How accurate is this? Should you visit? Should you move/work there? Safety, corruption, risks, etc. The common things people worry about: The less common things people worry about: Outliers: General bent of the people re: immigrants: Air, Water, Food, Housing, Power, Phone, Internet Air Water Food Power Phone Service Internet Housing - moved to bottom of page for now. Working full time in NZ - how to get started General order of operations Banking Loans and lines of credit NZ Bank Account Number Schema Moving money from foreign accounts to NZ Donating to Charity: Taxes for migrants Buying a car Adapting US electronics to NZ Buying stuff online Finding businesses, classes, meetups in NZ Do you need to use a VPN? Will you need BitTorrent? Hitchhikers in NZ: Moving your stuff to NZ  Moving your family to NZ Learning the languages: Cities that are walkable / have transit: Cities you will probably fly to: Auckland Wellington Nelson: ChristChurch QueensTown Dunedin: Napier: Wanganui: Towns you might visit: Takaka/Golden Bay: Ohakune: Housing - mostly TBD Housing and buying as an immigrant Politics Economics Drugs The future of New Zealand

 

How accurate is this?

 

It's probably wrong.  I was going to fix it.  Society for unfinished studies says that 6 out of 10

Should you visit?

 

Yes.  If you have even the faintest idea that you might want to visit, you should plan a visit.  Plan it six months ahead - some of the things you might want to do are popular and there can be a waiting list - six months should get you anywhere.  Look online to see when bookings open up for the things you want and book the day they open.

 

Should you move/work there?

 

Tougher question.  NZ definitely needs skilled workers, but like most things, work and living is about community - if you find a good one - that's probably where you should be.  It is common to find communities in NZ that share interests in Ag, Environment, Outdoor activities.  Lots more on offer, but those are the big ones AFAICT.  Communities of interest are not the only type, but if you are trying to skill-up and work, they are important. 

 

However, in a small place, communities are often communities of necessity, and sometimes those can be stronger, and more satisfying, than other types.  In any case, if you find a community that you love, yeah, your average experience here should hold muster with the rest of the world. 

 

I will wax poetic about "place" when I talk about NZ or other awesome places, but communities are always going to be one of the largest factors for most purposes, long term.

 

Safety, corruption, risks, etc.

 

First, we are probably all going to die of heart disease or cancer, in NZ, the US, or most other places, so everything has a priority.

 

NZ is one of the safests country in the world, by most metrics that count. 

 

The common things people worry about:

 

Violent crime is statistically 20% of what you probably see in the US, and maybe 5x what you see in Japan.  Relatively speaking, pandemics, virii, etc. are not as significant an issue in NZ as in most places.  Car theft is really frequent, though, for some reason.

 

All physical accidents are taken care of - if you fall down as a tourist, you get care - that's the excellent part of the NZ health care system (the ACC). With some rare exceptions, which you will be forewarned about, if you know anyone at all in NZ, you can basically walk around in most cities in the dark and not worry about safety.  

 

Obvious corruption is minimal.  Non-obvious corruption is the usual - entrenched corporate welfare and occasional gang/organized-crime is supported by government regulation (i.e. prohibition) - don't believe for a minute that there is not just as much regulatory capture in NZ as in any modern democracy.

 

NZ is fairly diverse, depending on where you are - so you should not expect as much racism as back home - that said - this is an ancient problem that is obviously still being worked on.  

 

All in all - You should expect the run of the mill institutional corruption, racism, and petty theft to be exactly the world average - nothing special either way - just get active in politics and keep track of your belongings, as usual. 

 

The less common things people worry about:

 

Walk around in the dark in the woods of NZ  -  no animals that can hurt you exist here.  It is refreshing to come to a place where you don't worry about spiders, bugs, reptiles, or mammals - you can feel free to engage with nature - at ease - picnic in the forest, hike at night, leave that spider in your house to it's own devices. Grab that hold in that rock or that rock out of the river without fear of poison or real danger.

 

Skin cancer - NZ has more UV than most areas - this is a huge deal and it's what you should really be worried about - you have to follow best practices.  That is such a critical page to read - it tells you how to protect yourself - it also mentions the difference between the northern and southern hemisphere summers, uv density in the atmosphere, and other interesting things.  In fact, it goes into this wiki as a backed-up pdf, in case anyone comes here and the website is down: Reducing the burden of melanoma in New Zealand Part 1_ Prevention and risk assessment - bpacnz.pdf

 

Bowel cancer and other cancers often related to water and food quality - the level of these is very high in NZ - probably breaking the math for cancer care by the government.  The solution in a country with regulatory capture by agriculture and food industries is to not study this problem, and just cover other medical issues but not cancer.  So, lab testing your water is probably a good thing to do.

 

In general, what you should be worried about is mundane health care issues - getting clean water, clean food, and a good zinc-based sunscreen - learning to navigate the health care system, which is strongly encouraged to turn away patients and patient requests at every level - it seems shockingly bad until you know where to go, who to see, what kind of insurance to have, and how to advocate strongly and politely until you get care - way easier in other developed countries to get way better care in general - but you can get care, ultimately, that is satisfactory in NZ.

 

Outliers:

 

Even outliers like war, climate change, and natural disasters are less likely to have an impact.  Wars are not really that threatening - just look at the modern history - invasions post-colonialism have never been and probably never will be a thing - NZ has trade on offer, not violence - and it's 5000 miles out of your way if you are trying to get anywhere else.  Climate change is coming everywhere - fires and floods will be horrible eventually but the southern hemisphere seems to be years behind years behind the norther hemisphere in this - and those are years with which to prepare.

 

General bent of the people re: immigrants:

 

TL;DR wear funny t-shirts and smile at and start conversations with every kiwi you can.

 

I'll preface this note by saying that this section may not be very useful as notes - I am very new to NZ, having been traveling back and forth for a few years before immigrating recently.  In other words:

 

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT, HERE

 

Only a little bit of this is based on my own experience - consider it one data point, but largely this is what I have heard directly from dozens of conversations with kiwis and people who immigrated to NZ and spent most of their lives there - and indirectly from 6 years and thousands of interactions with NZ folks.  I am simply struggling to understand what is happening around me, and writing helps me to do that.  As soon as I get over myself, I'll probably delete this section.

 

In general, people are friendlier and more family oriented than in most places, including most other commonwealth countries.  NZ is more Christian (statistically)k, on average, than the US or most countries outside of south America, but quite a bit more tolerant on average of religious diversity as well.  In general, kiwis are great folk. (Speaking less formally, people in NZ are nice as heck, and even the ones that are stuck-up folk or are violent asshats I think, deep down, are really good folk, or want to be - it might just be me, but I feel like everyone can be reached.)

 

The reputation of people from your country might be much more strongly embedded into the Kiwi psyche than into the psyche of neighboring countries - NZ is about as far from everywhere as can be.  In my case, I noticed that the media that NZ generates locally is just wildly different from what actually happens on the ground in the US - it's kind of like European media - and being here feels like being in rural Europe - there is awesome reporting, but the mainstream stuff is just way off - people have opinions about US folk that would take a lifetime to dissuade them of (you're dumb and dangerous - and if you have always been peaceful and smart - well, you might still be dumb and dangerous).  So, that's a thing.

 

Of course you will still meet assholes, bullies, etc. and you will run into the problem of ignorance, probably just as often as you will anywhere else.  

