My Life Abroad: We moved to New Zealand for a slower pace of life

Jiar Lin: We currently live in a two bedroom house with a small garden for us to grow herbs and veggies. We are based on the West Coast of the South Island. Most Singaporeans and expat families relocate to the bigger cities like Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. But we wanted to take a break from city life. As a middle-income family, we were also conscious that moving to the bigger cities would entail more upfront costs such as a higher rental and parking fees.

Living in a small town means Brandon’s commute to work is only a two-minute drive or 10-minute walk. Parking is free, unlike in the city where it can cost up to $20 per day. Since we live so close to his workplace, Brandon can even come home during his lunch or dinner break.

We also enjoy living on the West Coast because we can spend time outdoors – it’s a five minute drive to the beach and 30 minutes drive to the lake, where we like to do stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking. Being based in the countryside, we enjoy the peace and quiet of our neighbourhood. You can even hear the waves from the nearby beach.

An hour and a half drive inland is Arthur’s Pass National Park, where you can hike and see waterfalls. During winter, this area is filled with snow, and if you drive south for about two hours, you can see glaciers and a rainforest! When we first arrived, we were in awe of the breathtaking landscape and vast amounts of open space.

People here are also very friendly and welcoming. Even the cashiers at supermarkets make small talk asking about your day or chatting about the weather.

Brandon: One of my Singaporean friends from church who is now living in New Zealand too reached out to me on Facebook, which led to us reconnecting and he introduced me to other Singaporeans.

Since we started our Instagram page, Singaporeans living in different parts of New Zealand have reached out to us and we sometimes meet for a cup of coffee if in the area.

So far we have met quite a number of Singaporeans who are here on a working holiday or even for permanent work! It’s always nice to hear their stories and experiences.

Jiar Lin: I bring Ellie to playgroups and have coffee sessions with other parents. I’m slowly building my social circle that way, but Brandon is very good at socialising so usually I’ll hang out with his friends when we visit the different areas of New Zealand.

Like Brandon, I used to work in critical care back in Singapore but for now, I have taken on a casual position in the ward so that I don’t lose my nursing skills and knowledge, while being able to work only about two days a week.

Brandon: At work, in terms of patient care, there is an emphasis on building therapeutic relationships between the healthcare providers and the patient. Often healthcare providers will spend time building rapport with the patient over conversations. Rather than rushing the process, it is perfectly okay to sit at a patient's bedside to have a chat and it can be about something unrelated to their medical issue.

Everyone is very respectful to one another. Managers are not authoritative, and it’s okay for us to address doctors by their first name. When I first started work, senior doctors would sit next to me and ask which country I’m from, if my family is here, if I enjoyed New Zealand or what I did over the weekend. There isn’t much of a hierarchy between doctors and nurses. This is quite different from Singapore’s culture.

Jiar Lin has started casual work in my ward too. Our manager knows that we have a two year old and is very flexible with Jiar Lin’s shifts to accommodate our needs. For example, allowing Jiar Lin to start work at a later time or to take on shorter shifts. It’s very family-friendly.

Jiar Lin: We don’t always have weekend offs because Brandon is working three rotating shifts, including weekends. But during our off days, which are usually two or three days in a row, we will usually make short road trips to Christchurch city or the southern alps around the Canterbury and Otago region.

If we’re making a city trip to Christchurch, we leave home between 6 to 7 am so that we can reach the city around 10 am. At 11am, we would go for dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. We always order the har gaw, cheung cheong fun and egg tarts!

After lunch, we would go to the shopping mall for an hour or so. Then we would visit the Asian grocer to stock up our kitchen. We also do other miscellaneous stuff like getting our haircut done at a Japanese hair salon. Brandon had a haircut at a local barber but the outcome was not as expected. He spoke to a few people and he realised that he should have gone to an “Asian” barber or salon because our Asian hair texture is quite different from European hair!

Before dinner, we would head to Gong Cha to have our Bubble tea fix and hang out at the botanic gardens. Usually, we just relax on the lawn and look at ducks wading around the pond.

For dinner, we usually catch up with our friends and go to a Malaysian or Korean restaurant. We often spend a night at a friend’s house before driving back home the next day.

If we make a trip outdoors, we still leave home quite early, sometimes as early as 5am during the summer. We make our way to the national parks. Most of the time, we hike along the trails and end our day either camping or staying at the local Airbnb. If there’s a lake nearby, we will spend the next day doing watersports. Some trips are more relaxing, and we may end up just chilling by the lakeside overlooking the southern alps.

Brandon: I think our outlook on work and life has changed quite a bit. We now cherish family time and as we move to our 30s, we also realise that work will be never-ending and each of us is replaceable at any time. At the end of the day when we grow old, the people that will be around us will be our friends and family. And that’s why we are investing in quality family time and authentic relationships with our friends.

Jiar Lin: Overall our mental well-being is better these days. We don’t feel so exhausted from work and we’re really living our lives, not just following the rat race.

Brandon: Having said that, living in New Zealand is also not a bed of roses. Eating out is very expensive, a meal can cost up to NZ$30 per pax. So we cook at home most of the time. We also have to be more mindful of waste because we only have two bins, one for rubbish and another for recycling. Depending on where you live, the rubbish bin can be significantly smaller and get collected only once a fortnight. We have learned to be more careful about sorting out our waste and started composting for food waste using the composting bin. Otherwise, the rubbish bin gets filled up really quickly. This has helped made us more environmentally conscious.

To see a GP, you need to make an appointment and sometimes it can take a few days or weeks. It’s unlike in Singapore where you can easily walk in. So for common ailments, it’s encouraged to take care of it yourself by seeing a pharmacist or resting at home. Luckily MCs aren’t required for you to take sick leave from work.

Brandon: For the short to middle term, we’re quite certain that we will remain in New Zealand. Retiring in New Zealand sounds good, but who knows what the future will bring us?