New Zealand, tell me about it

[Quiet Stranger]

Long story short, my girlfriend wants to live in New Zealand someday.

To all the Escapists that live in New Zealand, tell me about it, what is the landscape like, what are the people like, what's the food like, I want to know EVERYTHING about New Zealand and I don't want to "Google" it so don't you dare suggest it!

Most importantly, what is the pay like for someone that works with children, more specifically, someone who works with differently-abled Children (that means mentally handicapped children)

 

[Amakusa]

Hmm looking at your profile your Canadian. New Zealand uses a common law system so that helps. They have a bill of rights like Canada. So accessing the legal system and all that should be the same. (Australia has no bill of rights federally). Also i doubt you would have any problems migrating there unless you have a criminal record. Also NZ has a native population (Maori) like Canada (Eskimos etc), so if your familiar with the issues in Canada, they are similar in NZ. Language wise, the national language is english.


As an Australian that visited there, it seems to be a nice place. Auckland seemed to be an okay city but there may be issues there which is probably better explained by locals. The capital is Wellington and i haven't been there. The country side is nice, however i've only been on the North Island. The South Island is meant to be bloody cold and obviously good for skiing.

As for the pay i dunno. All i can say and this speculation on my part, but i would say that new zealand probably has better labour laws and protection than USA. And that NZ laws would be similar to australia in this regard.

Also here is some websites you might want to look at. I know you wanted specific pay insights but this is the best that i can do as a foreigner hehe:

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/SchoolEmployment/TopicsOfInterest/BaseSalaryandAllowances.aspx#BaseSalary

http://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/whats-happening-in-the-job-market/who-earns-what/

Your GF picked a good place. Your not going to get a massive culture shock and have to learn a new language. Intergrating and adapting should be fine.


Edit http://www.legislation.govt.nz/ in case you need to check NZ law and legislation

 

[Private Custard]

Ooohh, this thread's for me!

I have family that moved out to Auckland some years ago. I've visited numerous times, not just as a tourist, but doing ordinary stuff like food shopping, morning commutes and school runs!

My overall feelings on New Zealand are exceptionally good. The people are generally very friendly and chatty. Even Auckland itself feels nothing like a major city. Sure it has an area of high-rise buildings in the middle, a large insustrial/warehouse area towards the airport end, and a huge sprawling mass of housing in all directions. It all feels a bit more homely.

A large part of the country is very remote though, so choose wisely. Auckland's lovely, but make sure and ask about the areas you look at, as some are better than others. Devonport (North Shore) is amazing, but pretty expensive. Takapuna (North Shore) has decent links to all kinds of businesses, and transport using busses is cheap and easy. Birkdale (North Shore) is an ordinary kind of Auckland suburbia. Parnell (South Shore) is pretty nice, but you may be forced into smaller housing due to prices, as it's much much closer to the city centre.

New Zealands food is brilliant. Being so far from just about everywhere, a lot of what you'll eat will be very fresh NZ produce. The fish in particular, is amazing. And if you pick up a cheap beachcaster, you can also have a go at catching your own! I haven't had a bad meal in NZ yet.

The climate is quite tolerable. Sure, during the height of summer it can get very hot (rapid burn times). The sunblock routine will become second nature in no time. The winters on the upper half of the North Island are fairly mild. You get frosts, but nothing hideous.

If you want to see a little of NZ from the air, I took some video during a doors-off helicopter flight last year. This went from Dairy Flat (north of Auckland), over to Piha (West Coast) and then back over the western edge of Auckland, over the bay and up the East Coast.

Forgive the clicking, it was a GoPro mounted to my camera!


As for jobs and wages, they generally pay less, but the cost of living is less (fuel, food, outdoor stuff), so it's all relative. Just be warned that once you move into NZ, holidaying anywhere else will seem very expensive.

When my Sister moved out there, I was really sad. I was even worse when she had kids. But having got to know ordinary NZ, I'm happy that my nieces are growing up in such a great country. They're very lucky indeed.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

The largest city (Auckland) is built on/around 50 volcanoes and the the Capital (Wellington) is right next to a major fault and parts of it are expected to fall into the sea when the big one hits. The middle of the North Island is a volcanic and geothermal hotspot with Lake Taupo being the site of a massive super-volcano the blew itself up in the past.

Apart from the ground there is very little that can kill you in New Zealand, there are no snakes, venomous spiders or large predators.