 

The "tall poppy" syndrome in NZ is a bias against action, science, and progress, and towards protectionism, isolation, and depression.  It's not as bad as some of the endemic collective psychosocial disorders in other places, but, if you are an immigrant - it probably won't be something that you adapt to and go along with.  The tall poppy thing can be viewed as an outgrowth of positive humility and neighborly association, but it's certainly an odd-shaped growth.  Kiwis are well aware of the tall poppy thing, and they do respect overcoming it, possibly because they know that overcoming it came at great expense.  One related symptom of "tall poppy" is just never talking of yourself as if you are more important than the average person - I've seen that with Native Americans - it's feels great - it feels nice to not talk about that stuff - but some Native Americans I know will tell you they have "tall poppy" as well.

 

None of this what follows is something that a Kiwi would ever need to think about.  Only immigrants have to think about these kinds of things - native locals have very little incentive to spend their time associating or empathizing with an immigrant.  So, this is real projection, here, when an immigrant tries to map their experience on the minds of locals.  One of the wonderful code-switching experiences that living in a new country requires...here we go...

 

That brings us to acceptance and deep connections.  You probably know that immigrants almost never "fit in" and get fully accepted.  Generally, the immigrant experiences difficulty that locals do not, sometimes in the extreme.  They must also accept non-acceptance, be the person they love to be, and then, if they survive, they can be accepted as that person, but never as a native.  We can only integrate as ourselves.  That's a good thing.  You wouldn't try to pick up a new personality any more than you would force a new accent (except to pronounce things comprehensibly in a dialect) - genuine change happens naturally. 

 

If all the immigrant stories I have heard are true, then in NZ, it will be more difficult for you than in other countries to form friendships or strong relationships with native kiwis, and easier to form casual acquaintances than in other places.  AFAICT, the only workaround to this is to embed and become extremely involved with both expats and native kiwis doing things that you love.  Doing things that you are great at....might not get you there...a subset of folks have a level of fear for their jobs and reputation that is so high that they must isolate and try to ignore or diminish anyone that they *think* might threaten their job or reputation...I don't know why this is...maybe it comes from being on an island and just not having that much job mobility...or some other reputation syndrome - doesn't matter - just connect based on things you love, and things that are *not* part of the livelihood or reputation of any kiwi - I know that people have found deep connections that way.

 

Explaining without condescending, as an immigrant:

 

1) Explain things ahead of time:  To the extent that a person is isolated from the world and gets their knowledge from the internet and other sources of heresay, they don't know what they really know, and they assume that immigrants are far less knowledgeable and intelligent, and will insist that you do things their way.  That means that they will, on-the-spot and when there is no time to explain, and it might be disruptive, reject any explanation from the immigrant.  However, if you have agreement ahead of time, things will work a bit better.

 

2) Explain things from a position of equality and respect: This is challenging.  You have to: Establish a positive disposition.  Make sure that it is a good time and there is time to make an explanation.  Explain in simple, concise, friendly terms. Disengage if things go south.  Express thanks. 

 

Yeah, not always easy or possible, but when it can be done, it can be super helpful.

 

I'll end this by emphasizing that the vast majority of folks who don't fit into the negative-experience category will probably be nicer than they are back home, depending on where you are from.  It's super easy to integrate - just "do you" forever, avoid inadvertently, theoretically, unintentionally threatening anyones reputation or livelihood, and your average experience will be awesome.

 

Derivative understandings

 

It seems to me that there are certain behaviors that you can implement with kiwis that are helpful in maintaining good relations, but difficult to implement in practice.  If you really wanted to tread *super* lightly, maybe you could implement these - I don't follow any of these rules - I break them all, some of them proudly, all the time - I just thought that I would mention these as sensitive issues:

 

• Never talk about yourself or anything outside of NZ or anyone at all, really, unless the words are dragged from you with a rubber hose and pliers - you will be a tall poppy
• Never be late - always be one hour early, and read a book in the meantime - you may never be forgiven if you are late.
• Never talk about money (similarly, never talk about having time off because you don't need to work this week, or anything that might indicate that you have enough money to have flexibility).
• Never compare NZ to anywhere else in what could be interpreted as a negative light (and talk about any problems in NZ as sparingly as possible (let kiwis start every one of those discussions you possibly can - don't start) - this is hard, because all foreigners are surprised when they see a new, different set of problems to those they have seen before)
• Never wear anything expensive or drive an expensive car or own anything expensive (except, maybe, suits, when suggested - they wear them here) - it's kind of like humble-europe in that way - keep it plain - no t-shirts with funny sayings or jokes on them are to be worn (almost all of my wardrobe).  However, I must add that funny t-shirts make kiwis smile just like they do in the US, and thats the reason we wear them, to spread joy!
• Never offer anyone help - I have been really surprised that when I offer help people get super offended - this is just something that I will never stop doing.  This is definitely something that applies to immigrants more than to locals.
• Never suggest that things should be free - like a community fix-it-clinic, or community health services - anything cooperative effort that could be interpreted as threatening to a job
• Be aware that some expats in NZ spend their entire lives trying to avoid being seen as non-kiwi, and association with you, an an immigrant, especially if you don't follow the above rules, is impossible for them.

 

Fun thing to think about: It is possible that geography and history define all cultural norms - they certainly contribute to them - there is no similar place to NZ in that way.  There are several island nations with about 5MM people in a similar sized space, heavily agriculturally driven, colonized at some point - Ireland, and NZ might fit that mold - although their histories are wildly different.  Costa Rica is about the same size and only has two, very similar, bordering countries.  Japan is also a super structured island nation that I feel shares some common traits with NZ.  Each of those four (Costa Rica, NZ, Ireland, and Japan) has a different, rhyming, mix of societal structure, cultural "sabor", common-sense pragmatism, and interaction with immigrants.  One thing that is significantly unique about NZ is that it that, compared to everywhere else, it has always been physically harder to for kiwis to travel to any developed economy - except Australia.  Costa Rica is an interesting contrast as a country that was colonized by the Spanish instead of the British, 

 

So, there are a variety of trade-offs when integrating into NZ in life and work, and they aren't generally any worse than in any other place - as I said, the sum of the trade-offs is that it's generally awesome.

 

Air, Water, Food, Housing, Power, Phone, Internet

 

Water and food quality are the avoidable threats that exist due to regulatory capture.  Cancer rates are high, and I wish it were just sun.

 

Air

 

Quality: Objectively healthy for humans almost everywhere - always better than the large city you might be from almost anywhere else.  The only large city is Auckland, and even there, where sometimes you will see moderate AQ ratings, the air is clean by international comparison for cities of that size.  Outside of Auckland, there are the occasional, stupid hold-over coal-fired power plans for the dairy industry - just frustratingly backwards corporate welfare boondoggles - courtesy of corruption - often right in the middle of an otherwise pristine location that could be a healthy place to live.  Avoid them and you should be good.

 

Clean air is somewhat of a double-edged sword - as the lack of junk in the air of the southern hemisphere, coupled with a thinner ozone layer, means that you absolutely need to put on sunblock and wear a hat when you are going to be outside for more than 10  minutes - not optional.  You just get used to good practices if you were not already.

 

Humidity: Way higher than average.  There are quite a few microclimates that are exceptional in this regard, but expect 75% humidity in coastal areas, 65% in inland areas, most of the year.  This takes some adjustment if you are not from a humid place - your skin will be weird for a while - you will have to control humidity in your dwelling.   I haven't figured out why there aren't more ceiling fans.

