When I moved to NZ I had so many questions and unknowns about what life would be like when I got here. I didnt actually know anyone living in Wellington so I had no one to ask. This was super annoying! Since beginning the blog, I have connected with loads of people via Facebook and Instagram mainly, and they have asked me loads of questions about my moving to NZ experience, naturally. These questions have often been asked more than once and required a thoughtful response.
SO, this post is my response, to those questions, those FAQs. Im intending this to be a hub of information. It would be great, if you are moving here and have more questions or things to add, if you could write them in the comments at the bottom of the post. This way, others can then find the info, or I can add the questions to the post and answer them as we go along. I hope this makes sense. Here we go.
FAQs to an Expat in NZ
Did you ship items over or just sell up and get on a plane?
No I didn’t ship anything over at all. I sold up all of my things in London and hopped on a plane. I came to NZ via Australia (to pick up my boyfriend) and nothing was planned properly until the last minute. It was much easier in this situation to acquire when I got here as it left me more freedom. Also as I have only ever rented furnished houses, I didn’t have a whole lot of stuff worth sending. I could have sent things like kitchen equipment, clothes and my sewing machine but I have heard that they don’t always last well in a hold for a few months.
However, if you are looking to ship, I am sorry, I don’t currently know of any good firms for this. If you do, feel free to comment and I can update this.
What are your biggest hurdles faced so far as an expat?
Luckily, I haven’t found anything to be that difficult at all regarding the practicability of my move to NZ. Everything has run pretty smoothly. I would say that you just need to be prepared as possible.
It might be worth reading my blog post on The 9 Essential Tasks for Moving to New Zealand to help you with your preparations.
My biggest hurdle has definitely been the emotional one of being really far from friends and family. Making friends at my age (late 20s) is not particularly easy as people already have their set groups of friends and are not always necessarily looking for more. If you have kids or are joining uni, there is a kind of common denominator that brings people together but I didn’t have this when I moved to Welly. I definitely noticed this a lot at the beginning of my move, but it has, for sure, gotten better through time. I have met lots of lovely people now. This kind of thing just needs time, as you become more settled and more people just come into your life in the most surprising ways!
What were you wrong about regarding your move?
I was definitely wrong about the Working Holiday Visa length. I thought that with this visa, I would be able to extend after a year and then work for a total of 24 months. It wasn’t till I met with a recruitment agent that I realised this isn’t the case. Even if you have a visa that lasts for two years, you are only able to work on it for a total of 12 months. This was fine for me as I was then able to apply for a Partnership Work Visa (See my post about that HERE) but for those not in this situation, this is well worth realising before you come here that you can only work for 12 months tops on working holiday visa.
Photo by Hayley Benoit.
What mistakes have you made in settling in NZ?
I think the only real mistake I have made was worrying about my move. It really has been such a smooth transition and I the fact that I was worrying about everything was the only element that made things more difficult than they needed to be. I was worrying I wouldn’t be able to find a job or a house, or friends but of course all of this has worked out gradually and I wasted my time by worrying. Isn’t this always the way though?! Stop worrying!
Do NZ companies accept overseas job seekers?
This is a difficult question for me to answer as I looked for a job when I was here. However, it could be worth letting you know that I did apply for around 3 jobs from outside the country in the run up to arriving but all were unsuccessful. Whether this was because they didn’t like my working holiday visa status or because I hadn’t arrived yet, I don’t know.
What are the costs of things in NZ?
This is a big question. The costs in NZ are high is the short answer. BUT they are not too high. You can make it work. I wrote a post about the average costs of things in NZ in my experience so give this a click and check it out: Cost of living in NZ – The Truth.
I am soon looking at doing a groceries run down blog post for those interested in this specifically so watch this space.
What do you wish you had known before moving to Wellington?
I wish I would have known that the weather was so windy and I wish I would have realised how important it is to have a sunny house. These two things go hand in hand! But other than that I have enjoyed surprises and how lovely it is here in Welly. No complaints.
Medical care in New Zealand, whats the deal?
My experience is as a UK citizen so this will probably be different depending on which country you are from. But the UK have a reciprocal agreement with NZ which means that all emergency and non expected medical care is free. This means that if I were in a car crash I would be treated in hospital under the reciprocal agreement. What it doesn’t mean though is that I can visit the doctor for free like I can in the UK. There is a fee here to see the GP of around $70-$90 depending on whether you are registered.
I have found this info really helpful about medical care in NZ: 12 Must Knows about Health Care in NZ
I took out medical insurance while here in New Zealand anyway just to be on the safe side. Initially I took out travel insurance when I left the UK, as I would be on a working holiday visa. After this ran our I extended as I was away longer than expected and used Orbit as they gave good rates for those already in NZ on a working holiday.
Now I am on a Partnership visa I intend to just rely on the reciprocal agreement. Whether this is the right thing to do, I need to look into more.
What about the Dentist?
For the dentist you will need to pay $60-$70 for a check up and more depending on what work you need doing. I have heard of someone having a root canal that cost nearly $1000 but that may be a horror story. I made sure to get to the dentist when I was back at home for christmas to avoid this. But if you here long term it is an inevitable issue you will face.
What is ACC?
One really awesome thing here in NZ is ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) who subsidise treatment of accident related injuries of anyone in NZ visitor or resident. They will help pay for time you are off work, as well as this they subsidise treatment like Physical Therapy of injuries sustained during an accident in NZ. This is to limit blame culture. Pretty good I reckon!
(There is a good chance I will make a whole post medical stuffs soon, as I think there is a lot of useful info I can share here)
Why did you choose Wellington over other parts of New Zealand?
We chose Wellington because we heard it was the ‘coolest’ city to live in in NZ. We were not tied to jobs or anything when we left to come here so were free to go wherever. Wellington seemed to have the right jobs for us and have the right vibe. We were told Wellington had the most art, culture, festivals, fun people of all the cities in NZ (debatable I am sure). I definitely think we made the right choice, at least for now. Although I do dream of sunny climates and beach life sometimes. It a GREAT city. I am happy with it.
Read more about why I moved to NZ and Wellington in my post. Why Move to New Zealand?
How cold is it?
So, it is really really cold sometimes. Even in Wellington which is not the coldest part of NZ the temperatures can drop to near 0. This happens in the UK so I should be used to it right? Right, but somehow the wind here can cut through you. Also the heating is not up to par (See my post about this HERE.) BUT, it does get lots of beautiful sunny days which seem to melt away the cold and warm you up at least somewhat.
To those are my FAQs about my moving to NZ experience. Do you have anything else to ask? Ask away!
Thanks for reading.
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Peace
Josie x