Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
Re: Had enough of the UK
As a sort of involuntary expat, it's interesting reading the comments above. My father was a Royal Navy officer who moved us to New Zealand (after Bermuda, New York and Singapore) when he was on loan to the RNZN. When the 3 years were up his choice was to sign on for a further time or opt out. He chose the latter. He loved the country, the beaches, the Maori and the lifestyle so we stayed and I finished my education here. I've been back 3 times over the last 60 years and always enjoyed my visit but I soon realised he was right. When we arrived in 1953 NZ was a very English oriented society but with out the 'class' differences. After retiring and working in the local museum for 10 years I realised that the vast majority of early settlers in the 1850-1900 era were in service in England. They were butlers, gardeners, cooks and cleaners. Very practical people. In times of war they volunteered to help Britain in the Boer war, the WW1 and then WW2. They were good at it and put up "the sharp end" of some bad decisions like Gallipoli. They suffered casualties heavily but always supported and referred to England as "Home". I felt really bad when Britain joined the EEC and the commonwealth lost it's preferential access to British markets. Times were hard while new markets were established and of course, reciprocal trade deals went and we no loner saw new British cars on the road. Machinery started to come from Asia and the USA. By about 1990 we were happy again and reasonably prosperous. All a bit sad to me.
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