Expat e-mail: New Zealand

Expat e-mail: New Zealand

Why work in banking when your true passion is wine-making? That's what Jake Barnett decided, as he tells in our series on expat readers of BBC News Online.

I love wine - obviously, who doesn't - and over the years, I've developed a basic knowledge of the stuff. Now I've taken it further, by enrolling in a post-grad viticulture and wine-making course in Christchurch.

The wine industry has been one of New Zealand's success stories over the past 20 years and it's still growing very fast. The business is very competitive and risky from a commercial point of view, but the product is just so seductive that almost everyone involved says it's a decision of the heart, not the head. If it pays, then that's a bonus.

The people are all therefore genuinely passionate (in an understated, offhand, Antipodean way) about what they do and this is obvious the minute you get them talking. This carries over into the academic sphere and the study is absorbing - not to mention super-intensive.

EX-BRITAIN

Christchurch is about 11,800 miles from Norwich

What Jake misses most is central heating - "but I don't miss much, to be honest"

Click here for more expats' tales

I got into wine myself when I got a holiday job in a wine bar in Norwich, the city where I grew up. It had a great cellar, and the owner introduced me to the good stuff.

Pretty much straight after graduating from uni in Edinburgh, I moved to London to take up a job as a trader with one of the French banks.

During my City time, I did a couple of wine appreciation courses, drank a lot of wine and started to think about taking it further. I've always been attracted to Antipodes and this course was recommended by contacts who had done it themselves. I applied and got a place in January 2000.

Leaving the rat race

Now it takes time to disentangle from London and at the time, things in the banking industry weren't looking too bad.

The nearest we get to noise pollution is when all the lawnmowers drone gently on a Saturday morning

Eventually my wife Lizzie and I had to make a decision. It was either stay put and get fully sucked in (kids, even bigger mortgage) or look elsewhere. London life just didn't look right long-term, what with so little access to the countryside and so much emphasis on the material. So we decided to rent out our apartment and hit the road. When I resigned, my boss's jaw hit the floor.

After nine months exploring the US and Australia, we arrived in Christchurch last December and found a car, a house and furniture without hassle in just three days - just try and do that in the UK!

No more pokey flats for Jake

The most striking thing about living here is how unforeign New Zealand seems, although it's nice having a palm tree and a gum tree in the back garden. Come to think of it, it's nice to have a back garden.

The nearest we get to noise pollution is when all the lawnmowers start to drone gently on a Saturday morning. Kiwis are renowned for their amiability and that we have found to be true from our landlords to our bank manager. And there's a distinct lack of the 'Porsche factor' which suits me fine.

That may be changing to a degree, but compared to the UK - and indeed metropolitan Australia, where we've also spent time - life here is much more about the basics. People take things slower; some go to the cinema in bare feet and still walk to the corner shop in their dressing gowns.

Rose tinted? Perhaps, but with the Southern Alps an hours' drive away and some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world just up the coast, it looks pretty promising to me.

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Send us your comments:

I worked for a high street bank until 1994, during which time I too developed a love of wine. So I upsticked and went to France. Got an unpaid job on a vineyard two days a week and realised that was what I wanted to do. Using my long forgotten O level French, I did a year-long course at Chateau la Tour Blanche, a wine school in Sauternes. I then borrowed heavily and bought a vineyard in 1997. Our wine has now reached Guide Hachette levels of quality, but I have never known stress like it. However, having just returned from 10 days in the UK and experiencing the overcrowding and traffic, I would find it very difficult to return.
Steve Atkins, France

On my first day of work in NZ, at midmorning as I was busily working at my computer, I noticed the whole office floor turn eerily quiet. I discovered everyone had gone for morning tea. Brilliant! Yes, NZ does have its problems: the economy is rather flat; wages aren¿t as high as other UK countries; and the country is struggling to come to terms with past ill treatment of the Maori. But, it is just a lovely place with fun people who have a great attitude toward life.
Eric Swanbeck, US

I lived in Italy for 3 years and dreamed selling up and purchasing/developing a vineyard in Tuscany (yeah very cliched). The trouble wasn't the cost, or the change in culture, it was the severe quantity of red tape and the "quiet" influence of the local mob! Glad to be home taking the Northern Line into the City each day (well, almost).
Matt, UK

Sounds great but how do people just relocate? I always thought visas, work permits etc were nigh on impossible unless I'm a brain surgeon or carpenter.
Roy McPherson, UK

Stop it! NZ is only 3.8 or so million and we want to keep it that way. I myself have just bought vineyard land to add to my father's, and we don't need the competition. That's it, I'm officially homesick.
Lucas Diamond, UK/New Zealand

