Horseychick:

Interesting topic!  I'm English, hubby is American and we emigrated here in 1998 after spending a month here on holiday.  3 days into the holiday I said to hubby "I could live here" and he agreed.  Returned from holiday to the UK, told family and friends we were emigrating and 7 weeks later left for good as we both had jobs here.  4 years on work visas, then residency then citizenship so we both have dual passports.  Have never regretted the move and when asked always say we came here for "a better quality of life", which it absolutely has been.

We have always lived in Auckland, largely due to jobs, but also partly due to the fact that we would be uncomfortable living anywhere much smaller having come from big cities in other countries.  That said, we have bought and sold 5 times over the 18 years and now reside on a lifestyle block which we love due to the lack of immediate neighbours.  Hubby is horrified that gumboots have become 'de rigeur' for winter wear at home as he's never owned any before, but he is largely accustomed to it now.

Love exploring other parts of NZ, love winding up the rellies in the UK by sending pics of Xmas day on the beach, love the fact that it doesn't get dark around 3.30pm in the winter months and I've never had to scrape ice off my windscreen!  Regret the fact that visiting rellies in UK or USA requires very long flight and lots of money, but accept that this is the price you have to pay to live in this lovely country.

Laugh at people who complain about traffic in Auckland when I have spent hours of my life sitting on the M25/M4/M1 in the UK not moving, or spent time sitting in 6 lanes of stop/start traffic on the freeway in LA outside of rush hour and with the distinct possibility that someone was going to go postal and pull a gun!