Pippa89

Hi everyone,

Me and my boyfriend are considering a move to NZ, we visited for a month (north&south island) a while ago and both loved the country. We've done a lot of research about moving, visas etc.
We both agree we don't want to live in Auckland, can anyone suggest goods areas for jobs?..we have looked at Queenstown and Wellington any other 'less known' places?

Thanks

westie1234

Need your occupations but try Christchurch and Hamilton

Snap Shot

You will need to go where the work is. That's how we ended up in regional i.e. provincial New Zealand.

We tried to find work in Auckland when we first arrived and got nowhere. My husband had interviews with employment agencies, each one as meaningless as the last. I registered at employment agencies and found them to be just as bad. I applied for jobs directly to the employer and that went nowhere fast. I always believed there was work for those that wanted it. Not in New Zealand it would seem.

You can pick a city then try and find work there on arrival. That's what we did back in 2011 when we got to Christchurch after leaving Auckland, and things pretty much turned to custard. (We were going to Christchurch anyway but would have stayed in Auckland if we could have found work there.)

See what jobs are located where in NZ. You can always try and move to your preferred city later on. We're quite settled here. I wouldn't want to go through all the upheaval of moving just to remain in NZ.

The majority of people who come to NZ to work are coming mostly on the strength of a job offer. OK, there's other factors too but I believe the job offer is the main thing. The other positives are not in themselves enough to get them here. Unless you're a returning New Zealander ! (They've got to be the worst for rose tinted glasses !)

We came here without a job . I'm married to a New Zealander and I have Permanent Residency because I have a family category visa.

Who ever remarked that a visa is not a job offer is absolutely right.

BEVS

Hi there and welcome to our NZ forum.

Oddly we did the same thing many decades ago. We came for some months in 1996 & then decided a few years later we would give it a go properly which we have. Been here 10 years now.

For anyone to be able to help with suggestions about places for jobs or a lifestyle we may need to know a little more - without being right noseholes of course - about what your occupations are & also what you like by way of your personal lifestyle.

Get that little bit of info up for us , even in loose terms, and folk here will be only to willing to share in return.

All the best.

Pippa89

Thank you for your warm welcome and replies

We don't have set occupations as such.

I'm 24-Have a BA Hons in Media Studies & Production, but am not in that line of work haha!
I've done plenty of retail (but don't really want to go back down that road), worked in Mail Order and have Manager experience but am currently looking at starting a career maybe something like Youth Work?, i enjoy playing football (if i must i'll use the word 'soccer' just to clarify) it's usually hard to find Women's Football, so any knowledge of Women's Football in New Zealand would be great!

Boyfriend is 29- Has BA Hons in History... not in that line of work :P
Has lots of experience in Cinema and Theatre as a projectionist and technician.
Also has retail and manager experience and some engineering experience but no qualifications in that area. He enjoys film greatly and loved Snowboarding last time we were in NZ, so close to the slopes would be ideal.

I know i might have to get a job in a pub,shop etc when we first arrive, but hopefully if we can stay long term i'd want to move into a more 'career' based job.

Any help would be very much appreciated, it's a big decision to make!

Clappy

That did make me laugh. I am married to a returning New Zealander. We arrived without jobs at the end of 2008, a time when job vacancies were scarce and candidates were plentiful so it took us a long time to sort ourselves out.

It was after about two years of struggling that my wife conceded that perhaps she might have had rose-tinted spectacles on when she was thinking about New Zealand after ten years living in London.

It has taken five years but finally I have now found a job that i am enthusiastic about.

With regards to the OP, youth is on your side and with that comes flexibility which means that you can try something now and try something else if that doesn't work out. That would fit well with this country because it is a young country and it has not settled down yet - the cities have room to change significantly even in a single lifetime.

The six large cities are Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland.

Auckland has become expensive for accommodation over the past ten years so it would not surprise me if companies start leaving it for other cities. I have no evidence of that happening yet though,

jmh

I disagree with that. One of the things that irritated me most about living in the UK (for 24 years) was when people asked with shocked voices about why I was there and not back in NZ. Many Brits believe that NZ is paradise - why would you live in the UK when you can live in paradise. I kid you not. I got a bit sick of it frankly.

