Be warned, you're in for some price shocks. Cost of living in NZ is nuts atm. Best of luck tho, it's a solid place.
Did you get a job before moving? Just curious about the logistics of a visa
It hadn't really occurred to me to seriously ask where an American could leave to and become a citizen. I've got a degree in Information Systems and I work I.T., which I would think would be relatively valuable somewhere.
"IT" as in operations, networks, security, support, or? I mean a suitable background in networks and you'd make 130k USD plus pension as a networking consultant in Denmark. IDK about citizenship though. As with all the rest of Europe, we've seen a rise in right wing populism and are now suffering from its resulting inane immigration laws.
But if you're in for the adventure, then you could look outside the list of English speaking countries. There's The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, we all speak English and we all have healthcare... But don't go to Sweden, they suck :-)
Relevant (median salaries in the EU): https://www.levels.fyi/heatmap/europe/
There are a shit ton of companies in my area that are looking for IT people here in Germany, and I think thats the case all over Europe.
I looked into moving to Germany a few years ago, I also work in IT. The part I had an issue with was figuring out how much I need to get paid to have a similar life style there. Taxes and cost of living is was different, especially if you want to live near a city.
The other issue is my wife works in health care but her job seems to be covered by nursing with a specialty in respiratory therapy. Here in the states we have people that are only respiratory therapists, couldn’t figure out how that would move over.
Nice, NZ will welcome you here.
So I've been seriously thinking about NZ for a while now, was filling out the application and figuring out banking and such until they changed their immigration policies about a year ago. When did you start your process? How long did it take? Is it a work visa? If so how did you find an employer willing to sponsor?
skilled migrant route. got a residence class visa before getting on the plane. My partner and I are STEM and medical so SMV seemed a good route.
That's great, I'm STEM too and had been looking at the same thing but seemed like you had to get a job before you could get the VISA and trying to line that up seemed like a chicken and egg situation with employers wanting people who were already work authorized?
Good luck man!
As someone that left the US a decade and a half ago, here's some things to go ahead and start getting answers to so you don't have to figure it out when the time comes:
- Figure out how to get a bank account (hopefully you've already worked this one out before arriving)
- Where to buy toiletries and medicine. Specifically deodorant. The UK is mostly spray deodorant where as I'm a stick deodorant person. At one point I was just bringing 4 sticks of deodorant back with me after every trip home. I'm not sure which way NZ leans but it was definitely something I hadn't considered before
- Where to buy socks and underwear you're comfortable with
- Figure out how the health service/insurance works. Go ahead and book dentist and doctors appointments 6 months in advance if possible so you get in the habit.
- Figure out how paying taxes works
- If you're a US citizen, remember you're still required to file taxes with the IRS every year.
- Learn how to make friends. I still haven't figured this one out. Let me know if you do.
- Call or go to a Kiwibank, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac bank branch in any mall in which ever city you land at (probably Auckland but could be Christchurch)
- Supermarket for toiletries. Pharmacy for medicine. Some larger supermarkets have pharmacies in them. Supermarkets are Pac'n'Save, New World, Woolworths, Freash Choice, 4Square. Pharmacies are Unichem, Chemist's Warehouse, Random mum and pop one off pharmacy
- Both types of deoderant (stick or spray) are readily available. Lynx is typically known as Axe in other parts of the world.
- The Warehouse or Kmart for cheap socks and undies. Farmers for midrange stuff. Boutique stores for high range
- Public health care for emergancy and accute need. GPs are roughly $35 to $70 for a checkup or general appointment
- get an IRD number from the IRD, work out your tax code (its probably 'M') then tax is mostly automatically deducted and paid by your employeer
- really!? Sounds like a double tax whamy... Ouch
- join clubs, hiking club, cricket club, soccer club, rugby club. Pubs and drinking are popular too. Most pubs run a quiz once a week ask the announcer about joining a random team
Excellent list, I hope OP see's it!
Also, I should have added a caveat to that last bullet: learn how to make friends without becoming an alcoholic. Meetup.com is usually the answer for finding readily available like minded people interested in the same physical activity as you, but meeting a whole bunch of new people at once can be overwhelming.
The deodorant availability trauma is real and brings untold migrant suffering every year.
He's getting out!
Quick, drag him back in!
Nah, I want to see his dash cam later.
