Now fast-forward about two years or so. My wife and I are sitting on the couch watching the New Zealand evening news.

My Wife: “What are they talking about?”

Me: “It seems that the Prime Minister did something pretty serious and all of the representatives of the opposition party are really upset about it. They’re talking about opening an investigation!”

My Wife: “What did she do that was so awful?”

Me: “Apparently her motorcade was speeding…going about 120K…to get her from a meeting to an appearance at a rugby game.”

My Wife: “Did she say something terrible at the Rugby game?”

Me: “I don’t think so.”

My Wife: “Did she appoint someone that’s been convicted of corporate corruption, drunk driving or something?”

Me: “Nothing like that.”

My Wife: “So what are they so upset about?”

Me: “That she was speeding to get to a rugby game.”

My Wife: “And that’s the big story on tonight’s news?”

Me: “Yep, that and the fact that no one can agree on where to spend their surplus roading funds.”

My Wife: “I like it here.”

Me: “Me too.”

Now you may laugh (please) and think that I’m exaggerating, but I’m not making this up. My wife and I in fact do watch the evening news! Seriously, the news that New Zealand P.M. Helen Clark left a meeting late and was found to be speeding (going around 75 or 80 mph) to get to a rugby game was big news here…for weeks! FYI, the speed limit here is 100K or about 62 mph. That’s how serious Kiwis (at least of the opposition party) are about things…and how serious offences such as this are treated. There were actually calls for her resignation! A true sign of how desperately bad things are in Aotearoa, the land of the long, white cloud. The excitement has calmed now and I doubt if most Kiwis really cared one way or the other…they laugh out loud about how absurd things get sometimes. But I think anyone would agree that this is a true contrast to what we left behind. For the record, Miss Clark did make it to Wellington in time to see the All Blacks beat Australia 16-7 and retain the Bledisloe Cup.

When the Prime Minister isn’t terrorizing motorists (and stray sheep) with her motorcade, things are pretty good here. The unemployment rate is the lowest it’s ever been, second only to South Korea for the lowest in the Western World. The Kiwi dollar is at an all-time high (a bit of a downside for Americans wanting to move here right now as the U.S. dollar is at an all-time low). The New Zealand government has a surplus going into next year’s budget. For the most part the air and water are clean and various shades of beautiful blue, the fishing can’t be beat and a lot of people still don’t lock their doors at night. The weather is mild as long as you don’t mind a bit of rain…that’s what keeps things so green here. And speaking of green, most green fees are less than golf club rentals at many courses in the U.S. and you can fly, ski, dive, sail or jump off of a perfectly good bridge (bungee jumping) whenever the urge hits you. There’s a local television commercial that includes a kind of beer drinking song whose chorus is: “We don’t know how lucky we are!” I’ll second that one. 

Now don’t get me wrong, New Zealand does have its share of problems. But by comparison to almost anywhere in the United States, they are generally small. Of course crime is an issue and like most of the world, it’s getting a bit worse, but with only 4 million people living here, the growth is quite slow.

By the way, you can still watch Dan Rather and/or Peter Jennings (sorry, no Tom Brokaw here) as their evening news shows are broadcast locally by Sky News every day…just in case you feel a sudden urge to get depressed.  We like to think of it as “time travel” due to the time difference. For instance, the Monday night evening news is on TV here Tuesday afternoon – it’s actually shown a half-hour after it’s broadcast live on the U.S. East Coast.  We watch the all of the scary events unfold each day even before our friends are lucky enough to see it in California! It’s a nice reminder of why we moved here in the first place.

But, as usual, I digress. What we started out talking about was getting ready for the big move. Preparation! 

Now I’ve moved a lot in my life, about every five years or sometimes less thanks to the corporations I worked for and their need to shift people around to make everyone think how powerful and global they were. I’ve been transferred so many times…and this is really embarrassing…that I have moving boxes with not one, not two, but three or more of those little numbered inventory labels the moving company sticks on your things just before they catapult them into the back of their cavernous moving vans. The really embarrassing part is that many of these boxes have never been opened since they were first packed back in the Reagan era. Sad but true. Who knows? I might have some Bi-centennial memorabilia in there which could have me set for life by selling it on e-bay! But probably not.

So preparing to move and actually moving has been a component of most of my adult life. I’ve had the “pleasure” of moving overseas…to Hawaii even. But nothing truly prepares you for a move to a new country on the other side of the planet I don’t think. You try your best to plan these things out, but even now, after having been here just shy of a year, we’re still finding things out that we wish we had known before we left. Part of the issue is that Americans only account for about 4% of New Zealand immigrants. The majority are from the U.K., others are from Asia, South Africa, India and a number of other places.

