Once you have your list, give each activity a mark. Give a high score to those activities that you cannot live without and a lower score to those pastimes that you are less interested in. Cross out those that you only do through habit, but do not really enjoy. Now re-write your list only including the activities you wish to keep in your life. Write them down in order of importance to you.
By now you will be beginning to realise that if your favourite pastime is looking round the Natural History museum, or watching Manchester United play, then you may need to seriously reconsider your intention to emigrate!
Employment opportunities are dealt with elsewhere in the book, but now is the time to commit your thoughts to paper about your career. Write down what path you wish to follow and what changes you are prepared to make. Take your time, as employment is a big issue.
If you are emigrating with a partner then both fill out separate sheets - and then exchange ideas. You might be surprised to learn that your partner has always had a secret yearning to open a garden centre, whilst they in turn never realised that you’ve harboured thoughts of owning a restaurant since you were quite young.
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of carrying through the process of analysing what you really hope to gain from emigrating. Do your sums to see if your ideas are financially viable. Don’t forget to take into account the considerable expense involved in transporting yourself, family and possessions to the other side of the world.
The main purpose of this chapter is to get you asking the right questions. Ask yourself: Why do I really want to go? What do I hope to achieve? Can I achieve it in New Zealand? How much will it all cost? What changes am I prepared to make in my life and what must stay the same no matter what?
Again by writing it all down you will start to form a picture of what your motives are. You might find you need to make changes in your life, but that emigrating is not the answer.
Something that also needs careful thought is family and friends. If you have a large family you will obviously miss them. Particularly at ‘family times’ such as birthdays and Christmas. (be prepared for big phone bills) Long standing friendships are also difficult to replace.
I hope you will find enough information in this book to help you make an informed decision, or more importantly at least to ask the right questions.