[Malay-Coopers]

Hello to everyone! This forum has been and continues to be very helpful.

My husband and I, along with our 4 year old daughter and two Newfoundland dogs, will be leaving for New Zealand tentatively 2 April 2007. It has been a long process, with initial interest in 2000, a visit in 2003, EOI in 2004, then Residence Visas issued December 2005, and another visit in March 2006. We initially thought we would settle in Christchurch but have changed out minds and will be moving to Wellington. We would love to live in Dunedin but worry it will be harder to find work there than in Wellington.

My husband is an executive with a US health insurer but is looking to change industries. I am a mental health social worker, most recently working in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. We have begun looking for work but it seems employers don't take you seriously unless you are physically in NZ.

Our dogs are shipping from LAX using IPT. We are driving them (in an RV!) to LA so they don't have to fly twice. We plan on staying in Auckland for a couple of days until the dogs are settled, then drive down to Wellington to stay in a temp apartment until we can rent a house. We plan on buying a house once we are settled.

We have numerous unanswered questions. Like will our sheets (queen & twin)fit the mattresses in NZ? Is there pre-school? And what age does it start? What's the least expensive way to move money from a US account to a NZ account? It just goes on & on, so we look forward to your comments and advice!

Thank you everyone for your help. We're very excited (but nervous) about the move!

[Mexican in NZ]

Welcome to the forum Malay-Coopers!!!
I dont know really how i can help you my situation was very different from yours..the only thing i can say to you both is that u made a great choice...Wellingtonians are such friendly people and is such a beautiful city!
Ok, hope you find the answers you are looking for ...actually i am sure u will!
Have a great one,
Adriana and Anton

[stu70]

Welcome fellow north americans. Good to see people going to wellington from this part of the world. Just curious, you said you'd move to welly after a couple of days in AKL (for giving your dogs some rest). But are you allowed to take them out so soon? Don't they need to stay in quarantine for a few weeks upon arrival in NZ?All the best with your plans.Cheers

[Ana&Steve]

Hi and Welcome!
About the dogs, they will need a month quarantine, unless you've got a trick up your sleeve...if so, do share!
Ana

[wanderingoregonian]

welcome welcome!

[Howie]

I'll try to answer some of your questions. I used IPT to move my 10 year old lab and had a good experience with them. Yes your sheets should be fine. I checked before hand and moved my bed frame, but not mattress and it fits fine. Best way to move money XE.com. From US, you just have to pay the wire fee and then tend to give you a good rate. Be forewarned that it's a pain to set up and takes some time. My dog was in the Auckland quarantine so I can also provide some info about that if that's where yours are staying. I've only seen one Newfy in NZ, but that's my favourite breed!!! You're so lucky to have two.
Hope that helps and feel free to PM me if you'd like more info.
Susan

[Smiler]

Hi Malay-Coopers

Can't help on the doggie score, but just wanted to say welcome to the forum. :D

[Malay-Coopers]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, and the advice about the sheets - I've been obsessed with that!

Indeed the dogs will be in Auckland for 30 days but we are anxious to get things started so we will leave them for a few weeks. Unfortunately that means driving to between Wellington and Auckland twice, but I cannot convince my husband to relax for a month to explore the North Island.

Can't wait for a meet & greet in Weliington after we arrive!

[barryp]

Good luck with your travels, then!

(There is a quarantine facility near to Wellington, should you wish to located the dogs closer to home. Our experience with Shado-Lans has been very positive, fwiw.)

[jess]

Welcome to the forum!! We came over from Virginia in April of last year. It's a great way to go from the end of winter into beginning of fall and skip all that nasty sun and warmth for a year. ;)

Queen sheets are fine, as Howie already said.

We moved money using our US bank which was a credit union and charged minimal fees. I was a little too swamped to deal with xe on top of everything else.

I'm not usually a big city person, but I love Welly which is compact and artsy and feels smaller and safer than a lot of US cities. We ended up living a little north of the city on the Kapiti Coast, but get into the CBD (downtown) pretty often.

