Our House

I will admit that we are not the best at blogging. We started this as way to inform you all about what we are doing in New Zealand, but once life got on its way we kept getting side track and bogged down with typical life things. That being said let me fill you in on our house that we found!

When we arrived we immediately started looking for homes to rent. Finding housing is never a fun task nor is it made better while doing it in the middle of winter. Pickings were slim and we quickly found out about few quirky issues with how they build houses here in New Zealand.

To quickly interject, let me tell you about one in particular. HOUSES ARE NOT INSULATED! We heard this maybe an issue prior to moving to New Zealand, but thought there must be that are. Well, in the ways of rental homes that was a big wish. Homes here are not really built to last, instead more worth is put on the plot of land than on the house that sits on it. That being said many of the homes here have single pane wood framed windows and have no insulation. As a result many homes developed horrible mold problems and soon the government had to make it law (the first being in 2004) that all new dwellings were required to be insulted and have at least double paned windows. That being said we found many of the homes we looked at had either mold issues, the home was colder inside than outside, and/or did not have good heating options (wood burning fireplaces or heat pumps are the best forms of heating for New Zealand homes).

Our options were looking grim and we were getting to the point were we considering temporally leasing a home until better things came along. We were going to 2-4 house showings a day and we were searching for any and all new listings that would pop up on Trademe (NZ's Craigslist). Finally one listing popped up. They didn't have many photos of the house but the description sounded good. We made an appointment to see the house the next day and upon walking into the home we knew we found it. We were so stoked to have finally found it that we moved in two days after the previous tenants moved out.

Our house has 2 Bedrooms, one office, one bathroom, a garage, and a big back yard. It is partially insulated- only in the roof, but it's better than nothing!  It is owned by a really great couple named Jo and John who have proven to be great landlords. They too have once moved to live abroad for work-related circumstances so they are vey empathetic as to what we are going through, including home sickness.

The Front of the House

Our sunny deck at the back of the house

Moving in was an adventure. Knowing we needed to fill our new found home with furniture, we tried to do it as efficiently as possible. The quickest way was to rent a trailer for a day and pick up as many furniture items as possible. The following week consisted of frantic Trademe searches and bids, followed by a whole day of driving around the Waikato Region collecting all of our furniture purchases. We ordered a bed through Richard and Clare's (the moteliers) business discount at their behest, fantastic! It saved us nearly half a grand off a new mattress. In the meanwhile, they lent us two twin mattress so we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor until our bed arrived. To date, we've furnished all of the living spaces, but have yet to furnish the guest bedroom or office. Putting together a home is tough work and is expensive, but we're slowly making some headway.

We're slowly getting adjusted to life in New Zealand. The first step towards feeling comfortable here was getting our home in order. Apart from organizing the furniture, we've been working in the yard and gardens. We tore out the old planter boxes that the previous tenants left and made a new one out of the scrap wood we found under the house. We also planted a very productive veggie garden along the side of the house to offset the cost of vegetables. We found the yard to be overgrown in places as yards get with a lack of attention, so we've spent several weekends clearing undergrowth and mulching the yard to make it seem a bit more organized.

We have come a long way since we have moved in but still have a few more things to do, but it's starting to feel like home to us. We'll type up another post soon about some other adventures, but until then, here's a few photos:

the Sunroom/ future office space

front yard

back yard

One of our veggie 

Arrival

Though it is now going onto our third week here, and things are relatively mellow at the moment, we thought it would be a good idea to write about our action packed first week and all of its accomplishments. I felt it was also important to give a few people and businesses some recognition for all their help.

Firstly, I have to give a big thank you to stokedforsaturday.com. It is a blog written by a couple that also moved to New Zealand. Many of their posts have been absolutely tremendous in educating us about how to have a successful move, like how to acquire driver’s licenses, insurance, job hunting, etc. If you have a minute, you should check their site out because they also are quite the adventurers and have great posts about many of the gorgeous sites around New Zealand.

Now, back to our first week in Kiwi Land.

