Returning to SA

[dance]

ditto Brad!
This is a New Zealand that i have yet to encounter. No disrespect but why are tatoos an issue for you? I agree that some of the cultural ones can be a bit in yuor face but the body art does not mean that the person is bad. Heck I am getting one in celebration of my life here and I am honestly just an average 40 something Mom. You do not have to get them if it is not to your liking.
Schools look around for something else.

I do hope that you will not regret this decision a few months down the line. Have you decided without a doubt or is there still a chance for you to try it elsewhere in the country? How long have you been in NZ. I am told it takes at least 2 years before you can start feeling settled. This is an average I after only 7 months feel like this is my home.
Please do not see these comments as negative or condescending towards you I am simply trying to get a clear picture of where you are right now

[tmprince]

Dear lotrico,

You do what is right for you,cause only you know what that is,
you have tried immigration and it was not for you ,
we have other friends on this forum that have also gone back like Gonz and we respect him for that.
I just hope you are not doing this because you are feeling down or are going through a rough patch. Your tikker tape says you have only been in NZ for 4 months? I personally think that a person needs abit more time to get used to a different way of life and that everything is still very raw and homesickness can bring out the worst aspects of a new home.
What ever your decision I sincerly hope it is the right one for your whole family and I respect the fact that you have come onto this forum and had your say.

Good luck and voorspoed

[leon.vorster]

HI

Havent been on the forum much lately, but looking with new eyes.

I went to NZ with a job in the pocket and with a open mind.

Landed in May 08 and returned to SA Aug 08. 4 months

Main reason was I still had my car and house rented out in SA and after leaving the employer - he basically told me he only realised now he could not afford me - I could not find a job in time and not pay stuff back in SA. I also made the mistake and paid my own way - should have asked him to pay something - never did. He gave me a month to find another job, but people was being laid off and not taken in. The systems from SA to NZ also was a much bigger change than either of us thought.

I was lucky and found work within one week after arriving. Then SSSHHHHTTTTT hit the fan and our old economy is now halting too. Looking again and still this urge in me to get back on the greener side - NZ, but will take some time.

Stayed in Hamilton - found great SA and NZ friend there and also went to SA club dance in Auckland, etc. Even Ski'd - ok fell around in the snow. It was unreal and I still believe if I wasn't single, I would actually just sell stuff at a loss and start over there for my family and bugger if its tough for me - anything for the family hey. Could be that well like me, I am single and dont want to go back over to NZ with SA baggage attached. I should have sold everything before I left, but could not in time the 1st time.

I do admit its easier to say yea lets go back to things thats familiar, but I will return to NZ for safety and security. I have a much stronger chance of keeping what I worked for and not dying for trying to make a living in NZ. Well enough negativity - SA is great in its own way too.

There are so many SAFFERS that helped me in NZ - Hamilton and Auckland, not to mention I enjoyed the Afrikaans churches, the braais, friendships, etc I made in 4 months that its almost unfathomable of what will happen in a lifetime.

Gosh most I ever typed with two fingers. Yes I also think you made the move to NZ now try somewhere else if you have to - maybe not far away - closer to Northshore, but dont give up.

Best of luck from warm Bellville near Cape Town.

[itbjcm]

the body art does not mean that the person is bad. Heck I am getting one in celebration of my life here and I am honestly just an average 40 something Mom. You do not have to get them if it is not to your liking.
Schools look around for something else.

Good on you dance!  Just because someone has a different approach to life than you doesn't give you the right to classify him/her as a weirdo.  My son has long hair and he is still the same person  he was  when he had short hair.  I absolutely love the diversity of people in NZ! We are definitely a motley crew here in Wellington.

[Thaniasa]

I am going to give my 2c as well, because I understand (somewhat) what you are going through.  I am not good with changes.  Whenever I move from 1 city to another, or even from 1 home to another, it takes months before I settle down.   You need to give you enough time to settle in.

But with this said, it is still you who have to decide what is best for you and your family....only you can know what's best for them. 

Me.....I am leaving in a few days for NZ and cannot wait, as I am really sick and tired of being afraid to leave my windows open at night, sick and tired of the shootings (and we do not live in a bad neighbourhood), sick and tired of friends/colleagues being hi-jacked/robbed (one of my friends had 3 robberies in 2 months).  They broke into my sister's (28 years old) house twice in 2 weeks....they used her carpets as a toilet and then they threw all her clothes on the filthy, stink carpets full of their poo.  The police told her to look for another home, as the intruders now know she lives alone and they will definately be back.  (Her home had burglar bars and an alarm and her two dogs were at home during both robberies.)  I will never forget the look on her face when she walked in her filthy home and the anger, fear, etc.

