This week’s podcast episode on moving to New Zealand is hosted by me, (Liz ) and my husband Brian.
We moved to New Zealand with our kids from the UK in 2009 and have now been living in New Zealand as a family (our kids are now 18 and 15) for more than ten years.
Our reasons for leaving the UK to start a new life in New Zealand were personal and rather jumbled.
It was a kind of ‘let’s give it a go’ decision and one which neither of us has ever regretted.
Not ever.
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Is New Zealand Perfect?
Of course not.
No country is perfect and like anywhere else, New Zealand has its pros and cons.
While the land of the long white cloud is (pretty close) to perfect, I would be lying if I didn’t mention that there are things that you will probably miss when you move to New Zealand.
Especially if you are moving to New Zealand from the US (the kiwi culture is sometimes more British than Britain so it wasn’t such a massive shock to us), nevertheless, there were things that took some getting used to. Namely the New Zealand slang, the laid back no worries attitude, the New Zealand food and the fact that I was now living thousands of miles from every other member of my family.
It’s a long way home…
So Why Move To New Zealand?
We had three major reasons for wanting to move to New Zealand.
We longed for more space for the kids (which we have); less stress (tick) and more opportunity (I’ll never be sure on this one, but I don’t think we would have done the things we have done.
Namely, we homeschooled both of our kids, built our own home, and more recently, travelled the world for a year.
Had we not made our move to New Zealand, I doubt we would have been able to do any of those things.
Moving to New Zealand was the best thing that ever happened to our family. Will you be next?
Starting a New Life in New Zealand
I am so very excited for you!
Maybe you are about to start your journey to a new life in NZ or, perhaps like us, you are terribly unsatisfied with where you are at the moment and are tentatively putting your feelers out.
You are going to love New Zealand life.
I am not saying it is the most perfect country in the world, of course not. As with anywhere, there are pros and cons to living in New Zealand but (and I may be biased here) there are tons more advantages than not.
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Moving to New Zealand. The Hoop Game.
The process of moving to New Zealand hasn’t changed very much in the past ten years so if you are considering a move to New Zealand then this series of podcasts is just for you.
Emigrating to another country is like anything; once you’ve done it once you can’t imagine how you ever thought it was difficult.
And the good news is that it isn’t.
Difficult, I mean.
Yes, there are lots of bureaucratic hoops that you will be required to jump through but if you are super keen and set on trying out a different life down in New Zealand (or is it up??) then what you really need to succeed is the ability to tick boxes.
And keep moving forward with determination, dedication, courage and a heap of adventurous spirit!
Amongst many of the New Zealand slang words that newcomers will encounter when they move to NZ, ‘she’ll be alright’ is one of my favourites.
And you will be. You’ll be alright.
Remember, everything is a process and the steps involved to make a move to New Zealand possible are simple enough — frustrating and time-consuming at times it’s true, but still, pretty simple in the grand scheme of things.
In this podcast episode, we talk about everything you need to know (and what to expect) when preparing for your move to New Zealand.
New Zealand is beyond stunning. The scenery is one of the major draws to people wanting to make that move down under.
5 Crucial Steps To Make Moving To New Zealand Easier
Talk over with your family why you have chosen to move to New Zealand. Share videos, blog posts, photographs etc. This will put everyone in your family (even the most reluctant members) on the same page. Having a clear plan and common goals mean that you are on this journey together.
Before you can apply to move to New Zealand you must lodge an expression of interest. To do this you must first meet the criteria of having a minimum of 100 points. This isn’t quite as hard as it first appears; check out this website where the whole point system is explained perfectly.
Decide which New Zealand visa suits you best. This may be a two-year work visa, a New Zealand holiday visa, or a permanent resident visa (this is the one that we applied for).
My husband’s trade was on the New Zealand long term shortage list and he obtained a job offer before we moved to New Zealand).
Check to see if your profession is on the long term/regional skill-shortage list here.
Start the process of getting all of the necessary documents certified. This takes longer than you think.
Apply for your police checks, book your medicals, speak to all (if any) relevant qualification boards that need to verify your native qualifications and whatever you do, make sure that your passports have a long sell-by date.
Think (seriously – don’t make the mistake that we made when we moved to New Zealand) about what you will do with your house and any money that you accumulate from the sale/rent of that property.
We left our money in the UK hoping that the rate would improve (which it didn’t) and as such, the rose-tinted vision of living the dream in New Zealand was quite different in reality to what we had initially imagined.
This is what our house looked like for weeks. Brian spent every weekend scrubbing the furniture and quad bike that we were shipping over to New Zealand so that they would all pass through biosecurity!
New Zealand Websites For Jobs and Houses
Careers.govt.nz is an excellent place to find lots of websites in New Zealand that advertise jobs.
Trademe. is like the Craig list of New Zealand. Here you will find everything from jobs and houses to buy and rent as well as a pair of second-hand converse and a labrador puppy should that be your wish.
Trademe has recently been taken over by a British company and the experience is nowhere near as good as it used to be – still, if you can ignore the annoying ads you will eventually find what it is you are looking for be that a job or a house.
Realestate.com is a good place to look for New Zealand property. You might want to check out our very popular podcast on the cost of living in New Zealand which gives you some insight into house prices.
Don’t overlook the boards in supermarkets that advertise rooms and houses.
Do You LOVE New Zealand? Sign up below and I will send you my FREE Moving to and Living in New Zealand Guide. A 5 Part Video Series!
Housesitting in New Zealand
Housesitting is a fabulous accommodation option in New Zealand (or anywhere in the world! We saved ourselves $$$ by housesitting around the world)
Quite often housesits come up that require people long term (usually for the winter while homeowners visit family overseas).
If you have been following me for a while, then you will know that I have just returned from six months in Europe and Asia. While we were there, we did a lot of housesitting. We are constantly asked how we did this and if we can share the website that we used. So here it is:
The initial ‘looking part’ is free. You can oggle all of the beautiful houses around New Zealand that are waiting for YOU to look after them. Take a sneak peek here! (As I say, looking is completely free, so gander to your heart’s content).
Then, if you are serious about using Housesitting as a tool to travel the world for free (as we do), you can use my exclusive discount code to save yourself 20% by Clicking here.
Still not sure about paying for a Housesitting membership? Remember that the cost of a yearly membership (approx $80 using the discount code above) will be paid back (and more) on the first housesitting night in New Zealand. It really is that simple!
Now. Go and listen to our podcast on moving to New Zealand!
Are you ready to move to New Zealand?
Next, you could read…
What you’ll miss when you move to New Zealand. Sorry, but you need to know…
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We’d love to know what you think about this week’s show and if there is anything you would like to know further so that we can include it in our question time next week.
Remember, if you enjoyed this podcast please email us to let us know, that way we can do more of the same and help you in any way that we can. (If not, Brian will have to go back to his desk in the corner!) If there is anything you would like to know, anything at all, please leave me a message in the comments, email me or find me on social media!
