Couple’s home away from home
After 35 years in
San Diego, Kiwi couple Jenni and Kim Prisk can’t decide where to call home.
Their solution: To finally build a house on the Kerikeri section they bought 18 years ago and live in it for six months of the year, slowly re-acclimatising to life in New Zealand.
The Prisks moved to the Southern Californian city in 1983 after Kim, a scientist, was invited to join a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) team at the University of California.
Jenni, originally from Christchurch, carved out a career as an executive speech coach and motivational speaker, and volunteered with women’s and human rights organisations.
The couple quickly came to love the city – and still do – but as they neared and then surpassed the legal retirement age, ‘‘the lure of the motherland’’ as Jenni, 69, puts it, grew stronger.
Both have family in Aotearoa and Jenni feels there’s ‘‘a spirit in New Zealand that burrows deep into the psyche and is hard to escape’’.
Knowing they and New Zealand had changed immensely over the past three decades however, they decided it was best not to make a clean break.
They spent two months in their brand new Bay of Islands abode in September and October before returning to San Diego, where they’ll stay for three months.
In March, they’ll return to Kerikeri then alternate between the two, working in San Diego on a semi-retired basis and getting used to the idea of retirement in Kerikeri.
Neither is ready for fulltime retirement just yet: Kim works part-time for the lab he manages in San Diego while in Kerikeri, and Jenni is getting involved with local volunteer groups.
In Kerikeri when she spoke with Stuff, Jenni said she and Kim are enjoying ‘‘the quiet neighbourhood, walking paths, bustling township, friendly folks’’ and iconic New Zealand foods they have been craving: fish and chips, hokey pokey icecream and Peanut Slabs.
There have been a few surprises – good and bad.
They’ve found prices are higher in New Zealand – particularly for food, furniture and cars – but restaurants are ‘‘much more gourmet-oriented’’ than they remember. And they’re enjoying getting reacquainted with Kiwi lingo.
‘‘I’d forgotten how amusing our vernacular is – ‘sweet as’ being my favourite,’’ Jenni says.
Holidays aside, it’s the first time in their relationship the couple has spent whole days together which, Jenni admits, is taking a bit of getting used to, describing it as a ‘‘new and mostly fun’’ challenge.
They don’t know many people in Kerikeri and, at present, still feel like outsiders.
‘‘Being away from New Zealand for 35 years has changed us. The social climate in New Zealand has changed and the people with it… Our community has cliques of established friendships that we hope to be invited to join.’’
But it’s nothing, she hopes, that inviting the neighbours over for a glass of wine or beer won’t fix.
Jenni says it’s a relief to be in a ‘‘calmer, more stable political environment than the one we are experiencing in the US’’.
‘‘Some Kiwis might disagree, especially with the petrol prices, lack of sufficient affordable housing, the healthcare system, education and more. However, it’s possible to digest the news here and discuss it rationally rather than have it blasted in your face as in the US,’’ she says.
‘‘US politics are like drinking from a fire hose; full-on, sometimes frightening, and perpetually focused on the president. Here in New Zealand, the prime minister is taking a kinder, more empathetic approach to the needs of the country… .’’
While their hearts still reside in two ‘‘homes’’, Jenni says they’re ‘‘truly delighted to be established in [their] homeland.
‘‘We’re loving the environment and the calm political spectrum.
‘‘We’re a little confused some days when we’ve run out of things to do. And we’re missing our friends, social life and professional connections in San Diego. But basically we’re very happy we’ve made this big decision.’’
If you know an expat who wants to share inside knowledge of their home away from home, or have a travel question, email travel@stuff.co.nz with Expat or Expert in the subject line.