Most professionals or people over 30 years old think that they cannot improve their English skills abroad by leaving everything behind. Even though they are very depressed or embarrassed about their English speaking abilities, they are not curious or brave enough to take action and they always complain about how it is so hard to change their life – family, career, budget…Never ending excuses! Don’t worry, we (my husband and I), were one of those who thought it is too late to do something like that. But, is it really too late?

The answer is absolutely NO! As Nike says ‘Just do it’ ©. What about us? Yes, we did it, so it’s your turn.

After we decided to take the risk, we tried to save as much money as we could, started investigating which country would be better for us and who could help us achieve our goals in this adventure. I have to say that this is the most important part that takes time because every single new piece of information opens another door to think about, but it is easier than you think as soon as you finalise this phase. Our journey in this phase took almost a year. Result: New Zealand.

Leaving Istanbul, Turkey on December 27th, we started our new life in Auckland, New Zealand on December 29th, after two days in the air, just two days before New Year. As you can imagine, we were so tired and excited at the same time. With our lovely host family, we explored the city centre and the main areas around where we would spend most of our time during the six months’ language education period at Languages International. New Year and then being a student again after many, many years, we started studying on the first business day of 2016 in NZ, January 5th…

Well, we were happy to choose New Zealand instead of going to America, England or Australia. Being immersed in a country with native English speakers who always smile and support us a lot to express ourselves, definitely made us feel comfortable.

Well, we were happy to choose New Zealand instead of going to America, England or Australia. Being immersed in a country with native English speakers who always smile and support us a lot to express ourselves, definitely made us feel comfortable. Both the teachers and the management strongly encouraged us to get to grips with our weaknesses, which was really important. The convenient location of the school and the population of the students, who were the same or near the same age, were also other key differentiators that confirmed what a correct decision we had made. Not only that, but further confirmation was being surrounded by spectacular nature, mystic atmosphere and the pure beauty of New Zealand all the time.

The time was passing, full of unforgettable memories for us as students. And it was a great feeling to see how our English was improving in different classes like General English, Business English in Human Resources and Marketing. It was more than a language course for us.

The time was passing, full of unforgettable memories for us as students. And it was a great feeling to see how our English was improving in different classes like General English, Business English in Human Resources and Marketing. It was more than a language course for us. Then, we wanted to stay here a little bit more, so we decided to find a job after being in Languages International for three months. The teachers supported us with understanding the business culture in New Zealand by highlighting what we need to do when writing a CV, what kind of questions we would have in the interview and what would be the best answers for them etc. With their support, we were confident with the application and selection process. As a result of this, we found jobs and then started ‘another’ new life miles away from our home country where we can call ‘HOME’ with our new home. It is located in one of the most charming areas on the North Shore, with thriving native bush and birdlife and a dining scene offering delicious local and ethnic cuisine just close to the sea and with a city view.

The teachers supported us with understanding the business culture in New Zealand by highlighting what we need to do when writing a CV, what kind of questions we would have in the interview and what would be the best answers for them etc. With their support, we were confident with the application and selection process. As a result of this, we found jobs.

Today, it’s been almost nine months since we came here. Yes, we are still here, here in Auckland and we will be here at least until October 2017 as we now have a three-year work visa. Who knows, we may stay here for a lo-ooong time 😉 And yes, we are HAPPY being here after starting from scratch, leaving our comfort zone behind, building our new life, exploring our limits and capabilities that we never thought we could do. If you are wondering what we are doing, here you go – one of us has been working as a Key Account Manager in one of the largest cloud computing companies in New Zealand, for five months, and the other has been working as a waiter in one of the best restaurants in a fancy suburb, Ponsonby. Don’t underestimate being a waiter in Auckland, you can instantly become famous by appearing in one of the most popular NZ Food magazines – oops! 🙂

In summary, this is our story, our life journey. What about you? Whatever you are doing right now, please remember, life is too short to postpone your dreams or give up your adventures. Time is passing quickly and it is never too late to take the risk of doing something that you would like to do. You never know what tomorrow brings! So, why would you wait to see what your next big step is?

Best,
Nergis & Tugkan