Engel

Well, I finally have my work visa and start 24-June-13. I am sorting through my packing, just me, and was wondering if anyone had tips or a check list. I know I need to bring a lot of paperwork, but I'm not sure how much stuff to bring and what to pick up while I am there.

Should I get a new laptop before I leave, some people say they are a lot cheaper in the UK, but a locally bought one may be easier to get support. If I buy one online while in NZ is there a big import duty?

Suits - I will need a couple for work. In the UK you can pick up suit for £100 at M&S. Are they about the same in NZ or is it work filling an extra suit case? Same goes for other clothes.

Money - I opened a NZ bank account, but haven't transfered any cash yet. On small amounts, £1000, it appears more trouble than the savings of just getting the cash before I go. Any advice?

Finally, flights. Why are one-way flights so expensive? I am not sure if I am returning to the UK for Christmas, but return flights are only a few hundred quid more than a single. Are flexible tickets worth the extra?
Some flights have connections of only 2 hours, is this really long enough to change? When I had a connection in the US to fly to Vancouver last year it took over two hours just get through the landing security.

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

escapedtonz

Hi,
Congratulations.
I think we found a check list on the www.workingin.com website - have a look ?

Oh lord no get a new laptop from UK instead of NZ.
They are crazy money this end. If you get a decent one you should be able to get a warranty supported worldwide.
We brought over a UK laptop, netbook, and 2 x iPhones and haven't had any issues. Also bought an iPad 2 whilst we've been here as that item was cheaper - got it the week after they were all massively reduced when the iPad 3 came out.
You can order one online from somewhere else in the world and have it delivered to you in NZ but you risk being charged an additional 15% GST plus customs charge.

Suit!?!?
Do you really think you'll need one - what job will you be doing here ?
NZ is very laid back and casual.
I wore a suit quite a lot at meetings in UK but more so pants/shirt/tie in the office but now have a job with a national company, more responsibility here, no one gives a stuff and its open shirt, dress jeans in Wellington CBD ?!?!
All other clothes - bring as much as you can from UK. Benefit from the UK low prices as you won't find the same here especially shoes, trainers etc.
As an example - Converse All Stars pumps $99 a pair, high tops a bit more. Adidas trainers double the price of UK. Same with Nike, Reebok etc.

Cash wise I'd do an electronic transfer if I was you approx a week before you arrive. Don't use a UK bank as they rip you off on the exchange rate and also charge for the service. Try a company like Moneycorp etc who just deal in foreign exchange. Open an account for free. Best rates are negotiated over the phone and all costs are included in the exchange rate you agree for the amount you want to exchange. When you buy at a fixed rate or a pre-booked rate is met you transfer the money to them and it appears as NZ$ a few days later. Absolutely no risk with Moneycorp even if they went bankrupt whilst in possession of your money.

All flights to NZ and back around Christmas are expensive. Avoid all UK and NZ school holiday periods.
In a nut shell you need to arrive in NZ before 6th Dec or whenever is the first Monday as that is the day NZ summer holidays start.
If you are defo going back get a return ticket open ended so you have a year to decide when you are travelling back or consider a round the world ticket 4 stops or whatever is the minimum as sometimes even these are cheaper than a single.
You need to be wary of the timing in between flights. 2hrs isn't good enough if you need to pick up your checked in baggage, go through passport control/customs and get to another terminal. I'd say at least double - 4hrs.

Good luck!

ChrisWilson7

Quick one re: money transfer, Travelex do your first one free - I used them. More advisable than carrying cash I think, and a better rate just doing it online.

Engel

Super info. Thanks. escapedtonz, you may be right about the suits. I interviewed on skype and I was the only one wearing a suit. The panel were shirt and tie. I guess I should get a spare pair of trainers, too.

As a teacher, I can't but travel during the kids holidays. The round the world ticket idea hit me before, especially with having the extra weeks before Christmas.

