Moving to New Zealand – Top Tips
Posted on January 23, 2020
New Zealand is becoming as popular a destination for relocation as it’s neighbour Australia. It’s lush scenery and temperate climate make it an attractive option for a lot of people. We wanted to give you brief top tips of what to consider.
There’s a lot to learn about life in New Zealand. Known by Māori as Aotearoa, or “The Land of the Long White Cloud”, the Kiwi nation certainly does have a lot of long white clouds. These go well with their long white beaches and long white mountains. We’ve selected a few of the important things to know, from slang to sheep, hobbits and sandflies!
If you’re seriously considering emigrating, then it’s essential to know the new rules coming in to effect later this year, for both visitors and potential immigrants. Don’t be caught out and face having to find thousands of pounds in expenses.
New Zealand is 20,000 sq km larger than the UK, but has far less people. There are only 4.8 million people in New Zealand, compared to the UK’s 66.5 million, and over 85 per cent of Kiwi’s live in urban areas, meaning the countryside is a fairly empty experience. Some folk might consider that lonely, but for some that’s just perfect.
But there are so many sheep! For every one New Zealander, there are six sheep. You can hardly move for the nearly 30 million woolly creatures filling the landscape like fluffy white clouds, munching away on the grass.
Kiwi’s hate being confused with Aussies, but their accents do have quite some differences. One moment they can sounds Australian, then South African, and the next American, and all within one sentence. It’s handy not having to learn a new language, but getting a good grasp of the local slang is essential.
If you hear someone mention ‘glad wrap’, they mean cling film, which makes it sound much more fun that it is. On a hot day you’ll be wanting to keep your drinks cold in a ‘chilli bin’, or a cool box, and should anyone ever say ‘yeah – nah’, they’re not being indecisive, they mean ‘No, thank you’.
The weather in New Zealand is very different to Australia. Temperatures don’t hit the extremes of it’s larger neighbour, and the climate can be much more like the UK, often suffering the similar ‘four seasons in one day’ varieties of weather most brits are accustomed to.
The two islands of New Zealand are surrounded by some of the wildest seas in the world, which can stir up pretty wild weather. The morning might start off sunny and warm, but by midday it could be raining, cold, and blowing a gale, thanks to the Pacific Ocean stirring things up.
When the sun does come out though, it’s important to remember that the ozone layer has a hole over the south pole, and it’s a pretty thin layer over New Zealand, so you will need extra protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
We’re experts in helping many people relocate abroad, so do not hesitate to get in touch for any and all advice when it comes to transporting your lives and your family abroad with an international moving company.