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Who has moved from New Zealand to Hawaii or Hawaii to New Zealand? The complaints of people moving from the Mainland US to Hawaii always seem to be: Lower pay and higher cost of everything. A move from New Zealand seems like it would be higher pay (at least for me) and possibly a lower cost of everything (except possibly Honolulu real estate, and that's probably pretty close to Auckland).
After trying to swim in the ocean on Christmas Day, I'm starting to think I need to be somewhere warmer.
PS: I'm an Amerikiwi originally from California, so immigration/working are not issues.
I believe it is pretty hard to get a work permit for Americans in NZ. I don't think NZ welcomes American retirees either. So unless you have a pre existing tie like you do, NZ it is pretty hard for Americans to go to NZ except for vacations. If American are more welcome to work or retire to NZ than my impression, I would like to know about it.
Likewise, it may be pretty hard for kiwis to get work permits in the US and the only ones I have heard of going to Hawaii are scientists going to Volcanos NP. But I don't live in Hawaii so it could be loaded with kiwis and I wouldn't know it.
A friend of mine did her veterinary internship in New Zealand and had a great time there. Dunno about how well she liked Vegemite, but she liked everything else there. She has family here, though so she came back when her internship was done. I don't know if she would have been able to stay or not.
Doesn't New Zealand have universal healthcare? If you're employed in New Zealand, I'd consider just moving a bit more North and seeing if you can find a warmer spot and stay in New Zealand. Politics and social issues are getting crazy in the United States, it might be nice to be able to be in another country at some point fairly soon. Hawaii is at least pretty isolated from the rest of the mainland craziness, though, so if you must move back to the U.S., then Hawaii would be a good choice, IMHO.
@Fredesch: New Zealand has a fairly straight forward immigration policy. There are several categories for all sorts of people; for those wishing to stay forever, there's the skilled migrant route--which requires you to be under the age of 56, in perfect health, able to speak English, of high moral character and trained/working in an occupation deemed to be in short supply. Sound easy? There are much simpler temporary options for the young crowd (?under 30). There is no retirement category per se, but if you are bringing a bunch of money (read 1 to 2.5 million NZ) they have an "investor" category. I'm doing this off the top of my head, check out NZ immigration for the correct info: http://www.immigration.govt.nz (Note, this is in no way immigration advice).
@hotzcatz: Vegemite is Australian!!! You have offended 4 million Kiwis who prefer Marmite. NZ does have universal healthcare. Overall the care is good and cheap. My wife has had two children here; they both would have been C-sections in the US; both were delivered by midwife (at no charge). I do not ever want to have a heart attack where I live (if it's serious enough, they would fly me to Wellington--but if it's serious enough I would probably be dead by then), and I don't ever want to get cancer in this country (not that I want to get cancer anywhere, but Kiwis with enough money die in the US).
We are in what's supposed to be the warmest part of NZ--or maybe it was the sunniest. Anyway, the absolute top of the country (mostly uninhabited) is on a latitude equivalent with Santa Barbara, and the populated areas start closer to a San Francisco level. The bulk of the country has more of a Pacific Northwest climate.
I am afraid to move back to California with children, and I no longer have any tolerance for traffic, smog, or people in a hurry. Hawaii seems like a good match to me. We're going to try to work in a stop on our next trip to the US, as it's been about 10 years since we were last there.
Why don't you move to northern Australia? The ocean is warm there
There was a biker who looked like a pirate from New Zealand running a biker bar in Kihei, but they shut down. There's an automotive place on Maui called Kiwi Automotive that's run by a "Kiwi". There are also a lot of Australian transplants.
We have considered Australia; whenever I've been there, I have thought that it seems far more Americanized than NZ...then I start thinking that if I wanted Americanized I'd move back to the US. The biggest down sides of Australia (for me) are that (with the current exchange rate) I would be making even less money, and (though it is hard to tell from just visiting as a tourist) the cost of living seems even higher. Also, there are deadly spiders, snakes, and crocodiles.
One more thing: although Kiwis can live and work in NZ indefinitely, we are not eligible for most social services a citizen or permanent resident would be entitled to. I could run through the immigration hoops again, but it really feels like too much work.
What do you mean by "Americanized" and why do you think the 50th state is less Americanized than Australia?
[SIZE=2]This is hard to describe if you have not lived overseas. If you've ever spent more than a couple of weeks in Europe, you start missing things about the US...like cheeseburgers and real supermarkets. NZ has had a greater American influence than Europe, and most of the country feels like living in a small town in Central California (or even the midwest of the US). But NZ is very far from Americanized. Where we live, there are no shopping malls; I can drive 2 hours to one, but (although it is new), it is a low ceilinged, narrow corridor sort of place that you might see in an up and coming third world country. Go to Auckland, and the "big mall" is like something a small town in the US would have built in the late 70s. I'm not saying I miss shopping malls (except maybe when it's raining), but they are a very American occurrence. Ditto that for themed restaurants; I wouldn't say I miss them, but the barren decor in NZ restaurants does get a little boring.
Go to Australia, and suddenly there are TGI Fridays everywhere...and even Costcos. I start thinking, I do miss "American" cheeseburgers, maybe Australia would be more "comfortable" for me.
Of course I don't think Hawaii is less Americanized than Australia. My point was: there are definite tradeoffs for living in NZ (low wages and high cost of goods are the main ones). For me, those same tradeoffs exist with Australia (this is not true for everyone, I believe Australia has a higher per capita income than the US currently). In Hawaii, the low pay (as compared to NZ) goes away.
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I would guess overall pay in Hawaii is better than NZ, though NZ has a better safety net for the less fortunate (there is essentially no homelessness in NZ). But we could argue about it, and I have not checked any statistics. My profession, though in high esteem in NZ is not valued financially as it is in the US. Although my earning potential is highest in California, I would still make roughly twice what I make in NZ were I working in Hawaii.
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