Nicest people in the world... until they get behind the wheel and turn into violent psychopaths. But then again, I drove mostly around Auckland.
If he's leaving over Trump, odds are good he's on the saner half of US drivers. The real road ragers with their emotional issues probably the most likely to fall for the rage-based fascist propaganda and all that.
Congratulations
good luck on your journey.
Good choice
Congratulations! Made it to the UK from the US yesterday myself. Let's hope our new lives will be great!
Welcome to the uk did you pick up your complementary kettle on the way in? Sorry the rail network is such a mess but what can you do. Glad to have you bud o7
Honestly, other than the fact that we were really confused about where to go due to poor signage (and missed our train twice and got lost when we were supposed to change trains), we enjoyed the train ride. We did pay for first class on for the Avanti West portion, but it was worth every penny. (Or am I supposed to say worth every p now?) And since we came from the land of very few trains that all suck, the actual train rides were great. And people were super helpful with our heavy luggage.
You'd better have a tv license or your going to jail
Hopefully OP can live with trading "needing a TV license for a TV no one uses anymore" and "actual healthcare" for a "failing democracy turned Christian nationalist oligarchy"!
Only if you have a TV. Theoretically, you need one to stream the BBC/ITV and such on a computer/phone, but the onus is not on you to prove that you didn’t. You’ll get letters asking to confirm that you don’t need a licence, and then threats of an inspection to make sure you don’t have a TV that’s on and being used to watch TV, though I’m not sure if they follow through with the latter. (In the analogue days, they had detector vans that either could detect TV tuners tuned to channels or were a bluff to get people to pay up, though they seem to have given up on that.)
And a stabbing license
Edit: Y'all motherfuckers need to get educated https://youtu.be/g1HQ3Eyu2Jw
Good to have you here comrade.
Glad to be here!
Welcome! Weather's a bit shite at the moment and monsoon season (February to May) is just around the corner, but it'll brighten up for 2 weeks in June and for the last 2 weeks of August.
Drop me a DM if you're heading up Manchester way and I'd happily give you a tour and you're more than welcome to come over to my family's place for a Sunday Roast.
You should have seen what it was like when we left the U.S. in terms of weather. This is far better. Thanks!
Would you mind sharing how you moved to the UK and what the requirements / difficulties were? Thank you!
I am happy to share, but I am afraid it won't help many others. I am lucky because of who my father was.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-british-parent/born-before-1983
Damn, that's great to hear. Welcome in Europe comrade.
Wondering why I hadn't see you posting much recently. May and September are the two best weather months on the south of the UK.
We welcome you!!!
Thank you!
congrats.
Congrats on having a backbone. Hope you enjoy the vast experiences in your new life!
Having a backbone would be to stick around and fight this shit; not flee.
How does one move to New Zealand?
Asking for a friend.
If you're serious then here you go
Take a look at the skills shortages list as well, because if you can get a job in something on that list, you'll have a much easier time. We desperately need Healthcare workers
You will be welcome here for the most part, but I have started noticing some things that are starting to annoy me, and I know I'm not alone, so fair warning:
Please remember why you're coming here. Nothing annoys me more than Americans who move here and then never shut up about how things were better back home. We have no 2a, our stores are small, and we don't tip. I consider those to be GOOD things. Also, even our right wing party (National) would be considered center left over there. (Sadly that seems to be changing)
If you're just looking for what America was 15 years ago, Australia is what you're looking for. That's not a joke either, I mean that very seriously, Australia is a better fit. It's the USA of the southern hemisphere (sorry Aussies, but tell me I'm wrong)
It's a process, but it can be done! Good luck!
Small store, no tips, be quiet? Sounds like heaven.
Wife and I looked into moving to Australia after we visited Sydney. I work in IT so not a problem for me to find a new job and my wife is in healthcare. She is a respiratory therapist which is in high demand but looks like your end of the world does nursing with a speciality in respiratory therapy.
Couldn’t figure out how that would translate but damn are we ready to jump over the bigger pond.
Although you may not recieve as warm a welcome in Aus at the moment.
A LOT of Australians are mad at Americans for their political culture right now. We have transphobes and bigots here too and theres a lot of Australian bigots who are feeling very bold. Also theres a feeling from the more left leaning people that if we dont have enough resources and room for people fleeing ethnic cleansing, wars and famine we dont have the room for people who didnt like how their democratic election went. Also our cost of living isnt going down either...
