Stu Ridley gives us his perspective on selling up and moving with your paddling gear to another country. Enjoy.
The reason I chose to immigrate in to a new country was not only to change my lifestyle to experience quality boating on the doorstep, I knew immigration was something on the horizon and within easy grasp. It was always a gonna be a life changing decision to make, leaving friends, family, jobs, morgages and my past behind. Stripping down my life paying of debts and getting rid of any assets to the point where I was sleeping on my parents floor with the only posessions left being my kayaking gear, laptop and a bag of clothes, stoked!
Now exactly a year on and I’m getting stuck in lifes picking up pace in a new country, new freinds, relationships, jobs, visas, speeding tickets, moving house, going to court, fixing vehicles, saving money. The whole experience is reshaping my perspective on life even so much more than anticipated.
New Zealand was an easy choice, they’ve got plenty of graft over here, and the country is breathtaking, the Maori and Kiwis are rad people, very hospitable, there’s not many people on the South Island only about 4.5 million compared to the UK’s 75 million, and everyone seems to know each other, or someone you’ve already met.
Solo On Hooker River NZ from stuart ridley on Vimeo.
Continue reading
Recent Comments