 

Water

 

Most areas have very high quality natural water sources - very little treatment is done - in some cases no chlorine or flouride is added.  That is an adjustment when you come from other parts of the world.  Your hair will not behave the same in combination with your shampoo - you have to switch to a flouride toothpaste if you want that. 

There are high nitrate levels appearing in most of the water in rural regions as of this writing (2021) - at this point, you MUST check the nitrate levels, somehow, in your area, especially if it is rural.  If you have high nitrate levels, you need a distiller for drinking water, and you need to add a little salt to the water you distill, so that your body doesn't freak out with 100% pure water.  There is no other good way to get rid of nitrates and make water drinkable that I have found. (this is part of a set of related political issues - see google for "three waters new zealand nitrate"). 

 

Nitrates are not the only problem that can be found.  Some things require reverse osmosis to remove.  Like anywhere, you should test, implement the correct countermeasures, and then test again.  Since you need to test before and after you add your filtration system, you need two test kits.  An advanced test kit will run you hundreds of dollars, while a little aquarium test strip set will run you 10s of dollars.  

 

See also above - the vastly understudied problems of cancers related to water and food quality.

 

Food

 

This is all just stuff I heard or read, so take it with a grain of salt.  The soil in NZ is rather new, the land being uncovered after the last ice age.  Farmers also use nitrogen fertilizer, so the usual issue with gigantic, but nutrient-anemic plants is present in NZ like everywhere else.  So, eating the food grown in NZ, you may be missing some minerals, as you evolved in places where the soil is older and of a different chemistry.  Consider taking multivitamins like these regularly.

 

As in the US, the laws favoring larger agricultural providers are "somehow" viewed as benign, but clearly hold the country back from a healthier, more prosperous populace and agricultural industry.  Ignorance and corruption aside, the net effect on you is to prevent meat and dairy from being as healthy as one would like.  However, tons of people fish, hunt, and slaughter locally - this meat is more humanely killed and far better.  It's illegal to trade for or purchase anything that isn't factory farmed - so don't get caught doing that - even though everyone else does it.

 

Unlike most of the civilized world, New Zealand has not banned trans fats in food, yet, even though it is obviously the moral thing to do, and provably economically sound.  To be sure that you are not eating something that will contribute to a future in which you have diabetes and heart disease -  major causes of suffering and death in NZ - WHEN IN NZ, YOU MUST READ THE INGREDIENTS  (Copied that comment for posterity in case that link dies)

 

It might be a good idea to buy organic here.  Still studying this as I have time.

 

Power

 

Relatively cheap and fairly green, which is great.

 

Phone Service

 

There are two primary mobile providers (Vodaphone and Spark) and several MVNOs, such as skinny (owned by spark).  Skinny is mostly a Spark reseller, but works well, and is inexpensive.  Each primary mobile provider is stronger in different areas, so check with locals before you get a plan.  Copper landlines still exist and are used.

 

I may not fully understand the official NZ phone numbering plan - but it seems that lots of other people are confused about it, too.  In general, dial 0 before you dial an NZ number, and dial 00+country-code before you dial an international number (you also list your phone number with the 0 up front when giving it to folks).   The emergency services number in NZ is 111.  The non-emergency police report number is 105.  In the US, I could rely on phone systems to filter out unnecessary local country codes - they always know if I am on a US network, and ignore the 1 at the front - I haven't seen that happen in NZ - if you add the +64, you get a rapid 400Hz number-not-available tone.  That is unfortunate for automatically dialing when you have phone numbers from all over the world in your contacts - so far, I am listing all the NZ numbers as I do US numbers - with the correct country code up front, but I punch the NZ numbers in manually.

 

Unfortunately, there is much higher reliability when calling over wifi than over cellular in most situations we find ourselves in, so my wife and I usually call each other with Whatsapp or some other video chat tool.

 

Internet

 

Fibre is available in most cities and towns.  Starlink is everywhere else.  DSL is almost everywhere.  As of this writing there is a sale on to get fibre installed to your home - worth knowing when it happens as that is an expensive operation. 

 

Ping times might be 10x what you are used to in the US for most services, but in some cases, blindingly fast transfers are available - it's a whole new world of very unusual routing.  Home and office internet services will require a switch that you can set up VLANS on to use some of the things you are accustomed to using (google wifi units, many home automation systems, and anything that needs to broadcast in a slightly unconventional way).

 

Housing - moved to bottom of page for now.

 

 

 

 

Working full time in NZ - how to get started

 

General order of operations

 

It is best to do all of these in the order below.  In most cases, one depends on the next.  Allow about a week to get set up:

 

1. Find a place to live and get a tenancy agreement signed
2. Get a bank account - bring a passport, tenancy agreement
3. Fund bank account and use it to show activity - (wire from the US - kiwi banks do not use IBAN, but you need the SWIFT code for the wire)
4. Get a phone and phone service -  (although your foreign android phone might work - the least difficult path is an iphone and vodaphone service)
5. Buy a car and car insurance 
6. Get an internal revenue number - bring bank statement
7. Get a drivers license
8. Get paid and pay taxes!
9. Learn the languages 

 

I'll expand each of these on a bit, below, as I have time.

 

Banking

 

"One does not simply walk into a New Zealand bank and open a bank account."

 

For some purposes, you have to have a bank account - drivers license - renting - sometimes being an employee of an NZ company, etc.

 

Everyone I interacted with in NZ banking seemed very friendly.  However, their banking systems and methods are a bit painful.  The story here is that I wasted a bunch of time with NZ banks so you don't have to.  

 

This is what you do: Go online, pick an NZ bank (I use consumer.org.nz to evaluate this kind of thing - pay for it), find someone to talk to about opening an account, then make an appointment with them (if you are only there for a couple weeks, make the appointment for your next visit to New Zealand).  You have to make that appointment - if you are late, then maybe next trip. (Caveat: I have heard that there are some smaller banks that you can more easily establish an account with - might want to look into smaller, local banks!!)

 

This is what you do not do: Walk into any large-ish bank, no matter how well you have your ducks in a row - no matter how much money you have to transfer in - and try to open an account.  Not gonna happen.

 

AFAICT, you will never be served same day by any New Zealand bank to open an account - even if you are already a signer on another account with the same bank.  I have tried this.  I walked in - work visa, address proof, passport, fat deposit, but very little time on my hands, and was turned away every time - from the three largest banks in downtown Wellington.

 

Even BNZ, whom had already identified me, added me to a business account, and issued me a bank card, stared at me with a straight face and told me that they needed to schedule an appointment with me on another day to identify me for a personal account (this was the same person who just identified me for a business account with passport, visa, etc.). 

 

When you finally do get an appointment, the experience will be pleasant, but far more time consuming than necessary for KYC - bankers genuinely want to get to know you and are instructed to discover as much as possible as well.

 

This is outside the experience of most of the rest of the world, where walking into a bank and offering to deposit money is given a high priority.   

 

In contrast, banking systems in many nations can be fast.  Simple.com allowed me to open a free interest checking account in a few minutes online (upload a picture of an ID for KYC), promised and delivered on zero ability to charge me fees, and serves me fantastically well.  Any docs they need you can upload - there are no branches - they waive the fees incurred by any bank branch in the world to serve you.  And they make money doing this - no home loans - no shady stuff - low risk - they make money on the float.  

 

Crypto-banking can be instantaneous in some instances, and as fast as Simple.com for KYC in others.  Alas, it's just too hard to understand how to keep track of keys for most people, so it's a non-starter.