Not saying you will get a hostile reaction, or even a negative one... just temper your expectations.
Drive on the left with right-drive cars is a big one.
You're right. Have always considered Australia the US and NZ Canada.
Americans fit in well in Australia so long as they're friendly and check their ego at the door. Australian culture is a big moosh of many cultures but tends to cringe at American culture. You kind of have to be more about yourself rather than be all about being an American, then you will fit in.
I wish I could tell you you're wrong, but... :(
And if Dutton gets elected this year it will get soooo much worse. Hey, New Zealand is a beautiful place! Maybe I'll move there too!
We have no 2a, our stores are small, and we don't tip.
These are the only examples you can come up with as to why Americans might "never shut up" about it being "better back home?" I'm having a hard time taking that seriously.
I consider those to be GOOD things.
Well yeah, so would roughly 90% of all Americans. Well maybe the small stores thing from a convenience standpoint I guess?
What I'm saying is I'd like you to elaborate, this can't be the whole story (signed, someone who has seriously given thought to moving to NZ). :)
Hell I'm not asking for a friend, I'm asking for myself..... seriously.... how?
Sorry for everything you had to leave behind. Good luck in your new life
NZ? You a billionaire?
Hope down under treats you better
left the UK 13yrs ago and never regretted it
skills shortage list is how I got in, and being under 40 (at the time) gave me points in their system.
anyway just going to drop this here if YouTube is allowed
just remember to keep voting, don't let what happened to Venezuela happen to you guys
My brother in Christ, the UK is already addicted to Middle East and Russian money, they don't need drug trafficking money like Venezuela to ruin their political system.
Nau mai ki Aotearoa!
Jealous. Congratulations
Nau mai ki Aotearoa e hoa. (Welcome to New Zealand, friend)
Isn't New Zealand currently going through their own slide to the right? The Māori only represent like ~17% of the population over there. New Zealand just elected a conservative coalition.
Seems like you're just moving from one place you (presumably) don't agree with to a new place that also just signed up for shit you probably aren't going to agree with.
I mean it looks beautiful but if your travel is for political reasons I fear you're just heading to a different slice of the same.
Have a safe flight.
It’s nowhere near as bad here in NZ
Oh absolutely not. It's a much smaller population and being an island it's got a figurative and literal buffer to the rest of the world.
I have always loved New Zealand. It's like the cooler uncle of Australia minus all the spiders the size of my head.
And it's just a beautiful place. Makes me wanna go frolicking in the mountains with an elf, dwarf and old white guy lol
The world’s billionaires are heading back to NZ
BusinessDesk talked to real-estate agent Caleb Paterson, who works with a number of offshore agents and high net-worth individuals mainly out of the US and UK markets. He said interest had “definitely perked up” since National said it would repeal its ban on foreign buyers.
Foreign buyers, with the exception of Singaporean and Australian citizens, have been barred from owning NZ properties since 2018.
Assuming it makes up the next government, National’s plan would open the door to all foreign buyers to purchase NZ homes valued at more than $2 million, with a 15 per cent foreign buyer stamp surcharge clipped on, from the 2025 fiscal year.
Enjoy paradise while it lasts.
Much of the world is sliding to the right. And much of it is not sliding nearly as far or as fast as the USA.
Maori only represent 17% of the population however because of our founding document they have a permanent place in government and will always be heavily involved in governance.
Our country elected the national party which is right after two terms of our left wing government. Its expected since our elections always bounce between left and right. The current right wing government is stupid but nothing compared to trump. The controversy comes mostly from their coalition partners bills Act who are led by a complete moron.
Labour is going to win next election because national has fucked up almost every area they campaigned on.
Re NZ politics - Yes and no.
The currect situation is due to some very specific circumstances thst emerged in the chaos of the last 10 years.
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The centre left Labour Party & PM were hugely popular during covid & won an unheard of majority (normally our electoral system requires a coalition). A swing back to the centre-right was inevitable.
-
The centre right National party, usually our most popular party, had their leadership retire & endured years of in-fighting that made them unelectable
-
Because of this, they've bled a lot of voters to the "libertarian" & "centrist" parties (ACT & NZ First)
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Also because of this, the current National Party leader is rather inexperienced & has given up some things in the coalition agreements that are more extreme than the public likes leading to record breaking protests.