For those in the United States interested in moving to New Zealand, information is scarce, and what you do find is not always accurate. This isn’t the fault of anyone in particular (particularly this writer); it’s mostly because the New Zealand Government changes their immigration rules on a regular basis. They spend a lot of time tweaking and fine-tuning the system to not only improve the quality of their newest residents but we suspect (even more importantly) to please elected officials whose job it seems is to either keep everyone out of the country or allow anyone that is breathing in depending on their party affiliation. As we all know, there is a sweet spot in there somewhere…and the New Zealand Immigration Service is determined to find it…no matter how long it takes..

In our particular case the rules were changed three times in the period of the year that it took us to become permanent residents. Talk about your roller coaster ride! But we rode it out, even throwing our hands in the air as we hurdled down into the oblivion that is moving abroad and here we are, living a life we only dreamed about a couple of years ago.

We thought our planning was very commendable and complete. We were sure we had considered it all. We read everything we could lay our hands on…and both paperbacks about moving to New Zealand were very helpful…if we had moved here five or ten years ago that is. However some things seem to be a constant here and these are some of the things that I thought would focus on this time.

First and foremost, before you get too excited and start cancelling your subscription to the Atlantic Journal, take a moment to see if you will be allowed to immigrate. There are several ways to qualify to live in New Zealand on a permanent basis. Be sure that you can get in first. The current system favours younger, college educated, healthy individuals, particularly those with certain “priority skills” such as brick layer or Information Technology.  I’m not making this up. If you want to come and work in New Zealand as a “Skilled Migrant”, you’ll need to meet a points “pass mark”. You can also be considered if you can purchase or buy a business that you’ve had previous experience with or if you have a very large sum of money to invest here and live alone for a few years.

To find out if you’d qualify visit the New Zealand Immigration Service website, http://www.immigration.govt.nz/.  There is a sample SMC test plus as you’d expect it has a good deal of other important information about immigration rules and regulations…and unlike most U.S. Government sites it’s pretty easy to actually understand what they are saying! And if you’re considering immigrating by anything other than the Skilled Migrant Category, we’d highly suggest employing an immigration consultant. Things can get very complicated and expensive otherwise.

Now let’s assume that you meet the NZIS’ high standards and that you’re forging ahead with this notion that you could live somewhere besides Wal-Mart Land. Here are some of our recommendations which will quickly get you accustomed to your new homeland, New Zealand.

Employment: Let’s start with the important stuff…how are you going to make a living in New Zealand? If you’re planning on getting a job I’ve got good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first? The bad news?  You’re a glutton for punishment today? Well, here goes. Go to your boss and demand a pay cut first thing in the morning! Sad but true, most people will earn less, as much as 50% less in wages here than for the same work as they did in the U.S. A lot of Kiwi grads head for greener pastures like Canada, the U.S. or the U.K. for one reason…and it’s not because people think their accents are cute. It’s all about the money. If you can deal with that here’s the good news! If you have a degree in a trade that is in demand such as healthcare, I.T., the arts, film making (I’m really not making this up) or construction you’re chances of landing a job are pretty good right now. In reality you can earn a decent wage, one that will allow you to rent or buy a house, feed your family and probably have a lot of fun during the many days off New Zealand folks enjoy as compared to their U.S. cousins.  Most companies offer two to three weeks vacation (holiday) time to new employees and actual holidays seem to roll around every few weeks. We’re looking forward to the Queen’s Birthday! So what if you’re not earning a ton of money…you have a wonderful country to experience in your free time! 

Grocery Shopping:  From now on when you go out to buy groceries only buy products manufactured by companies you’ve never heard of. Get food you have to combine to make your favourite meals…not the things that come pre-prepared. Buy small packages of everything. And above all, pay more than you’d like. Really, it’s not that bad here, but there is an element of truth in all of that. Many American products can be found here, but store shelves are mostly filled with either local brands or things made in Australia, Asia or the U.K. We’ve had to experiment with lots of things to make some of the meals that we were used to in the U.S. Some fare simply tastes a bit different, others are non existent. The low-carb, health food craze hasn’t exploded here yet. Many products are still marketed as “low-fat” while being packed with processed sugar. On a positive note, New Zealand beef is wonderful. Cows are allowed to roam the green countryside and graze on real grass instead of being packed into stalls and fed Lord knows what to fatten them up. Of course there’s plenty of lamb too (sheep outnumber people 12 to 1!). Vegetables are fresh and many are organic. You can crack an egg for breakfast without using a sledgehammer as they don’t feed chickens cement to make their eggs bullet-proof here too.  There’s plenty of fresh fish, but if you want trout you have to catch it yourself…darn! 

