How Living In New Zealand Changed My Life and Inspired Me To Travel

Last Updated on 8th May 2024

New Zealand changed my life in so many ways.

For those of you who’ve been following my blog for quite some time now, you’ll know that I used to live in New Zealand when I was 13 from September 2011 to April 2012. If you’re not familiar with the story, I’ll share the highlights again below.

In September 2011, I moved to New Zealand with my parents and younger brother and sister. My dad was offered a job out there and it seemed like an incredible opportunity for our family, so we packed our bags and flew thousands of miles to the other side of the world (of course, in reality, it was much more complicated than that, but as I was so young, I wasn’t really aware of all the ins and outs of the proceedings).

It’s safe to say that a move of that monumental scale was quite something to a 13-year-old. I was essentially uprooted from my life in York; from my friends and the rest of my family, from the comforts of “home” and everything I’d ever known.

At the time, it was the scariest and craziest thing I’d ever done, but looking back, it was also undoubtedly one of the best things to ever happen to me and I’m immensely grateful for that experience every single day of my life.

In true I’m Just A Girl fashion, this post is likely going to get quite soppy and reflective as today I wanted to share with you guys how moving to and living in New Zealand changed my life and how it inspired me to travel the world.

Read more: What Is New Zealand Famous For? 40 Things That Make New Zealand Special

Kiwis (the people, not the birds!) are some of the most incredible, out-going, caring and crazy people I’ve ever met in my life.

Their general enthusiasm for life is contagious and the way of life in New Zealand is something that I warmed to almost instantly. Of course, some things took a little getting used to, such as seeing many people doing their grocery shop barefoot, the accent was a little strange to me at first and the difference in everything from the food to nature to the school system was something that needed adjusting to.

However, once I became acclimatised to my new surroundings and way of life, something sparked in me that made me realise that this was the kind of life I wanted to live.

Naturally, I missed my family and friends back home immensely, and there were some days where I desperately wished I could hop on a plane back “home”, but as time went on, I learned to love my new little corner of the world.

It’s only with reflection and hindsight, however, that I truly realised just how much living in New Zealand changed my life. While at the time I was adjusting to a new way of life and getting to know a new school, new people and a whole new country, I don’t think I fully appreciated just what the experience meant.

When we arrived back in the UK however in April 2012 (we had to come back as my mum was pregnant with her fourth child and it wasn’t really ideal for us to stay out in NZ, so far away from our family), that I really had the chance to reflect on my time in New Zealand.

That reflective element of my personality has only intensified in recent years and over the last 8 years since we arrived back from New Zealand, my obsession with travel and visiting far and wide places has escalated tremendously.

When Matt and I got together in 2016, I was at a bit of a crossroads with regards to what I wanted to do with my life. I was supposed to go to university (and I technically did for three days), but I knew that wasn’t really for me. Above anything else in the world, I wanted to travel.

Career-wise, I was a bit stuck; I knew that I always wanted to be a writer but I didn’t know the steps I could take to get there and I wasn’t 100% convinced I could make a proper living from it anyway.

But the one constant thing that I felt I had to do was travel. Living in New Zealand taught me that the world is so unfathomably big and there are so many places to see and things to do and people to meet and food to eat that I was gripped with this intense passion and vigour for exploring.

Kiwis (again, the people, not the bird!) are typically pretty avid travellers. Not just to places all over the world, but within their home country too. People who live in the North Island often travel to the South Island to explore the truly beautiful places that reside just a few hours’ away. I mean, it’s hard not to travel in NZ when you live in the same country as Mount Cook, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Abel Tasman and more!

Seeing local New Zealanders wanting to explore the world made me want to explore it too. Just because they live thousands of miles away from the rest of the world, doesn’t mean they have to be confined to their little island. While NZ might be incredibly remote and far-removed from the rest of the world, the residents of the country know just how big the world is and want to see what it has to offer and seeing that passion only intensified mine.

Of course, I can’t attribute my wanderlust to the country of New Zealand alone; it also has an awful lot to do with my parents and the lessons they taught me. Their ambition to show us the world started with moving to New Zealand and I knew that if they could do that with our entire family in tow, then I too could make it happen one day.

Which is exactly what Matt and I did on April 24th 2019 and the 11 months that we spent travelling New Zealand, Australia and seven countries in Southeast Asia contain some of the most incredible moments of my life, some of the best people I’ve ever met and some of the most insanely delicious food I’ve ever eaten.

Coming home from travelling was difficult to say the least, and while most people assume that I’ve had my fill of seeing the world, I can honestly say that I feel the direct opposite. All I want to do more than ever is explore more of the world and I’m fiercely grateful for my time in New Zealand all those years ago for encouraging me and inspiring me to return again at the start of our trip last year and to continue travelling the vast, wide world.

Related posts:

• 14 Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving To New Zealand
• What It’s Really Like To Move To The Other Side Of The World
• How Much Money We Spent On A 3 Month Trip In New Zealand
• Our 5-Week South Island New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary
• 11 Reasons Why New Zealand Should Be On Your Bucket List

Pin for later – New Zealand changed my life

Have you ever thought about moving to New Zealand? Has my experience inspired you to travel there? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.