[ndheah]

Hello Folks,

First time writer, and recent reader. Over the last few days I've been trying to convince my wife about moving to New Zealand from the good ole Frozen Tundra, Wisconsin. We're in our early 20's, I'm a college graduate, & she, just about done. I've always wanted to life else where, outside of the USA. Growing up in a small town in Northern Wisconsin, you really start to itch to get out of the country and see the world. She, being a world traveler, about 20 states, and about 15-20 different countries across Europe, is a little bit more reserved, and being perhaps a little bit more sane, is reluctant.

I was just putting my feet in the water yesterday and today, and came to realize that with job offers (We would not move w/o them) we would have 170 points on our EOI. I am wondering if that is an A-B-C-D-F score, (A, high, C Average, F sorry, you're stuck in America)

I, an having an associates degree in IT, am seen as a loser to immigration, her a bachelors in Retail Merchandising and Management, with a Minor in HR. Seems like we have a strong job market for the two of us.

My #1 question right now at least, is it worth having our cars exported over? They are nothing special, just 2 new cars from Pontiac, granted, we will be moving in about 2-3 years (Yeah a ways away, but I like to plan) so the cars won't be really worth saving. Is it easy enough to just go there, and buy a new car on day 2 or 3?

Student Loans in America, another concern of mine. I have about $26,000 in student loans, average payment is about $225 / month. I do all of this online, and it's automatically taken out of my checking account every month. Is it really going to be possible to get paid in NZ $ and pay my loan off in American Dollar?

Thanks, I look forward to your response(s)

[dbonnett]

Welcome to the forum and the "fun" of the immigration process! We're (more or less) at the other end of the tunnel, we have all of our approvals and are in the throes of planning our move for August. I won't try to assess your EOI/ITA standing since the rules have changed ours and I honestly haven't kept up with the new policies.

Regarding moving cars - From the US it is not worth it, in my opinion. NZ is right hand drive, so LHD vehicles are unusual and would be difficult to maneuver (not to mention most US cars are big for NZ roads). If you check www.trademe.co.nz, you can get an idea of used car prices. We plan to buy a new (to NZ) car in Auckland after we arrive.

For paying off student loans, servicing that payment is going be dependent on your NZ income and the exchange rate - right now it is .78 US/NZD, but that is well above the historic average (~.58 US/NZD) so the amount that you have to reserve for it can vary by quite a bit. You can keep a US bank account and transfer money over to it from NZ, so the actual debit doesn't need to change. Check out xe.com for one option.

Good luck and welcome!

[willsken]

Hi welcome to the forum!:nice1

[skibumwa]

...regarding xetrade and not moving their car. I was about to say the same thing! :nice1

Yeah just get a used car here. New cars here or transporting your car (unless it's a classic car), are both not worth it!



Welcome to the forum and the "fun" of the immigration process! We're (more or less) at the other end of the tunnel, we have all of our approvals and are in the throes of planning our move for August. I won't try to assess your EOI/ITA standing since the rules have changed ours and I honestly haven't kept up with the new policies.

Regarding moving cars - From the US it is not worth it, in my opinion. NZ is right hand drive, so LHD vehicles are unusual and would be difficult to maneuver (not to mention most US cars are big for NZ roads). If you check www.trademe.co.nz, you can get an idea of used car prices. We plan to buy a new (to NZ) car in Auckland after we arrive.

For paying off student loans, servicing that payment is going be dependent on your NZ income and the exchange rate - right now it is .78 US/NZD, but that is well above the historic average (~.58 US/NZD) so the amount that you have to reserve for it can vary by quite a bit. You can keep a US bank account and transfer money over to it from NZ, so the actual debit doesn't need to change. Check out xe.com for one option.

Good luck and welcome!

[Simon B]

Hi all, just joined yesterday. The NZ thing is still very much a thought at the moment. I don't think my wife is tooooo keen on the idea. Unlike me, she's pretty family orientated so dreads the seperation anxiety I guess.:confused:

I've not had much time to browse around this forum yet, but certainly intend to do so. So far I'm glad to see that we're not the only ones with the "I'm not going anywhere without the dogs!!!" attitude...problem is...we have a whole bunch of them...6 to be exact!

I assume there're other South Africans on this forum?

Till later...

[JandM]

Hello - also new. Good luck with all the plans. Simon B, there are definitely other people from SA around.

[Wonderbob]

Regarding moving cars - From the US it is not worth it, in my opinion. NZ is right hand drive, so LHD vehicles are unusual and would be difficult to maneuver (not to mention most US cars are big for NZ roads).

Unless it's an old classic car, (which can remain LHD legally) all modern LHD vehicles have to be converted to RHD, and it's expensive, upwards from $10K, so I just wouldn't bother unless it's something super exotic.......

[dilanium]

Welcome to the forum!

You may want to consider a working Vacation to NZ, and then try for a longer work permit then PR (if you want).

I'm not sure about the logistics of this.

You could also do what I'm doing which is attend more school in NZ (and I know you can get US federal aid for Massey at least) then find work and apply for PR.

[ndheah]

Thanks for the all the replies, was a big help :-) In regards to my loans, we're thinking about moving in a few years, we can live off my wifes salary once she is done with school, and just use mine to pay for the loans.

I guess we'll just be sure to sell the vehicles and take in the extra cash :-)

PS, the #1 thing bothering my wife is leaving the cat in jail for a month, the tests and what not are not a problem what so ever (In-law is a vetrinarian), but she is well, attached, to the piece of fur, that I think will be the biggest hurdle. Any chance of smuggling in mr.phil ? haha - Just kidding :-) :laugh

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hi and welcome to the forum.