introVert

Howzit-

Just putting some feelers out- I am getting ready to graduate from a Nuclear Medicine tech school and have heard rumors that there is a shortage of health care workers in New Zealand. Anyone have any pointers/knowledge/advice for a potential transpanted Yank coming down south? I have seen some job openings in Wellington, and want to learn as much as possible about the area as I can-


Also, I wish I could bring my 88 vert with me, but she would probably have to stay behind as I am not sure about importing laws or cost.

Thanks a ton in advance!

BADSVN2000

Hey bud, great to hear your thinking about coming to NZ!!
Wellington is a great place, that is where I am originally from but I now live in Auckland. The nightlife in Wellington is great and the people are generally friendly I am not sure about your car though but if you like I could enquire about whether or not you could legally have it here or not give me the specs and I will ring around for you.

So why does Welly attract you? I moved up here to Auckland 3 years ago and for me it is sooo much better. Wellington is a great place but it is limited as far as things to do, it is very windy and cold alot of the time, its a small city and everything is close but it is still a cool place to live and I do miss it a little bit sometimes! I like Auckland better personally because there is a much wider range of things to do, and alot more opportunities. If I had stayed in welly I would not have the job I have now and be earning what I am earning now.

If you do like wellington though it still is a great place and I go down whenever I can (only a 7.5 hr drive) to see my family and friends, party and hang out. If you need I can hook you up with some people (car nuts ha ha) but they are all good friends of mine. let me know what your interests are etc and I should be able to help you out and point you in the right direction

introVert

Got your PM- sounds great- it seems "Welly" has the most job listings in my field, although I wouldn't be averse to living anywhere on the islands. I am from Kodiak, Alaska originally, and miss the mountains as it is flat here in Florida. As you might have guessed, I am a bit of a rotorhead- I have a supercharged 88 vert, but would give it up for an FD once I get a real job and settle in there.

I imagine Auckland would have a good selection in the way of jobs as well. Since I know virtually nothing about NZ other than the fact that you drive on the left side and winter is in July, any info would be appreciated. The whole driving in kilometers and buying gas (petrol?) in litres is gonna take some adjustment as well

introVert

BTW- your FD is dead sexy- liking the tag as well

BADSVN2000

Ha ha thanks It doesnt look that sexy at the moment as its in for chassis repair and has been completely stripped but give it a couple of weeks and she will be back to her former glory (no i didnt crash her lol).

The winter here is nothing like what you have, we dont even have snow unless your in the south island or around the desert road area pretty much but the temp rarley gets below 6-10 degrees celcius.
Wellington winters are one thing I do not miss at all, its bloody cold and windy (sometime 90kph/55mph winds and higher) and mostly wet but still no snow so we can drive our FD's all year around ha ha! Thats why I like auckland, its cold and rains during winter but it doesnt have that chilling cold wind that Wellington has! Either way I do like both places but I call Auckland my home now. There are so many diverse places we can go from auckland and all within 1-3hr drives and the places are totally different for example, 30 mins in any direction from the city you are in the country side surrounded by nature, forests, hills and there are soooo many beaches to choose from and Lake Taupo is only 3 hrs away! I could ramble on all day on about the amazing places I have been since I have been up here in Auckland and all just a stones throw away! Whereas Wellington you have to travel much further to find nice places (i lived there most of my life).

You could also get a pretty stock 1992 FD for between 10 and $14,000 depending on condition or you may be able to find one with a popped motor for cheaper which I can get rebuilt. My mate just bought a 1997 FD for 10k, came with HKS adjustables and a blown engine which i am re-building for him. Just to give you an idea but I will be selling mine for between 18 and 20k as is pretty damn mint and have just re-built it from the ground up.

Anyway man, check it out and get back to me if you have any questions as I am always happy to help.

Talk to you soon

aerosev

Hey mate I wouldnt reccomend it here the wages are really low hence the fact there are not alot of people in your field of work here, I know alot of people in the health industry that have got disgruntled and left for Australia etc, sure its a great place to live but interest rates are really high, they are currently 10% the medium house price is around $350000 and average wages are around $44000 and we get taxed heavily so if you got the average take home wage of $44000 you would pay $9390 in tax which would leave you $34610 a year, Rates here are exspensive mine are $1600 a year and thats not including around $200 for enviroment rates, fuel is around a $1.80 a litre and rising insurance on an rx7 is usually over $600 a year registraton for a year is around $180 and about to go up, and unless your car is under 5yrs old you need a a warrent of fitness every 6 months which is $50 each time, phone and power here is also overpriced an average broadband internet connection cost the best part of $50 a month and just to have your phone connected costs $45 a month and thats without making any calls! And I think the average power bill here for a month is around $120, So I hope you get my point you would be jumping into a pressure cooker! and would find yourself going nowhere fast, so I recommend doing the math before making any decisions you will regret.

introVert

Thanks for the useful info, aero- as for the low wages vs. high cost of living, it seems about the same as here. Housing is a fair bit higher, which is something to consider, of course. Most everything else seems on par with what I expected.

As for gas, 1 gallon = 3.79 litres, so 1.80*3.79=6.82NZ per gallon, factoring in exchange rate comes out to US $5.38 per gallon.Wow- almost twice what it is here. At least you can surf in December there, though

J-Mo-15

Hey Dude, read this post a while ago when you first put it up. Anywho, was reading the local wellington paper on wednesday or thursday, Wellington hopspital is in extremely desperate need of doctors and are paying up to $180NZ an hour just for casual doctors. I will try my best to find the story on the internet if i can. Anyways jsut thought id let you know!!

James

introVert

Thanks, J-mo- but I have yet to become a doctor. About 8 more years of school than I currently have. I am actually a nuclear medicine technologist, sometimes grouped in with x-ray or radiology techs. I take the pictures that the docs look at.

Thanks for the heads up, though- and if you come across anything, feel free to post it here, or PM me.

Gizmo

not an other f****** aucklander

ICE_Pilot

Hey Badseven where in Auckland are you?

Good luck with the move if you decide to come over IntroVert

BADSVN2000

J.A.F.A = Just Another Fucken Aucklander!!

I am only part jafa as I am originally from Wellington

96fd3s

Hi there, i live in Auckland, New Zealand. Dont really know what to tell you about NZ..like everywhere it has its good points and its bad points.

Junior doctors have been on strike here recently demanding more money...

for a bit of general information you can only road register 1996 + Fd's here as pre 1996 models do not meet the NZ Frontal Impact laws. You do find the odd pre 1996 that is road registered (perhaps it was registered before the frontal impact law came into place or through some other dodgy means) but generally only 1996 are road legal. Auckland has no shortage of rotary workshops, i believe nz has some of the fastest rotarys in the world, if not the fastest.

The nz country side is a very beautiful place,we have all types of roads from motorways, to windey mountian roads to gravel roads..lots of nice scenery to blast thorough in the 7!
i like doing hotlaps through the countyside -- i have a few little circuits that i do at night after the rush hour traffic is gone..Auckland is a city with a bit of everything close by