 

In NZ, initially, TSB bank seemed to have their act together - my experience was excellent until I moved a significant amount of money into my account.  They are a Kiwi-owned bank, whereas BNZ/ANZ are not.  However, they share this gotcha with the rest of NZ banks:

 

Term deposit and loan ripoffs:

 

Roughly speaking: NZ banks are as elusive and dishonest in their advertisement of financial products as any third world countries banks - this is one of the reasons they are the most profitable banks in the world.  Any NZ bank will tell you that you can get 5% interest on a term deposit, and a loan for 8%, but when you read the fine print, you will get 1.6% for the term deposit, and you will pay 10% on that loan.  There is a banking ombudsman, but it looks like they only have one token non-banking-industry person in place, and the rest are from the real estate, banking, and insurance industry - so, most likely, no action will ever be taken to reform NZ banks - at least not in our lifetimes.

 

I theorize that the low level of competition and therefore historically poor service and lack of agency for customer-facing employees has lowered expectations to a ridiculous standard.  The employees of banks probably wish they could do the right thing and help customers, but their hands are tied.  

 

I am being quite charitable to NZ banks in my descriptions overall - I don't have good data with which to compare them to the likes of Wells Fargo in the US, or the worst of investment bankinf firms, but I don't think they are structured in a significantly different way from those organizations.  Japanese banks might be slightly more onerous in some ways, an third world banks are definitely worse, but other than those, NZ banks take the cake - just a drain on everyone.

 

Loans and lines of credit

 

Just a quick note here: 

 

Business loans are a generally bad deal in NZ and, I hear, Australia is the same (super high interest rates and fees out the wazoo).  It's just not like the US or europe or any other first world country - really expensive money.  It's best to raise capital for equity, overcapitalize, and plan to run on revenue thereafter with a significant buffer.

 

Home loans are fine - Like most world governments, real estate is a privileged investment in the eyes of the government and indirectly, banks and everyone else.  NZ home loans are pretty much like loans everywhere else.  The only issue is that they are usually only offered in short duration (1-3 years then rollover at the new interest rate).

 

NZ Bank Account Number Schema

 

This is the wikipedia entry - it pretty much sums it up.  Sometimes people ask for a Branch Name, which you usually won't have - I think I just put the Branch number in there.  

 

BB-bbbb-AAAAAAA-SSS

BB: bank number (2 digits)

bbbb: branch number (4 digits)

AAAAAAA: account number (7 digits)

SSS: suffix (2 or 3 digits) 

 

Moving money from foreign accounts to NZ

 

I have sent dozens of wire transfers over the years from the US to NZ.

 

Bank-bank international wire transfer data points:

 

Recently, I initiated two wire transfers, for the same amount from First Republic bank in CA, US, to two NZ banks.  I asked that they both be initiated as close to simultaneously as possible.  One of the NZ banks (NBS) used Westpac as an intermediary.  The other one (TSB) used BNZ as an intermediary.

 

Westpac peeled off 2% for their service.  BNZ did not.  I got a closer exchange rate to the XE.com spot (more favorable to me) when I sent to the bank that used BNZ as an intermediary than when I sent directly to BNZ.  

 

The right thing to do:

 

For large amounts, use Transferwire (now Wise.com) or OFX.com.  XE.com is slightly more confused and their website is a little more buggy.  OFX and Wise still have issues, but they are just more on top of it and their rates seem at least as good.

 

Donating to Charity:

 

TL;DR - This is too complex for a TL;DR, but be aware of the Gift Trust, and if you are from the US, the Rudolf Steiner Foundation.

 

If you are giving crypto, consider: sell it to the organization, then give the money you get from that org back as cash via the Gift Trust or the RSF.  Should be golden via taxes and crypto regs.

 

The first few times I found a charitable organization to give to in NZ, I just gave the money because it was needed right away - I didn't get a tax deduction.  I got wise after that and started a fund through the Rudolf Steiner Foundation for subsequent gifts, and eventually the NZ gift trust created a relationship with the RSF and now you can give through the gift trust as a US citizen to registered charities, and take the tax deduction.  SpaceBase, a company I am involved with, was the first organization so certified to my knowledge.

 

Indigenous communities are in the roughest circumstances in NZ of all communities - schools serving mostly indigenous kids are particularly underfunded in NZ - much as they are in most countries.  I found a group of teachers in a Special Character School, Tai Wananga, who were doing amazing work with a tiny fraction of the money that mostly white schools received, and was lucky enough to be able to donate to them.  With a tiny donation, they were able to stretch out a STEM program in epic ways - they do more with less than I have seen in any school - and although they face challenges from federal and local authorities in just trying to do basic day to day work all the time - they handle them without missing a beat.  They set up a little website for others to donate, but we couldn't follow through on promoting and maintaining that - it was just too much effort.  So we are rethinking how we should crowdfund.

 

Taxes for migrants

 

Initial Consult with a tax accountant - My Notes - redacted for privacy, but containing super valuable info.  These notes specific to my situation - US couple immigrating to NZ. ALL ERRORS MINE.

 

These notes are super duper random right now - from various conversations with awesome tax person:

 

Biggest recommendation - get advice before you migrate from someone who knows.

 

IRD set things up not for investors, but regular salaried folks - investors have a more complex issue and need advice before they arrive.

DTA - double tax agreement (minimize double taxation - doesn't eliminate)

FIF - Foreign investment rules - advantage to some and disadvantage to others - 

     cost-based method: taxed on what you invest in the fund over the years 

PFIC - yearly tax on paper gains that may never realize

NRWT obligation

During lockdown - government determined that those locked in NZ are not tax residents for that period - only applies if you left country in a "reasonable" period after lockdown lifted.

US LLC is Fiscal Transparent - this is something that will be treated as a NZ entity for tax purposes - if you are the director and working in NZ, that's NZ income and your LLC is a tax resident - the DTA doesn't apply.  If you have an LLC that generates losses - register it with IRD - make a look-through election - and it gets treated the same way in NZ - that's o.k.

Irrevocable trust needs to be registered with IRD - that's a huge issue.

Salary income earned while in NZ is new zealand sourced income and NZ gets first taxing right.

However, the payment days of the NZ tax are not in the 

Customs data is in the IRD database - so they know if you have been here 90 days and are liable for POIE

It is possible to set up an entity that is non-taxable in NZ prior to migrating to NZ (set up a non-complying trust) - the issue is that any cap gains that are distributed to you in NZ are taxed at 45%.  You can wind up the trust after you are not in NZ, as long as you don't return within 5 years.

When you have US loans, you need to understand that the Forex rate is converted on the day you arrive - and fluctuations can be viewed as profit - there is a G9C election that can help...

Better to terminate Roth IRA before you migrate - NZ will tax distributions.

 

 

• Tax Resident Status

• Currently we are both “NZ tax residents” and “transitional NZ tax residents”

• We are still “transitional” residents for tax purposes because we did not previously stay in NZ for 184 days or more in prior years

• As “transitional” tax residents we are exempt from being taxed on foreign passive income for 48 months (4yrs)

• NZ provides the 4 year exemption to give new residents time to get finances/taxes in order without suffering penalties, and to decide whether they are staying in NZ permanently (after the 4 year exemption, the taxing structure changes tremendously)

• IRD application - make sure to tick YES as “transitional tax resident” 

• Our current transitional tax resident status ends 4 years from our arrival date.  Once we get our IRD numbers we need to provide them to our accountant.

