Moving to New Plymouth, New Zealand

5 March 2014.

The date I arrived to New Plymouth for my assignment as a Finance & Admin Manager for my employer's New Zealand office.

I've taken an approximately 15% net pay increase to relocate to one of the more remote placecs of the Earth, to leave my family, friends and Ben's Den, in the name of career progression. Personally I think its a crap deal financially, but I'll try to take things positively and see where this assignment takes me on an experiential basis.

 

 I'm writing this one month plus into the assignment now, and here are some points I'd mention (good,  bad and neutral).

- I stay in a 2 bedroom house with a deck with a seaview, which is larger than Ben's Den. Being a rental property, it lacks the character of my apartment in Singapore. My company pays less rent than what I am charging for Ben's Den in Singapore.

My outdoor "dick"

- I now drive a Ford Focus, which is serving me a lot better than my second hand Fiat in Singapore

- It's windy over here! Temperature is cool between the teens to low twenties, and frequently switching between rain and shine is not uncommon.

- The city centre is quiet on most evenings, and locals usually hit the clubs after 11pm on weekends. The latest nightspot closes at 3am.

- There are quite a number of Asian eateries here, but the food does not taste the same as back in Asia. Not disgusting, but just not as good.

- There is one mall in the city centre the size of I12 Katong Mall in Singapore. Specialty shops are further away (located in the Valley). New Plymouth (or New Zealand generally) is not known as a  shopping heaven.

- I've registered as a member of Peringa Football Club, and training twice a week now in a bid to improve on my fitness. I'm eligble to play for their games on weekends in the Taranaki Premier Division, but I think I'll work on my fitness first before risking limb and life for this club.

- I've bought a mountain bike, and it has abused me (cycling in the Redwoods of Rotorua).

- Kiwis tend to pronounce their "e"s like "i"s. So my name is often called as "Bin", and people like to have barbecues outside on their "dicks"

It's been quite an adventrue settling in and feeling my way around. It is a small town vibe, but at the same time it does not lack anything. There are amazing beaches along the coast line, and the natural landscape around the region is breathtaking.

I will continue to post memorable travel experiences as they arrive.

The old chimney with Mt Peritutu on the left

Work-Related Travel Beckons - and my first set of wheels

6 September 2013

It has been a few months since my boss mentioned that I was to be posted overseas to take a field office admin & accounting manager position, and in these months living in Singapore, I assessed what I had - a decent job; a small but great apartment; good friends; and I even picked up a number of new skills (cooking and bottle-cutting(!)).

I obtained my driver's license in 2000 and had less than 20 opportunities to drive a car over the past 13 years in Singapore. I have incessently bitched about the prices of cars in Singapore, though I did get by with the public transport system. I presumed the lack of a car reflected a lower social status and a key reason why I remained single. I shall not share my views on materialism and the Singapore girl.

My Aberdeen experience provided me much needed driving practice, and since those 4 weeks and 1,100 miles covered in June 2013, the seed of owning a vehicle had been planted in my mind.

The evening of 6 September 2013marked another milestone in the fulfilment of the material-based Singapore dream. I BOUGHT A CAR. A second-hand Fiat Grande Punto. Despite the ridiculously high prices, the dodgy car dealer, the free rides my friends have been providing me all my life thus far, and more importantly, the fact my boss told me in confidence that I will be posted overseas for a long term assignment within 2 months from 6 September.

Impulsive but necessary. That's how I felt. I was not going to let a few words from my superior determine my lifestyle. After all, the messaege was only verbally communicated and nothing had been presented to me in writing.

It has been less than a week since I collected the vehicle - there are loose parts vibrating at startup, the car has transmission issues on occassion, and I am threatening to take legal action against the dodgy car dealer. But my life has changed. I feel empowered. I can go anywhere, meet anyone, fetch a friend, at anytime. My only limitation would be to drink less alcohol to stay out of trouble with the law.

And then this posting to New Zealand kicks in. New Plymouth to be exact. Population 50,000. 4 hours away frrom the nearest major airport. At least a year or two away from my friends, family, apartment, and now my very own new used car.

FML.