At home in New Zealand, and loving it

A British family who won a new life for themselves in Hawkes Bay say they are better off here than in England.

The Pearse family arrived in January last year after beating 2700 families in the Napier City Council's Win a Life competition.

For six months, Simon and Chrissie Pearse and their sons, Zac, 11, and Wes, 8, had a home and car supplied as they tried life in the southern hemisphere.

But Mr Pearse said their decision to stay was made before they even arrived. In the back of their minds, New Zealand would be their home "for the foreseeable future".

The Pearses are a reflection of the new wave of migrants, with annual immigration figures showing a "whitening" of migrants over the past decade.

Mr Pearse says the quality of life is better here - although the family is not financially better off.

"In the UK, you spent the week earning money to pay your mortgage. Here, you spend the week earning money to pay for your weekend."

The mortgage for their three-bedroom house in Taradale, bought three months into their stay, is smaller - but Mr Pearse, an electrical engineer, is also earning about 20 per cent less. The cost of living is higher here too, he says.

His wife, a trained mental health nurse, earns about $12 an hour because her qualifications are not recognised.

But things are looking up. Mrs Pearse is retraining, as he starts a new job that is "everything I've been looking for over the past 10 years".

Mr Pearse says the people are friendlier, and they've settled into the Hawkes Bay lifestyle. Fruit trees prosper in their garden and the kids enjoy rugby, soccer and basketball. Mr Pearse even has a hand in coaching Zac's team, Greendale United.

They've adjusted well, although settlement took longer for his wife.

"She missed the four-storey department stores, the one-stop shopping," Mr Pearse says.

The best part of life here, he finds, is the outdoors. In Britain you're restricted by the weather.

"It's a whole new world, a whole new life and a whole new opportunity."