Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Hello Dear Friends,

Time is flying – it’s almost time to come home! Our leave date is September 18th. Actually, that is our arrival date as well, because of crossing the international dateline.

Where has the time gone?

We haven’t done much sightseeing – just several days of wandering and exploring.

We have done a lot of work around Mike and Judy’s house – as a way to thank them for letting us stay here so long. That includes cleaning and organizing cupboards and making a lot of small repairs – which has required lots of outings to find what we need. In addition, Jack has trimmed or cut down lots of trees and bushes – and I have been in charge of pushing the trimmings back into the forest to mulch. It’s been hard work, but fun. I have learned to like that kind of work from being in Hawaii where Jack’s attachment to the land rubbed off on me. The yard work included being introduced to the dreaded sandfly, “no-seeums” they are called in the U.S. northeast. Before we figured out what was happening, Jack ended up with over fifty bites on both legs (mainly in a circle around where the top of his socks ended) and three nearly-sleepless horribly-itchy nights. We now use OFF repellent outside and have started vitamin B1 tablets daily. The chemist (pharmacist) told us that after about a week, the B1 comes out through the pores and repels the sandflys. The other yard problem is the ubiquitous nettle-bearing gorse – a plant whose needles scrapes into your skin. It is a noxious weed here and can take over if not removed. The best news is that there is really nothing else to fear in NZ. No centipedes, no snakes, no animals or insects that can really hurt you! Lovely!

We’ve endured what locals are telling us is the worst winter on record, with few sunny days here in the Northland and actual show blizzards on South Island. It has not been good fishing weather at all. Actually, it is very much like SF in the winter. Rainy. It is cold, but not freezing. We both like the idea of this temperature a few months a year. We’ve ended up spending many a day snug by the fireplace, relaxing & reading – but mostly talking about our goals here, what kind of house we want, etc. It is an amazingly constant and changing conversation.

We spent several days gathering information and applying to NZ Immigration to extend our long term business visa to the next level – which is to allow us to stay here through March 2011 (doesn’t that sound like a long way away!). This part of the process was all about whether or not we had actually started the business, had we made any money, had we transferred any money into NZ, what had we done that showed we were really making a commitment to NZ. That included our business and personal bank accounts here, the fact that we bought a car, etc. Anyway, they called us within hours of receiving our packet and told us the extension was approved.

Now that we know we have the full three years (which is actually close to 2 now), we are ready to buy some land here.

Land prices are high, but dropping. The common expression here is that when the U.S. sneezes, everyone else in the world gets a cold. NZ land and house prices are hitting the same wall as in the U.S., but following by about 8-10 months. Kiwis are heavily over-extended in credit and 13 major credit companies in NZ have gone under. There is no version of FDIC here, so everyone who had money in those companies lost everything. This is a very laisez-faire, buyer beware, so-get-a-lawyer-I-don’t-care kind of country (which is why insurance is so cheap!). There will most likely be a change in government here in the next elections from conservative to liberal, although the terms seem to have quite different meaning here. Like the U.S., the government here is dysfunctional, but that’s OK with us because they’re quite harmless…they screw everything up locally, but they don’t go invading other countries they don’t like.

We have been doing a lot of looking with a realtor and tomorrow we are going to make an offer for a piece we really love. It is 3½ acres, zoned rural which is important to us in order to have Jack’s woodshop and to have some chickens and a couple of sheep or a goat. It is on a hill, with a pond and a stream at the bottom. Above this land are two homes on much larger pieces of land, one is set way back, one is closer. The one that is set far back has land that borders our property – they have emus that are right there at the fence – very cool! The land to the left of us is two lots (3½ acres each) that are for sale at the moment. Then all in front of us – our view – is pastoral rolling land with cows and no houses. That is at the moment – of course this could become a housing development at some time (oh please NO!), but hopefully not.

We are going to make a low offer on the land. If we get it fine. If not, we will just wait until we come back in January and start our search over again. And if that land is still available, our low offer might be acceptable by then.

We have also talked to our bank here about loans and will start the actual application process in Auckland just before we leave the country.

The issue of what kind of house to build is very complex and time consuming of course and we’ve been spending a lot of time on that.
Here they do a lot of homes that are pre-planned and then set up on site. One company has over 45 different layouts. This seems like a feasible way for us to go. We are presently pondering the idea of a "shell house". That means we buy a house that is put together on our land - but they only put up the shell. Before that happens, we’d have to have our land bulldozed and leveled, the land study done, arrange for hill drainage, set up the septic system, and put in a water catchment system (as in Hawaii, there is not local water). The studs for the inside the walls would be in. Next would be the plumbing and electricity (friend Mike would do that for us), then we would actually move in. As we could afford it, we’d do the insulation, put on sheet rock, paint, buy all sinks, lights, etc. In Hawaii, they call this a paycheck house – every time you get a bunch of cash saved up, you add something! This means our first couple of years here would be a different kind of adventure than I was originally planning! Of course, we are also thinking we could get some of our talented friends to drop by and help us!
So that’s our story presently. Information gathering would be the theme, I guess.

In the last week we’re here, we will be going to a few areas south of here. The main plan is to go to a place called Hawkes Bay on the east coast, south of Auckland. Jack has a meeting there. He has made lots of business contacts and connections on this trip and there will definitely be some work for him here. Then we will spend our last few days in Auckland.

We will FINALLY have our favorite meal in our favorite restaurant (so far). The place is called the Occidental Belgium Café and Beer Bar. Our meal is green-lip mussels cooked in lobster bisque, with a Belgium chocolate dessert. Accompanied by a fabulous Belgium beer. Our original plan was to have my birthday dinner there, but that didn’t really fit with what was happening at the time.
Hmmmm. We end with thoughts of food. No wonder we are not thin.

When we get home, there are already lots of plans – We’ll keep you informed.

Much love to everyone,
Lily and Jack