Best of luck to you on your move. This is a great forum with lots of people willing to offer help on all those moving questions! :)

[a24036]

This situation with the dogs bothers me a great deal. I' ve been planing to moveto NZ from USA. Then I've got the info that my dogs has to be in quarantine for 30 days. Then all shots(perfect way to destroy dog's immune system, give him a bunch of shots). Then implanting of chip.
Does anyone have any information about quarantine? They just take your dog away from you and lock it for 30 days? If you have properly trained dog it would be a crush of universe for him. He would never trust you again and you should never trust him 100%.
What do they feed it with? My dogs are raised on raw diet. Are they going to be serving raw chicken wings and liver for breakfast and meat and crushed vegetables with beef liver and olive oil for second meal? Doubt that.
Are they walking them? My dogsare getting about 4 hours of walk, exersise and training work every day. Are they(customs) going to carry on this schedule? Don't think so...
How do they make sure that other dogs in quarantine are not going to give any kind of desease to my dogs? By locking all of them in little crates? Interesting approach.

So does it mean that there is no way for me to move to NZ? Am I done? :-)))

[stu70]

A lot of North American folks will be put off by the NZ handling of this issue(pets) no doubt. I would never trust a govt agency to do anything right. Thats why they are a "public" agency. No offence meant but if the people who work for govt (in general)had "real" skills they would be in the private sector! But then I digress..

[Trigirl]

No offence meant but if the people who work for govt (in general)had "real" skills they would be in the private sector!

And thats not meant to be offensive? Wow I'd hate to hear you trying then.

[a24036]

See, I don't really care if they are proffesional are not. This is not important to me and dogs. These are two trained Rizenshnauzers which is a really velcro type of dogs. And to make it worse one is "salvage". He changed 7 owners in 6 months. I had to take him appart and put him back together so he could be 100% reliable. And now this. It simply going to reverse everything what I've done and make a matter way worse. I was wondering if there is any other way to bring dogs but abbandone it for 30 days? Is there any hotel/quarantine for people with dogs?

[Nathan]

You are allowed to visit your pets in quarentine aren't you? Perhaps you could find one of the quarentine facilities to allow you more than usual contact time with your dogs.

I'll really miss my cats if I don't get to see them for a month! :( But I'll survive and I'm sure both of them will come out just fine.

Is it possible that your dogs (and, similarly, my cats) would be allowed to share space? That companionship would help them a lot, too.

[Klipa]

While I agree that the quarantine process is totally unnecessary...unfortunately there is no going around it. We are bringing our 3 dogs over from Canada...they are also on a raw diet. You are able to provide another food for your dogs in quarantine if you have something you prefer. I doubt they will give our dogs a raw diet but I am able to provide my own quality solid food at my own expense of course. You are able to go visit your dogs in quarantine. They have 2 hours reserved each day for visiting. While the dogs are unable to run at leisure and be exercised, you can use this time wisely to stimulate them mentally and work obedience in a small space with them...not ideal, I know...but at least some stimulation on a daily basis.

Every report I have received from others who have gone through quarantine with their dogs is very positive. The people at the facilities have a genuine interest in the well being of the animals in their care.

Most dogs are very adaptable and will get through the quarantine just fine. They are not just dumped in a unit for 30 days without proper care.

I would recommend you consult a homeopathic veterinarian prior to undergoing any tests, etc for some treatments that may help with any of the required immunizations, etc.

Our travel time is not until August but I have been researching this alot and am confident my dogs will be ok....just anxious to get through it all.

good luck with your decision.

[jess]

At Shado Lans - the quarantine we used - you're allowed to visit the dogs daily, and they are not in a small crate. They have an indoor room of their own with a sliding glass door and an outdoor run. Sizes vary by facility. The quarantine facilities are run by private individuals. At Shado Lans we couldn't have been more impressed with them. Once they allowed a woman to move into the quarantine area - literally live there - for the entire one month because the dog she brought with her had recently recovered from cancer and needed to not be stressed. For us, they ordered in our dog's food so she could eat the same thing she always ate. I don't know their thoughts on raw food though. It might be doable.

Look into the facility nearest where you are headed and talk with them directly to find out what they will do to make your dog's stay as much like regular life as possible. Often they will work with you more than you would think when you hear the word quarantine.

[barryp]

I'll second that. Shado-Lans took great care of our dogs, and they got attention and affection daily. The option to board your dogs together was offered. The standard of cleanliness is higher there than in any private home I've ever set foot in. The quality of their 'house' food is outstanding, and they will work with you if your pet has special dietary needs.