I found this Departure_To_Do_List UK to Canada

AndyEvs

If you are a secondary teacher it would be good to have one suit but not essential. I'm in a boy's school, about 10% of the staff wear a suit, management and wannabes, the rest are pretty laid back. Shorts and no tie in term 1 & 4.
But I like to have a jacket or suit for parents eve or just in case.
Clothes here are considerably more expensive than the UK and we tend to go with half empty suitcases because we know we will stock up on everything from underwear and kids clothes to work shirts and trousers. Nothing like primark prices or H&M quality/price here.

ChrisWilson7

I just saw about your connection times - first time I went to NZ I flew Malaysian Airlines all the way from the UK so they checked my baggage right through. When we got to Kuala Lumpur the connection gate was right next to the gate we arrived through, so our connection was instant! We had an hour or so to sit around. If you have your bags checked right through 1-2 hours should be fine, just check which terminal you are coming into and taking your onward flight from - if they are the same it will be much easier. Even if your first connection was more than 1-2 hours late I'm pretty sure the airline has to get you onto the next available flight onwards anyway.

Engel

Thanks for the feedback. I'm flying with Emarite all the way, so I hope to check my luggage all the way through. There appears to be a stop in Sydney for an hour or so, but since it is the same fly number for the last part to Auckland I guess we just stop to refuel and swap out some passengers.
As for clothes, I will take a suit and plain, black jacket that I can wear with any pair of cheap black trousers.

Anyone know about mobiles? Can I swap out the SIMM for an NZ one or will I need a NZ phone?

j19fmm

I'm on Orange pay as you go and it always swaps straight over to NZ Vodaphone when I arrive. Then just go to a phone shop and get a new SIM card - presuming your phone is unlocked?

AndyEvs

Unlocked phone is no problem, I swap sims in my iPhone every year. PAYG options are not quite as good as the UK but Im on the Telecom $19 deal and that gets you 60mins calls, unlimited text and 500Gb.

madao

Indeed. The airport fees charged to park the aircraft on the Tarmac for a few hours are cheaper in AKL than SYD so they choose to do the "turn" here.

trafford

Your luggage will be checked all the way through to Auckland. I have flown with emirates to NZ loads of times and they only "lost" my luggage once, due to a missed connecting flight - and the luggage turned up 3 days after. So you will have plenty of time between flights and don't worry about your luggage. On the outbound leg many of the passengers decamp in Sydney and you may find the plane half empty from Sydney to Auckland - which gives you room to stretch for 3 hours. The wait in Sydney is fairly boring - but short. Dubai airport is just awful imho - so crowded and little natural light (I guess the climate dictates that). I have not yet transited the new A380 terminal - perhaps it has improved the experience.

As for the phone, in the past I have just wandered into one of the phone shops and asked them for the a SIM card and help choosing a tariff/deal for the few weeks I am there.

I agree with other posters - clothes are expensive and limited as far as choice compared to the UK. Bring what you can with you (but my sister and her work mates regularly band together and buy online from M&S, Dorothy Perkins etc, so there might be alternatives). One year we brought my OH family out on holiday with us - and my sister-in-law was very worried about what clothes to bring, because here in the UK I would be considered a bit fashion-obsessed and so she assumed all Kiwi's were like me. I told her that I was the "freak", and that she would fit right in - and she did.

skirmy

Hi,

Good luck on the big move
I was in a similar position with my clothes for work - I brought lots of smart, business wear - but its hanging in my wardrobe ever since.
I have been here 6 weeks, and have found so many uk retailers do online delivery to New Zealand either free or for a very small amount (NEXT, RIVER Island/ Tesco clothing/sports direct.....etc. etc.) delivery is usually within the week too - so if yu get stuck you still have cheap uk options. I did an emergency order in week 1 to get more casual clothing.

MrsFychan

Marks and Spencers often do free delivery and their service has been great

skirmy

As long as your phone is unlocked you should have no problems. We were on o2 in the uK, and ours now use Vodafone pay as you go ( our Iphones would not support Telecom sim cards for some reason).

On vodafone Frebeez plan you can top up for free data and Texts or Free Calls and Texts as well as your credit - and on this plan you can phone a UK landline for up to 60 mins for $2 hich has been brilliant for us

Tom1983

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