealand as an opportunity to reinvent myself but as what.
Over the past few years I have discovered a talent for organizing fundraisers and have held various successful events which raised tons of money for my children’s school. I have no official training, so am taking the plunge and going back to school to retrain, this will be hard as not studied for over 15 years and then to be fair I didn’t do much anyway. Hopefully this will give me the opportunity to work within a company which specialises in organising events - alternatively I’ll setup my own business and see what happens.
I can safely say that if we weren’t moving I don’t think I’d have the guts to start my work life over but hey if we can move to the other side of the world then we can do anything, right?
While watching QI last night I discovered that the Kiwi has the smallest beak of all birds. I’ll leave it to you to find out why.
As Steven Fry would say .. Quite Interesting.
At the end of last week whilst Tweeting it was discovered that I know nothing about the popular Feijoa fruit of New Zealand and I was set a challenge. Basically I have to find out and blog about this fruit - so here it is…
The Feijoa fruit is native to South America and was introduced to New Zealand in the 1900’s as ornamental shrubs. Because they withstood coastal winds they were often planted as low shelter belts but has since become one of the most popular fruits used in everything from chutney to wine, yogurts to smoothies. By 2002 there were over 200 orchards in the North Island with the domestic market worth an estimated 1.7 million in 2004 and export market worth $100,000 in 2006. It is harvested between the months of March and May and is best eaten the day it drops from the tree, so is not exported very far which is why I’ve not come across any in my local Tescos! I look forward to tasting this when we make it over.
The above Feijoa was sold on site Trade Me for $1000.