• Until your personal belongings arrive and you have a permanent dwelling (e.g. rental for a fixed term), the 4 year clock does not begin.

• US <--> NZ Tax Treaty

• NZ always taxes 1st and US taxes 2nd

• As US citizens, regardless of whether we receive any US income, we need to file a tax return (we are taxed just because we are a US citizen)

• NZ has a volunteer compliance model, which means that they may waive penalties if you make a voluntary disclosure of a tax shortfall

• Foreign Passive Income

• Equity or debt investments

• NOT considered passive income if you are a sole or controlling shareholder

• If you sell a foreign passive income investment, capital gains after sale are not taxed by NZ

• If you sell stock in the US from a US owned group, NZ will NOT tax

• Important: NZ will assume a 5% dividend distribution on equity investment, even if dividends are not regularly paid out (so consider carefully what equity investments you hold onto)

• Foreign Active Income

• Any salary earned from a foreign company for work performed while in NZ is considered “NZ-sourced income” and is taxable by NZ

• Director or Controlling Shareholder of  Foreign Company

• If you are a director or controlling shareholder of a foreign company, then the foreign company is considered a NZ tax resident 

• For any such companies you must immediately inform Inland Revenue (IR) and ask them to make a determination on which country is the taxable country

• This is really important to prepare for *before* you immigrate - you really must ensure that the LLCs and Corps you are involved with overseas are aware before you immigrate - tax implications for them.

• NZ Investment Advice

• Stay away from NZ trusts; while most countries have “trustee-based” trusts, NZ has a “settler-based” trust regime; investing in such trusts (does not include charitable trusts) could have adverse tax consequences in the US, because since the systems are different, a tax credit in NZ is NOT a tax credit in the US.  Lawyers love the idea of trusts, but accountants know they end badly.

• Don’t invest in a PIE (portfolio investment entity), because as a US resident you will be taxed 60% (*by US or NZ?) rather than the normal 28%.  Again, something that financial advisors love but accountants know ends badly.

• Cryptocurrency 

• If you have it on a server, mining or staking, you will want to argue it is “passive” because if it is not on a NZ server.

• However, NZ recently passed a law that says capital gains income should be taxed at moment of staking, weirdly taxing both principal and interest.

• Important to monitor the Inland Revenue (IR) discussions (which are very active at the moment) regarding how they treat cryptocurrency and how it SHOULD be treated.

• IR focuses strictly on interpretation of statute rather than the policy outcome (something that needs to be addressed)

• If you intend on being involved in shaping cryptocurrency laws/policy in the N.Z. (e.g. sending a white paper to IR or the Ministry of Internal Affairs), it may be good to use an intermediary - if your contributions are very visible, the IR will try to argue that you are in business in NZ as a cryptocurrency specialist or trader, and will treat your cryptocurrency investments as active rather than passive income.

• <redacted> recommends <redacted> as an intermediary who might be able to assist with presenting a white paper or other report; the comments will carry more weight.

• Overall, things seem more weird, arbitrary, and unformed in NZ than in many other parts of the world, but it's something you should be able to work out.

• Charitable Donations

• Instead of a tax deduction, you get a refund; you need to provide the IR with a donation certificate in order to receive the refund

• To get the refund, you must donate cash NOT in-kind donations; one way to get around this by “selling” the donee the goods and then donating the proceeds of the sale back to the donee (e.g. if you want to gift old bikes to a youth org, sell it to them and give them the cash and you will get the deduction)

 

Ack!  So much to put here.  I'm  going to get to this, for sure, but right now I'm putting it all together.

 

Be careful to immigrate during the right time of year - If you are moving from the US to NZ, you want to avoid being a resident of two places at once.  There is a window of time, each year, during which your move can be taxed much more heavily.  - TBD - I need to look this up again.

 

When you fill out your IRD form, be careful to note that you are a transitional tax resident - there is a checkbox on the paper form, but maybe not on the online form - I don't remember - in any case, you can email IRD or call them and explain and they will help if you mess up.  IRD is helpful - but you want to get problems addressed with them right away - don't be afraid to reach out to them!

 

If you are a US citizen, you must file a form telling the IRS exactly what accounts you have overseas that have more than 10KUS equivalent in them.  If you fail to file that form, I heard that the fine is something like 10K per account.  My US CPA says that this is generally just filed with taxes.

 

More to come on this note.

 

Buying a car

 

NZ gets super high-quality used-imported cars (priuses, etc.) at ridiculously low prices from Japan.  Buy one of these.  You can get a gently used but very sound reconditioned japanese car for around 5K NZD that will last you a lifetime.  New cars are about the same price as in the US. 

 

Used-domestic cars that were originally made for the NZ market are comparatively expensive - we bought one because we wanted something really specific and no used-imported or new cars fit the bill - but generally - just get the used-imported car and save a ton.  You should only have to pay as much as we did if you can't find what you want in a used-imported car.

 

Adapting US electronics to NZ

 

Many power strips you might bring from the US will not work with 240V 50Hz AC.  So I don't recommend you bring power strips - that will end in a firey death for them.  Almost all US small electronics (laptops, etc) have 120/240V wall adapters that will work fine in NZ.  Larger electronics that do not use external power supplies and simply plug directly into the wall with a cord will rarely work on NZ voltages.  You can rewire a house to support both 120 and 240V, at some expense, if you have a licensed electrician do it, and I have heard this is often done to bring over a whole house set of appliances, because the available selection of large electronics in NZ is smaller.

 

Instead, buy a few NZ power strips with double-wide socket spacing.  Then buy one adapter from NZ to US plugs for each double-spaced socket, and plug your US small electronics into those. 

Buying a step down transformer for an individual appliance is possible, but kind of nuts - it's hard to find a good one these days anyway.  For a little thing like a coffee maker, you might be able to use amazon.co.uk, and find a 220V version of what you want, but the selection will be limited.   However, I would absolutely consider a sealed transformer (one of the industrial ones filled with sand and epoxy) for a home 120V install, like this one - those won't hum and get terribly hot and will power those things hard to find in 240 but easily available in 120, for a few outlets around the house and garage.

 

If you are into electronics, you won't be able to attend a flea market where acres of parking spaces are filled with the contents of garages and workshops of entrepreneurs and engineers, but you can scrap and get what you need done.  You might end up buying a lab power supply early on, and some other electronics repair equipment.  I did.  Big metro areas have quite decent access to components and test equipment, but it's a bit on the expensive side for the higher end stuff.  Living in a small town, I have to fix more often than replace, and I really appreciate being encouraged to release my inner repairman, instead of buying stuff online as the easiest path to fixing a problem. 

 

Buying stuff online

 

Amazon US will ship some items to NZ, as will Amazon.co.uk - it's often worth checking both.  Local NZ retailers will ship as well, of course, and their websites might be your first stop for most items.  It's worth being super careful to double check your orders soon after moving, to make sure shipping info, appliance voltage, etc. are all kosher. 

 

You won't find Starship robots delivering local things, but you can get a good amount of food delivered in big metro areas - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch.  Uber eats and some restaurants will deliver in those places.  Trademe is somewhat useful as a craigslist clone.  I hear Facebook marketplace is a serious thing, but I am loath to check.  Yelp doesn't appear to be used.  

 

For bigger ticket items, you can often negotiate with a retailer or distributor to arrange private delivery, and the postal service and FedEx work jus as you would expect.

