Marie Hunneyball came to NZ for a better lifestyle

Secondary school drama teacher Marie Hunneyball and her husband chose to move to New Zealand for a better lifestyle and found everything they wanted – though they nearly didn’t make it here.

“It was a toss-up between Canada and New Zealand. But New Plymouth ticked all our boxes. We like the lifestyle – camping and mountain biking – and love being by the sea. And, looking into the future, I wanted to bring up my kids in this kind of place.

"I was attracted to a place where kids are able to be kids – where a 13-year-old is a 13-year-old, not a wannabe 21-year-old wearing diamanté thongs.

"I think the schools and community here produce more well-rounded children and adults, with a more positive outlook on life than the UK."

Marie has been at Sacred Heart School in New Plymouth for eight months and already feels completely at home. "It’s been an incredibly enjoyable and easy experience for me to come here. I have nearly got my residency and teacher's registration, and we have already bought a house.

“I would recommend to anybody who was a teacher in the UK to come and teach here. I really would. Not just because it is New Zealand, but because coming to another country is a great experience – learning about different cultures is fascinating.”

Marie says her favourite part of the New Zealand lifestyle is the community feel. “Even just joining the local choir I have already been invited to people's houses for dinner a number of times.

"Sacred Heart is a really close-knit school. I came from a big city school in Bristol, twice the size of Sacred Heart, with 130 teaching staff and 1,800 kids. You had to be much stricter with classroom management and you weren’t able to enjoy the kids as much.”

A recent holiday to Australia helped confirm what Marie and her husband really felt about New Zealand. "When we got back and were driving into New Plymouth seeing the mountain and the sea, it really did feel like we were coming home."