Hi, lovely Slackers! This is the resource page from the Slack group.

Within this post, you will see common questions that have been asked in your moving to New Zealand community, along with the most helpful resources and answers to those questions.

Thank you to each and every one of you that provide this information, without you we wouldn’t have this page.

We add to this post as we go along.

Hopefully, you will find everything that you need here. You can use the Contents finder to quickly find the #topic that you need.

Reach out to me if you need any more info!

Have you ever thought about starting a new life in New Zealand?

# Buying or Renting a Property

Information from Brian about what to look out for when renting or buying a property in New Zealand. 

  Location:

1. CHECK OUT THE LOCATION, DO SOME HOMEWORK
2. It is important, especially with regards to neighbours, work, schools, roads (busy/noisy roads), noisy workshops, etc..
3. It’s always good to go around to where the house is in the evenings and weekends to check out the neighbourhood.
4. Don’t forget that a north-facing wall will get the sun all day when you live down under

Water:

1. ASK ABOUT THE WATER
2. Is the water from a reticulated supply (city water/mains water),
3. Bore water or Rainwater system. If from bore or rainwater then what filtration or UV sterilization does it have?
4. What is the water pressure like when running showers and taps
5. How is the water heated? Gas (normally a continuous flow or mains pressure gas cylinder), Electric (low pressure or mains pressure cylinder, the most expensive way to heat water), Hot water heat pump (normally mains pressure, these do out preform solar throughout the year), Solar (low pressure or mains pressure cylinder with electric backup), wood burner wetback  (normally low pressure cylinder with electric back up for summer) etc..
6. Is the hot water mains pressure or low pressure as this makes a huge difference to the shower!! Low pressure can be a dribble.
7. What is the condition of the cylinder regarding pipe & cylinder thermal lagging/insulation, and some old cylinders have poor thermal insulation?

Drains:

• ASK ABOUT THE DRAINS

• Is the property on reticulated drains (city sewer system/main drains).

• Is the property on a septic tank? If so, when was it last emptied/serviced and if fitted, the filter cleaned out?? This is important, and does the system work, or have any problems? Where is the septic tank located, and where is the effluent bed located??

• Is the property on a Tiger worm eco tank? If so, when was it last serviced? This is important and does the system work, or had any problems? Where is the tiger worm tank located, and where is the effluent field drip line??

• Is the property on an Aerated eco tank if so when was it last serviced or emptied?? This is important, and does the system work, or have any problems? Where is the tiger worm tank located, and where is the effluent field drip line?

Plumbing:

• ASK ABOUT THE PLUMBING

• What type of pipes are in the plumbing system

• Copper, this is sometime the best, but can fail on rainwater due to higher acidity levels.

• Plastic, if so what type ((Avoid a house if it is plumbed with DUX Quest, this is a black pipe from the 1980’s and now fails all the time) Kembla, Buteline, John Guest, Secura-Gold, K1 and Refeng are all OK .

• Steel

• A mix

  Electrical:

• ASK ABOUT THE ELECTRICS

• How old is the wiring system?

• Does it have Fuses? Older properties have rewireable fuses or silver wire cartridge fuses and if this is the case, it normally is an older property that will need a new modern day fuse board and probably a rewire of the house.

• Does it have breakers? This is the newer style of system and normally will come with RCD breakers (earth ground fault trip) for better safety.

• Are there enough power outlets in all rooms, and especially the kitchen, etc?

• Are the room lights adequate?

Internet/Phone/Mobiles:

• ASK ABOUT COMMS
• Does the property have access to high speed internet Fibre or Good Rural Wireless Broadband?
• Does it have a landline only?
• What is the Mobile/Cell Phone signal and 3G/4G/G signal like??

  Insulation:

1. ASK ABOUT THE INSULATION
2. Lots of older style homes built more than 15 years ago tend to have poor insulation or none at all!
3. All rental properties have to have good insulation or it is illegal to rent your property without the correct insulation in the walls, roof and if the house is on piles (raised of the ground) then it has to have underfloor insulation too.
4. Check to make sure that the house has good insulation as above and that the house has good draught proofing for the doors and windows

Heating:

1. ASK ABOUT THE HEATING
2. Most Kiwi houses ( most rentals)only heat the living areas with a wood burner, a gas fire or a Heat Pump (heat pumps are the most eco these days).
3. Bedrooms and bathrooms tend not to have heating so this has to be taken into consideration, bedrooms are normally heated with plugin electric heaters and heated towel rails and heat lamps for bathrooms.
4. You may see central heating in some houses, but not often.
5. All types of heating systems are available in NZ from: Central warm air and AC to radiators and underfloor heating, the price is what puts most kiwis off fitting these systems. Prices start for a full system around $15,000 to $40,000 depending on what you want.

  Cladding or External Walls  

1. ASK ABOUT WHAT THE EXTERNAL WALL ARE MADE OF
2. These can be Wood Weatherboard, Cement based Weatherboard, Cedar Cladding, Cement based Hardy Board, Brick veneer (these houses look like they are made from brick, but the brick is not the structural part it is the timbre frame of the house that is), or iron cladding (corrugated iron/metal cladding).
3. Check these are in good order, well painted etc.. without cracks or rot or rust.

  Windows

1. ASK ABOUT THE WINDOWS
2. Lots of older style homes built more than 15 years ago tend to have only single glassed windows as the building code did not call for this.
3. Even the double glassed windows fitted today are still not great in regards to the type of glass used and the size of the gap between the panes of glass, plus the aluminum frames are not thermally broken so they will get condensation on them when it is cold outside.

Roof

1. ASK ABOUT THE ROOF
2. Kiwi houses tend to have long run iron (metal) roofs
3. The lifespan of a modern day iron roof is about 30 years

  Spouting/Gutters

1. ASK ABOUT THE SPOUTING (this is what the kiwis call gutters)
2. They are normally made of plastic and do become brittle on the older houses due to the intense UV in NZ

  Parking

1. ASK ABOUT PARKING
2. How many cars will you have?
3. Is it on street parking or do you have a driveway big enough to park 2 cars without shuffling them around etc…
4. Is the garage big enough etc..

Renting a Property in Auckland – Nicki’s story

1. Takapuna – busiest (traffic and people), loads of shops and eateries, obviously pretty upmarket. Takapuna Beach (and play area) is gorgeous.

And From Maile who is in the process of Buying a house in Dunedin:

1. Negotiation – make an offer when you want, can be conditional, realtor will let other interested parties know an offer has been made and to submit your offer within 48 hours or so
2. Tender – all offers are due on a certain day and placed anonymously in envelopes, the seller reads all offers and chooses one. Can be conditional or unconditional.
3. Auction – on a certain day buyers bid on the house, is unconditional.

And some tips from Andrew who is renting in Hamilton…

For those that are interested, here is the little introduction/family 1-page PDF  we used when applying for rentals (even if it said “no pets”). We also had a few references letters from our realtor/neighbor and landlord while we waited for the move.

Tenant Letter – The Frye Family

And from Allison…

Another place to look for rentals worth mentioning is Realestate.co.nz 

It’s all agent listings but the homes tend to be a little nicer as they are managed by an agent. There is usually more photos on the listings as well.

You could always put together your letters and photos like have been mentioned and submit them.

You never know what a homeowner may decide when the agent puts you forward if you have really great references.

Like if it says no pets but you are the best applicant by a mile but have a pet. They may make an exception especially if you have references for your pet or offer a pet deposit. Just a few tips that have helped us in the past.

#And from Dan Keahey, Advice on Buying a house 

Relationships Timeline Document 

Q: Is there a recommended format to use for the relationship timeline document needed for immigration?

Cariie said: This is the one we got from NZ Shores:

Example – Joint Relationship Letter

#Moving Your Phone Number to Google Voice 

#Changing the country on Facebook Marketplace!

#Job Hunting

Thank you Ben for this fabulous advice on finding a job in New Zealand! 

Exciting news everyone! After many applications submitted since I’ve been in Auckland, I finally received a job offer!

I had two interviews with Downer for a Digital PM role and they verbally gave me an offer last week, and I received the written offer today!It’s true it only takes one interview! Here is some key advice I can provide to anyone looking for a similar role for ICT Project Management:

1) Speak to and meet with lots of recruiters. Recruiting here is WAY different than in the USA. It is a partnership between you and the recruiter and they want to place you in the best role possible.
2) Network in person, frequently. I was invited to a seminar by a recruiter and I was able to make a lot of excellent first impressions. The following site is a great resource for in-person professional meet ups: https://www.meetup.com/find/nz–auckland/

3) Tailor your CV to match job descriptions and reach out to the poster if they provide contact information. To get ahead in this market a personal touch will go a long way.

4) Join LinkedIn Premium. This will help you contact job posters, even if the role was on Seek. LinkedIn is huge here in NZ, everyone is on it. Premium also provides a lot of good insight to how you stand up to other talent (if the job was listed on LinkedIn)

5) This is the most important step. BE DILIGENT! Advocate for yourself, apply to jobs every day, try to meet with recruiters in person for coffee so you can let them see your social skills and how you carry yourself.

Do NOT give up!I applied to over 40 positions over 7 weeks. It only takes one interview to land a job!