A guy went to draw salaries on a Friday and when he realised he was being followed from the bank, turned in at our work (where there was a security guard)....needles to say, the robbers got out, pointing guns at all the people around them, walked to the poor guy and took all the money.  One of the worst feelings is to have a gun pointed to your head....it is a fear and an experience that you cannot describe to anyone.

I would rather be poor than hunted down for money, cellphones, etc. 

About the tattood people....there might be diamond underneath all that tattoo's.... 

[leon.vorster]

Maybe experiance makes people of tattoos with a gun or knife. Used to see them together in movies

[Mumtaz (CapetonianInWellington)]

It seems everyone has basically said what I would have said. I would suggest that maybe you look at another city in NZ. I was back in SA in Sept 2008 for 10 days and the reasons for my coming to NZ in the first place was more evident when I went back to sort out some stuff.

Almost everyone on this site are employed in jobs at a lower ranking than what they were in SA. Some are very lucky to have it otherwise. I am still job hunting even though I have a open work permit and I had a wonderful Senior Management position in SA. I also have 2 kids and come by with a little less that $5500.

My eldest is in a good school and the only problem I have really encountered where the kids are concerned are the fact that they call older adults by their first names. I was always brought up to say aunty or uncle and that is unheard of in NZ - but this for me a far less price to pay than facing the crime in SA.

It is your decision ultimately and I admire you for speaking your mind. Immigration isnt for everyone and if it is a joint family decision and you are happy with it all I can say is  May GOD guide you. All the best and we would really like to hear from you once you are back in SA. When  are you planning on making the trip back?

[Nolan]

Hi Collette, it is very sad for me to read your post as we landed at roughly the same time and we are settling in like a house on fire. Not to say we have not had our share of dips too. It just goes to show how folks experience and react things so terribly differently. I can see and relate to some of the points you have made and I'm sure that some of the points you have raised carry a much bigger weight than others. Whatever your reasons, they are valid for you and that is all that matters for you.

We all have to make up our own minds whether this emigration thing and even NZ is for us or not. I respect your decision and trust that you have given it a lot of thought and applaude you for having the guts to admit that NZ isn't for you.

with the rebuilding back in SA, please stay in touch and let us know how things are going.

[Awa]

What is it with us Saffers and labeling people?   My mom came out in December and I heard a lot of moaning from her about the tatoos and piercings.  Come on people!  Live and let live.   Tatoos are completely and totally acceptable here - even part of the culture.   I don't have one and never will, but that's me.  If you like it then that's you.  Who am I to call you weird?   Seriously let's do a toss up between living in a country that's infrastructure is falling apart, where your kids are not safe, they HAVE to be in a private school, where you are judged constantly on your skin colour and where a civil war is brewing and a country where things are not perfect but the schools are generally good, your kids are relatively safe, there are hordes of opportunities in their future, and tatood pierced people walking around?  For me it's no contest but then again, that's me.   I really really hope you are not making a mistake.  Please if you get back to SA and find out you've made a mistake to leave NZ - come back!!  Maybe this is just part of your journey. Good luck and I hope you will reconsider and stick around a bit longer - who know maybe you just need some time to adjust.

[johanpet1]

What is it with us Saffers and labeling people? 

I agree with you Jackie.

[ronaldd]

funny how we are ok with the zulu tradition of slaughtering an ox for a wedding.... but we have issues with tribal tattoes

I think they are cool but i dont want one.

[ANTONK]

I also have tattoo's and piercings but still I am a good person  - If you have a good heart - thats what counts and tattoo's and piercings can still look descent  It is your brain that does most of the work - not your tattoo's and piercings 

[Thaniasa]

Antonk,  my daughter started with a navel ring, then a stud in her nose (which looked pretty to me and horrible to her dad) and then she did the ultimate....a stud in her tongue.....she did the occassional tattoo's also, although it was just temporary.   It was a stage she went through.....the piercings never changed her personality or who she is (a real boertjie with a heart of GOLD) and I never complained or said anything negative about the piercings either (although I cannot understand why one whould put yourself through that pain.)  Currently, the only bodypiercing she has is her earrings and she is really a hit with the boere tannies (don't know what they will say if they knew about all the bodypiercings she once had).

[tmprince]

Please my 17 year old has been begging for a tatoo and I keep saying when he is 21 out of my house and earning his own money to pay for it then fine.
NOW i am taking him across the world to a place where tattoos are a cultural thing and very in your face how the hell am I going to cope or field that one      

[ryanrich]

Good luck on your return to SA! I hope everything works out well for you guys over here...