aleybeezer

Hello, i was linked to this site by someone on tripadvisor.com

My boyfriend and I are looking to move to NZ for a year after we graduate.

I will have my Master's in international advertising and he will have his industrial engineering degree.

My questions are plentiful -

Is it difficult for two young, educated Americans to find jobs that are relevant to their areas of study? I'm afraid of having to be a waitress (not that there's anything wrong with that) but, I'd like to maybe to an 'internship' at a company that's related to my degree.

I've been reading on this site that cost of living in high compared to UK standards, which would be ridiculous for someone from the US? No? I'm thinking since we're young and have no children and don't mind living "plain", it shouldn't be that costly?

We're thinking about Christchurch, we had a friend move there for 8 months and absolutely love it.

BUNAC.org is an all-encompassing type site that takes care of your VISA and travel plans, is this necessary? We of course want to vacation in Oz during our time on the other side of the planet.

Thanks, really any help/advice is welcome.

loving on life.

aleybeezer

Will people think we're "dumb, Southern Americans" because of our accents?

newkiwi

Im not american but can give you my thoughts
You have a couple of options, one which may be the easiest is to apply for a working holiday visa for New Zealand, geared towards people under 30 wanting to live and work in NZ temporarily. look at this link

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...orkingholiday/

you can apply for it online, but I think you and your boyfriend will both need to apply separately.

Another option is to apply for Work-to-residence visa (talent visa), but for this you need to be sponsored by an accredited employer. Engineers are generally well sought after, look at the list of accredited employers if you want (on the immigration site above).

Another option wouild be to apply for Permanent Residency, but this may not be what you are after. Depending on the cost it may be an option however, the current selection criteria is quite low at the moment.

Job wise it is always going to be easier to get employment with a permanent visa as opposed to a temp visa, but there are many people on WHVs so it must work for them. Be prepared to look around. You may be able to get an idea of jobs on seek.co.nz

The COL in NZ has increased, it seems to be higher than what people expect (compared to salaries in NZ). If youre just coming for a year or two this should not be your main concern, the experience will make up for the higher cost of groceries etc

You dont need any special visas to visit aus as a tourist, just make sure your NZ visa has a multiple entry facility.

Do some research on your own before you sign up for one of those "all-your-needs-in-one" companies. The more these companies promise the wearier you should be. You should be able to do a good bit on your own.

Good luck

shepslady

[QUOTE=newkiwi]
You dont need any special visas to visit aus as a tourist, just make sure your NZ visa has a multiple entry facility.


Im a kiwi married to an American so will advise you to make sure you have a visa to enter Oz if you are planning on a trip there while you are in NZ. While us Kiwis can visit OZ without visa's US Citizens are required to have a Visa to enter even if only on holiday. The cost of this visa is relatively inexpensive & can be arranged through a travel agent before you leave the US. Getting the Visa is also easy, just a formality really but necessary. Not sure if you can apply for it once you get to NZ or not so I would look into it but can guarantee that you will need it.
The first trip to NZ that hubby & I made from the US was a nightmare. When we checked in at the airport here in the US for our flight to NZ the stupid lady at check in wasnt going to allow my hubby on the flight because she kept telling him he had to have a Visa to enter Australia We repeatedly told her we were only going to NZ & not AUstralia but she insisted on seeing his Visa for Oz. Finally we asked to see her superior & when he came to see what the problem was he immediately told her our travel plans were only for NZ & no visa was required. Finally she got it right & gave us our boarding passes. When we returned to the US we made a lot of enquiries re travelling to Oz from NZ on our next trip home & were told to organise his Visa before we left the US for NZ as it would be a lot easier at this end. Hope this helps a little.
Good luck with your decision.

Cheers
Shepslady

newkiwi

[QUOTE=shepslady] Sorry if my last post was unclear.

Youre right that technically everyone needs a visa to get to aus, but for US citizens this means an ETA (an electronic visa) that your travel agent can arrange for you when you buy a ticket. I was referring to the fact that as a USC you dont need to visit a consul/ embassy and have a sticker placed in your passport.

see http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/