The weather is temperate, with the North Island only the mountains get regular snowfall enough for skiing with many areas having never seen snow. The South is much colder with snowfall down to sea-level in some places. In summer the temperature can hit 30 degrees in the north, with lots of sunny days perfect for activities. The biggest issue is the damage to the Ozone Layer lets in large amounts of UV radiation during the spring and summer months, so sun-screen is a must especially if you have fair skin.

Food-wise the cuisine is mainly British/Western with various other cultural palates such as Indian/Malay/Chinese being the minority. It isn't difficult to get rarer ingredients from local shops run or supported by immigrants but some items can be very expensive or unable to pass MAF bio-security regulations, mainly exotic fruit. Meat and dairy products are relatively cheap, as is fish.

Auckland is the largest city with a population of 1 million, over a quarter of New Zealand's total population.

Where exactly are you planning to live? Each city has its own unique issues.

 

[Feedmeketamine]

I've heard its like scotland but further

 

[Magicite Spring]

I've lived in New Zealand all my life and I have to say, its a pretty nice place to live. Everyone is generally nice and friendly, and the Government, since it doesn't actually do too much, is not that screwed up.

Minimum wage is around $15 per hour. I'm not sure how much child workers get paid, but since disabled child care is a bit specialized you should get pretty good pay.

If you do come over here, be prepared to hear about sports a lot, especially the All Blacks our national rugby team. Effectively everyone here loves the All Blacks and we are just a proud sporting nation in general.

Finally, and most importantly, games at retail tend to cost around $100-$130NZ at release, which sucks but is our punishment for living in such a nice country.

 

[jetriot]

Fairly average unemployment, pretty good wages and fairly low taxes. The government has a pretty large debt problem that it will need to come to terms with in the next few years... but who doesn't? If you are a highly skilled laborer you should find employment pretty easy, but it isn't the land of milk and honey... liberal arts degrees are still liberal arts degrees no matter where in the world you are.

Generally, it is a great place to live in my opinion. However, you will be isolated from and connections you have now and travel home will not be cheap.

Also if you aren't wealthy, you need some kind of skill to move to the country. It isn't the U.S. or some country that needs a lot of unskilled labor. Here is a link to the list of careers that will get you a work permit there.

http://www.workingin-newzealand.com/visa/skill-shortages/essential-skills#c

 

[chozo_hybrid]

We talk quite fast, so be ready for that.

its supposed to have a pretty macho culture and this is supposedly reflected in a high suicide rate amongst young men as a result...that's one of the lines i have heard about NZ many, many times...but even if that's true i don't it would affect someone going there as an adult from somewhere else that much...other than that its meant to be a lovely place and has seemed that way everytime i've looked into it.

It's true, that rate is unfortunate. But as for a macho culture? That's a new one, we're no worse then any other country I know of in regards to that. At least in this humble kiwis opinion.

Hope you like rugby and sport in general, I don't, it's pretty hard to avoid, but other then that, I love my country.

Minimum wage is around $15 per hour. I'm not sure how much child workers get paid, but since disabled child care is a bit specialized you should get pretty good pay.

$13.75 is the current rate I believe, which isn't too bad at all

 

[Trunkage]

Hi,
Australia pay for special needs child care is not paid much more than normal, its more based on experience and degrees done. It may not be the same but it probably is.
Although a GL in Australia gets paid around $22

 

[malkavianmadman]

I have lived in the Waikato my entire life and I just want to say one thing. Don't expect everywhere to look like middle fucking earth.

 

[Yuuki]

Lived in NZ for nearly 15 years now, I'll tell you about Auckland because that's where you'll most likely land in NZ and is probably the best place to "base" yourself in.
Auckland is the largest city that is built around roughly ~48-50 volcanoes...don't let that scare you though because they are all dormant/extinct, basically most of this island was shaped by volcanoes. I think one or two of them are expected to erupt in maybe the next 100,000 years. It's fun to visit them and play around inside them (yup, inside).