I’ll begin with us at the airport. As stated in our first post, we came with 10 bags total (including our hand luggage) to the airport. We approached the check-in counter for Air New Zealand expecting to pay at least $600 in oversize/weight fees, but miraculously we were not charged. The man at the counter (his name was also Ben) informed us that since we prepaid for all of our extra luggage online when we booked our tickets, we didn’t have to worry about paying at the counter. THANK YOU AIR NEW ZEALAND! We chatted some more with Ben about mountain biking, surfing, and Santa Cruz, and after some time he asked us if we would like to wait in the Air New Zealand lounge. He made a quick phone call and before we knew it, we were waiting in the lounge with a glass of wine, snacks, and free internet. Not a bad way to spend two hours waiting for your plane. A big thank you to Ben from Air New Zealand! Soon enough, it was time to board our plane that would be taking us to our next big adventure. Needless to say, that the weeks leading up to our departure were bittersweet, since we had to say good-bye to all of friends and family (I’ll admit I was crying a little bit in the airport and on the plane).

Enjoying the perks of the Airline Lounge

So off into the sky we went with a 13 hour flight ahead of us. Now, sleeping on planes is not the easiest, but thanks to our travel pillows and the free wine available after take off, we were out within the first four hours of flight. We woke up to the air hostesses telling us we will be landing in 2 hours and that brekkie (Australasian for breakfast) is being served. Ben and I were shocked to find we were able to sleep on a plane for seven hours, even though our butts were a quite sore. We arrived in Auckland around 4:30am and then had to wait for all of our luggage to be unloaded from the airplane. It took a long while, but eventually paid off for us because we went through customs after most of the crowds from our flight had dissipated. So here we were both pushing a luggage trolley and carrying a surfboard each through the airport. We got a lot a of strange looks and laughs from other people in line. Exiting the airport, we were picked up by a shuttle company for transit to Hamilton. Although being a little surprised at the massive amount of luggage we were carrying, our driver was able to get it all on, and was still be able to fit the other three passengers and their luggage as well. We headed off for Hamilton right as it began to dump rain in the pale dawn.

Now for those of you who may not know, it is winter time in the Southern Hemisphere. We had mentally prepared ourselves for that, but our bodies had just come from a nice 32°C (~90°F, you all should start learning these conversions) climate into 9°C (48°F) one. Needless to say, It was a bit cold for us at first.  

As a quick interjection to my story, several months back we started looking for lodging in Hamilton. Knowing that dining out would get very expensive very quickly, we decided to find a place that had rooms with kitchenettes. We found the Argent Motor Lodge ontripadvisor.com due to its accommodations and its great ratings/reviews. I contacted Clare (one of the owners) about pricing and told her we were coming from the states to stay until we found a house. I ended up booking a room for a week, thinking, “surely we can find housing in a week.” So back to our arrival- it was 7am and the check-in time was listed as. Here we were a young couple with a LOT of bags arriving way ahead of the appropriated time, and immediately we were greeted by Clare who anticipated us arriving early. She had the room almost ready, save for a few extra touches that needed to be made. While we were waiting, she and her husband, Richard welcomed us into their home, made us coffee, and cooked us breakfast. Not a few hours into the country and we were greeted with the famous kindness and hospitality of Kiwis. It was at that moment Ben and I knew we had picked the right place to stay. If you are coming to Hamilton, I HIGHLY recommend the Argent Motor Lodge. They run a tight ship and are amazing hosts. For information about the Argent Motor Lodge please check out their website at www.argenthamilton.co.nz

A tidy place for a few weeks' stay

And a kitchenette too!