Feel free to contact me for any specific questions or advice. I’m here to help!

Writing Your CV for Job Hunting

Check this out from Steve!

Hi. I provided a job agency with the following document when I lived in Canada, and they kindly reformatted my resume into an NZ CV.
I hope this helps!

otago281401 (1)

#Tips for Migrating from the USA

From Jamie:

Hello! I’ve added  our tips for migrating. I hope y’all find this helpful.

Here are some tips we got from this community that worked well: 

• Visa Process: We came on a student visa and used NZ Shores – we worked with Charlotte Stockman. Their services were free to us because the school paid for them! The husband qualified for a work visa and kids can go to school. I consider myself a good project manager, but I don’t know how people do it without an advisor!

• Project Management/Staying Organized: I used Trello to track all my tasks and notes/to-dos.

• Banking: we set up our BNZ bank account in the States and then popped into a branch to activate it. Our AIRBNB host allowed us to use the address as a temporary address – our bank mailed our cards to our AIRBNB, which took about 5 days. We used our credit card in the interim.

• Moving Money: we used Wise to move money.

• Luggage: we purchased these from Amazon for our checked luggage – worked amazingly well: Amazon.com: VENO 6 Pack Moving Bags w/Backpack Straps, Heavy Duty, Moving Boxes Alternative, Packing Supplies, Large Storage Totes for Dorm Room Essentials with Zipper for Clothes (Blue, 6 Pack) : Home & Kitchen. We doubled up on them to make them extra sturdy – way cheaper and more practical than buying 8-10 pieces of large luggage.

Auckland Hotel: Jet Park – nice little hotel with regular airport shuttle. Since we arrived at 6 am, we booked the night prior so we could check in early. Shuttle is huge, so they can accommodate a large amount of luggage. Restaurant and café on site. We stayed 2 nights before picking up our car rental. On checkout day, they put all our luggage in storage for us and we took the shuttle back to the airport to pick up our rental vehicle. We then drove back to the hotel to load up our junk and head to Tauranga. I highly recommend spending at least one night in a hotel before attempting to drive, especially if driving on the left is new for you. We also took the opportunity to grab an uber and explore the CBD, whilst staying in Auckland.

Recommend: Take an uber to Kawau Kitchen – wonderful food and coffee, then walk to the Outdoor Gallery – lovely park with cool sculptures.

Pet Import: We used Jet Pets to import our little dog, Bunny

Jet Pets doesn’t have a great web presence, but they are legit. We dropped Bunny off in LA near the airport. We worked with Sandy, and they were the least expensive option we found and were recommended by another community member:

Sandy Sivert

Jet Pets

9111 Falmouth Ave.

Playa del Rey, CA 90293

PH: 310.823.8901×102

Note: I will say that we had to triple-check everything – our FDA vet would sometimes have different thoughts than Sandy on the NZ requirements.

I highly recommend reviewing the NZ requirements closely and getting your vet and Jet Pets on the same page. Also, the timeline for exams and vaccinations is critical and takes longer than you think. The pet import was honestly the most stressful part of the move!

We used Qualified Pet Services for Quarantine – they’ve been sending updates with pictures every few days, which is lovely.

• Rentals:
  • Our AIRBNB host offered to be a reference for us.
  • Tenant Cover Letter: we wrote a cover letter introducing our family with pics – I used Canva to make it pretty.
  • Trade Me: We used Trade Me to find a property. We set up multiple viewings every day. I created a spreadsheet to track viewings, notes, etc.
  •  
  • Tenant Profile: It’s a good idea to create your tenant profile ahead of time. I found this portal was most often used by landlords: Home – Tenant Portal – this way, you can apply with a couple clicks if you like one of the properties.
  • Viewing Properties: Looking at properties is different here! There are typically a lot of people viewing at once.
  • Talk to the agent hosting the viewing! If you are interested in the property, talk to the agent hosting the viewing. Be super friendly. Ask them questions. They are typically very helpful. Also, they are screening applicants for the landlord. If you’re a jerk (we know you won’t be!), your application will be binned. You can also ask them if they know of other properties that would be a good fit for your family.

• Buying a vehicle: we used Turner’s and couldn’t be happier. They are straight forward, no high-pressure selling. Very helpful. The EASIEST vehicle purchase ever. Hardly any paperwork. They register the vehicle for you before you leave and add insurance. We went with third-party only.

• S. Mail: We use Traveling Mailbox. You can see the mail you have and choose to have it shredded or scanned so you can view it. They can directly deposit any checks to your bank account. $15 per month. We plan to use it for 6-12 months until our mail winds down and then have parents or good friends take the odd tax notice.

• Cell Phones: We purchased SIM cards from OneNZ ahead of time and popped them in once we landed. We then went to a OneNZ branch (in all the malls here in Tauranga) and converted to monthly plans. Used Google Voice to keep my U.S. cell number for texts. I messed it up, so can’t make voice calls, but I can text and receive VMs. Follow the instructions in the community closely, unlike me!

• Shipping: We haven’t received our items yet – scheduled to arrive in August, but we used Blue Horizon Shipping. We sold and donated the vast majority of our things and only shipped items that we didn’t need right away or were precious/sentimental.

#PETS

 Q: Those of you who have brought along pets, do you have any recommendations on companies? I’m a little overwhelmed, and wondering which dog wants to stay home with my sister…  

A: (Greg Connoly) We’re in the US and are planning to use Jet Pets.  They seem to have a lot of NZ experience and appear to be lower cost.  Starwood Animal Transport is another option. I suggest just emailing both for quotes and utilizing them for any questions you have. 

A: (Sherry) We used Starwood Pets and they were fine.

Pets have a more stringent timeline than us humans, so if you are planning your move within 9 months, I recommend getting started right away! Our (USDA certified) vet told us that bringing pets to AU & NZ, in particular, is so complicated that she recommends people who try to do this on their own just get a new pet!  A: (Pricilla)

We are going to go with Starwood Pets for the simple fact that they were the only company we got quotes from that had bernedoodles listed as a breed. And really, because all the quotes were relatively the same.   

#TAX in New Zealand

Q: Did people get taxed on money you transferred into the country? A: (Victoria) Ian transfers his salary every month from the UK and no we don’t, but there is a reciprocal tax agreement with the UK, so you only get taxed 1x. A: (Randy) We are the same as Victoria I believe, unless it is different in the states.

You only pay tax to the country where you earn the money. I only pay Canadian tax on my pension money in Canada because of the tax treaty.

A: (Ryan) I did not. We cashed out our 401ks in the US and brought the money here. We did not get taxed by NZ since we didn’t earn the money here. I’m sure if you worked outside NZ and earned money here, you should still get taxed.  

Paying US Taxes in New Zealand

William asked: Q: Hey everyone. For those of you who emigrated from the states, have you experienced having to pay double taxes for both living in NZ 

Ryan answered: A: The standard deduction for people overseas is around 230k USD a year. It isn’t a problem overall, at least not for me. It is annoying to have to file as most other countries don’t require you to file when you don’t even live there.

If you renounce citizenship it would be for other reasons as it does cost about 2500 USD to renounce.

Since you know, America wants to charge you for leaving ‘the greatest country on the planet’. :~)

If you earn over a certain amount they will tax you. Basically the government gives you a larger ‘standard deduction’.

Most people it doesn’t matter as they won’t make that much but it can be taxed by the US. If you go back to the US and haven’t filed you are really likely to get audited.

US Tax Follow Up: This morning my mind drifted and it occurred to me that I should mention the difference in how they calculate taxes.

In the US you are taxed based on a certain income and your rate is calculated accordingly. In NZ it is a progressive tax.

So the rate changes as your income increases but it only increases on the additional income in that bracket. So for example, the first 14k you earn is taxed at 10.5%. 14-48k is taxed at 17.5%. So if you earn 16k, the first 14 is 10.5 and 2k would be taxed at 17.5.

This progresses up as you earn more. If you make 50k, the first 14 is at 10.5%, up to 48 is taxed at 17.5 and the last 2k is taxed at 30%.

Just wanted to make sure to put that out there: https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/paye-tax-rates.html#:~:text=There%20are%20five%20PAYE%20tax,on%20your%20total%20taxable%20income.IRD: https://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax/income-tax-for-individuals/tax-codes-and-tax-rates-for-individuals/tax-rates-for-individuals  

#Moving to Auckland from the USA 

8 months on from Ben….

Mishap at the beach: On our third day in NZ, we were at Mairangi Bay, and Keyra stepped on something sharp in the sand. It hurt her really badly, I was able to see something in her skin and pulled it out.

She ended up needing to go to Urgent Care two days later because the spot was painful and itchy, she ended up with an infection caused by a sea urchin barb!

Keyra is determined to make sure to wear beach shoes from now on, as she does not want to relive this experience!

Securing a rental: We heard a lot about how hard it is to secure a rental, i.e. there will be tons of people going to showings all needing a place to stay.

We initially found a lovely property in Browns Bay and the owner was fantastic. The owner mentioned a granny flat was at the bottom of the property, and her son (early 20s) would be staying there. We had some reservations about this as we have a young daughter.