Spoiler: Mount Eden

Whether/climate...very mild, at the hottest during summers it hits around ~25C (77F), during winters it can come as low as ~5-10c (40-50F). Due to being so close to the water the temperatures are very stable all year around. Oh but regarding Auckland be warned that it's REALLY random in terms of rain and sun. It can be a clear blue sky and start pouring down literally 1 hour later, and then clear blue sky again. People often joke that Auckland has all 4 seasons happening in 1 day

The people are VERY mixed in terms of ethnicity, literally coming from everywhere. If you asked me "what is most of the population comprised of" I wouldn't even be able to give you a straight answer. Most of Europe including Scotland, Ireland, UK...then there's South Africa, India, China, Korea, people from everywhere. Finally there's the Pacific Island population from Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Fiji, and NZ's own Maori. Oh but we don't get many Americans here, they're quite rare (we can tell right away because their accent is so different ). You'll see some ethnic groups more common (or less common) depending on the region/suburb you visit.
Generally we're a friendly/nice bunch...I guess, there's not much I can compare to.

Crime rates vary between areas, overall petty crime is quite low and serious stuff like murders are rare. Gun crime is non-existent (this country is the opposite of US in terms of gun-fanatics).

Food is...like the people, very mixed. As far as I know New Zealand doesn't really have it's "own" thing in terms of food/culture because it's just so mixed, I mean this country was DISCOVERED ~200 years ago so compared to other countries it barely has a history. You'll get whatever food you're after, it's all available. Indian and Chinese food especially is quite popular here.

Also there's pretty much no species of insect/reptile here that are harmful. This country has a rather weird thing caused by it's completely seperation and isolation from everywhere else, everything here developed with literally no predators.

It's not all roses n' honey mind you, this country has it's downsides (which country doesn't) and most of them are largely linked to the distance from all other countries and small population (~4.2 million). Most tech-related products and big brands cost significantly more here, around ~25-40% more than what they cost in USA - yes that is after conversion. This is due to price-gouging over the large distances. The overall range and variety you'll find during shopping is less. Also internet is relatively expensive and slow compared to USA, this country's internet infrastructure really isn't anywhere near as good as the leading countries. You can get an 8mb-10mb/s connection with ~80-150gb monthly cap depending on ISP (range of ISP's is very small, only a few of them here), but if you're an online gamer then there's no helping the high latencies to US/foreign servers due to the distance. If the game you're playing doesn't have active/populated Australian servers then you'll have to deal with lag all the time.

Feel free to ask more questions

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

NZ is where the hobbits live and where they took the ring to Mount Doom. Seriously, i saw it in a documentary called Lord Of The Rings that was filmed in NZ. ;-)

 

[Jarulek]

~snip~

Apart from the ground there is very little that can kill you in New Zealand, there are no snakes, venomous spiders or large predators.


Food-wise the cuisine is mainly British/Western with various other cultural palates such as Indian/Malay/Chinese being the minority. It isn't difficult to get rarer ingredients from local shops run or supported by immigrants but some items can be very expensive or unable to pass MAF bio-security regulations, mainly exotic fruit. Meat and dairy products are relatively cheap, as is fish.

~snip~

Just a couple of clarifying points:

New Zealand does have venomous Spiders (The Katipo, and the Redback, see here for more info http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/spiders-and-other-arachnids/page-5 ), though as the page says, there have been no recorded fatalities.

Also, fish is actually quite expensive here, especially when you consider that NZ has fairly large fishing operations. Its cheaper to buy Lamb or Pork than to buy most fish at the supermarket. It is, however, quite easy to go and catch your own fish.

Oh, and the 'four seasons in one day' thing? totally true, in one Day in Auckland I've had sunshine, rain, hail, overcast and back to sunshine (in about 4 hours).

 

[Abomination]

I have a friend in the 'States asking a similar question. He works with troubled youths and was wondering if New Zealand would be a good location to move to that doesn't suffer from some of the political and social issues plaguing the United States today.

The answer is that he would certainly get away from those type of issues. We don't have the same type of political climate where a party remains unmoving on a certain moral agenda. The homosexual marriage law was passed with votes from all parties and votes against from all parties. Folks who have moved here, including my girlfriend from the United States, have mentioned how they enjoy how transparent the government is.

As for work, that would be a difficult one. The job you have described isn't in very high demand in New Zealand. It's not as though New Zealand residents have any experience in emigrating to their own country to work in a particular field. I'm no immigration broker either so I'm not going to do that work for you, that's definitely something you need to Google yourself.

It's generally a great place to live, all things considered. There's no stand out issue I can picture myself having. It's not a place you go to in order to make boatloads of money, it's a place you go to in order to raise kids and live a relatively stress-free life.

