Considering (trying) to move to New Zealand (from Canada)

[YellowJersey]

So I've had this idea rattling around in the back of my horribly poisoned mind for a few months now: uprooting myself from Canada and moving to New Zealand (or at least trying to). I haven't made up my mind on whether I want to do it even if I can, but I find myself thinking that this could be a good idea. (I have a horrible time having confidence in any decision I make, so while you might think "if you're anything less than positive you want to do this then you shouldn't," me being "Seems like a good idea that I want to explore" ranks pretty high by my standards).

 

 Obviously, this is super preliminary and may not end up happening, but I wanted to send some feelers out to any Kiwis (or others living in NZ) for things to put on my "to research the heck out of" list. (Not asking for immigration advice, obviously, just some things that would be good to know and to explore further).

 

 I've been to NZ three times and spent a total of about six months there and I really like it.

 

 Any thoughts or tips?

[Akolyte]

44 minutes ago, YellowJersey said:

So I've had this idea rattling around in the back of my horribly poisoned mind for a few months now: uprooting myself from Canada and moving to New Zealand (or at least trying to). I haven't made up my mind on whether I want to do it even if I can, but I find myself thinking that this could be a good idea. (I have a horrible time having confidence in any decision I make, so while you might think "if you're anything less than positive you want to do this then you shouldn't," me being "Seems like a good idea that I want to explore" ranks pretty high by my standards).

 

 Obviously, this is super preliminary and may not end up happening, but I wanted to send some feelers out to any Kiwis (or others living in NZ) for things to put on my "to research the heck out of" list. (Not asking for immigration advice, obviously, just some things that would be good to know and to explore further).

 

 I've been to NZ three times and spent a total of about six months there and I really like it.

 

 Any thoughts or tips?

 

One of the tips is to keep up to date with the immigration NZ site if you do plan on moving over at some point.  Immigration New Zealand.  

 

I know a lot of my mates from overseas are thinking of moving here as well, probably in part due to the all the issues that arose last year and how they've affected many countries around the world.  I'm definitely very grateful to my government and country for being able to look ahead, there are still precautions that people take but there's no lockdown over here at the moment. 

 

Living costs are very high, and with all of the recent global and investor attention Auckland as had a faster housing bubble growth than normal recently.  Many cities down south are cheaper and are quite pleasant, if you've visited any of them on your travels. 

 

I imagine our country will stay quite locked down immigration-wise for the foreseeable future, potentially allowing countries like Australia an easier pass but I don't really see anything more than that.  I know there are ways to get visas right now, but the criteria is a bit slim.   It will be interesting to see how things pan out once the pandemic is over. 

 

My best suggestion if you're young and want to immigrate is to study, the costs might be a bit high but it's the best bet if you want to start building a firm foundation in the country and get ready to enter our workforce.   

 

One thing for sure though, we (NZ) are always welcoming, so if you ever come to NZ feel free to hit me up.  

 

 

[Guest]

Don’t live in Auckland, Wellington or Hamilton if you don’t want to pay high rent. Christchurch is going good now. Nelson is good too. 
 

Wellington is pretty good for cycling and running. 
 

Grass is always greener on the other side. I want to move away from NZ. 
 

Healthcare is great here though.

 

Drivers are shit. 
 

Life is better if you are young and white. 

No COVID, but we have no vaccine until April due to incompetence. Not that it matters as 1/4 of New Zealanders won’t take it. We have outbreaks of Measles.

 

Avocados are cheap. Nothing else is. 
 

Views and tourism are great. But you’ll be ripped off. Especially in Queenstown (which is the best for cycling btw).

Don’t live in Auckland unless you have money. 

[YellowJersey]

55 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Grass is always greener on the other side. I want to move away from NZ. 
 

 

That's one of my biggest hesitations. My brain keeps going, "Is this something I genuinely think is a good idea? Or do you think that moving away will solve all your problems?" It's like how my brain keeps saying, "all you need to do is X and then you'll be happy."

[akio123008]

I can't really see why you'd want to move to NZ from Canada?

