To New Zealand we go ...

Hello everyone!

It has been pointed out to me that some people actually do read this blog so I should keep it up even if I've moved most of the photo posting to Facebook. I'm glad to hear it and I will do my best to keep you updated on our travels.

On that note our next adventure lies in New Zealand. John accepted the job at Weta and will be starting in early September! We are both very excited for a few reasons. New Zealand is amazing first of all. Secondly, Weta has made some great films (Lord of the Rings, Avatar, etc) so it will be good for John's career and look great on his resume. Lastly, the cost of living is rather low in Wellington. Even though it is an island and things like clothes and some food has to be imported, things like rent are very low because Wellington is a much smaller town and infinitely less expensive than LA or Sydney. Because Weta pays fairly well and I will be getting a job this time, our income will increase while our expenses will be going down. All good things for our goal of home ownership when we get back to the states.

We are excited for the change of scenery and pace but will miss Sydney that is for sure. We've really grown to love this city. Its an amazing place that, while still feeling a bit foreign, feels like home. We are hoping to return for a visit someday maybe with our kids.

We were really hoping to come home for a visit before we left for NZ but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. There was a mix up with the studio and our flights would have incurred a lot of charges to change the dates. Whilst (an aussie term haha) moving to another country, spending money on vacations is not really the best plan. I called the airline and tried to shuffle things around as much as I could but it still would have cost us over $2K to come home, we would only be able to stay for about 5 days, we would have spent our first anniversary on a plane, and John would have to go to work the day after we got to New Zealand. Not exactly the ideal situation. So instead we are planning on taking an extended trip during Christmastime. We plan to come home for about a month. This will give us enough time to visit friends in LA, John will spend a good amount of time with family and friends in the midwest, and I will be able to go visit everyone in Detroit for Christmas plus also enjoy some time being a new aunt in Seattle with my family. All in all this seemed like the best plan even though we will miss everyone for another few months.

On a side note .... can I just tell you how happy I am that we have over a month to plan this move instead of just two weeks? Who the hell moves to another country in two weeks?! Crazy people!

Love you all and miss you tons
- Mel