Well its one of the adventure capitals of the world. Theres so many outdoor activites to do. Whitewater rafting, bungy jumping, canoying, carving, zorbing, skiing, hiking, paragliding, water-skiing, fishing and lots more. It is a beautiful place, set amongst some of the best mountains in the world. Lots of nice rivers and lakes. Job wise- Is the problem and the reason why you will find a lot of tourists and not so many locals. If you have a trade background you will be ok to work as a builder, electrician or whatever as theres always houses to work on, but theres not many businesses /office type jobs. Its a very expensive place, because it gets so many tourists they put the price up on everything.

Most people I know who went there to work worked on the ski fields, or in a hostel or bar and they absoultely loved it. However they all had to leave it as it was to hard to make a decent living.

cool. i am a trademan but was actually looking to work in the countryside when i get to NZ. Fruit picked in australia and loved it, shame the pay was rubblish but great experience, would really love to learn how to make wine/ open a vineyard in the future, figured if i was lucky i might get someone in NZ to teach me the skill in exchange for a few years back breaking labour in the fields

There's a number of wineries in the immediate area, along the Kawarau river especially. If you're willing to work your ass off there's always work for you.

Had a flight to milford today, took some pics while my passengers were on the cruise:

On the apron, looking at all the Real Journeys planes (brittan-norman islanders)


My plane for the day:


Walking to the boat terminal, an Islander taking off:


Still walking to the boat terminal, a wood bridge path surrounded by silver birch trees:

Hi, me and my gfis looking to go back to NZ for 8months, i am wondering if there 3G broadband is good enogh to grind on every day? We are planing on staying in Nelson.

any broadband connections is fine for grinding in nz. Its wireless that is less reliable.

Are we talking about the same thing when you say wireless and i say 3G (that is mobile broadband)

Yes you are talking about the same thing. Anywhere you stay will have a grindable internet connection. I wouldnt rely on 3g in NZ for grinding, but thats not to say it couldnt be done.

It is just so much work getting broadband to the house. Last time i was in nz i did it and was hoping the 3G would have gotten good enogh that i do not have to go throgh it all again but i guess i have to anyways then :s

no im talking about normal broadband not mobile. I have no experience with mobile broadband

I so wanna go to NZ to study for my postgrad next year or settle indefinietly over there

seems the best country on earth from a french perspective

is there any tension we dont here about between ethnies ?

Sax, met a lot of french in NZ during the Rugby World Cup, all of them had a great time (apart from the result)
NZ does have issues with racism, just like any country there are idiots and bigots. But, I wouldnt call it a major issue and any ethnic issues are centralised to small patches of the country and certain suburbs.
Plenty of great wine to drink and chees to eat!!
The main universities are spread around the country, so providing quite differing lifestyles.
Auckland - big city
Massey - in the middle of no where (unless you count cows and sheep as fun)
Victoria - Cosmpolitan, Arts capital
Canterbury - my hometown, but not the ideal destination for another 5-10 years
Otago - university town, great fun and not far from the most amazing scenery in the world

You forgot Waikato they would be most offended

If you just want to play online, anywhere is fine, pick the prettiest place you can afford. But if you want to mix in live poker Auckland or Christchurch are really your only choices, unless you like pub poker of course (puke). All the casinos in NZ other than the above have only one table..

I'm considering NZ to move/grind in the next year or so. It would be me, my wife, and my 1 year old son.

I think I've narrowed it down to Nelson and Dunedin. We are looking for a clean, but very simple one-bedroom apartment; no frills. We do NOT require nightlife and we're more concerned with nature.

Can anyone give me some guidance on finding a small, simple place for < $1000 USD/month? Is this possible in Nelson or Dunedin? Could it be found for even cheaper than that?