Anyway, we continued looking at other properties and the second one we saw was a lovely apartment in Takapuna. We knew nothing of Takapuna but the apartment was nice and we submitted our application. There were probably 10 other people viewing the apartment during the 30 minute showing, but ours was accepted the next day!

My takeaway from this experience is – there is very real competition for properties up to a point. If you can afford ~$900+ per week rent, you won’t have nearly as hard of a time securing a rental.

Car Purchases: We bought our first car (the primary driver) from a smaller dealership. I’ve always liked to support small business, and I understand how hard it is to compete against the huge dealerships who have hundreds and hundreds of cars.

I am very happy with our purchase, but we bought our second car (Keyra’s commuter) from North Shore Toyota. The Toyota dealership was absolutely fantastic and they provide the best warranties available.

Toyota Certified vehicles have 1 year warranty, 1 year AA Roadside, 1 year free WOF check, and a 5 year Hybrid Battery Warranty.  The smaller dealership provided 1 year roadside, but that was the extent.

I can only speak to North Shore Toyota, but I was astounded with their customer service, attention to detail, and ease of buying a car!

Winter in Auckland: We are from the Mid West in the States and are used to bitterly cold winters and horribly hot summers.

We were very excited for a temperate winter! The weather honestly wasn’t bad at all, we only used the portable space heater in the living room one or two times, our apartment has fantastic insulation and really kept the heat in.

Our issue was Keyra had a persistent cough, runny nose, and head congestion for weeks! I felt fine, our daughter felt fine, we were hoping Keyra would bounce back after a few days but that never happened. After some diligent searching, I found the issue.

There was mould absolutely everywhere in all of the windows! Our Property Manager never mentioned cracking windows everyday to let moisture out, or the importance of dehumidifiers to counteract the accumulation of moisture while we sleep.

I sent pictures to the Property Manager straight away and they basically put the onus on us; I read up on healthy homes and thought they would be obligated to come out and take samples of the mould and do testing. This is not something they offered and we didn’t want to push it.

I bought a mould killer from Bunnings and spent 4 hours cleaning every window in the house. We have had no issues since! We open the windows each morning and leave them open until we come home from work. Dehumidifiers have not been necessary during the summer months at all. Keyra bounced back after we killed all of the mould, she was sick for 3 weeks and this was an incredibly trying time for us.

The job search:

We came over STR on Keyra’s job offer (Registered Nurse), and all of my interactions with recruiters while still in America painted the picture that securing a job would be easy for me since I am on the Green List Tier 1.

After about 3 weeks here I decided to start applying for work. I was on Seek everyday, updated my CV to reflect I now live in Auckland and have a NZ number, and tried to call any job poster I could to make that personal touch. I went to a couple of seminars, made some really good friends who are recruiters, and it sounded to me like NZ was in a recession and jobs were scarce.

The government surely made all of this worse by cutting thousands of jobs, but I will try to keep this bit apolitical. I stayed determined, applied to multiple jobs everyday, called and spoke to recruiters any chance I had, and kept the mindset that “If I get an interview I’ll get the job offer! I know my stuff.

” I received a call back randomly on a job I applied to but didn’t really think I would be a perfect fit for. The recruiter was impressed with my knowledge and experience, and said he’d like to submit me to the company!

I had two rounds of interviews and was ultimately offered the job (which I am still currently at). It only takes one interview to make things happen! If you’re in a slump just keep applying!

Unexpected struggles:

I will say we prepared for this move as much as humanly possible. I don’t think there was anything extra we could have done from that perspective.

Our daughter was nearly 4 1/2 when we moved here, and we really did this all for her. We wanted to provide a better, safer childhood away from chemicals in food and guns in schools.

Our daughter had an incredibly difficult first two months adjusting to being away from friends and family. If she were to just take it all out on me I would have been fine, but she was very cruel to Keyra, and it was absolutely heart breaking to witness.

It was a very tough couple of months, but our daughter is now thriving and back to her sweet self! I wanted to share this bit as it was something we didn’t anticipate, but it was very challenging.

The work culture:

I can only speak to how things were in America, I’ve never worked abroad. In America, the Company is King. Everyone is consumed with work, and the first question after an introduction to someone new is “What do you do for a living?” This is how we were all raised.

Hard work, few vacations, planning vacations around work cycles, trying to climb the corporate ladder for career progression, you all know how it is! In New Zealand, there is a huge emphasis on breaks, vacations, and relationships. People really love their “tea time” here.

The work hours are typically 8 hours, including your 1 hour lunch; back home it would be 9 hours because your lunch was not paid.

I will say in my ~6 months working here, I love this culture! Even leadership has a more relaxed view on things. It is incredible to know my healthcare is not tied to employment, workers have tons of rights here, and holidays must be taken!

I’ve made several good friends at my company, but Keyra’s company really takes the cake. Her work family is amazing!

Everyone has been incredibly kind to us, and we spend quite a bit of time with her work friends outside of work. They have all really made us feel welcome!

Auckland’s Diversity

Keyra and I grew up in a small town outside of a big city in the Mid West. There was no ethnic diversity, you had white people and black people, and maybe a few Mexican families that owned the Mexican restaurants in the area.

When we first moved to St. Louis we were amazed at the cultural diversity compared to our small town. St. Louis has nothing on Auckland!

I am blown away by the amount of diversity here. I get really strong Ellis Island vibes; Auckland is like the Ellis Island of the 21st century!

At any given time in public you’ll hear multiple languages being spoken, and we love that. We want our daughter to grow up being respectful of others’ heritage and culture, and in my opinion there is no better place do that than Auckland!

#Differences from the USA

Carly and Dave answered:

We only had a 2.5 hour layover in Auckland so we missed our domestic flight to New Plymouth since you have to collect your bags and go through customs. If we had been in the “nothing to declare” line, we would have EASILY made it, but the line for people with items to declare took forever.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite seem reasonable not to declare anything (especially because we were bringing a ton of camping gear— much cheaper to bring in suitcases than to repurchase in NZ). But if there’s any chance you could get away with not declaring anything, it will save you a huge headache.

We declared a ton but nothing was unpacked. I got interrogated by the x-ray lady about our hiking boots but I ensured her they were declared and cleaned and she finally let me move on.

We did wrap clothing around breakables and everything survived!

We made an extremely detailed spreadsheet of every single item that was in each of our bags. This proved useful countless times in our journey. We could access the spreadsheet on our phones but also printed out a paper copy. Then if there were surprise items they wanted to look at or move to our carryons (this happened with our theragun and AED battery getting moved to our carryons), it was super easy to find which bag they were in. I ordered large silicone suitcase tags with numbers on them to help identify bags quicker.

Looking back, we would definitely pack everything we had to declare (hiking gear, swimsuits, rain boots, etc) in ONE bag. Instead things were kind of scattered around.

One of our duffel zippers broke on our first flight from SFO to SLC.

We didn’t lose anything, but my husband had packed a multi tool and was able to fix the zipper before rechecking the bag for our next flight. Might be worth packing an extra duffel bag too just in case something happens to one of your bags.

Another thing we were glad we packed was a roll of twine. We brought it just in case we needed to tighten up our floppy duffel bags into a more compact shape. But we instead ended up using it to tie some bags to the roof of our rental car when we arrived so we could all fit in one car. That was great and we were so glad to have the twine.

NZ does not consider US car seats legal, so we brought one travel car seat for our 22-month-old (for the plane) but just brought car seat vests (Ride Safer) for our 4 & 6 year old and bought car seats for everyone when we arrived. That significantly lightened our airport load!

We required 3 adults (my mom flew to NZ with us— game changer!) to push a luggage cart each in order to get all our stuff through the airport.

I’m not sure how old your kids are but hopefully you have some that can help push carts! Ours couldn’t help push carts and it was challenging to fit everything onto just 3 carts— we had 6 suitcases, 8 duffels, 2 double strollers in bags, 3 carryon-sized bags, and 4 backpacks. I toppled my luggage cart twice just weaving through the queue because of how tight the turns were!

it was hard for us to find suitcases that fit ANZ’s size requirements and were lightweight, but we ended up going with some from Samsonite.

Duffels were cheaper, lighter and we already had a bunch. But we did have to pack fragile items in those bags more carefully. But nothing broke!

Another option is to get suitcase straps and pull a bunch of suitcases at once. We found it pretty difficult m to push a cart and pull suitcases at the same time (because the carts have that mechanism where you have to squeeze the handle in order for it to move forward— also hard for little hands).

So we had luggage straps but didn’t use them for pulling bags. We DID use them to strap duffels to the cart better so they wouldn’t fall off! So we were actually very glad to have some basic luggage straps with us. I think we used about 4-6 at various times.

Everyone told me Amazon doesn’t have the same selection in NZ so I stocked up on specific favorite toothpaste, shampoo, and vitamins and packed those.

But now that we’re here I realized most things on Amazon US will still ship to NZ, it just takes longer. So I didn’t have to stock up on those items.

We are glad we brought our strollers because you can check them for free, but they were quite a hassle.

We used vacuum seal bags full of clothes to line the edges of some of our duffels and provide an extra layer of protection for the items inside.