 

I know there are some "container clubs" out there (here is one that was recommended to me - myus.com).  I'll update this when I'm less frustrated - I haven't had a drip coffee in six weeks out here - and there is not one coffee filter in all of golden bay - hard to focus on this espresso.  Switching to matcha for the most part at this point - meaning to do it anyway.

 

Update: I have used myus.com successfully, and I have some tips.  They store your goods for 30 days for free and consolidate them into one package before shipping - much more efficient and cost effective than what I was trying before.  However, duties are imposed seemingly arbitrarily and without explanation, slowing the shipping down considerably.  You will get a text asking you to pay duties with no explanation, and it will take days to release the package after that point.  It only takes a couple days for packages to transition through the US and across the world to NZ, but once a package gets into NZ, expect a week transit to your home - that's been my experience twice.  Also, if your package is held in "clearance" by the Auckland authorities, call DHL right away, find out what they think the reason could be, and submit invoices and an explanation of the issue to the email address they provide you - that will expedite the release quite a bit - otherwise your stuff will be at the tail end of an 8 week research queue.

 

Finding businesses, classes, meetups in NZ

 

TL;DR - Facebook.   Sigh.

 

I still haven't figured this out.  In CA, you find literally everything online - without using facebook.  Word of mouth is not a thing.  There are always several directories of businesses, meetups, classes, etc. that are well-maintained and heavily used to look into.  In NZ, not so much. 

 

In NZ, I generally search physically for stuff, ask around for contact info, and I never feel like I fully know what is going on or who is doing what.  It's obviously much easier to use the net to find things in big metro areas, but it still feels like word of mouth is the primary means of promoting anything.  It is far more time consuming to find things.

 

The only online outlet that seems to be consistently helpful is the one I swore off the year it came out - Facebook.  So, that's the only help I have for you, as I basically am reduced to asking others to check facebook for me, or just doing without.  At some point I will break down and start supporting that thing again, so I can be a more involved part of NZ. 

 

Do you need to use a VPN?

 

TL;DR - Yes, you do, for a few things - search engines - connecting to some workplace firewalls.  However, the best strategy for entertainment might be to stop watching so much of that stuff.

 

Before coming to NZ, I had travelled a good bit, but usually for vacations or business trips of a couple weeks or less.  Now that I have actually moved to NZ, and use a VPN most of the time, it has dawned upon me how much more I should have utilized a VPN in the past.  Changing your location via VPN will completely change your search results, for one thing, and your access to web sites and content is, often, vastly improved with a US VPN connection.  NZ search results on major search engines are a serious liability - research goes much more slowly. 

 

So, probably sign up for a service.  If you don't, the information access you have will suck time and knowledge away from you.  For local stuff, obviously I just search with my NZ location.  I have added a few other countries for special searches. 

 

Slightly technical bit - I used use ExpressVPN as a stopgap, but the best VPN to any country is to a high-bandwidth private connection instead of to a service like ExpressVPN that pumps a high volume of mixed traffic through a single IP.  If you can set up an openssl-based VPN on a friends gigabit home connection overseas, that is ideal - that's what I do now instead of express VPN.  I also use Parsec to remote into a computer that I have in colo in the US to watch US versions of media, and to work on video editing on a NAS in colo because that's the new hotness for video editing.

 

Will you need BitTorrent?

 

Probably, if you really want certain video content.  No matter how hard you try, the major content providers will not let you give them your money to buy a large percentage of their content outside the US.  Most of them block all VPN connections, and they are very good at figuring out who is on a VPN.  So to get some content (which you will of course download over a network that you control and take responsibility for), you will have to download bittorent and become familiar with finding content with it.  One alternative is to put a fast server into a colocation facility in the US, connect without a VPN from that machine to watch videos, and stream through some window manager (X-windows or whatever).

 

Hitchhikers in NZ:

 

If coming off a trailhead somewhere and clearly backpacking, they are awesome.  Beautiful people from all over the world.  Pick them up.  Take them for a meal.  Share with them.  Put them up in your airbnb.  Learn about them.  You will fine a unique and wonderful set of people.  If coming out of an urban park, YMMV, but I pick them up when it's just me in the car.

 

Moving your stuff to NZ 

 

If you have a container load of stuff, you can ship that, but expect a couple months of transit time - definitely the cheapest way to ship large items (and the only way in some cases).   You MIGHT get a one-time exemption from GST (goods and services tax) when you ship your stuff - ship everything you need or want - GST is 15% of whatever they say the value is.

 

GOTCHA: Unfortunately, there is a catch.  If you move out of the country for more than a vacations amount of time, and then try to move *back* into the country with your stuff, before you have been out of the country the WHOLE of 21 months, then you are NOT allowed to move your stuff into the country without paying 15% of it's value.  This is not good, because the measure should be: "HAVE YOU TAKEN THE ONE TIME EXEMPTION OR NOT", but unfortunately they decided on a time-based limitation that ends up keeping people out of the country for 21 months when they pack their container - just another roadblock.

 

Packing a container - how to pack yourself. The trick is to make sure everything gets cleaned, packed, and labeled properly before going into the container - NO moving service will do a good job of this - you have to pack and label boxes yourself, and let them repack as they wish, but not change the labels or items that go into the box.   You won't be able to supervise a half dozen movers running as quickly as they can to pack things randomly into boxes.

Schumacher Cargo - full service pack/ship.  Ultimately I went with Republic on the US end, who hired worldmoving.co.nz on the NZ end as part of the package.  It worked out o.k.

NZ Customs Service - how to get a GST exemption, etc.

 

If you want to ship a box or two, then you can get that done via air post in short order, but it will be a week or so and cost about twice as much as taking a checked bag on a flight over.  Somewhere else in this document I mention myus.com - an aggregating shipper - useful.  You will pay GST.

 

So, the cheapest, fastest way to get a moderate amount of stuff moved is to take the maximum number of checked bags on your flight over.  We took 8 checked bags on our first flight, and it wasn't that bad.  A bit of schlepping, but we didn't have to wait any time for things to arrive.  We planned on buying a subaru outback when we arrived anyway, which can haul that many bags handily.  No one is going to charge you GST on your bags of used stuff.

 

Moving your family to NZ

 

This section could be infinitely long, so I'll just throw in GOTCHAs:

 

GOTCHA: If you have a baby in the country you are migrating from, then it will take however long it takes to get them a passport in that country, and then it will take however long it takes to get them a visa to come into NZ, so add those together and that's how long it takes (but you usually can't know either number in advance!).  So even if you are permanent residents, you should either have your baby in NZ (not always possible) or accept the potential of a long wait before the baby is allowed in for more than a vacation VISA amount of time.  What happened to us is that we ended up getting a two-year residence visa for our baby just before her visitor visa expired, so, a step we did not anticipate. 

 

Learning the languages:

 

There are three national languages in New Zealand, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), Te Reo Maori, and English.  I like to use single sources, translated into multiple languages, to learn.  Example:

 

The very hungry caterpillar in Te Reo

The very hungry caterpillar in NZSL

 

Right now, I'm looking for other books that are easy to find in all three languages, with NZSL being the limiting factor at the moment.

 

Cities that are walkable / have transit:

 

A lot of places are walkable.  But public transit in NZ is super challenged.  Wellington is the best designed city, with a green belt adding forest to the list of things that are walkable, but the winters are harshly windy and rainy.  Auckland is walkable in certain neighborhoods, but it's more of a sprawl than Wellington.  Christchurch and other smaller cities have walkable portions to some things.  You have to make trade offs.

