Moving to New Zealand?

Question

I'm considering moving to New Zealand. Is it really as laid back as it seems? Does New Zealand have a high cost of living? Would it be easy for an American to immigrate there and fit in with the people?

Answer 1

Hi J-Rod!. I moved to New Zealand 44 years ago. From London.New Zealand has grown heaps since then, but it is still laid back,and Kiwis are for the most part friendly.I like Americans,in fact I like most people. It is expensive to live in the main cities.I live in Napier on the coast,and we have lots of Americans here.Look it up on Google. Good Luck with your descision.If your a skilled worker you should get in ok.

Answer 2

I was born in New Zealand and go back once a year for visits. Yes it really is laid back (and that's saying something because I live in Australia!).

The people there are very friendly too. The cost of living is less to that of the USA but more than it is here in Australia.

I'm not too sure about the immigration bit but I know that it is easier to get into NZ than it is into Australia.

You will fit in! New Zealand is a very multicultural nation.

Thanks for the question =) Hope you move there and have a good old time!

Answer 3

Fitting in goes like this, if you are loud and obnoxious, you won't fit in (but you will fit in in Australia!), if you are nice, polite and don't look down on people then you'll be fine.  I'm sure there are ex-patriate organisations here for Americans living here so you can touch base with them before or after you arrive, for friendship and advice.  

There are more and more immigrants coming here now as like most countries we have a skills shortage & it's getting worse as more New Zealanders head for Australia.  Unemployment is very low.  So you will be able to hang out with the other new immigrants, can't say I've noticed alot of Americans here but there are some Canadians, alot of UK people, alot of Asians (in Auckland anyway), increasingly more South Africans, etc, etc.  

And of course you can always join things to meet others.  And if you're single there are non sleazy dating sites & singles organisations

findsomeone.co.nz

I'm sure you'd be a hit on there as the foreign factor would be seen as attractive.

Answer 4

Cost of living here is cheaper in some ways and more expensive in others. Taxes are considerably more than the US however we have a universal health care system like in Canada.

Gas is now like $1.80 per litre here for regular, which is about USD$5.50 a gallon! Altho this is the highest it's ever been here and the government taxes it like crazy. In saying that, cars here are generally considerably smaller and those enormous SUVs you have in the states are quite rare here. We do have SUVs and pickup trucks here (we call them 'Utes'), just not those huge ones you have. We drive on the left too, where as in the states it's on the right. Everything is in metric here, so get used to saying your body weight in kilos (kgs), buying food by the gram, driving by kilometres per hour etc. We still say our height in the old system tho.

I would advise your to keep your political views to yourself, especially any that might come off as an 'I'm american, I know best or I'm better than you' type remark as that will make you look arrogant and not win many friends.  However you may find that a lot of NZers know a lot about american politics, as it's on the news alot. We also know quite a bit about american culture due to american tvs and movies dominating everything. Just be friendly and you'll be fine!

Food here is quite expensive, even more so than the states. A 2litre bottle of milk costs around $4, and things like bread are sky high. Housing is cheaper tho in general.

I beleive compared to the states we are very laid back, and not as much drive to 'keep up with the jonses' that there is in america where you have to look successful. dont get me wrong, that exists in some parts of society but not as much there. there's also a more equal distribution of wealth here.

You may miss your american sports, as things like baseball and american football are almost never seen here except on sky (cable network), which no one I know whatches. Most NZers wouldnt know the first thing about american football.

All aside, enjoy your stay and be open minded.

Answer 5

You would fit in. I live in America now but was raised in New Zealand for seventeen years and now only go back about two-three times a year...

I don't know what your definition of layed back is but where i was raised (Dunedin) it was very very laid back and it was small enough not to be a big bustling city...you can walk anywhere and the town...you don't even need a car unless you have heaps of shopping to do and are a bit lazy (Like i am) than its a great place to live at...

People are nice, different cultures, different scenes...the clubs don't close a 2am, lol...and they are all within walking distance of each other so you don't need it...

And people have much more loose view in life...I mean since being in America, i have since learnt that some jokes that i hear about in NZ would be considered crude and rude and racist but truly everyone laughs...

P.S....You better LOVE rugby...New Zealand is DEFINITELY rugby oriented...