We also put an AirTag in every bag which brought great peace of mind each time I was sitting on the plane tarmac and could see that all our bags were on the plane with me. Also if a bag is lost, you can share the AirTag info with the airport to help them find it faster.

For traveling with kids, ANZ’s SkyCouch was a game changer. It was expensive but felt worth it in the end. We arrived in NZ having had a pretty great night’s sleep, all things considered. That made a huge difference for us.

I spent the 3 months before leaving selling things on FB Marketplace and donating to friends/Goodwill.

FB was a ton of work but I was surprised how much we were able to make in the end. It went a long way for helping fund our flights. Most of it was stuff we wouldn’t need to repurchase in NZ since our rental here is furnished.

We did sell our guitars and piano and repurchase in NZ, but because of the great conversion rate right now, it ended up working out financially. But we are just casual players so didn’t need anything super expensive. I kept track of everything I sold in a spreadsheet to give me a little dopamine hit each time, and to keep track of how much we were making. 

It helped keep me motivated to keep listing stuff.

Oh vacuum seal bags also helped shrink down some kids stuff (they each got to bring a couple stuffed animals and the shrink bags helped keep those compact).

#Using an Immigration Advisor

Q: I am wondering what your experiences are with immigration services?

I have a friend who went from the US to NZ who warned me off of immigration service. She said that it puts you at their mercy, takes long, and that when you name them as an agent you lose the ability to check on things and ask or answer questions of the gov’t.

But… I have been working on our plan since December and I am not sure I have juggled all the things so well.

Everything is timing! I prioritised working on my partner getting licensed with the NZ Psych Board. and I think I may have cost us needed time for the resident visa.

And we are still procuring documents for the licensure app. Yikes. Plus we have to purge a big messy life of four and sell our house.

So I think help may be the wise course of action.My questions would be: Was it useful for you?

Was it expensive/what did it cost? Was it comprehensive? I am hoping for someone who can dig in to our particulars to see if we have a shot/what is our best shot at the permanent residence visa.

A: (Katie) It sounds like you might benefit from someone…we did it all ourselves, but that was the thick of covid and only one way to get in.

My HR person helped with visa stuff. Now, it’s a bit murky and with everything else, it might be helpful for you. If your spouse is in psych I suspect you have a good shot at permanent residency!!

Mental health is massive here. It’s also so much easier once he is registered.

FBI Background Check Info:

 Nancy gave us this extremely valuable information:

Hi. I just wanted to give an update on getting an FBI background check from New Zealand.

Let’s start with the good news first. I got the FBI background check today!! However, it was a drama with DHL.

I used DHL to send the fingerprints card to the FBI in Clarksburg, WV, it was 100 NZD for a standard shipping and it took 8 days. However, when I tracked my shipment on the DHL website, it showed that it was delivered to Pittsburgh, PA, not Clarksburg, WV.

I called DHL here in New Zealand, and they had no idea what happened they said that they will start an investigation to see where my fingerprints document is and try to retrieve it and send it to the correct address.

To make things worse, when I checked my application on the FBI website, it was shown that it is incomplete because my fingerprint card is missing. To say that this has given me a large dose of anxiety is an understatement.

If you are not familiar with the FBI fingerprints paper card, it has your name, DOB, SSN, place of birth, height, weight, eye color, hair color and an added bonus your fingerprints!!!

Anyway, a day later, DHL said that the fingerprint card was indeed delivered to Clarksburg, WV, as intended, and the reason why the website is showing Pittsburgh, PA as the delivery place is because Clarksburg is less than 2 hours away from Pittsburgh!!!!

I have not heard of such a thing before. I have used FedEx to send documents from the US to overseas and their website will always show the exact address your document/shipment was delivered, not an approximate place.

I then called the FBI and they said that background check application on their website does not get updated until they process your fingerprints and they link the result of the background check to your application.

Again, I am sorry for the long message, I just hope that this will help anyone if they need to get and FBI background check while they are in NZ and also reduce any anxiety that this process might give anyone. I am adding the fingerprint card for the FBI background check and the NZ fingerprinting services website to schedule a time to get your fingerprints.

The NZ fingerprinting services isn’t the only place for fingerprinting but it is what I used as they had locations near me. https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/fd-1164-identity-history-summary-request-110120.pdf/view https://www.nzfingerprintingservice.co.nz/

One last thing, you need to apply on the FBI website the same way you did when you were in the US and pay the 18 USD and they will send you a confirmation email with your order number and info.

You will need to include this email with your fingerprints and mail them to the FBI.

#Cost of Living in New Zealand

From Allison (with a super, SUPER handy spreadsheet which she kindly shared!)

Here is the PDF Spreadsheet.

Q: Would anyone mind sharing what they think is a livable income for a family of 4 in some of the bigger cities and smaller ones? Katie answered:

A: There’s TONS of free stuff to do here. Trade Me will give you a good cost of housing wherever you plan to go. We, as a family of 4 (kids 5 & 6, so no diapers etc), spend $400-500/week on groceries. Less if I really plan our meals well.

You can spend a lot eating out (our Thai meal last night was $83, but we also eat a lot. For one dish it’s about $18). Coffees are roughly $4.50-$5, but they’re good coffees, not Starbucks drip.

Other items are expensive, but you can find lots of things second-hand, and of good quality.  

Q: How much are utilities and things?  A: (Ryan) Having just completed my taxes (for some reason, I have to send my utilities information): My energy bill averaged about 225 a month, water (this house isn’t on tank water) was about 85, Internet/phone about 165.

I’m sure it varies from place to place depending on area/windows/weather and such but that can tell you what my last 12 months averaged per month. Q: How about trash and sewage? Thanks for sharing! A: (Ryan) Sewage is in with water so nothing else.

Trash is interesting as you can pay monthly for a big bin or up here in Auckland you can buy council bags at the grocery store and they will collect them individually. (Color depending on your area.) So we pay I think about $2 a bag.

Recycling is free and if you compost you don’t spend a lot on rubbish. We use about 1 bad of rubbish per week and every once in a while we’ll have an extra. So I’d say $10 for rubbish per month. (Free Recycling)  

Q: Does anybody that is already in NZ mind sharing a list of what to expect for weekly expenses and an ave for each.  I would really appreciate assistance as we are busy with our budgets etc.  It will only be my husband and myself. Presumed expenses below: Rental Car Water and Electricity Medical Cellphone Refuse Food

A: (Ryan) Rental: Varies, check local area Car: I bought a cheap used car so nothing per month. Petrol costs will depend on how far you drive to work every day. I WFH so I fill up about once every 2-3 weeks Water and Electricity: Water averages $82/month, Electric is about $225/month. Medical: I get the doctor to refill prescriptions so with that and my 3 prescriptions: about $10 a month. Cellphone:

For Cell (2 people) and internet (it is together for me) $170/month Refuse: About $10-15/month (We pay per bag so it depends on how much rubbish we have in a month)

Food: I’m honestly not sure as we use one of those food box services, so it is variable. 

A: (David) At the height of winter, our electric bill only went above $300 for one month.  In the summer time, we’re at about $140/month.  We did also spend money on firewood, about $100/month average gas bottles to heat water, $116/bottle and they last about 2 months.

We spend about $300/week (probably a little more) on food for a family of 4 We don’t pay for water (I think it’s included in the rates paid by the homeowner) Petrol we fill up every few weeks (2-3) and it’s never more than $100NZD for a full tank. 

Medical and Dental have been minimal, I had a dental check-up and cleaning the other day, it was $210.  Nothing else for the next 6-12months   

A: (Katie living in Christchurch) It’s only Keaton and me, but I can certainly share what we are currently spending if it would be helpful.

Once we move into our rental I can get more specifics about utilities. Both phones: $130 per month with Spark.

3 bedroom 2 bath rental house: $525 per week.

Gas: We have a hybrid and I think the last time we filled was about $70. I can’t say that is necessarily weekly as Keat has been working from home.

I’ll try to track what it is once he starts driving every day again.

Groceries: About $150 every week and a half or so- this is skewed a tad as we are buying staple items again and not buying things consistently as we figure out what brands/foods we like here Utilities: the tenant that currently lives in our rental was kind enough to share their expenses. $130 per month in winter and $70 per month in the summer.

They are a family of four and we don’t have to pay for water in Christchurch.   

From Ben in Auckland

 

 

 

 

 

 

#Mexican Food in Auckland

A review by Adam!

The question about Mexican food in Auckland comes up periodically, mostly from Americans who miss it.  So with all the authority I can muster as a former food writer for The Oregonian newspaper (and a Los Angeles resident for 18 years who regularly trawled the traditional, regional Mexican restaurants throughout the immigrant neighbourhoods of Los Angeles), I thought I’d add my 50 cents.

I attended a near comprehensive Auckland taco crawl with a couple of random taco enthusiasts from the internet.  (We only made it a few of the stops, but the rest of the group visited 12 different taquerias located all over the city.)

Top 4 places were as follows (ratings entirely subjective, but came from a mashup of opinions from the group):

4 – Tacos El Carnal – 7/10  (Mangere)

3 – El Capo – 8.5/10 (Mt Roskill)

2 – Broke Boy Taco – 9/10 (Mt Albert)

1 – Tokos Tacos – 10/10 (Avondale)

Of the top 4, I tasted only Broke Boy (excellent) and Tacos El Carnal (quite good).  We bailed after the first 5 taquerias or so, so I haven’t yet visited Tokos or El Capo.