We were worried that food here would be similar to that served in England. It’s not, thank goodness. Kiwi meals are flavourful and inventive. There are some odd combinations though. In lieu of pickles (called gherkins here) on hamburgers, you’ll find sliced beets…not all together bad, but very different when you bite into one. When you drop by the local Burger King, just ask them to “Hold the beets please!”

Shopping for other items can be a bit challenging too. Variety is not a wide-spread phenomenon here. It’s better than in Henry Ford’s day when you could choose black, black or black for the colour of your car, but it’s certainly nothing like anyone shopping at a big-box, hypermarket store would be used to. Kiwis have long settled for whatever was offered them. As they move into the 21st century they are getting more demanding both with quality and variety but be prepared to settle more often than not. That said, you’ll find everything you need at mostly comparable prices. Keep in mind that a majority of things are imported and that retailers don’t have the enormous buying power that they do in the States. 

Cars:  I’ve written about our experiences with buying, driving and insuring cars before, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Buying them is easy and about the same as in the U.S. but without the high-pressure, shark skin suited sales experience. New cars are priced about 20% higher here than in North America but used cars, mostly Japanese imports, are priced about the same. Driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car is an exciting experience, but fairly easy to master (remember to look right!). Auto insurance is considerably less as anyone injured in an accident is put back together again at the expense of the government.  However, unless you’re driving a Mini Cooper now, you’ll probably be downsizing in this area. Gasoline (“petrol” here) is about NZ$1.25/liter right now which equates to about US$3.40/gallon (so stop complaining about paying US$2.10/gallon and insist that the cashier take more of your money!). Combine that with the fact that Kiwis have always been thrifty people and you’ll see why there are a lot of smaller cars on the roadways here. A Toyota Camry is classified as a full-sized automobile in New Zealand. We did see a Hummer the other day, but that’s a big – pun intended – exception to the rule. Most people drive small, sensible sedans or station wagons.  Importing a car from the U.S. is generally cost-prohibitive as they have to be converted to right-hand drive (unless they’re an antique or collector car) plus they and you have to meet a multitude of other standards just to drive them.

Taxes: Everything is taxed here, both goods and services. The Goods and Services Tax or GST is 12.5%. The nice thing is that when you see something advertised for $9.95…that’s all you pay…$9.95…as the GST is almost always inclusive. Before getting too excited about that you have to understand that most other taxes are not as high as in the U.S. (no capital gains on NZ investments or property taxes as we know them) so it all comes out in the wash. 

Health Insurance:  Now this is where it gets good. New Zealand has some of the best health care in the world.  Sure, you’ll hear locals carping about having to wait an hour or two for sudden, non-emergency service, but I can safely say that health care in New Zealand is paradise when compared to that in the U.S. If you have a particularly specialized problem and need the best experts in the world to look at your brain to figure out why you like your toilet paper to roll from the top as opposed to the bottom, you may well end up back in the U.S.  However, with regard to day-to-day visits to the doctor for that pulled hamstring or nasty cough, New Zealand can’t be beat. Why? You don’t have to have health insurance! Visitors and locals alike are given health care when they need it. Every man woman and child can see a doctor…of their choice…at any time without having to give up their aunt’s inheritance. In our experience a visit to the doctor costs about half of that in the U.S. and best of all they don’t attempt to see six patients per minute. Sandy’s father and his wife recently came to stay with us for a week and during that time his hip began acting up. He’s a very healthy guy for 79, but we wanted to make sure things were going to be okay on his 18 hour flight back home. We went in to the nearby medical office and asked if he could see a doctor. “Sure!” the nice lady behind the desk said. “But you’ll have to come back later.” “Sure!” we’re thinking…like next year? No. She told us to please come back in about an hour. We returned after a nice lunch. We sat down in the waiting room while he filled out all of the paperwork…one page asking a few basic questions. He went in to see the doctor about ten minutes later. He was back out in another 15. It was nothing serious that a little lumbar support cushion wouldn’t cure. Total cost? NZ$45. If they had prescribed some drugs the total cost would have been no more than NZ$45 either. No insurance issues, no questions…done. You can certainly buy supplemental health insurance here if you like. We checked into it and it would have cost us about $180…a year! Depending on what plan you buy that still gets you into see a doctor of your choice and if you opt for some kind of elective surgery you don’t have to wait. But health insurance is not a requirement here to stay healthy. Now that I’ve said that, keep in mind it’s because of that that New Zealand wants you to be in pretty good shape before y’ll let you immigrate. That doesn’t close the door for folks that have treatable issues such as diabetes, etc., but if you have some health-related the problems, you should probably contact an immigration consultant to see how things might be handled before doing much else, it could save you some time and money in the long run. 