I wish Brits appreciated their own country and all it has to offer a bit more. All they seem to want to do is leave it. And then when they get there they moan about how it isn't like home.

By the way, the reason I stayed away from NZ for so long was because I didn't have rose tinted glasses, or certainly less so than most Brits who come here. I came back for family reasons, not because I think it is paradise.

jmh

I was thinking about this today. Auckland will become like London where rich people can't get cleaners because low paid workers can't afford to live there and tradesmen won't travel into town. In fact, I turned away some work myself the other day because I didn't want to travel into the CBD. There's a lot of house building going on down this way - maybe the jobs will move there as well. Who wants to go to the CBD where you can't park and property costs are high. Most places I visit for my business have ample car parking and are reasonably accessible if you live out in the sticks.

homeprofessional

Hamilton is growing nicely and there are plenty of jobs, 45 mins to raglan (beaches), lots of lovely river walks, shopping, restaurants, etc. You could look at Cambridge to live and travel to Hamilton (25 mins) and not worry about traffic, lovely place.

MrsFychan

you would need to see what visa's you would be able to obtain. As you don't appear to have many qualifications that might appear on the shortage lists your best bet maybe a working holiday visa which would allow you to travel the islands and do some work along the way. what have you found out about visa's on your research?

Pippa89

Hi guys, thanks again for your replies but we were looking more at the South Island.

STA travel seem to be one of the best companies to go through for our move and were looking at their Visa/Job search packs. Unless people can recommend better companies/other options?

In your experiences how long has it taken you to get a job (similar to our position)?

Thanks again everyone!

Bo-Jangles

It seems your not looking at this from the right angle at all - you have already been given a good steer.

Before you start looking at what other people can do for you and at what cost, you should do basic research yourself and establish what your chances are of obtaining a visa that will allow you to work here. How many points do you have on INZ indicators? It appears neither of you have relevant work experience in accordance with your qualifications, so I doubt you'll score very highly.

If your aged under 30 you can do the WHV thing and then take it from there whether you can establish jobs and points enough to stay longer.

If you don't satisfy basic visa requirements, then looking at jobs and places to live is a total waste of time and effort for yourself and people here that are trying to help you.

Pippa89

Hi Bo-Jangles, thanks for your input but i think you are being slightly critical. We most probably would be using a working holiday visa, but are exploring our options. I apologise if you feel i am wasting yours and others time by using this forum as a stepping stone but i was interested to hear about other peoples opinions and experiences (surely the whole point of this site?) and so far i have found peoples replies to be helpful and interesting.

BEVS

To be fair, I and MrsF were thinking along the same lines as Bo-J.

First thing to consider is always the visa type and Bo-J / MrsFychan suggestion of a WHV is a good one and would probably be my suggestion also.

In my opinion and it is only my opinion, you should not sign up for any sort of 'package' particularly one suggesting it can source job offers until you are familiar with how the visa system works and also what the work situation is like here. In other words, sign up if you will but froma position of knowledge.

We are all happy to guide you through all the assorted visas NZIS offer and also to chat about work and occupations.

As you say you've done research on visas , what policy did you think you might look to as a way to remain long term? If we know your thought process on you plan to be in NZ , it will help us guide a little better.

You can come on a WHV for 1 or 2 years no probs and you can pick up a temp contract to work, also no probs.

It is how you find the right sort of employment that will allow you to remain in New Zealand long term that we need to explore.

Have you tried the SMC points indicator . If so, what points did you gain.

Also, do you have close family here.



edit.....

I've just located and had a read of the website mentioned.

I'd suggest money for old rope ref understanding the NZ job market and finding a suitable job offer.

We'll help you for free.

Here you can find help ref NZ CV's. Heck. We have someone here that writes the things for a living.

We can also help ref. bank accounts & NZ IRD.