The leader of the crawl was begging us to come back out for Tokos, but my little girl was frankly done with tacos for the day.

Broke Boy were excellent, so if he felt Tokos was even better I need to check it out. (His quote: “If this place opened in Austin, Texas, they would easily compete with the best of the best.”)

One odd thing I’ve noticed is the strange trend of birria showing up on nearly every menu as a taco filling (sometimes as the only filling!), as if carnitas, al pastor and carne asada (and the remaining infinite array of traditional Mexican taco fillings) don’t exist.

 A few places offered a more interesting array of fillings (e.g. Cielito Lindo in Henderson, who has really lovely beef cheek as a filling as well as nopales (canned, sadly- but where are you going to find fresh cactus paddles in Auckland?) and sopes(!!).

And MexiBites out of the Catalina Bay Farmers Market (and other events) has a decent carnitas and some really excellent homemade salsas).Plus, traditionally birria is a sort of goat stew (birria de chivo), a specialty of Jalisco, that families would serve at parties or gatherings served alongside tortillas, not exactly as a taco (though there’s nothing wrong with that, per se). 

Modern day Auckland birria seems to be entirely beef-and-taco driven.  Not a bad thing, just unusual when you’re familiar with the original. 

Imagine if pizza in Auckland were sold as a sandwich, and nobody seems to acknowledge or talk about the strange difference. 

That’s how I feel every time I encounter a beef birria taco.For comparison, this is a really old school restaurant in Los Angeles famous among the Mexican community for its birria. 

Quite different from what you find in Auckland, though it’s interesting that every Auckland taco place selling birria tacos will always give you a little thimble-sized cup of “consomme” with your birria tacos; a homage to its glorious origins.

Contact Lenses!

Q: Are Contact lenses expensive in New Zealand?

A: (Katie) So for those needing glasses/contacts:Did my FREE eye exam with SpecSavers (as an AA member) for contacts AND glasses.

We had really good insurance in the states, but it only covered one of those exams. They did all the same exams they did in the States, but were much more thorough here in explaining things to me.My Rx changed, so I got TWO pairs for the price of one— $299.

I added a $100 protective coating to both (because I’m a clutz, and kids), so the total was $499.

This could’ve been used on a combo of regular lenses and sunnies (any designer frame as well for the lower price!). This meant that two $400+ frames would still be $299 total.

However, Liz told me of a great website “Clearly” where you can get much cheaper frames.

Like WAY cheaper ($85-185), and contacts. Too late for me on the glasses, but will definitely look next time. Plus, they have a section that you can “shop to give” where if you buy a pair, they give a pair.

They also do contacts, but this next website was slightly cheaper…by a few dollars (see below).

Then I ordered contacts on lensesonline.co.nz which was about $60 cheaper than SpecSaver’s prices for two 90-packs of Acuvue Moist w/Astigmatism Daily Lenses.  Free shipping.  That’s $240 savings for the year, if I wear contacts every day.  SpecSavers will do a free re-evaluation of my contact Rx if I choose to go to monthly contacts, which might be more of a savings–I can update later if I do that. 

Here, I get my Rx and then I can enter it on my own into the website to order; in the states they were super intent on doing it all for me–like I couldn’t handle it!

My exam + glasses + contacts WITH insurance would’ve been more expensive in the states, and I would’ve only got 1 pair of glasses.

Here I can get a 90-pack of dailies (which I couldn’t get there, maybe things have changed in the year), so overall I’ll be saving money over the year.

Disclaimer: my contacts are the same in both eyes, so my Rx is a bit different than many. Hope this makes sense and helps out with costing things out.

Some great info from Adam on Public/Health Care

@Jo where are you from? can I assume you’re in New Zealand with access to publicly funded healthcare?  If so, read on.  (If not, none of this applies; in any case, I suggest you fill out your profile with these crucial details so we know how best to help you!)It’s hard to endorse any particular plan, as we’ve just signed up and have no experience with claims.

However we went with Accuro SmartCare+ for Eva and our daughter (she’s on the kid’s plan) as it’s a very generous plan at a reasonable price.

However many pre-existing conditions are excluded, at least temporarily, and some for a lifetime.  For example there’s a five year waiting period before they treat my daughter’s eczema, and they will never treat my diabetes, nor any long term complications. 

The policy for the two of them, with no excess (deductible) is about $2,700/year.  A $500 deductible brings it down to about $2,300.

That’s why I went with Southern Cross Ultracare with Cancer care 300.  It’s way more expensive (about $4,000 a year) but after 3 years pre-existing conditions like my diabetes (and any long term complications arising from it) will be covered.

Both plans cover non-pharmac funded drugs, which can be life changing if you get a serious illness like cancer, or a more obscure disease whose treatments are not part of the funding system.  (Pharmac is the government agency which decides which drugs are paid for my the public health system.

They have a limited pool of funds to decide what drugs to purchase, and philosophically they must spend the money on the drugs that will do the most good for the most people.  That means obscure drugs for rare diseases are unlikely to be funded in NZ. 

It also means that expensive, more effective drugs may not be favored over the older, cheaper, but less effective treatment…

Sometimes the decision is made that the older, less effective drug is “good enough” and that can be frustrating when your life, or the life of a loved one, is on the line.)

My Southern Cross plan covers up to $300,000/year in non-pharmac funded cancer drugs, and

Eva’s plan covers all medically necessary non-pharmac funded drugs, not limited to cancer.  In her plan, the cost of the drugs are deducted from the category in which they were used.

For example if used for major surgery, it will come out of the $500,000/year major surgery limit.

Being a Physician in New Zealand

#Kids

Q: Anyone have a rough estimate for school aftercare per week?

A: (Katie) Ours is not consistent based on my schedule, but I think it’s about $9/hour for our 2 kids (because we’re casual), before and after care. So 8 am to 5.30 pm (school hours are 8.30 open—kids can hang out in classrooms—with 9 am start to 3 pm).  I think it’s cheaper for regular hours.  

Pre-School Kids:

Adam posted this excellent information about kindy in New Zealand:

Q: (Ginger asked) I’m curious about how child care is subsidized in NZ and if/how caregivers are given more compensation and support.

A: (Adam) I asked the teacher I spoke with over the phone how this is funded, and he said it’s partially government funding, partially fundraising and grants, and partially parent donations.  I asked him what the parental contributions were, and he said “about $40/year.

A: (Adam) I visited several of the public kindys as well as one ECE center (Lollipops) and one semi private (Montessori).

The public kindys all have similar curriculum but the vibe can be very different depending on the makeup of the students and the “flow” of the campus.I visited Lollipops by myself and couldn’t wait to get out of there.  It had an unorganized and chaotic feel, was mostly indoors and the outdoor equipment didn’t look very fun.  I had a mild headache when I left.

Montessori, on the other hand, has a beautiful campus with lots of space and large, welcoming classrooms as well as chickens (the public kindergartens have vegetable gardens but not animals).  They also continue beyond kindy into primary school.   

The cost is $60-$120/week, depending on the age of your child, and this fee includes the government subsidy. (The public kindys are free, minus some very small fees and fundraising they may hold  

Schools NZ vs US

Thank you, Katie (and Scott!) US school systems are heavily dependent on the state, even neighbourhood.

In NZ the standards are nationwide. There is not the same focus on testing in NZ as there is in the US.

NZ schools are more laidback, focus on independence, and nurture the whole child.

Schools in NZ seems to be more focused on teaching a love of learning and how to learn than on a child’s ability to recite facts.T hat said, not all NZ schools are the same.

They have very unique feels to them. I used wiki to get a full list of what is in my area. I then went through them one-by-one.

I looked at their websites to see what they chose to highlight about themselves (that says a lot about their value system). I then looked at all their social media pages. I studied the pictures of all the teachers and students to see how much-unfiltered joy I could find in their faces.

I considered demographics (diversity and representation matter for everyone – not just people of color). I check their decile ranking. This is a measure of how much extra funding they receive.

Generally, the poorer the student population the more funding. This isn’t a huge thing for me, but I track it to give me a sense of the community. And lastly I read their ERO reviews (linked below).

I am sure there are others on here who know more than I do about this, and might even correct me if I was wrong about something I posted. I welcome that. This is just what I have cobbled together so far.

Also, I am a big fan of not pushing kids too hard too fast and NZ is far more laidback. You will have to chose to either push them ahead or hold them back because the school systems don’t align perfectly, but I FULLY trust your mama instincts will tell you what to do… and this likely isn’t going to be as big a decision as it feels like now.

FYI, I think NZ tends to be a bit behind in math, so if you are thinking about a move back to the US you might want to have a bit of extra math stuff you do at home. I (and many others) love Teachers Pay Teachers for resources.

I bet there are other homeschoolers here who have other resources too. Long story short, don’t stress! It’s all going to work out no matter what you do.

#Life in New Zealand 

 Q: What are some things that no one tells you about in New Zealand?

A: (  (Dan) Second week of driving on the left side of the road: In the 1st week you concentrate hard every time you drive so you don’t get in the wrong lane.