Neither animal received adequate exercise, I must say. It's just not possible for them to run free or share grounds with other dogs, who enter quarantine on different days. Oh well, I'm out of shape too, and now that the dogs are back with us, we're trying to ramp up the exercise again.

I have no direct experience with other quarantine facilities, but assume the same is true of them all. If you want to make some money, and don't give a rat's ass about pets, operating a quarantine kennel is not how you're going to choose to earn your living.

My experience with separation anxiety in pets is that it is usually the owners who suffer it more than their pets. Certainly true in the case of our pets! I won't speak to your animals (a24036), nor am I implying anything negative about your posts....

There is only one way I know of to avoid the quarantine - move to a rabies-free region first. Via the UK, the quarantine there would be longer and give less contact. You might be able to arrange house quarantine in Hawaii, but that would entail living there for six months, ISTR. Not that that's such a bad option - it just isn't feasible for most people.

Bottom line IMO is that if you aren't willing to face the quarantine process, and the ridiculous batterie of tests beforehand, you won't be able to make the move to NZ.

[a24036]

Unfortunately this is not about separation anxiety. Rizenshnauzer is the working dog and becomes really attached to the owner, they are like you hads, part of your body. It takes a lot of time and efforts to achieve proper level of rapport between dog and human. To abondone it in kennel for 30 days, visit for 2 hours a day, reduce the communication level to 2 hours a day and hope that everything would be good this is to be uncorrigible optimist. None of properly trained dog would take it. It is very fine tuned tool and handle Rizenshnauzer like this would be equal to pool RV with Audi S4.
No commercial food wouldcompare to natural meat,chicken,liver and vegetables. It's just not going to work since commercial food is made from meat byproduct and grain. Rizenshnauzer are not suppose to eat grain. I might cause all sorts of troubles for them. But as you said, if can provide my food it should be no trouble.
Rizenshnauzer is very precise dog. It needs special and proper handling that is different from hadling of other breed. There is not many breeds like this. The closest one would be dobermans. They are giving you a lot but they are demanding. Well, you get what you paid for. It's like this:Ford, you can feed it with cheapest gas and oil. But you getting lousy drive and it breaks all the time. Or you get German car. 0You have to put only the best gas and syntetic oil. Repaire and service cost pretty penny. But it's so much more reliable and pleasurable to drive :-)))
PS
I'd like to thank everyone who tryied to help and special thanks for advise for kennel Shado-Lans. I'll definetly contact them and ask if I could stay with my dogs. It's rent money for them. Then me and my old lady could spend all day with them and might even help the owner with animals. I hope they won't refuse free help.:-))).
Hawaii sounds good, but I don't like the ocean :-)).
Now.If Shado-Lans would work - french restaurant on me for advisors. I'm not kidding.;-)

[migratory birds]

Back to the original post by the Malay-Cooper's...

What was it specifically about Dunedin that you loved?

I'm looking at studying there at the University of Otago (medicine or midwifery) and would like to hear more about its schools, housing/neighborhoods, restaurants, city culture, rural areas surrounding the city (beaches, tramps, mountains,etc.)

[Malay-Coopers]

Were currently still in the states so I can only comment from a brief visit to Dunedin for a few days where we stayed at the castle, saw the albatross, ate lunch at the Octagon, took the train through Otago . . .

Anyway, we loved the rolling hills, and the feeling you get in a university town. We also happened upon 'market day' at the Octagon and fell in love with seeing the families all out on a lovely day.

We live in a very rural and unpopulated state, and Dunedin seemed more of our tempo which is slowed down compared to most parts of the US. We like small towns.

I don't know if this helps. Living there may be different.

[Park City Partner]

Hi there! Search the old threads for answers to some of the questions you haven't asked yet. There is so much info here. As for money exchange, as Howie said XE is good once you have it set up. Although depending on where your money is you may have a better option. Most of my money is with UBS and they give me the best rate as they aren't trying to make money on the exchange and I just pay a wire fee as I would with XE...

Where is the quarantine facility? I have been dogless since I arrived (used to raise guide dogs in the States) and might be able to go visit yours while you are in Welly. Are they good with babies?

Best of luck with your move.