Any expats from the US moved to NZ find it safer, easier to live?

Hi tpulling83,

Welcome on Expat-blog!

I hope you get replies very soon.

Wish you good luck
Christine

I'm not from the US, but I can tell you it will be very different here.  Depending on your current circumstances, you might well experience a much lower standard of living here. I know I have, and no amount of pretty scenery can make up for it.   

Sadly there is danger wherever you live in the world.  It is important to research what area to live in very carefully.  Bullying at school is regularly highlighted here, and often not taken seriously enough by those in charge, (lots of lip service but little action) so make sure you check that out too. 

The weather is great though.

Good luck with your investigations.

Hi!  I live in Wellington.  I disagree with colinsmum on two things: 1. I don't want to jinx anything, but Wellington is the safest "city" I've ever lived in!  When my Mom came to visit, she asked where the dangerous part of the city was.  Frankly, there aren't any dangerous parts of Wellington -- only one I can kind of think of is Porirua which is about 15km north of Wellington itself, but even that's hardly dangerous if you're from any large metropolitan area. 

2. The weather in Wellington can get annoying because it is very changeable.  I'm originally from NJ where we have 4 distinct seasons.  Here you only get autumn and spring as far as I am concerned.  It doesn't get too cold in winter but it also doesn't get very warm in summer.  That's unique to Wellington though -- apparently we have the worst weather in the country!  But the city is otherwise fantastic, it offers so much in terms of culture, diversity of people, outdoors, etc. 

3. The biggest complaint about standard of living is the quality of housing.  A lot of older houses in Wellington don't have much insulation in them so it feels much colder in winter than it really is.  We've insulated our house now so we have less to complain about.

Only other comment in response to your email is that moving to NZ is a pretty big commitment in that we're so far away from everything in the US.  Going home is pretty expensive and time-consuming.  It's not like moving to Europe where you can just fly home in 7 hours.  For me to get home it takes 3 planes and about 25 hours.  Just something to think about if you're thinking of starting your family here! 

Good luck with your decision.  NZ offers a lot of great opportunities that you can't really get in a lot of other Western countries. 

Hiya tpulling83.

I fear your 3 weeks here will not be enough time to see everything or find a job. Your visitor visa is good for 3 months, use it up.

NZ is an excellent choice for building a life and raising a family in a western world. This place is pro family all the way. You'll find a lifestyle that supports family time. People generally work from 9-5 Mon thru Fri and the rest of the time is for family, play, BBQs, sports, leisure. Although anywhere in the world you go, there will always be "trouble" it just isn't as prevalent here (although "trouble" is what sells newspapers and if you were to read it all the time, you'd think NZ is as dangerous as Los Angeles or Detroit). I think it's because a) it is not a crowded society, b) the differences between the haves and have nots is not as large or "in your face" and c) values are different...it's not all about having the latest ni-ke wear or video games, instead it's about enjoying what you have.

I moved here from Hawaii and have found the cost of many things (basic consumer goods for example) to be very high, but then things like health insurance are stupendously affordable (I was paying close to $450 per month for myself and husband in HI whereas we pay at little more than $100 a month for health, vision, and dental here).

Americaninexile hit the nail on the head with lack of insulated housing and the weather will depend on where you settle. Personally, I'm freezing but that's because I moved here from the tropics. My next rental will be a whole lot different than my first one.

In the entertainment industry, you'll probably end up in Welliwood (Wellington) and there seem to be licensing issues you might want to look into (we don't have Pandora or Netflix because of them, and sometimes I'll try to check out a recommended by US friends youtube clip and I can't again because of licensing issues). I was also surprised to learn that DVDs (and CDs?)are country coded, easy fix with the right DVD player.

As for differences in US and NZ regarding privacy and security? You can finds loads of privacy since there are only 4 million people in an area as big as California. And for security? I don't think NZ has anything anybody wants to come this far for but if the world goes to hell over drinking water someday, Australia might want to take over NZ. Pretty much the only threat outside of sports.

I must mention a big enjoyable, difference between US and NZ is government especially with  accountability and spending. The govt here seems more about the people and for the people and when it comes to spending, check this out. Christchurch's earthquakes (still going on by the way) caused massive destruction and the community will need heaps of dough to rebuild. The govt here is able to move money budgeted for projects in Auckland for example, place those on hold and divert cash to Chch. Would that ever happen in the States? Hell no...a state promised money would turn around and sue the federal govt there if they didn't get the funds they were promised. And that brings me to another new love...sueing. Doesn't fly here. Don't get me wrong, there are some cases on occasion but even then, sueing pays so little it's not sought after. If someone slips on your sidewalk, well, that's an accident, not grounds for millions. Yeah NZ!

Hope this random bit of info is helpful. Happy adventures!

I am from the USA, Ventura California.  My daughter went to NZ to work, her choice of how long was not sure, she is still there and married to a Kiwi! 

Bottom line New Zealand is everything it says it is!  Beautiful, Nice people, Fun, Enjoying life,
I just love it!!

Email me and I can answer some of other concerns you may have.
Carolyn

It does depend on where you are, some places are a lot safer than others.

There are towns that have a gang problem, there are places that can only be reached on dangerous roads, there are communities where everyone locks their door at night and where you wouldn't want your daughter to go out alone.

There are very bad drug problems and a high teen suicide rate.

But the threat of terrorism is less, which is a good thing.

I think so much of it depends on where you are coming from in the US (LA or rural Kentucky?). Do you mean safety from crime or terrorism? In general, there aren't nearly as many guns here as there are in the US. So crime is more likely to be property crime and domestic violence (child abuse). Terrorism really isn't a fear here. Try reading stuff.co.nz to get a sense of what is in the national news. You'll find its more likely to be traffic accidents than violent crime.

Wellington does have a growing film industry, if you have the right skills there are opportunities there. NZ's economy isn't as badly affected as the US as far as the recession goes. But three weeks is fast. You might want to try to line up some informal "coffee" meetings with key people at organizations you would like to work at.

Aside from the world cup the big thing in the news on stuff.co.nz is kids getting assaulted at school. There have been two biggies in the news last couple of days and both of them around Wellington.

I think it's important to realise that this sort of thing goes on and you don't have any false impressions, chose your location with care.

This was about the school in Wellington http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/educati … tys-future

and this about a school in Porirua a few kilometres away  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/5 … oy-alleged