The 2nd week you start to think “I got this”, but you don’t. You only realize this after finding yourself in the wrong lane or meeting cars head-on in parking lots. By the 3rd week it all begins to make sense and becomes more natural.

Windshield wipers and turn signals: they are on the opposite side of the steering column here and it’s taking me longer than I wish to remember that. No other car around me knows when I’m turning unless they can see my windshield wipers come on.

Still working on this one… Whittaker’s Chocolate: It’s everywhere! It’s an unspoken expectation that you will always have a couple of bars in your refrigerator. Even if you don’t like chocolate it doesn’t matter because they make them in so many combinations of fruit, nuts, or delicious concoctions that you are bound to find one you have to try.

Fortunately, there are lots of hills here so you tend to burn off some of the calories just by taking a daily walk. Bluebird Potato Chips: It’s not the chips that are a problem, but the packaging size. In the US we always had either individual bags or family size bags.

These typically come in a 150g bag. It makes it hard to stop eating because you start feeling full about 3/4 of the way through and you don’t want to leave a 1/4 bag for later. It’s too small to share so you have no choice but it to eat it all in one sitting.

I have no solution for this but I can say the problem is even worse with a glass of wine in one hand.

Those are my top 4 dangerous things about New Zealand so far. 🤣

# Wellington 

A little insight into a superb of Wellington courtesy of Victoria!

Porirua city itself is a little uninspiring and industrial, but there are nice suburbs around it with some beautiful views and beaches. Lots of lovely walks around.

We are in Whitby which has a lot of new build houses, and lots of houses have stunning views over the inlet (not ours, unfortunately).

Near to us, we really love Plimmerton, which is a lovely beach town with a small community vibe. Camborne, Titahi Bay and Pauatahanui are also areas we like.

There are buses into Porirua from most suburbs, and there is also the train, which runs from the Kāpiti coast down to Wellington CBD.

Wellington is only 20-30 minutes away from us by car and Kāpiti is also really quick from Porirua now with the new highway.

For us as a family, it’s a good place to live because there are great schools and nice suburbs.

If it was just me I think I would rather be down in Wellington though where all the fun stuff happens, it is more vibrant!

But it’s certainly not a bad option to get your foot in the door!

It’s not cheaper than Wellington though, you’re just more likely to get a newer, better quality house for your money! Definitely research trademe for housing costs and see if you are willing to pay that much!  

# Te Reo Māori 

Q: With Te Reo used everywhere, how important/difficult is it to learn? A: Te Reo is taught in all schools making it second nature for the children to use the language.

In saying that, you will hardly ever hear an entire conversation being spoken in Māori, (unless you are at a Marae or with a group of Māori friends) it is more a case of hearing the odd words and sayings.

There are schools in NZ where the children are taught only in Maori, these schools are called Kura kaupapa Māori (commonly referred to as Kura) they are state schools and all of the teaching is in te Reo Māori.

I know that @David had some experience of learning Te Reo at work. I’m sure he told us how he learned his pepeha (Pepeha is a way of introducing yourself in Māori. It tells people who you are by sharing your connections with the people and places that are important to you).

I’m not sure of your learning abilities Andrew but speaking for myself I struggle with learning a new language. This is annoying because Te Reo is such a beautiful language but it’s true. It just doesn’t seem to go in. 

But Brian and I do try. 

And I think that is what the emphasise on this answer should be. To try. Even just a little bit, a few words here, pronouncing the names of places as well as you can, making an effort. It will be greatly appreciated by our Māori people. (And if you can do more then you can teach us!)

I have never been reprimanded in NZ for saying something wrong, I have always found the Māori people to be patient, kind and excellent teachers should you ask them how to say something. 

Arielle and Chris also gave these fabulous recommendations: A: One thing that has helped me learn even offshore is both an educational book and doing media immersion.

I have found that I can pick up on a decent thread of conversation (maybe not speak myself but some decent follow along) in a relatively short time that way.

I’d start with this book Māori Made Easy by Scotty Morrison but 100% recommend pairing it with the audio book to follow along so you can hear it spoken! We also watch a few Te Karare videos a week on YouTube.

It’s the Maori language news program and the videos are largely about Aotearoa. Most of the videos are captioned in English.

This works double duty of media immersion and NZ news. If you have littles there’s also Tākoro Tribe videos on YouTube, it’s a cute cartoon.

Some videos are fully in te reo and some the dialogue is in English and the vocab words are in Te Reo. The format is very rigid though so it’s good for kids (since kids love repetition) but will most likely be grating for adults.

For podcasts there is Taringa podcast which jumps between English and te reo but in an approachable way.

There’s a lot of cultural background, info on different iwi and hapu, Maori legends, Maori idioms and phrases, and vocab and how best to use it Also wild card suggestion is that Disney+ in the USA (can’t speak to other regions) has the movie Moana dubbed in Te Reo with option for English subtitles under the extras section.

This could be good for kids or adults. Some of the vocab I learned actually enhanced the story for me!

For instance in English the pounamu green stone that Moana is returning to Te Fiti is called the “heart of Te Fiti” but in te reo it’s called “mauri o te fiti” which I looked up what mauri meant and found this definition: “(noun) life principle, life force, vital essence, special nature, a material symbol of a life principle, source of emotions – the essential quality and vitality of a being or entity.

Also used for a physical object, individual, ecosystem or social group in which this essence is located.” Which is exactly what the item is in the movie! Like it just really enhanced the story for me with this background.  

Nicki suggested: A: Hemi Kelly also runs an Instagram account (@everydaymaori) and is just about to start online courses (I’ve got no personal experience with him, but I enjoy his Insta

videos) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaRGSitrUhN/?utm_medium=share_sheet      

#Packing and Shipping

Thank you to Hana for this post!

Blue Horizon Vs NZ Vanlines

We just got quotes from NZVanlines and Blue Horizon. They were very different and I want to know why.

NZVanlines: The quote was NZ$26,998.00 for a 20 x 8 foot container,  and it includes the following:
-Supply of new packing materials
• Professional packing of all items into cartons
• Professional international standard wrapping of all furniture items
• Protective covers for your couches and mattress
• Labelling and creating an inventory of all items to Customs & Quarantine standards
• Loading and sealing of container, delivery to port
• Sea freight
• Collection of container from port
• Transfer to our facility for unloading & quarantine MPI inspection
• Completion of customs & quarantine clearances
• Delivery to residence up to 1st floor
• Unpacking of cartons to flat surface and unwrapping of furniture items
• Placement and set up of beds in designated rooms
• Removal of packing material on the delivery day for recycling

  Q: I am in the final stages of packing my boxes, I am having them flown with “Send My Bag”. I am asked to declare a value for customs, this number should reflect an estimated resale value. I am not sure what amount to put in? 

Ryan answered: A: This is the one time I’d use USD to NZD conversion. Figure out about how much it is worth in the states and then do a rough calculation in NZD. It will be close.

Maile answered: A: If it’s over 1000 NZ dollars you will also have to pay import fees, so we put less than 1000 on all our boxes.

But we also weren’t shipping anything overly nice. I know you are shipping your bikes over, so I would put what you think they would go for used. We just did rough guesses on our stuff and tallied it all up.

Q: I was curious if anyone knew a good company to ship from California.

Katie answered: A: We used Atlas International. 

Our person was a little slow and not great at what she did (our shipping stuff said Rotterdam and I had to clarify it was going to the right place, etc…) but I think overall the company is good.  Expensive, but decent. 

They pair with a company over here that unpacks the load, customs and unpacking and hauling the boxes and stuff is all included in the price

.  

Q: Has anyone looked into U-Haul/U-Box for international shipping?

From all appearances, it would seem that U-Haul, being a National/international chain, would be easier and cheaper to use, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet!

A: (Eric) I was able to get another company to do the shipment at around the same price. We are going light with about 20 boxes of house hold stuff and clothes and a few bikes. It is going to be around 5k-6k.

I was considering mailing stuff through the US postal service but the box size requirements were too small and wouldn’t have worked well.

FedEx and UPS were just too expensive.

Let’s hope this next company doesn’t back out also. A: We are using Atlas so I contacted our rep to see if I could give out her contact info. She said that would be fine. Here it is:   A: (Emil) Here in Europe the prices are insane as well.

For half a container you have to pay about €8500,- (approx 9500 US dollars). That does however include all tax and insurance. Was looking into transporting a car from the UK > NL to NZ 🙂  

Q: What should I bring to New Zealand?

Katie B answered this question perfectly:

A: Basically, bring it if you LOVE it.  Some are of the camp that you can replace everything you own here.  Bring stuff that’s super sentimental or irreplaceable (photos, guitars, etc.), but get rid of everything else. 

I brought kids’ toys (Legos, and a few other toys they LOVE)–it was like Christmas again!  I also sent over our bed and some cabinets my parents gave us, plus our favourite Ikea Poang chairs!

Some notes on my personal things:

-US bed sizes are different than ones here, so buy one here or ship yours but make sure to get extra sheets like we did! 

Some linens will fit the US beds, but look up dimensions before you decide to.  We bought the Thuma bed, which is easy to take apart and move since we knew we would be moving a few times before settling.

