To sdh080 - Yes you are right but in NZ its slightly different for working class. You will survive but sometimes you tend to overspend. The economy is small, thats why growth chances for individuals in working class are minimal, and costs of living are generally increasing over time, food, rents etc.. Thats what Cobra may have been getting at.

To kiwigser - No i m not saying those are the only type of jobs an immigrant is qualified for. Based on your qualifications or experience you may do anything specific, i am only trying to specify the job roles that Cobra may be talking about, as working class in NZ may have a tougher time than the rest. And usually in NZ, as the economy is small and is not as fast paced, you will find many people in the 'working' class trying to live a slow and relaxed life.

The other people who fill the skill shortages may be reasonably paid, i agree, but again, people do tend to spend more than they earn at times, it then motivates you to grow as an individual and move up the ladder in your job role to make more money to suit your lifestyle, but thats when people realise that there arent enough opportunities to become a manager or get to a higher designation etc in the country, they look elsewhere and the closest bet is australia..

There will always be opportunities to live a pleasant life, you just have to be wise and manage your money carefully. Theres only 4.1 million people in the country, and the biggest market in NZ is dairy, so you can expect many people in that industry. Oh and who can forget real estate, you can even find an engineer becoming a real estate agent.

The opportunities are there alright but I don't know why an engineer would want to become an estate agent in the current financial climate, it's not the easy money it used to be. The number of real estate agents fell by just over a quarter last year, some offices have shrunk from 30 staff to 10.

Thousands of real estate agents leaving industry - Story - National - 3 News

Far better to think about becoming a dairy farmer, there's lots of money in that right now.

Each his/her own experience of course, but I've found New Zealand to be everything I expected after moving from Holland: not cheap, not easy, lots of similarities but the main difference being Kiwis that are friendly, less egocentric, less rushed and there's just a lot more space around for everyone. Green (and rain, but also sunshine otherwise things wouldn't grow so well), nature, animals and plants, wide spaces and that I believe ultimately leads to that open mentality: not packed like lemmings in boxes all the time!

we sent our paper work to imigration in july and got the recieved message in august so i think it is just a waiting game.dont have any idea of how long it will take to be acepted.

Interesting to see some of the comments. Wife and I spent 2 weeks traveling through NZ. We really liked the country, pace, people.

I have lived in US for 16 years and getting really tired of the pace and costs. Granted I have lived in kind of expensive cities (Chicago and now Boston) so everything looks cheaper to me. We are considering either moving abroad. NZ and Singapore is on the radar.

So let me contribute my view here:

Realestate - where I live $500K USD gets you a 2 bed 2 bath apartment with no parking and $6K in realestate taxes. We stayed in a brand new $350K NZD apartment in Auckland Centre with 2 parking spots and same thing in Boston would be $800K USD easily. If you live in a cheap old house, then don't complain about leaky walls and high utilities. When we moved to Boston, we lived for 4 months in a cheap house. In December our gas bill was $400USD!!!
My electrical in a brand new insulated building right now is $100USD per month and heat is paid for via rent.

Transportation. Gas prices - we focus too much on something that is 10% of the real cost of running a car. I counted less potholes in 2000+ KM I drove in NZ than I can find in less than a kilometer in Boston or Chicago. Cars looked in much better shape than I see them in US. No crazy rust, busted suspensions, etc. Yes, new cars looked expensive (e.g. my sports car is 3X the price I paid for it brand new here in US), but used cars looked very reasonably priced. And looks like laws are very liberal for importing a car you owned for more than 6 months even if it is LHD. I looked into it, it is cheaper for me to ship my cars to NZ than to ship them from Boston to San Diego.

Crime - you guys really ***** about that? Are you comparing with Singapore? The crimes we had in Chicago and I hear about in Boston would be treated as national tragedies in NZ. You will piss your pants every time you walk home at night in affordable neighborhoods in both cities.

Food prices - is anything in NZ not organic or free-range? To get same quality of food, you would have to shop at Whole Foods in US. There is a reason why in US we call that chain "Whole Paycheck". So compare apples to apples.

Jobs - I am looking into that right now. Wife and I are experts in our fields. Locals I befriended did confirm our total comp would be lower than in US, but we work about 60-80 hours per week, because that is "normal" pace here. How many Kiwis work 60 hour weeks?
Even Kiwi entrepreneurs I am friends with do not work the kind of hours I work here. I need slower pace and per hour I am willing to bet I will do better in NZ.

All in all, as one of my NZ expat friends (who is an economist) explained, it is all about your "consumption package". Moving to NZ will be more expensive, if you expect to mimic what you have in your country of origin. Switch out some things and you will do alright.

^ comment re

the houses subject to the leaky building problems were not necessarily 'cheap'. I bought a house in a new Wellington subdivision, houses (2003) were from $400-700k; the subdivision had been built 1999-2000. There are/were plenty of affected houses in the million $ price range.

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Thank you for your post. I am living in Shanghai and the simpler life is calling us hard. I work in digital marketing/advertising and it seems as though there are some prospects in NZ. I am hopeful. I am grateful to everyone that has posted and I see that which lens you look at it with will color your view dramatically. The main reason I am looking to move is because the pollution in China is just unbelievable. And not just in the air... with the food. You have no idea what you are eating here. The trickery here is mind boggling - fake watermellons? Fake eggs? Recently even Evian failed its gov quality checks... and the gov's tests aren't exactly perfect either. It is no way to live, not knowing if your food is poisoning you. I am from Austin, Texas originally - home of the "Whole Paycheck" Whole Foods. I guess I forgot how lucky I was to have food that was actually edible and nutritious.

The housing situation sounds a bit bleaker than I had hoped for but our ultimate goal is to build a organic farm/eco-resort and NZ sounds like an idea place for that. That is down the road a bit but where ever it ends up, I am sure I will design and build my own place (heating and de-humidification control emphasized).

With some of the other posters comments, there are few places in the world that being working class is easy. I think the key is trying to chose your lifestyle well. We live in Shanghai where dinner can range from $2 US (local and questionable toxicity) to $200 for international fare. China, if you want to live healthfully, is one of the most expensive places on earth.

Are there any job boards you would recommend? I am hoping to make a shift in the next 3-6 months. And post some photos guys... I want to see the good with the bad!

Thanks

Jared

Hi Jared - best jobsite is SEEK - New Zealand's no.1 jobs, employment, career and recruitment site or look at the jobs on Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me (the NZ equivalent of ebay)

For photos - look for Song Si's posts. He's posted some wonderful ones!

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Ha! Have re-read my post from almost a year ago and still feel the same way. When we compare things like moving from US to NZ, things like where the heck you are moving from US matters. I live in Boston and NZ looks cheaper, compared how much things are here.
If you are moving from say Des Moines, IA, your cost perspective is VERY different. For what I pay in rent in Boston for 2-bed 2-bath with a garage PLUS insurance on two cars, you could rent a mansion and have 3-4 cars for the same.

I agree. I lived 1 he south of Boston and housing is still way cheaper here in NZ. Food is 50 percent more.