I made the move to Christchurch in 1996 after 14 years in the RAF. I work for one of the hi-tech companies that have sprung up in Christchurch in the past decade. Getting into New Zealand is (thankfully) quite difficult unless you possess the skills it's seeking, or you come in under the family migration category. I was sponsored into NZ courtesy of my Kiwi wife. My salary is probably less than 50% of what I could expect to earn in the UK. However, after 7 years, I still feel like I'm on a permanent holiday: I cycle to work, my children go to great schools, we have a lovely house on the River Avon and all's well with the world.
Simon Cobb, New Zealand

Having lived in the beautiful Bahamas for 4 years, I was more than ready to come back to London. It isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you like variety of food and entertainment from all over the world, there are few places like it. It is possible to get bored looking at crystal clear aqua marine water!
Simon Newton, UK

I gave up working in the City to work in the City (of Paris). I have replicated my worklife in the UK in France (even down to the length of the commute 1.45 mins) BUT the trains turn up on time and are clean. I pay for 1st class as it is the same as I paid for 2nd class in the UK. I take time out for a proper hot lunch every day and best of all I now have a house twice the size at half the cost. What do I miss, hmm have I got news for you and Bovril.
Colin Larcombe, France

I spent 3 months in Christchurch 10 years ago. I found it the friendliest city I had ever been to and loved that people in the 'burbs left their front doors unlocked and open. I made friends with a local family and they took me in when my finances were stretched. On my first night, they handed me a wallet and the car keys to drive to the shops to buy the dessert for dinner - such wonderful people, I still miss the place now.
Kate R, Southsea, UK

NZ is a beautiful country to visit. However the opportunities are far less and although things appear cheaper, the salaries are far far less. I spent 6 months in NZ with my Kiwi wife but both of us became homesick for the UK: the choice, the opportunity, the variety...
John Joseph, UK

Am I the only one that thinks moving abroad was a HUGE mistake? We've been in Germany for nearly 3 years and we are currently planning the "Great Escape" back to the UK. OK, petrol is cheaper, booze is cheaper, fags are cheaper BUT we pay almost 50% tax. I miss English supermarkets with wonderful fresh goods without bugs flying around them and mice under foot. I want buy 1 get 1 free and I want to queue. Damn it, I'm a Brit and I'm polite!
Sharon, Frankfurt (ex-Dorset)

No Sharon, you're not the only one. We lost $40K moving here. My husband's been unable to find decent work (in advertising) for 3 of the 6 years. Our standard of living has plummeted. The health care is awful. The children's education has suffered dreadfully and none of us like it here. I'd give anything to be home right now. Christian Morgenstern said, "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you."
Te Holmes, US (ex UK)

Many places can seem better than home... for a while. I lived in Germany for three years and did not want to come back at the start. Then when I became used to the daily life, the very slightly annoying things became very annoying and things I missed were a constant reminder of where I felt more at home. This is a minor downside to living abroad. The major downside is being separated from family and always being viewed as a 'foreigner' by the locals.
Steffan Braun, UK

Last year my husband and I decided we wanted to experience life away from Scotland. We also wanted to see as much of Asia as possible. So we both left very good jobs and moved to Singapore. We both landed jobs within a month or so and have a great condo. We've also managed to spend weekends away in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, which are all within easy reach. It's great to hear that other people have the courage to go for it.
Caroline Hinde, Singapore

I was born in Stoke, bought up in London and always thought I would never leave. Until I spent time in NZ. My wife is a NZer and we went for what was supposed to be a year - 4 years later we came back, mainly just to make enough money to go back and buy a big house by the beach. I would go back and live in a shack if I had to.
Jake Harding, UK

I'm glad for you mate, but when I'm at work in England the last thing I want to read is how a City job set someone up for life in a lovely place.
Dan Norman, UK

I found it great to read what Jake has done and extremely encouraging as my partner and I are wanting to move out there ASAP. I love the UK although feel people are getting more miserable and intent on getting materialistic things instead of focusing on the real things that matter in life.
Marcia May, UK

In the US there's a saying that everyone should live in New York City, but leave before you become too hard, and in northern California, but leave before you become too soft. After five years in NYC, I love it but I can imagine leaving. Living here can be a Sisyphean task (as in London, I imagine): high rents, high taxes, high prices, high lifestyle expectations - really frustrating for modest-earning non-Wall St types. Some day I'd like to live in a house with (gasp!) more than one room besides the kitchen and bathroom. I'd even be willing to reacclimatise myself to driving...
Jennifer Way, US