 

This site lists some walkability metrics.  Doesn't list walkability to rail lines or nature, though, just the basics to live, so, somewhat useful, but you really have to dig a bit deeper, visit, and talk to people to figure it out.

 

Cities you will probably fly to:

 

I'll try to compare some of the big cities in NZ to cities I've been to elsewhere (mostly in California) to save time.  These are all launching off points for some part of NZ, and all connected to an excellent system of airports.

 

Auckland

 

Like: Vancouver, Canada, or maybe 1% of LA, CA.  This is probably where you will fly in to NZ.   Good for a few days of sightseeing, at least and as a launching point for the north island.  Lots of nearby spots with beaches and hikes just out of town.  Great food if you know where to look.  Good for finding stuff to that you need to buy, and for finding business community.  There are some suburbs that are walkable and wonderful - but they are somewhat separated by traffic like the LA suburb islands.  So there are some bits and pieces that are not car dependent (super walkable gem neighborhoods that are super expensive because everyone wants to live in a walkable neighborhood), but the city as a whole is mostly car dependent.  I've heard many kiwis say that Auckland is not NZ, maybe because the small-town feel is not there - but Auckland is most certainly NZ as a huge percentage of NZ people live there - and it's quite friendly in my experience, outside of a few isolated spots and individuals.  I live in Auckland now, so here are all the hackerspaces, fix-it clinics, pickleball games, improv and comedy clubs.  Magicians exist here.  Waiheke island, just a short ferry ride from Auckland, is worth a visit.  The weather study from NIWA is useful.

 

Wellington

 

Like: San Francisco, but tinier, better designed, even windier, and with less of the colorful zaniness (but still a decent amount).  This city is actually quite unique.  It's a good place to do business and get work done.  You can tour the government building and learn how the basic political system works, among other things.  The wind in the winter can be brutal if you can't handle that kind of thing - most people who move there actually get used to it.  Launching off point for the south part of the north island.  Least car dependent city.

 

Nelson:

 

Like: Sausolito, CA.

 

Nelson is a short ferry ride from Wellington, but is tremendously warmer and less windy.  It's nice - not a particularly spectacular town in and of itself for a tourist - but it is a fantastic hub through which the Northern half of the South island can be explored.  Bonus, you can get a good filter coffee there.  Totally worth exploring.

ChristChurch

 

Like: Oakland, CA, with a little bit of Seattle mixed in.  But with no high crime areas.  Becoming a happening tech hub at this point.  Great town.  Great people.  Good food.  Nice launching off point for the south half of the south island if you are exploring.  Like most very low-lying big coastal cities, probably going underwater in our lifetime.  Close to heaps of outdoor stuff, winter/summer sports.  

 

QueensTown

 

Like: Aspen, Colorado

 

There are tremendous hikes starting in the general vicinity of Queenstown, and the views in that area are not to be missed. 

 

You can do everything you need to do from nearby towns to the north and south.  Maybe stay away from downtown - there is nice food, but if you are anything like me, seeing the gucci and louis vuitton stores in Queenstown is just going to ruin the view of the mountains.  I would suggest driving through Queenstown and stopping for a coffee or a hike for a day.  Check out it's amazing vistas.  Hike, ski, etc.  Keep moving.  I may be unreasonably pessimistic about Queenstown from my brief experiences downtown - it's a big place, and I haven't experienced it all - I'll revise this at some point when I have explored it more.

 

Alternatives: Glenorchy, Lake Wanaka, and Te Anui are perfectly fine towns to stay at, recharge between hikes, and enjoy the real reasons to be in the area: the land and the people. 

 

Dunedin:

 

Absolutely charming city near the southernmost extent of New Zealand.  Quite cold in the winter.  Probably the furthest airport south you will travel to.

 

Napier:

 

Lovely little city in Hawkes Bay, which shares the title of "best weather" with Nelson and Golden Bay.  Lots of Art-Deco buildings and a wonderful Art-Deco festival once a year.  Wine country.

 

Wanganui:

 

A quickly growing city of industry with all the amenities you would expect - solid hospitals, schools, airport, and a burgeoning art scene partially thanks to low housing prices - not a bad combo at all.

 

Towns you might visit:

 

Not much medical care in small towns - you have to helicopter out.

 

Takaka/Golden Bay:

 

An attractive and welcoming hub for visitors to Golden Bay and the fantastic Able Tasman area.  Great outdoor activities, hiking, climbing, fishing, kayaking, beaches.  Similar weather to Nelson - much smaller and quieter most of the time - gets quite crowded in December as it is the vacation spot of choice for many kiwis.  It might be safer to fly on a small plane to and from Wellington than to drive over the hill from Nelson, depending on how you estimate it - but it involves scheduling and cargo space is very limited.  We tried really hard to live in Takaka but we didn't make it for a variety of reasons - including having to drive the hill once a week - persistent allergies - and a few other smallish reasons.

 

Ohakune:

 

Ohakune is the mountain town of the north island, with a couple ski resorts, a few good mountain biking and hiking trails, and a lovely small, diverse town with a business center.  The Northern Express train runs three or four times a weeks through Ohakune - a 4.5 hour ride to either Wellington or Auckland for a weekend - enough time to take in a good book and some scenery. 

 

Housing - mostly TBD

 

As of this writing - there is a housing crisis on - in most places in NZ, there is very little for sale or rent.  Sales don't matter to you if you are immigrating anyway - you have to be in-country for 12 months after becoming a permanent resident to buy property in NZ.  That said, some people have received exceptions (see below).  If you look for a good rental with no mold near a good job - you will find one rental for every 100 homes for sale, and you will have to see 10 rentals before you find one healthy, high-quality rental.  In some ways this is one of the most distorted real estate markets in the world - where everyone relies on their homes to be their sole nest egg.

 

The housing crisis is of the form where there are, in most places, plenty of homes to house everyone near their work - but the homes sit empty for a few different reasons ( financial incentives, mostly, but the health issues as well ).   There are exacerbating circumstances - at least partially this is regulatory capture - as usual - monopolies supported in the building and building supply industries - leading to poor build quality - unhealthy homes - high build costs, etc.

 

Lots and lots more to come - I am studying this.

 

On cost - here are average price to rent ratios around the world - keep in mind that the real price to rent ratio can be many times these numbers for very expensive neighborhoods.  New Zealand sits right in the middle with the US.  Nothing is to be done.  There are few rentals, so you will have a very lengthy search for a long-term rental.  You can only buy to secure a special place for your family, and follow the boom and bust cycle that has been set up.

 

Housing and buying as an immigrant

 

On buying as an immigrant:

 

You need to be a Permanent Resident, and a Tax Resident, with Ordinary Residency, to buy real estate.

 

You know what a Permanent Resident is.

 

The tax service, IRD, considers you a Tax Resident when you have been in NZ for more than 183 days - the 183 day rule.  Once you have been in NZ for more than 183 days, your worldwide income is taxable in NZ.

 

Not by coincidence, you have to be in-country for 183 days to buy a house.  The ability to buy real estate, therefore, is an incentive to become a tax resident.  

 

Since that's revenue - there will likely be zero ways to get around the 183 day rule without dropping millions into banking or other industry.

