A British couple have revealed some of the cultural differences they’ve discovered since spending £30,000 to move from the UK to a rural village in New Zealand.

Ed Porter, 35, and his wife, Kim, 34, previously of Henley-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire, first began questioning how expensive Britain had become after booking a £1,200 Center Parcs staycation.

Marvelling at the price tag, the couple decided to look at moving abroad in a bid to create a better life for their children, Elijah, 12, and Willow, seven.

It wasn’t long before they decided on New Zealand after getting a ‘gut feeling’ that it was where they ‘needed to be’.

The Porter family upped sticks after a year of planning and made the move 11,500 miles away to Warkworth in North Island, despite never visiting the small village.

They now live in a five-bed beachfront home – which costs £1,600 a month to rent – and claim the same property in the UK would be upwards of £2 million to buy.

Ed said: ‘The first two weeks were a roller coaster – we kept thinking one day how amazing it was, and the next we’d be questioning if we made the right decision. But once the kids came home from their first day at school and told us they loved it, we finally gave a sigh of relief.’

The father-of-two said the family were surprised by some aspects of New Zealand life, including the Kiwis’ ‘dark humour’ and their love of walking around barefoot, even in supermarkets. 

While they admit they ‘miss a Tesco shop’, their new lifestyle ticks every box – and New Zealand even has an ‘alive and kicking pub culture’ to rival the UK’s – with premium pints costing less than £3.

Ed, who works in real estate, said: ‘We started thinking about the future of our children in terms of having their own independence with buying properties in the future.

‘We initially considered a move to the States but that has its fair share of problems too, so we settled on here.

‘The move was very nerve wracking and an emotional rollercoaster – but we love it.

‘We’re blown away by how welcoming everyone has been, and we can already see ourselves growing old here.

‘You’re never more than ten minutes from one of the beaches, which have crystal clear turquoise seas and white sands.

‘Plus pints are £2 something and the pies alone are worth moving for. It’s a slice of paradise.’

Ed said he loves how locals still use the native language, Te reo Māori, including on road signs, and has found himself invited to a traditional dinner with some of the locals.

Pub culture is very present in New Zealand too, and Ed’s local community all head out for pizza and beers together.

He said the most expensive pint at his local costs ‘£2-something’ – a third of what Ed paid in Henley-on-Thames.

Ed said: ‘Everyone loves a drink here and it wasn’t hard to find a decent English cider either.’

Although he admits they do find English supermarkets superior, as they miss ‘a good Tesco shop’.

Ed described the community as ‘welcoming, helpful and kind’, adding that many New Zealanders have ‘positive’ attitudes.

He said: ‘The kids walk themselves down the lane, and get the bus to school and back.

‘Other British expats here have compared it to England in the 1970s.

‘The kids cycle home and throw their bikes down without locking them up, doors are left on the latch, neighbours share food – people have time for each other.

‘It’s just this amazing rural community.’

Ed and Kim say their new home is enabling them to ‘live their dream’ while building a better future for their kids.

They also love the ‘positive’ community feel, the welcoming and respectful attitudes of their Kiwi neighbours, the stunning weather and beautiful surroundings. 

‘I can’t see us coming back, we can see ourselves growing old here,’ Ed said. 

‘If our kids want to travel, back to the UK or Europe or America, they can do – and they’ll have this safe HQ back in New Zealand.

‘We’re not rich, we just had a dream and we did it. It took us 12 months – nothing happens overnight.

‘But we paid around £30,000 – less than some people pay for a car – to buy a decent future for our children.’

Ed and Kim began considering their children’s financial futures around 18 months ago when they went on their family ‘staycation’ at Center Parcs, Sherwood Forest, Nottingham.

At the same time, Ed and Kim’s independent coffee business was struggling, so they began considering an international move that would benefit the family financially as well as give them a different lifestyle.

After deciding on New Zealand, they soon applied for visas, medical checks and document certifications which cost the family-of-four around £3,580. 

They also selected a rental home and rented a £12,500 shipping container to transport all their furniture and possessions on an 11,500-mile journey to their new home.

After closing down their coffee business, both Ed and Kim began to build new careers. Ed now has a job in real estate and Kim works in a self-taught website development and data entry role.

After spending a month living in an empty home after their possessions were taken away for transport, the nervous family boarded their flight – which cost them £830 each – on June 26 and said goodbye to Henley-on-Thames for good.

They are now settled in their affordable five-bed rental home on the beachfront and plan to buy land in the future.

Ed and Kim are on the hunt for a smallholding. a building surrounded by land, where they plan to build two additional houses for Elijah and Willow.