Oh and the apartments are cheaper than here certainly...Nz$...In Dunedin a HOUSE say three to four bedrooms with garage etc etc would be about $250nz on average...you can find cheaper ones too

Answer 6

Kiwis are very laid back. I lived there for 7 years. Such a beautiful place, friendly poeple. and Yes, it is easy to immigrate.

Answer 7

I'm actually in your position, but a little bit further along in the process. I'm an American who has decided to move to NZ. I searched for jobs through the internet first before moving. Although you could do it the other way and move first, but you have a limited time to find a job. Anyways, I received 4 job offers as my line of occupation is apparently in high demand. After I received my job offer, I applied to the government for a work permit and received it with ease. If you take a look at the government's website, you can take a little quiz which will determine a rating. This rating determines whether you will qualify for a work permit based on certain conditions (e.g., single/married, age, type of profession, etc). Then the rating is measured on a scale to determine likelihood of being granted a work visa. Good luck in your process!

Answer 8

New Zealand truly is a great place. It is very laid back and it has bush/rural areas as well as city areas - A mixture! Many Americans seem to love New Zealand for it's peaceful enviroment!

Answer 9

umm... from what ive seen, america is cheaper, i mean, donuts from walmart.... 6 for $2, donuts here are $1.20 each, so yeah.... and it kinda depends where you go for the laidbackness

Answer 10

Yuss, we are very friendly people =]

Laid back depends wherebouts you are

Down south is extremly laidback LOL

But its pritty laidback everywhere really.

Idk about living costs, seems pritty cheap to me aye.

Haha yeh we are very multicultral XD

Btw wanna fit in?

RUGBY: Watch it and support the All Blacks or else.

Answer 11

NZ is always looking for highly qualified/skilled people to fill  gaps in the market.  If you have the qualifications, you shouldn't have a problem with work in NZ, and the cost of living is reasonable.

Answer 12

New Zealand is very laid back.  I was born and raised here, but I still found it a bit of a struggle to re-adjust when I returned from living in Londonn.

The cost of living here isn't too bad, depending where you are.  Housing in Auckland, for example, is amongst the most expensive in the world when you take earnings of the population into account.  

If you are the kind of person who can make friends with reasonable ease, you wont have any problems fitting in.  I live in a small city on the east coast of the North Island.  One of my closest friends is American, and she didn't have any problems.

If you are serious about moving here, you might like to consider coming for a holiday first.  Research the places you might be interested in moving too, and visit them.  Get a feel for the places.  It's a big move to make, and any advice you're going to get from people is going to be pretty subjective, so you might like to try to suss it out for yourself first.

Oh, and in accordance with what others have said - many NZers are pretty au fait with international politics etc and have strong views.   So if you're a huge fan of GWB, you might not want to bring that up in passing conversation.

Answer 13

The further South you go the more laid back it is. If you head to the West Coast of the South Island its really laid back. New Zealand still has honesty boxes when you take goods and leave money in the country areas.

You would fit in. Good luck with the immigration though, if you have money to bring to NZ the immigrations department love you.

Enjoy.

Answer 14

new zealand is cool and yea it is pretty laid back, yes it does have a pretty high cost of living, but it hink cheaper than america and you will fit in well people will be interested where you come from and all.

Answer 15

I'm an ex-patriot American living in NZ. The lifestyle, even in the big cities, is slower than a big city in the States. (I used to live near LA, so I know!)

People don't seem to be bent on working themselves to death here, they actually leave the office at 5 or 6pm most places, and have a life outside of work. The standard holiday pay is 4 weeks, compared with 2 weeks at most US companies.

The cost of living is a bit high, although housing is more affordable. Petrol and groceries are more expensive.

Immigration is pretty straightforward, although I don't know all the rules now (I emigrated in '92 with a Kiwi partner).

Fitting in, well, that's a tough question. Even though I've lived here for 16 years, I still feel like a foreigner. I've got a great community of friends, but I stick out because of my accent, my openness and straightforwardness; my approach to life. I'm a more positive thinker than most Kiwis I know. On the flip side, I'm also less interested in politics and world issues - Kiwis are very well informed and often opinionated!

All said, it's a beautiful place. It's relatively safe. Art, music, food, sports, nature, technology... anything you want to experience is very accessible.