-David and I also shipped all our camping gear and bikes, after a good wash.

-Take into account the moisture on the ship.  There’s no guarantee that things will hold up.  We were fortunate enough that only a few photos suffered, but it actually made a cool effect so we weren’t too bothered.

-Not much storage in the homes, so I personally recommend some under bed storage, which you can get here.  I’m an Ikea fan so I brought some with me.

-Furniture is expensive here so look it up and decide what’s more cost-effective for you.

-Everyone who is already here recommends shipping all your clothing.

-Don’t bother with appliances unless you’re on a similar voltage…ask Brian for that info!  You’ll most likely just fry it anyway.

-Don’t bring your US Soda Stream…these are huge over here, but the bottles don’t attach to the US machine (I’m adding stuff as I remember, sorry guys!)

-Shipping or purging is a super personal preference, so it’s really what YOU want to do.  I would get so frustrated that people would tell me to do different things, but we decided what worked for the US.  Decided how much work you want to put in:

Do you want to wash your camping gear?  Things will break (my favourite bowl from our wedding, a mirror, etc.) but you have to decide if it’s worth the risks. 

Are you willing to ship your sofa and table and chairs and just take camping chairs on the plane or buy some here in the meantime?

We bought the kids’ beds here, a used desk and a drinks cabinet both of which we cleaned up–huge market for this stuff here too!  And some of it is amazing.  Because new stuff can be $$$$$.

#Buying Furniture in New Zealand 

  Q: What furniture shops are there and where do people tend to buy?

A: (Katie)  Here are some furniture shops to check out:

-Nood

-Ecosa

-Hunter & Williams

-Target Furniture (do not expect the same Target you’re used to)

-Farmer’s (department store with a bit of everything; think Macy’s)

-Early Settler

-Harvey Norman (a great one-stop-shop for furniture—bedroom, living, outdoor, some linens; electronics—TVs, computers, appliances big and small)

-Briscoes for linens, tableware, household items; similar to bed bath and beyond and only buy during a sale!! Some small appliances as well)

-The Warehouse or Kmart (Kmart not available everywhere but may ship??  The Warehouse has dressers and other furniture you assemble yourself, but nowhere near as easy as Ikea in my opinion!).

-2nd hand shops in your local areas & Trade Me

-There will also be a lot of other spots based on where you’re living

-Tons more you can Google

Lead time for furniture can be immediate delivery to 3 months or longer, depending on how remotely you live.  Dunedin is a longer wait time than CHCH or Auckland, for example.  

Katie added this post and some great advice on shopping!

Hi all! Thought I’d share a shopping experience. David and I have been holding out to get a coffee machine. We finally decided it was time. We’ve been watching sales, etc—for 18 months . 

Basically, we were also waiting to see if it was something we really wanted. I happened to walk into one store, saw the lowest price ($699…originally over $1000) I’d seen and I snapped a photo. I took this photo to Briscoe’s, and they brought the price down even more ($629), and I earned $0.80 off per litre of fuel with my AA card. 

That was over $400 off the machine!!!  I’d also been waiting to buy a NZ hair straightener & blow dryer—surviving on international ones with an adapter—which I got at 50% off. I did two separate transactions which got me so much off fuel.

My point: Shop around, wait for sales, and ask about price matching—and show the proof of the other price. Things cost a lot here, but it’s also possible to get really good deals when you hold out!!

#Amazon

Q: Is There Amazon in New Zealand?

A: (Adam) For those still in the US who rely heavily on Amazon, I’m here to tell you that here in NZ it’s a very odd duck. The site is Australian (amazon.co.au) and is a completely different business.

They do offer free shipping over NZD 59 on products marked as meeting eligible for this, but there is no “Prime” and shipping takes about a week. 

That’s kind of where the similarities from the US ends. When you transfer your account to the Australia Amazon, none of your stored credit cards, gift cards or points will transfer over.Product selections are extremely limited when compared with America. 

You simply cannot expect to find the wide selection of items that you’re used to.  I wanted to replace my Baratza Encore coffee grinder with a 240v model, an easy purchase on US Amazon.

But here, that particular grinder is only seeing through the importer, L’Affare, with shops in Wellington and Auckland.

While I can’t say the difficulty in securing items was a surprise (plenty of talk here from Slackers about that), Amazon Australia functioning as a completely different business came as a big surprise. 

Not being able to use any of my earned points was disappointing.  I’ll have to see if I can cash them in for gift certificates that I can then use on the Australia site.  But even so, I’m not sure I’ll even be able to find the things I want anyway.

Not a complaint– just an observation and a cautious tale for those planning to move here!  

#Buying Electronics In New Zealand

  Q: Steve and Pam asked: What would your go-to stores be for electronics? Would there be any to avoid? Thanks, guys  

Dan answered: JB Hi-Fi, Noel Leeming, Harvey Norman. These are the ones I have dealt with so far. I’ve been happy with all 3. Costco will also carry electronics once they open in October. Definitely pays to shop around.

Prices and sales vary at each one. I’m sure there are online options, but I have no experience with them yet.

Ryan answered: I mainly use PBTech. https://www.pbtech.co.nz/ Whenever I go to their store in Albany the people there are really good and helpful and know their stuff. But yeah, I do shop around a bit unless I’m looking for speciality items.    

#When English Isn’t Your First language

  Q: I need to take the IELTS or OET. Is there anybody who came from Spain, France, Italy… who can help me with this? Lisa answered this perfectly for us:

A: My husband and I have both taken our IELTS exams in preparation for our move. I had about 2 months to prepare. I was most nervous about the speaking and writing parts because I don’t do that very often and all the input has to come from you, whereas reading and listening was easier.

I did a lot of practice tests on https://ieltsonlinetests.com/ just to get a hang of the format. The youtube channel: ‘Fastrack IELTS’ and ‘IELTS Whiz’ were extremely helpful to know how to approach each part, how to prepare and to know how they will score your test. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

ieltsonlinetests.com

Free IELTS Online Practice Tests | IELTS Online Tests

Free online IELTS practise tests for 2022. Prepare for real IELTS practice tests by taking mock IELTS tests based on actual IELTS tests.

#Jobs 

  Q: How do you find out an accurate rate for salary? Anywhere I look online the difference is almost 70,000 NZD  A: https://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/

This website also “scrapes” the salary range posted for a job on seek since it’s generally hidden from the public but part of the jobs listing

https://www.whatsthesalary.com/

#Technology

  Q: For those that have made it over in the last few years. Did you keep your mobiles and just swap out SIM cards or did you have to get all new devices? A: (Katherine) I kept mine, but it was not locked to a specific company

A: (Torin) You should be able to use any phone as long as it can be unlocked from the current carrier (if it is).

A: (Maile) We kept ours and swapped out SIM cards. If you are thinking of upgrading your phone, do it before you get here as electronics are more pricey here.

A: (Nancy): If you buy an iPhone from Apple, online or in the store, and you have any carrier other than AT&T, the phone is not locked and you can swap the SIM card in any country. A couple of months ago, I got a new iPhone so I wanted to make sure to buy an unlocked one, and this is what I found. I have no idea how it works for Androids though.  

Wise or TorFX? We’ve used both, here’s what we think:

I love Wise! We use them extensively when we travel.

They have a fantastic Visa card/wallet thing that allows you to have up to 50 currency wallets on the go, making travelling between countries and paying for things easy peasy.

For travelling, I don’t think you can’t beat them, but, when we bought a caravan in the UK we used them to transfer money to NZ and there was a couple of hiccups.

For a day or two we didn’t know where/if  the money had come through.  As you can imagine, I immediately thought the worse (pirates had runoff with our caravan money) and started to panic. The money wasn’t in the account and we had no way of knowing how long things would take or where the money was.

We tried to contact them but it was neigh on impossible. We tried emailing but got an automated response. It was incredibly stressful.

It was after this incident that we sought out other options for currency exchange and found TorFX. (We were recommended them by a friend and NZ Ahead community member.)

We called TorFX (which is a huge bonus to be able to do so) and right from the get go found them to be friendly, approachable, professional and transparent.

It also helped that they were Ozzies and knew everything about Kiwi banks and life down under (it felt like we were talking with friends!).

The difference between TorFx and Wise is (as Bri said) while both offer great rates, with TorFx you are assigned your own manager who you can email or talk with on the phone (big plus for those who panic about money transfers) whenever you like.

We now use them for any currency transfers we have and we couldn’t be happier.

Okay! That’s my two-cents worth and the story behind why we recommend both Wise and TorFX. You decide which one works best for you!

💰 Transferring currency?  Click here for the best rates with TorFX

We’ve done the homework for you, the team at TorFX are great. They are thorough, trustworthy and, best of all, they get you the most bang for your buck! – we love them!
https://itsadrama.com/torfx 

Please note, we are proud affiliates of TorFX. This means we will be paid a commission (at no cost to you) if you choose to use their services through our link. 

Brian Posted this: Wise is a great card to use when travelling around the world.

You can transfer money to people or businesses in NZ or any country you make a wallet in, Euro’s, US Dollars, UK pounds etc…They are also great at transferring large amounts, but as Liz said, we now prefer to have the security and re-assurance of talking to a “real” person when ever we feel like it or need a bit of advice.