While we’re on the subject of money…let me give you one piece of advice in all sincerity. If you don’t listen to anything else I’ve said…and that’s understandable according to my wife…pay attention to this. Get you finances in order and find people that understand both U.S. and New Zealand tax structures and accounting before immigrating. As long as you are a United States citizen, you will always have to file a U.S. tax return. As long as you’re a permanent resident in New Zealand you will also have to file a NZ tax return. Woo hoo huh? However there are reciprocal tax laws with the United States so you won’t ever end up being double-taxed. The rule of thumb is that you’ll pay whichever country’s tax is higher…woo hoo again. 

Now we thought we had covered our bases here but we’re still working through some things that we weren’t prepared for. If you have a portfolio of any size, make sure you understand how the New Zealand government will handle earnings, losses, sales, etc. because it could be a shock to your financial well-being. Without boring you with our situation, we’ve found that the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) handles some things such as living trusts, IRA’s, anything they consider a Foreign Investment very differently here. And let’s just say that our friends at the IRD tend to favour local over foreign investments…meaning that anything you have invested in the U.S. or elsewhere may not look so good once you arrive here. Even “foreign loans” may be taxed. So it’s best to find an accountant and if needed a broker in both the U.S. as well as in New Zealand to handle your affairs and “get them sorted” as they like to say here BEFORE you immigrate. I can’t recommend anyone here just yet as we’re still working through things, but we’ll keep you posted.

Housing: I get a lot of e-mail asking about how much housing costs here. Like anywhere, it all depends on where you want to live and what constitutes a comfortable place for you in which to live. If you live in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles, housing here will almost certainly be cheaper. If you live in Lizard Lick, Idaho or Sweat Sock, Illinois it could cost more. If you’re happy being able to see your television, kitchen, bathroom and front door from the comfort of your bed, housing can be very affordable! But again, it all depends. People living in the “big cities” of Auckland, Wellington, Christ Church, etc. pay more for housing. Those satisfied with wide-open spaces (of which there are plenty here) and sheep for neighbours will find housing pretty reasonable. You could pay NZ$100K for a house with an ocean view or you could pay NZ$5MM for a house with an ocean view somewhere a little more popular. But all-in-all I would say that Americans would generally be pleasantly surprised by housing affordability in New Zealand. Mortgages are another story as interest rates are hovering around 8% right now and two years is about as long as you can get for a fixed rate. Our accountant tells us that if we had a mortgage the interest could be deducted from our U.S. taxes just as it can be on a home in the U.S. though.  Start by doing some homework at the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) website to get a feel for what properties are selling for in particular areas: http://www.realenz.co.nz/reinz.htm 

Okay, that should give you something to think about for now and I’m sure I’ll think of a few more things later as well. In the meantime, do your homework…and above all start by visiting this beautiful land to see if it’s all you thought it was. It does indeed look as wonderful as you’ve seen in the Lord of the Rings movies, but it’s also not the United States…thank goodness! Then see if the Resident Troll at the New Zealand Bridge will let you pass. If he will, gather up all of your worldly goods, have a big garage sale and make plans to begin a new life in a magical land on the other side of the world. And don’t forget to keep watching the evening news in the meantime…just so you can remember why you want to leave in the first place!

The following are Rick's previous articles for the magazine:

• Chapter 7 - New Zealand ~ So What's The Big Deal
• New Zealand ~ Some Not-So Important Answers To Some Important Questions!
• Life In New Zealand ~ Six Months Later
• We Did It! ~ Escaping To New Zealand
• We Did It! - Part Deux ~ Moving To New Zealand 
• We Did It! - Chapter Three ~ The Magic Of New Zealand
• Life In New Zealand...So Far ~ Cars And Fish

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http://www.emigratenz.org/
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