For Richard Smith (27) and his girlfriend Ella (23), winning flights to New Zealand couldn’t have come at a better time. “I had already got a job in New Zealand. We had pretty much organised everything except for our flights. It definitely added a little bonus to our plans!”
Richard and Ella have not been to New Zealand before, so their move in July will be the first time they get to place their feet on New Zealand soil.
A mechanical design engineer, Richard secured a job at Norman Disney Young, based in Auckland. He was interviewed by their UK office in person, before being offered the position. Girlfriend Ella used teaching agencies to source a position in an Auckland primary school and both are looking forward to beginning their new jobs.
The couple decided to move to New Zealand after taking long holidays in Australia and South America. “Those trips were wonderful, but we both felt we wanted to live in a different culture, put some roots down and experience a new country long-term.”
With a lot of their big plans sorted, they used the Opportunities Expo in Leeds to open bank accounts and arrange their finances. “We had a long list of everything we needed to do before we left. Travelling the hour or so to get to the expo was well worth it as we could sort bank accounts and ask a few questions face-to-face.”
Both Ella and Richard recognised they had access to a lot more help at the expo, had they needed it. “We noticed there was information for people who were behind us on the planning page. There were lots of stands about employment and working that we luckily didn’t need.”
The couple are almost ready to go, and are just tying up the final loose ends before they take flight to New Zealand. They are both looking forward to the lifestyle changes of New Zealand and are planning to invest their leisure time in surfing and mountain biking.