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The "centrist" party leader (Winston Peters) is a whole thing that I can't neatly summarize, but imagine a political party designed to cater exclusively to the oldest & dumbest 5% of voters run by that Monorail guy from The Simpsons
In summary, less a slide right & more a correction back to status quo + a few unpopular chaos agents
I would characterize it differently.
- Labour was hugely popular, I agree, but the popularity left when Jacinda Ardern left. She was a extremely charismatic figure; and Labour was at the end of two terms (6 years); with the halo effect gone a lot of the poor decisions they made were highlighted (a lot of the times unfairly).
- National along with Act and NZ First, pushed hard on the government debt rhetoric during the last election. Blaming Labour for inflation, which it had little control over, but it didn't matter the populous were hurting from low wage growth and high inflation. They were looking for a change.
- The center right bloc won with a decent majority, though not specular.
- National fucked up hard! during the negotiations with Act and NZ First. Luxon in a rush to form a government; gave away so much it is frankly baffling.
- In NZ politics:
- The Green Party has stated they will never work with National or Act.
- Labour have said they will not work with Act.
- This forces Act to only be able to side with National, from Nationals point of view Act should be a minor player on the right of National.
- NZ First are a bit of a wild card, Winston Peters the leader is an old cunning and in my opinion untrustworthy ally.
- Te Pati Maori (TPM) will work with both parties, which ever gives them the most of what they want.
- National could have gone with TPM or NZF along with Act to form a government, they choose to go with NZF and between Winston Peters and David Seymour; got played like a fiddle. In one crazy political power play, Luxon had a meeting setup to negotiate with Winston and David, they didn't bother showing up and made him come to them in another city.
I could go on but, the politics here is just as complex as anywhere else. Overall we have shifted right, further than we traditionally have but not too much further.
The current government has made some truly stupid calls, and has scored a lot of own goals. Their popularity is very low this early in a parliamentary term. They have been in for a little more than a year; if things keep going the way they are, they may be the first one term government we have had in a long time. Our term of 3 years, is short, so most governments get more than one term to show what they are made of.
The “centrist” party leader (Winston Peters) is a whole thing that I can’t neatly summarize, but imagine a political party designed to cater exclusively to the oldest & dumbest 5% of voters run by that Monorail guy from The Simpsons
I cant neatly summarise him either, but I have disliked him immensely since he verbally abused myself and some other students at Waikato back in '93
For anyone is interested in NZ politics, I've been enjoying BHN
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Conservative parties have always been part of liberal democracies. They could sometimes govern responsibly.
But the Republican party under Trump is something completely different. Trump, Musk and friends are there for state capture. You cannot compare them to New Zealand's conservatives
a different slice of the same.
when the US goes right, NZ goes left
The NZ election was unfortunately a year too early.
Doing the same in a couple of months! Whangherei
beers on me mate!
How have you prepared yourself for living upside-down and in the future?
Don't they have kind of suspenders attached to the ground or something?
I think so, but you have to earn them by proving that you can properly remove the beak and the legs as part of peeling a kiwi fruit.
Now playing Flight of the Conchords - Inner City Pressure
Take me with you
Great choice and good luck!
Trumpeter is currently researching what independent nation to rename yo NUSA...NewUSA.
Ahhh, the privileged leaving behind the many to suffer that want to leave but can't.
Purity tests like this aren't helping.
Sorry to say for you and me, but suffering under fascism doesn't solve anything. If we don't defect or rebel, we'll just end up in mass graves.
do you blame them? should they stay until everyone that wants to leave can too?
a lot of people fled nazi germany before they started killing people too….
and, you can leave too… just maybe not with much money….if i had a trans kid, i’d take them to any country that wasn’t trying to kill them…
Don't say that on Lemmy. It's full of the privileged pretending to be the meek, and they dont like to be called out.
Hope your life goes well in New Zealand. Leaving on the cusp of a new hope is an odd choice.
I get you're trolling but it's not funny anymore. It was barely funny in 2016 but with looming environmental collapse and the rise of a fascism. Just read the room, please.
I wish there was a way to down-vote this comment so much that your global internet privileges are revoked. Describe any one of Trump's executive orders that instills hope in anyone?
The only good thing may be the lift on psychedelics that RFK announced, but that's not worth the rest of the shit the Trump administration wants to do
