Simon Koh (in New Zealand) – Introduction

Hi, my name is Simon Koh. I’m a Singaporean currently living in Auckland, New Zealand with my two children. We immigrated to New Zealand in 1999 to look for a less stressful lifestyle for ourselves and the children.

New Zealand is a clean and green country with heaps of space for over four million people. People are generally friendly and caring. Auckland has the highest population of Asians and is the biggest city in New Zealand.

Houses and cars are cheaper than Singapore.  You can own a used car for a couple of thousand dollars and there is no COE. Road taxes are fixed at a standard price regardless of the capacity of your car. You don’t have to scrap your car after ten years. Most families own more than one car.  Just imagine how many cars you can buy with your money to obtain a COE.

You can own a three bedroom home with a double garage, a small garden and a freehold land for about five hundred thousand NZ$. Off course a better location will fetch more money.

If you are a permanent residence, education is free for your children.  As a PR, we enjoyed almost the same rights as the Kiwis.

As for myself, I’m retired and I try to fly back to Singapore to see my parents and siblings every year.  Travelling has been made easy recently by budget airlines like Jetstar.

Cheers

Simon Koh

9 thoughts on “Simon Koh (in New Zealand) – Introduction”

  1. halo halo brother simon koh ,

    wah wah wah ….u ,hor no good lei…make me lua nuah (slyvia dripping liao ) spelling not up 2 uni & lazy 2 check on de oxford dictonary hor…sorry ah …

    i really envy u & yr family ..enjoying such a good life over there…welcome welcome bro 2 SHC….u never kong (say ) what u like & yr hobby ,retire or what ?

    yes , pls check out the shc coming events …hope we can meet up 1 day hor….

    sam huat

  2. Hi Simon,

    Welcome to SHC.
    Which city do you reside in?
    When is a good times to visit NZ?
    Can you bring us around if we organize a small group to
    visit you?

    james

  3. Hi Simon,
    A Chinese kiwi! Which part of Auckland are you in?
    I have a sister in Auckland too. Forresthill. I have another sister in Rotorua. I almost migrated there myself, but couldn’t as my then husband didn’t want to.
    I have another sister who flies very frequently to NZ on business, but she flies business class, not economy, like me :-(
    I like NZ a lot and used to go there very often. I seldom go there now as I want to see other parts of the world now.

    You travel all that distance, all that 9 hours plus, on Jetstar?? I use SQ and still can’t get used to flying long distance as I can’t sleep comfortably in planes.
    Welcome to SHC.

  4. Hi Simon,

    Welcome (or welcome back) to Singapore. Here you will meet many friends of different interests to pass your time by.

    I am interested in your experience and also yoor family’s experience in NZ for the last 10 years.

    Have considered emigrating but never been able to do it yet. But always interested in other emigres experience.
    Most are not so free with their comments as they may be personal but all comments are welcome to paint a complete picture.

    Join in the activities and you will make friends. Welcome.

  5. Hi Charles Chua,

    You can send me an email detailing the things that you would like to know and I will do my best to answer them.
    Alternatively, you can send me your email address.

    Regards
    Simon Koh

  6. Hi Simon,

    A warm welcome to SHC. Hope to see u soon at the activities. New Zealand is my next on the list of places to visit… beautiful place.

    Cheers,
    Clara Ho

  7. Hi Simon,
    Thanks for your emails. Btw, how did you get my email address? Was it up on the website or did someone give it to you? Who, may I know? Don’t worry, I’m not going to bite anyone’s head off. Just wanted to know.
    Thanks,
    Mary

  8. welcome Simon

    Thanks for the intro and write up about NZ.more than 10 years ago.
    Hope to visit it again one day.

    I remember I used to say pp who bungee jump are crasy
    and guess what I didnt want to do it…but cos some1 from the coach keep asking me to join him, but alas last min he backed out…and I went on to do it, It was a humbling experience…. and exhilarating one..too..
    Well now, i say Im also crasy…hahaha

    hope to meet you one day

    regards
    Pat

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