 

I mean Canada's pretty great if you'd ask me.

 

It's also insanely big so if you don't like it where you live currently you can always move to a completely different place 2000 miles away, and yet still be in Canada, meaning you don't have to deal with immigration hassle.

 

Living in Canada automatically gives you the luxury to move to radically different far away locations without being an immigrant.

 

[trag1c]

1 hour ago, RorzNZ said:

 

No COVID, but we have no vaccine until April due to incompetence. Not that it matters as 1/4 of New Zealanders won’t take it. We have outbreaks of Measles.

Cant say for the other provinces in Canada but we have the same issue. 27% said no to the vaccine in polls. 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, trag1c said:

Cant say for the other provinces in Canada but we have the same issue. 27% said no to the vaccine in polls. 

It’s really disheartening as an immunologist. 

 

5 hours ago, YellowJersey said:

That's one of my biggest hesitations. My brain keeps going, "Is this something I genuinely think is a good idea? Or do you think that moving away will solve all your problems?" It's like how my brain keeps saying, "all you need to do is X and then you'll be happy."

No Timhortons. I miss those bagels.

 

If you have the money, I’d try it out, then move back if it doesn’t work out. The last hardest part is getting in atm. I’d remember quarantine is free if you stay here for more than 90 days, so maybe budget for that. Don’t quote me on the 90 day thing - not sure if that’s just for nationals. 
 

I work at the University at Otago, so if you’re near there and need to make friends, more than happy to show you around Dunedin. 
 

Really depends on the job you get really. Good job with good money, and NZ is a nice place to live. Same could be said about Canada I guess.

[captain_to_fire]

7 hours ago, RorzNZ said:

Don’t live in Auckland, Wellington or Hamilton if you don’t want to pay high rent.

I think @leadeater said something similar

[trag1c]

40 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

It’s really disheartening as an immunologist. 

 

No Timhortons. I miss those bagels.

I can imagine. It's also disheartening for all of us who can keep our distance, wash our hands and put a mask on.  

 

I can't imagine going through life without tims lol.

[RevTadd]

7 hours ago, YellowJersey said:

Or do you think that moving away will solve all your problems?" It's like how my brain keeps saying, "all you need to do is X and then you'll be happy."

I think this is key. As someone who's been living as an expat most of the last decade in a few different places, I've learned the truth is when it comes to lifestyle its more about how you choose to live your life than where you choose to live your life. In most every place I lived, I ended up living almost exactly the same lifestyle with only a few minor differences until my most recent move when I really committed to finally making some personal changes in my life.

 

That said, I would likely still encourage you to do so, especially if you don't have any commitments tying you down in Canada. The upside could be anything where as the downside is basically limited to just moving back to your previous life.

[leadeater]

1 hour ago, like_ooh_ahh said:

I think @leadeater said something similar

Auckland isn't New Zealand, no idea who they are  

 

But yes rent and housing cost in Auckland is very high comparative to pay so not a good choice to immigrate to unless you can buy in to the property market from the start, otherwise everything will go in to rent and you'll never save for a deposit on a house.

 

9 hours ago, RorzNZ said:

Drivers are shit

Understatement of the day lol. Nothing annoys me more than not being able to use left turn give way on to two lane roads because every dam person turning right lane sweeps in to the left lane, if there is one thing we need out of AI car technology is electric shocks to every person who does that, it'll fix the problem real fast.

 

@YellowJerseyWhat are some of the things you aren't liking about Canada at the moment or think would be better here? In a lot of aspects Canada is a bigger New Zealand so you might just be moving to a slightly different flavor of vanilla ice-cream without any real change at all.

[captain_to_fire]

35 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Auckland isn't New Zealand, no idea who they are  

 

But yes rent and housing cost in Auckland is very high comparative to pay so not a good choice to immigrate to unless you can buy in to the property market from the start, otherwise everything will go in to rent and you'll never save for a deposit on a house.

And then there’s me thinking back in 2015 that I’ll be moving to NZ and live in Auckland through a student visa.