This Wise card is an all-rounder and at the end of the day it’s whatever you’re comfortable.

Here is a link to the Wise Card. You don’t use the card to transfer money as it uses the bank account side of it instead I have seen limits per transaction and daily limits

💰✈️✈️ Travelling overseas and don’t want to pay hefty credit card charges? If, like us, you want the most convenient service from a company that delivers unbeatable rates, then we recommend the brilliant all-in-one Wise Card.

One card with which you can spend and receive money worldwide. No more annoying charges and the need to face credit cards when you return home. Using WISE means you SAVE money and can relax.

Check out WISE here for the best rates:

Why do we love using Wise when we travel?

• Debit card – with the Wise Visa card, you can spend in over 200 countries without the hidden fees. Add it to your Apple or Google wallets for convenient use.

• Balances – you can hold and convert money between the 50+ currencies in your Wise wallet. Wise ALWAYS use the real exchange rate to convert your money which makes their service up to 7 times cheaper than traditional banks.

• Money transfers – send money to over 60 countries at the real exchange rate and low, transparent fees

• Jars – Money in a jar is kept separately from your balances, if you are saving it for something later. You can’t accidentally spend it with your debit card, and you can’t send it or use it to pay Direct Debits. You can open as many jars as you need to organise your money.

Credit Cards

  (From Greg C) NZ Credit Cards:

Hi All – I had posted a month or so ago about my experience applying for a credit card in NZ.  Our goal was to use it for daily purchases to earn rewards and pay it off each month. 

I had started the process with our bank, BNZ, but was told they needed at least 3 months bank records before making a decision and wanted to know about all of our US cards, loans, etc.

Additionally, they viewed our US credit cards as a “risk” despite having no balances. 

In the US, having multiple high-limit credit cards with no/low balances demonstrates both abilities to secure credit and good credit management and has a positive impact on your creditworthiness. 

In NZ, this same scenario is viewed as a negative as it’s a “potential” debt you can take on.  Different perspective, but I suppose it kind of makes sense (maybe). 

As such, BNZ asked that we close or lower most of the credit limits on our US cards before continuing with our application.  I’ve heard others mention that they have been told the same by NZ mortgage brokers, so good to get ahead of this. 

On a whim, I contacted Amex, who we have an existing US credit card with.  They have local cards in many overseas countries, NZ being one of them (they have a great AirNZ Airpoints rewards card). 

It required a new application, but they had no interest whatsoever in our US credit cards or student loans, and we very easily got approved for a card.

  I realize Amex isn’t as readily accepted as Visa/Mastercard in NZ, but hopefully will be usable with most of the shopping we do.

Hope that provides a view into the process and provides some options.  Happy to chat more / clarify anything, if helpful.   

A Warning From Mike about banks!

  (I have copied and pasted this thread from Mike, who is in Hamilton. He arrived in December and has had problems with the banks closing in January. Please note! Almsot everything closes down for at LEAST the first week in January in New Zealand. Take this into consideration if moving her at this time of year.

1. Once you have a work contract (even a draft one) and are awarded your Visa, send those documents out to NZ banks and start the process BEFORE you arrive.

# Cars

Buying a Second-Hand Car in New Zealand 

Adam shared his experience of buying a second-hand car in Taranaki – Thanks Adam! For what it’s worth, the car cost us $14,500 and it has only 83,000 km on the odometer.

 We had an AA pre-purchase vehicle inspection done ($180), as well as a vehicle history and valuation (about $35 when done together).

The purchase was a bit stressful, because the seller wanted to see the money in his bank account before he would release the car to us. 

I felt uncomfortable sending a stranger $15k without having the keys in my hand.  I sent him a test $1 via bank app transfer, and it took all night to arrive in his account.

I didn’t much like the idea of hanging out for hours waiting for money to show in his account, so I began looking for options.

Cashiers checks are not an option here, because the entire banking system stopped using all checks several years ago.

I offered to pay cash, but he didn’t like the idea because making in person deposits requires time, effort and money (more on that below) that Kiwis are not used to dealing with.

Finally I decided to just open a bank account at the bank he used (ASB) because that would mean transfers had the best chance of happening instantly.Banking here is a bit weird…

They seem to be engineered to dissuade you from coming into the branch to talk to anyone. Everything is done online.

At both BNZ and ASB the staff I dealt with didn’t seem particularly inclined to be helpful (my first impression at ASB: someone must buzz you in before the doors will unlock.

Teller said “we usually require appointments, so you know for next time”.  Oh, and if you need to use a teller to accept your deposit (rather than a bank machine), you have to pay a fee. Welcome to ASB.In any case, ASB could not activate my account- my proof of address, a bank statement from BNZ, did not have the first page attached for some reason (none of them did- it’s just how they provide the document).

They had to get an approval from someone on the phone.  I’m still waiting for that to happen.

The seller finally gave in and decided to accept cash, so at the last minute I was able to withdraw the funds and transport the bank notes in an unmarked envelope, Breaking Bad style. 

For added security, we traded bills of sale that each confirmed the purchase with our addresses and phone numbers, just so there was written record of the transaction and there wouldn’t be any issues down the road.

So now on my end, there’s a $9 registration transfer form to fill out and submit to AA, and a mirror to fix (the electronic control for the passenger mirror does not work, and must be adjusted manually).

Also, the car needs an oil change, and I’m not sure if this is a Toyota dealer thing or a New Zealand thing, but when I asked for an oil change, they said they can “service” the car for $300 which is a full service check of the tires, fluids, etc. 

Not sure I need all of that since I already paid AA for a vehicle inspection, but there we are. Trademe vehicle transactions as done by a paranoid American, in a nutshell.  

Q: What is the AA in New Zealand?

One thing I noticed that I liked very much is that AA has their own repair shop, and you can choose to do “log book service” which means you agree to do the manufacturer recommended service for your car’s mileage.

Banks in New Zealand

 Dan shared that he uses ANZ. Here are The Reasons Why…

It was relatively easy to set up the account.  There are lots of branches in our area. Their app is easy to use.

While the interest rate on my savings account is low, it’s much better than I was getting in the US. Those are the main reasons.

They encourage you to do online banking as much as possible. The staff was friendly but you pay a fee if you do much banking at the branch.

 We had someone try to breach our account 2 weeks after we opened it and they were very quick to catch it, and easy to work with for a fix.

My kids used a mortgage broker for both homes they have bought. ANZ was the best 4 yrs ago but this time BNZ was better.

 It doesn’t matter that they bank with ANZ primarily. The mortgage broker didn’t get them a better rate, just helped them get to a “yes” quicker.I have been told there is a lot of attempted fraud in banking from offshore accounts.

That being the case, they do have many hoops to go through as you open an account. It’s nice to know the reason is to make sure you are a real person and that they are trying to keep your money safe.

There are those that try to open an account to basically launder money. You have to prove you are a real person, that you actually live in NZ, and that you are in NZ legally. They wanted a copy of our rental agreement, visa, passport, etc. It seems intrusive with all of the verification process but it helped to know why they require it.

I started the account process before we got here, and even put money in the account by using Wise before arriving. You can’t access the money until you go to a local branch with the required documentation. 

Best if you make an appointment with the bank rather than just show up. You will both need to be there.

Someone tried to access our account a week after we arrived. ANZ froze our account immediately and called me to let me know. 

We had to go to a branch again to get a new debit card. 

No money was taken from our account that I saw. I don’t know what ANZ saw that required them to freeze the account but glad they did before we lost any money.

We have a Go account for everyday use, an Online savings account to hold larger amounts that I periodically transfer to the Go account, and a Serious Saver savings account for longer term savings at a higher interest rate.  The details of each are on their website. I’m sure other banks have similar systems.  

Preparing For The Big Move To NZ!

Kate very kindly shared her spreadsheet that she is working on: “I’ve started a google sheet that I share with Aaron so we can add things as we go along.

  I divided 18 months into 3-month segments and then labelled it at the top 18 months out, 15 months, etc. working our way towards 3 months out and then probably 1 month when we get closer.  Click here to see the spreadsheet  

#Moving From Washington State & Have questions about a DRIVERS’ LICENCE in New Zealand:

(Dan shared this!) I notice a few people coming from Washington State, USA.  

When you get here and go for a driver’s license, you will need a couple of documents that most others do not need.

If your current license was issued less than 2 years, you will need your driving record from the Department of Licensing to prove you have had a license for at least 2 years.

You can get it online for $13.Also, your Washington DL is blank on the “Class” section.

It is only used if you drive some sort of commercial vehicle. In NZ, “Class” shows what type of vehicle you are allowed to drive.

They will ask you for a letter from Washington DOT that clarifies what you are allowed to drive. I couldn’t get that very easily once we were here so I took a copy of the Washington State Driving Manual to prove a Washington license does not have a class designation on the license.

They also had a hard time understanding that Washington State is not Washington DC. I had to repeat that many times before they understood.

It took 3 visits to the AA center and 6 hours to get it done finally. In the end, I just went to a different AA office with all the above documentation and got it done quickly.

Hopefully, my experience will help your experience go much smoother.

 

 

aa.co.nz

Overseas licence conversions