That was about twelve years ago, and ever since Sarah's been preparing for the move: "It's difficult to explain - everything I've done has been a stepping stone towards this future," she says.

Sarah, who lives in East London ("worlds apart from New Zealand") has been to New Zealand four times, mostly visiting friends in Northland, Whangarei and West Auckland. She says it would be sensible to settle in one of these places: "From a practical point of view, it makes sense to go where I have contacts." However, a trip to New Zealand last March gave her the opportunity to explore around the top of the South Island in the height of the summer, and she fell in love with the Malborough region. Unfortunately, this means the issue of where to settle is once again up in the air.

For the majority of her career, Sarah has been an occupational therapist, and now she's in contact with a New Zealand agency specialising in medical recruitment. Recently she's been working in more of a strategic role and is keen to continue on this career path in New Zealand.

"I do lots of strategic management in the healthcare industry - that's where is possible to make proper change and influence people. I like the challenges of what I'm doing at the moment. However, if I wanted to go back to working as an occupational therapist again, that's always a possibility. To find something in New Zealand which is relevant to my skills, qualifications and experience, I'm in contact with an agency by emails."

For Sarah, New Zealand is a country with a promising future. "From a geographical position, I like the fact that New Zealand is tucked away in its own corner of the world. I think that New Zealand is going to emerge as a strong economic power for years to come, because of what's being put in place at the moment."

However, for someone who has been plotting her move for so long, Sarah isn't rushing into any rash decisions. While she's just been issued a visa and can leave at any time, the UK property market isn't cooperating: "I need to have a time scale - at the moment either spring or later in the year, depending on the property market!"