Emergency physician samples New Zealand's cities
Charlie Tweed wasn't afraid of testing the waters when he moved to New Zealand - he lived in three cities before settling in Auckland. And his advice to other migrants is to not be scared of moving around.
"One of traps that many people fall into is moving to a random area which they never leave." he says.
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Staying put is something Charlie can't be accused of. An emergency physician who trained and worked in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Charlie has also tested the waters in Christchurch, Dunedin and Wanganui before the perfect job came up in Auckland in 2005. Six months later he was a permanent resident of New Zealand.
As Charlie explains it, different locations suited different stages in his and wife Jacqui's lives: "Christchurch was fantastic for that time in our lives - we could pile up a car with camp gear and head off. But Auckland is a great city to raise kids. You can be slap bang in the middle of town, and it takes fifteen minutes to get to the beach to take the kids for a paddle."
It's a twenty minute drive from Charlie's St Mary's Bay house to work at Waitakere Hospital, where he is a clinical leader in the emergency department. His role involves managing and reorganising the department's workforce to meet emergency care challenges faced by New Zealand's biggest city. And for a bit of variety, he puts in one day a week at North Shore hospital.
"Different workloads and demographics keep the work interesting for me - however interestingly enough, there's almost no difference in the day to day running of an emergency department between New Zealand and England. That being said, the challenges are different."
Charlie and Jacqui always knew they'd settle outside Britain: "We both knew we didn't really want to live in Britain, mostly because of the population density. And in London, you end up having to spend a lot of money before you can enjoy yourself. This wasn't what we wanted to do."
Charlie admits to wanting to live in New Zealand his whole life, a conviction which helped the couple make the move from a small flat in Bayswater, London, to a house fifteen minutes from the beach in Auckland's St Mary's Bay.
While stints in other cities around New Zealand provided Charlie and Jacqui the chance for outdoor activities (mountain climbing, skiing and walking to name a few) the arrival of three year-old Angus and two year-old Miles led to a change in focus.
"Part of the reason we chose New Zealand was because we wanted to start a family. And life has moved on for us and things have changed - it's all very child-orientated now."
The family still manages to pop up the coast to Matakana and Leigh for day out at the beach, and regularly catch up with friends at Waiheke Island. And Charlie, an avid fisherman, always finds time for fishing at Great Barrier Island.
But at the end of the day, it's the people rather than the fish which make New Zealand so special for Charlie and his family: "We love the people in New Zealand - honest and friendly with open mindsets. And they have the same self depreciating sense of humour as the English!"
