[stellachiara]

Hello all --

My new husband and I (ages 43 and 37) recently spent our honeymoon in NZ. We have long been looking to make our home outside of the US, but had not yet found a country that was a fit. But in NZ, we felt we had finally found that place.

I am currently making inquiries at the University of Auckland and Victoria University about doing my MA degree there, so that we can get a feel for what it would be like actually living in NZ, and by the end of it, we would be qualified to emigrate under the skilled migrant category.

So, right now I am just waiting for responses from my e-mails to the professors in my area at the universities, and sorting out our options for the future. I'm glad to have found this place, and look forward to participating with you all!

-- Chiara

[AndyR]

congratulations on your choice! hope yours plans work out!

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hello and welcome. All the very best with your plans.

[Leanne]

Hello and good luck with all of your plans!
:)

[slider]

Hello, and welcome to the forum :)

[Bruckner]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Emily

[TheNaylors]

Hellod welcome to this wonderful forum!:D

[catt]

hi welcome aboard the greatest roller coaster ride of your life :clap:clap:clap:clap

[peebles16]

Hello and welcome along for the ride from us too :)

Karen

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.:)

[Mrs Pony]

Well hello my west coast neighbors! Like Catt said... you're in for a roller coaster! Sit back and (try to) enjoy the ride!

We're hoping to move to Wellington... thinking about getting my Masters if we can't get in with Residency.

[Sovenok]

Hello and join us :)

[tea drinker]

Hello and welcome

it is always good to have a plan...or two

[dusk]

Hello :) congratulations on your recent wedding and good luck with your plans :D

[jackie m]

Hi & welcome

Jackie :)

[Nick88]

Does that mean you will initially be entering on a student visa? Will you have to pay international student rates?

[stellachiara]

Thank you for your warm, warm welcome everyone! I am excited to say that I heard back from the professor (I guess they are called lecturers there, professor is something else) at Auckland, and he encouraged me to apply. So, I've applied! Now I have to get all my supporting documentation in, and we could be in NZ by December -- yay!!!

Nick, from what I'm reading, it appears that I can enter without a visa and stay for three months. Then I can get a Student Permit once I am there. I still have to figure out what my husband will have to do about getting a visa to stay with me. I will have to pay international student rates, which are high, but we've decided that it will be worth it to get to NZ now instead of 4 or 5 years from now!

Mrs. Pony, our ultimate goal is also to live in or near Wellington -- good luck with Residency!

[Hagabel]

Welcome to this very informative forum. We are from WA, just up the coast a ways.

:cheers

[mgf]

Hello and welcome to the forum

[mgbridges]

Hello and welcome. dilanium can tell you all about getting into the country as a student and bringing your husband with you as she's just done exactly that.

Good luck with your application,
Anneliese

[stellachiara]

Hello and welcome. dilanium can tell you all about getting into the country as a student and bringing your husband with you as she's just done exactly that.

Good luck with your application,
Anneliese

Awesome -- thank you Anneliese!

[Mrs Pony]

I loved Wellington...even though I was only there for about 3 days... but still! I was able to see why Brandon loved it soo much and why he ALWAYS talked about NZ and the people he knew there.

Maybe you're husband can go on a working holiday visa (one year) and then apply for residency once you guys there?

[stellachiara]

Renée, I found out that if you have a student visa/permit, they normally will just give your partner a visitor permit as well, so I think it will be fairly easy!

It's funny you should tell me that story, because Michael has an aunt who lives in the Wairarapa, and he went to visit her and was raving about how amazing New Zealand was too! The odd thing is, I immediately started finding out how to emigrate there, even though I'd never been there and it didn't exactly sound like somewhere I'd want to live just by his description. I guess our intuition knows things we don't sometimes :)

[Mrs Pony]

haha! Indeed! I'm so glad that we went there for our honeymoon... we even got to see some places that Brandon hadn't been able to get to while he was there. I could have sat on a bench ALL day and just stared at the beauty! .. that we take for granted here... or don't even get to experience. ugh! please lord let us get in!! :)

[tigerlily]

Hi Welcome!

Here's my story and impressions so far if it helps you with your decision!

We came here with PR and I'm going to school (well, going back to school for my master's at age 35 actually) at Vic. I hope we stay after I'm done, but it's all about whether or not my OH is happy here (he's in the real new zealand, I'm in the academic world). I love it and our 5 year old sons love it. Even though I love it and I always have dreamed of moving overseas, I'll caution you that the first 6 months in a new country (even a beautiful one) is hard. It does seem to work out the kinks after 6 months though, so there's hope in the dark hours of month 3.

I saw your other post about houses not being insulated or heated and how this is not "green". Probably best to throw out whatever idea you have about New Zealand being green. The tourism board is trying to get visitors to come here selling the 100% pure New Zealand image. That does not translate into a country where everyone recycles. In fact, you can buy coal in the supermarket because lots of people heat their uninsulated houses with it. But the standards are changing and today's houses being built must have insulation so hopefully the country will slowly be retrofitted. Probably rentals will not be done anytime soon though, because as a landlord doesn't pay the heating bill there is no financial reason to put that money in. Also the value of the property is going down at the moment, making them even less likely to want to put money in.

The racism question- I think there is as much racism here as in the US. It just might be that the people you hang out with in the US aren't saying those things. There is open resentment about some Asian immigrants, especially in Auckland. But is there not open resentment in a lot of places about immigrants from Latin America coming to the USA?

Anyway! Good luck with your decision and welcome!!