Richard and Clare walked us to our room, helped us with our bags, and Ben and I were soon settled. After taking a minute or two to relax, Ben and I decided to stretch our legs and walk into town. By the end of the day we had opened up our bank account, set up cell phone accounts, hired a car, and got groceries. Our whole second day was spent getting to know Ben’s advisor Julia, who is absolutely wonderful, and the university he will be attending. Julia referred us to a used car dealership called “Ideal Cars.” She informed us they are VERY helpful, and she was right. We later went to Ideal Cars to check out their inventory and quickly found that the sales people were very nice, helpful, upfront, honest, and proud of their outstanding reputation. That is always a great sign. Within four days of us being in NZ we found the car we wanted and put a down payment on it. Shayne and Ralph (owner/salesman) were absolutely wonderful; they helped us with everything including setting up the registration, AA (the same as AAA in the States), and car insurance (which is not mandatory in NZ like it is in California). In the end, Ben and I befriended both Shayne and Ralph, which again exemplifies the friendliness of Kiwis.

Our shiny new car!

A dirty Soob is a happy Soob

As for house hunting... well, that did not go quite as smoothly. Ben and I set up a few viewing appointments for our third day in the country, which were all a disappointment. We quickly learned that most of the rental property here is rented by rental agencies, many of which are only interested in turning around properties as quickly as possible. Many agents we met were pushy, unreliable, and were quick to shrug off the imperfections of the rental property. We can confirm that, as we were warned, many of the houses in NZ are not insulated. Most of the houses we looked at were colder inside than outside, and in addition, many of the homes also had water damage and mold! It was getting to the point when we were desperately looking at what ever we could find in the area, and sometimes we would see up to 4 houses in a day. We were quickly running out of good options. Eventually, we emailed about a showing in a quiet neighborhood close to the University. It was like the stars aligned when we saw the house! The previous tenants have many similar hobbies and had installed a few items that fit our needs, like a surfboard rack, work bench, veggie garden, and compost area. And it gets better... The garage locks and is roomy enough for a car, a few bikes and surfboards, the house is partially insulted (a BIG plus here), has a sunny office area, and has a nice back yard well laid out for BBQs and sipping wine on a sunny deck in the summer. Currently, we've signed the paperwork for the house, but have to wait until the second week of September to move in. So stoked!

This brings me back to where we are staying. First, a shout-out to my dad and step Mom (Bob & Deb), as they are very generous and paid for our hotel. When we told them we found a house but have to wait to move in, they helped us again by covering our room until our move in date. THANK YOU!!! 

Next we had to let Clare and Richard know, and this is why I am so happy we booked with the Argent. They had anticipated that finding a house here might take longer than we had expected, so they made sure to leave an available room in their reservations just in case. As a result, we were able to stay for an additional two weeks. An excellent review is coming their way on trip advisor.
All in all, we were able to get a bank account, phones, a car, and a house (kind of) all with in our first week in the NZ. Now that all the harder stuff was finished, Ben and I took some time to ourselves to check out a little bit of the country... on the next blog post.

Nice day for a walk, eh? A view of the Waikato River looking back towards Hamilton City Centre

Other adventures await...

Pre-Departure

This whole crazy idea began in April 2014. At the time we were working for the US Geologic Survey in Santa Cruz, and had grandiose plans for the future in graduate school. Perhaps a little naïve, we assumed that applying to PhD programs in America with our current qualifications would be a simple measure. When it came down to it, we didn't find the opportunities we were looking for, and other (at the time unforeseen) doors would soon open up a pathway to a much more grand adventure. At the USGS, I had subscribed to a coastal scientist email group, at the behest of some of my superiors, to stay updated on new developments in the community. This email list would frequently pass around new research ideas, technological developments, a scientist asking for paper reviews, and the odd job listing. Most of the time I didn't think much of these emails, as they served mainly to take up the space between when I arrived at work and when I actually wanted to begin working. Lo and behold, one day came along where the email subject header caught my attention: Subject: [Coastal_list] Funded PhD opportunity in at the University of Waikato, New Zealand

I suppose it was on a whim that I sent off that inquiry email. With American PhD opportunities at my choice schools dwindling, there was nothing to lose by following a pipe dream of moving to New Zealand... a land that, to my knowledge, is known for its incomparable beauty, it's quantity of sheep, and the friendliness of it's people. Other than that, I had little else to go on. No matter, a fully funded PhD program is what I wanted to find, much less one that would take me to the other (conceivable) end of the Earth. This program promised not only a stay in New Zealand, but the opportunity to conduct research in the south of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta. Wow, what a deal!