The suicide rates are high mostly for males coming out of their teenage years. The exact reason for this is unknown but most think it has a lot to do with high expectations yet low opportunities to recent graduates or those who haven't graduated. I can't think of any mass melancholy that would cause such a thing.

It's a good place to live but I can't really say if it would be an improvement over Canada unless you're sick of snow and cold weather.

 

[Abomination]

Also there's pretty much no species of insect/reptile here that are harmful. This country has a rather weird thing caused by it's completely seperation and isolation from everywhere else, everything here developed with literally no predators.

Depends on what you consider a predator we do have predator birds here.

We have no mammals like wolves or foxes, bears or cougars etc. there is essentially nothing in New Zealand that is native and can kill you. The only creatures that could are farmyard animals like cows, sheep (yes, they're called rams and will fuck you up should they wish to), horses and dogs, obviously. But the very idea of a bear wandering into your garden is an incredibly alien thing.

 

[HoneyVision]

I've lived in New Zealand for 20 years. Small population, which means the government can afford benefits and income support better. It's a super safe country, very peaceful and very multi-cultural.

The people here are very relaxed and laid back, bordering on lazy. Which really annoys me. Society is also irritatingly liberal and politically correct. There's also a general lack of outside knowledge and ignorance regarding anything outside of NZ/Australia. But that's more or less typical of western nations. Racism/discrimination is not pertinent or dangerous, but there's definitely a feeling of racial elitism sometimes. But it could just be me being paranoid.

I love NZ though, I've always called it my Foster Home because it feels like HOME. And despite it being slow and lacking in opportunities, I always manage to get homesick when I'm overseas.

 

[HoneyVision]

Oh and it's VERY humid here. Rather tropical. It doesn't snow but it will rain weeks on end. Just constant rain.

 

[Voulan]

Most of the other Kiwis here have said all I would say, but I will expand a bit on the culture. Most of our food is actually grown locally because of our distance, which means it's usually fresh and of a high quality (as such, NZ is a key exporter of agricultural goods). The population is also far less than what you're used to, so it won't seem nearly as crowded or big - but as a trade-off, the traffic is terrible because our roads don't accommodate that many cars in one go. We're in a bit of a money rut because of natural disasters, but not any more than any other country. I've been told we rank within the top 10 most peaceful countries in the world, although we do have a youth drinking problem. We only have three news programmes, so there's not much in the way of political bias or debates. The further south you go the more cold and sparse it becomes, but in the summer it's fairly warm. We have a huge emphasis on a laid-back culture and local pride, which you'll notice just by watching our ads. Flying out of the country though is very expensive, as is our game prices. Also, out Internet connection to the rest of the world is pretty crap, so if you're a competitive multiplayer type, be prepared for some rage. And of course, it's a beautiful country. Just watch LOTR or something to get an idea. If you've played Far Cry 3, the locals on the island are basically Maori and have the Kiwi accent.

Sorry that's a little run-on, I'm just listing as I think of things.

EDIT: Also because of the Christchurch earthquakes, there's a massive demand for construction labourers for the next 10-15 years. If you have an engineering degree, you'll be away laughing.

 

[Ryleh]

Ooh! I'm from New Zealand and I'm a girlfriend!

Just gonna hit your last question first: Out of all the places I've lived, Dunedin has the highest amount of work going looking after "differently-abled" kids. A few of my friends have done it and they say it's awesome and the pay's pretty good by NZ standards. Dunedin's a great place in the sense that it's not big enough to have traffic and crime, but not so small as to miss out on anything. Living costs are super cheap and it's also the best place in NZ for local art & music. I'll argue that point all day if need be.

That being said, Auckland's where you wanna' go if you want a larger and more diverse city. There's a little bit of everything there if you can put up with the higher cost of living and all the crowds. I grew up there and there are definitely things I miss about the place.

You can't really go wrong with any of the other cities either, with the following exceptions:

Don't go to Invercargill, Gore, or Hamilton. Just don't. Hamilton does have a pretty good scene for LANs, whorewhammer, and MTG but that's generally because there's nothing else there besides teenage pregnancy and misery. (Sorry Hamiltonians, I don't mind visiting but generally the city makes me want to grind my face off with a cheese grater).


PS: I recall Yahtzee mentioning in one panel at this years escapist expo that drinking Fosters (beer) is like saying "please kill me". If you come here, don't drink the waikato draught (or the fosters for that matter, we have that too).