 

<commentary> The 2010 ban on foreign purchases also restricts international travel and work plans for permanent residents who want to buy.  It also effectively means that many permanent residents could have their homes forcefully sold if they have to leave the country for more than six months.  Here is an article on that.  It could happen that the govt ultimately sees some specific restrictions as an unintended consequence of a hastily written law.  AFAICT, making this legislation serve the needs of kiwis is a challenge because you can't easily measure or explain the penalty for discouraging skilled immigrants in simple terms - but, as is done basically everywhere else, it's easy to use immigrants as a convenient non-voting population to demonize - to divide the rest of the voting population - for that reason, simply written, divisive laws like these tend to pass easily, and complex laws reflective of real problems don't.  Immigration is hard. :( </commentary>

 

Ordinary Residency - "You are ordinarily resident in New Zealand if you have been living in New Zealand for at least 12 months, have been present in New Zealand for at least 183 days of those 12 months, hold a New Zealand residence class visa (or are a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or Singapore), and are a New Zealand tax resident." Linz page.

 

There is a formal process for getting exceptions to the Ordinary Residency rule, or "consent" to buy.  This LINZ page directs you to a pdf on how that works.  Another link, as that one seems unreliable, and an upload.  Basically, call the OIO (overseas investment office) and they will help you.   Note: some of this law is based on legislation called the One Home To Live In Pathway - which is described on the linz site.  <commentary>This is an idea whose time has come for all people, not just immigrants.  I kind of love the idea that people should not have more homes than they need, although limiting the number to 1 probably is too hard to achieve - 2 seems totally achievable - and that might help solve a lot of problems</commentary>

 

As far as process is concerned, the main thing that you need to fully understand before you buy is the LIM report. 

 

There is no buyers agent and no title/escrow company involved in NZ, so the buyer has no advocate, and no way to directly communicate with the seller - miscommunication and misrepresentation is going to be unavoidable.  Direct buyer-seller markets for real estate are really needed across the globe.  In NZ, I know a few people who bought real estate with no agents - they just canvas the neighborhood with flyers, and buy when someone contacts them, using the attorney as required for a few hundred bucks.

 

You have to do your own searching, and you are supposed to retain a lawyer to go over the offer and LIM (don't think the lawyer is actually a requirement, though).  As a permanent resident but not a citizen, you will need to collect the info required by the OIO, and sign the One Home To Live In Statutory Declaration to get consent if you need it.  That declaration states that:

 

You solemnly and sincerely declare that: − I intend to be in New Zealand for at least 183 days in every 12-month period beginning on the date I am given consent until I become a New Zealand citizen, or ordinarily resident in New Zealand. − I intend to become/I am a tax resident in New Zealand, and I intend to remain a tax resident until I become a New Zealand citizen, or ordinarily resident in New Zealand. − I have disclosed all relevant information about myself for tests relevant to this application. − I have read, understood and accept the privacy disclaimer, and − All of the information in this application is true and correct.

 

It is also important to recognize that if you get this exception and you have to leave the country for more than six months for whatever reason, you could potentially lose your home.  

 

The best thing to do is to just be in the country for a year, ideally 365 days in a row, and meet all of the Permanent, Tax, and Ordinary residency types - and then buy a house if you want a house - you won't have a bunch of restrictions on your movement after that.

 

I will put a lot more about housing here in the future - in the meantime - this is fun - https://bitcoinhivemind.com/blog/futarchy-sf-rent/

 

Politics

 

I am an NZ politics idiot at the moment, but I have been told: 

 

"If you want to keep up with what’s happening here, I recommend No Right Turn, The Daily Blog, The Standard and The Democracy Project among others. There are some cogent comments in the responses along with some right wing nonsense, but the articles are usually relevant."

 

I was also told by others to take a look at interest.co.nz.  

 

Policy.nz is an excellent resource to use to get to know what claims each party makes about their platforms - really well done. 

 

NZ closest equivalents to the US major political parties: National - Republicans, Labor - Dems, Greens - super powerful version of the greens (they started in NZ), everyone else - everyone else, Caveat - and I was told, in so many. words, that, "in *some ways*, all NZ equivalent parties are much further left than US parties - you will find that National has some policies that are very similar to those of Democrats in the US, and US Democrats miss many of the left-leaning features of Labor in NZ." 

 

To dress up that oversimplification - since neocons and neolibs have to follow the money - that means that it is likely that the money is more liberal in general in NZ than in the US - possibly not because the people are, but because the systemic incentives in New Zealand encourage more liberal behavior.

 

There is nothing like Bernie and AOC here, as far as I can tell - progressives that don't belong to corporations, are super smart, are in government, and are kicking ass making progressive reforms happen and exposing regulatory capture - but I'm still looking...I am hoping to find and support them.

 

Economics

 

NZ went through a few economic evolutions in the 21st century, and the tensions between the desire to keep an egalitarian economy, and to follow-on to free-market practices in other parts of the world ended up shaping it's economy into a very unusual one.  The only investment incentivized is NZ housing or buying and selling local businesses.  All other investments are arbitrarily penalized - effectively - no foreign investments are allowed.  From an outsiders perspective, it seems that this has driven the boom/bust housing cycle to fantastic highs, exacerbated brain drain and the flight of the young to other countries, decreased the economic efficiency of the entire country by redirecting effort and services and political discussion to pumping the real estate market at all costs and building the wrong things (buildings, infrastructure, etc all misdirected toward weak-town practices), which will make recovering from each crash, as well as getting anything else done politically, progressively harder every year.

 

Drugs

 

What's prevalent: Alcohol and sugar are probably the most damaging drugs, like everywhere else. A larger percentage of kiwis use marijuana in NZ than in the US, which is fine, but, unfortunately, quite a bit of meth and quite a bit of opiods get abused in new zealand.  Vice has an interesting history of NZ drug regulation - great watch - you can see that there was a glimmer of hope for the lives of many kiwis, but, only seconds later in that video, we see that hope was crushed by the cowardice, ignorance, and greed of politicians.  Yeah, so same story around most of the world except for the glimmer.  Caffeine is heavily used, which is also fine.

 

The future of New Zealand

 

As a galactic master of 7 dimensional time-chess-boxing, I can, of course, predict the future of countries on earth that I know nothing about.  The stories are not pretty anywhere, but New Zealand is going to be fine.  Until the next big natural disaster.  Then less so.  And then sea level rise will cause issues.  And all of the storms, floods, and fires. Ultimately, it will become impossible to rebuild as fast as things are destroyed in most places. 

 

What NZ probably needs is to move people inland NOW, and build emergency infrastructure TODAY, while there is still an international economy that supports debt and trade for NZ, and before the kessler effect sets in.  Yeah, that debt is not priced correctly - buy it.

 

But that's most of the world, right?  Yes and no.  Really large countries with strong economic and military ties are in a better position to rebuild, if they can remain stable.  That's the main problem.  If the climate scientists are correct, and I have no reason to doubt them, then I predict (one sec....punching equations into my calculator-watch...quantam entanglement...carry the 1...yes...AI...there...carry the 2...yes!) I predict that within 20 years of this writing, natural disasters will oustrip the ability of smaller economies like New Zealands to rebuild and maintain infrastructure, and mass migration away from New Zealand will begin around that time. 

 

So we have until 2050 to try to prepare people, and change the way Kiwis think about the future - if my guess is right.  Right now NZ has the banking industry in power.  It's not great. 

 

NZ needs hope in the context of leaders who are more serious and selfless and courageous than they are greedy, weak, and cowardly.  You ain't gonna win that fight if you ain't fully prepared to lose it.