Weeks later, I received an email congratulating me on my acceptance to the program. What a rush! Despite being excited about the program and the location, I must confess I had no idea what difficulties we would have to endure to even get to the country, which is what this post is really about. True, a lot of the requirements were spelled out online by the New Zealand immigration office, but in between those instructions lay a host of pitfalls in governmental bureaucracy, forms in triplicate, doctor's appointments and the US Postal Service.

When applying for a foreign visa, the process is fairly simple. If you're traveling to a country for a short period of time, the applicant needs to fill out a few forms and send their passports off to the nearest consulate for a nominal fee. Travelers with the intent to stay over 12 months require a number of authenticated forms, plus a full medical exam, plus a qualification of good character, called a criminal history report. Francesca and I, knowing the urgency of our departure, set about getting together all of the forms. It didn't take long to fill out the visa applications and print out all of the other official documents the University had sent, but it did take quite a lot of time getting the medical examinations and the criminal history report. Between the two of us, we probably went back into the doctor's office 7 or 8 times... once to explain to the general practitioner what we were trying to achieve, twice to get a basic physical, thrice to get blood work and xrays, back again to get forms signed off by doctors and doctor's assistants, and a few other times for travel immunizations.

To complicate things, we had heard nothing about the official request form we had sent off to the FBI in early May... now in late June. Given that our departure time was slated for mid-August, we had to find a way to expedite those forms. Multiple calls to the FBI help center gave little indication of whether or not the forms would be on the way. Eventually, one of us did hear that they had sent the forms, only to find out after a few frustrating weeks of daily mailbox checks that these forms had been lost in the mail. With time running short, Francesca worked some magic with one of the FBI's customer service personnel, and had our forms expedited via overnight FedEX. Phew. In total, it took about 10.5 weeks for the criminal history reports to be returned to us, and by the time we received them, we had only another three weeks until our departure date.

Fortunately for us, the New Zealand Visa Application Center had significantly better customer service than our federal government did. Upon receiving our overnighted application, they swiftly sent us emails asking for more information. Considering that Francesca would be traveling with me under the legality of my acceptance to a foreign university, we had to provide some (further) concrete evidence that we were indeed a loving couple, and to dispel any ideas that I might be attempting to smuggle her into New Zealand. Fortunately for us, a rather complete record of our Facebook profiles seemed to do the trick.

A few days later, we had our New Zealand visas (and I my Vietnamese visa as well) in hand, and set about making the final preparations for our departure. I'll forego describing packing, and moving. Suffice to say, it was really sad seeing all of our worldly belongings steadily disappear out of our room. The excitement of the trip to come, now more palpable than ever, was competing the anxiety that comes with moving, exacerbated by the fact that we knew it was going to take us away from all of our friends and family. We took some time after finishing our jobs to see as many people as we could before our departure. I'm impressed at all those we did get to see in the end- it really showed us the great group of friends and family we're blessed to be a part of.

After many, many goodbyes, we spent one last day at the Francesca's dad's before being driven to the airport. The moment of stepping out onto the sidewalk surrounded by a huge amount of luggage- all that our most valued belongings had been reduced into- felt, oddly enough, a little calm. At this point, all of the labor directed at getting us to New Zealand had been completed, and we were finally ready to leave. Our friends, Rory and Sarah, met us at the international terminal for one last goodbye, which was really sweet. We gave them long hugs at the gateway to security, and left teary-eyed into the portal. The combination of nerves, anxiety and excitement melted together into a mental cocktail of giddiness... and we were off, on the greatest adventure of our lives.

Posing for a family photo: (Left to Right) Debbie, Gavin, Jon, Stella, Nick, Ben, Francesca

Getting a taste of California one last time

A final farewell with Rory, Sarah, Ben & Francesca at SFO International

Ben & Francesca posing with all of the luggage