Check into Gordo Byrn's site : www.byrn.org He is a pro who hails from Canada, and has made Sumner (CHCH suburb) his base. Lots of Kiwis on his site forum, and I am sure they can help you out. I have visited ChCH a lot, and love it. Good luck !

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Tony Verow MD
Durango, CO 81301
Averow@bresnan.net

I only lived there for three months... here's my thoughts...

"how hard is to find a job? how long did it take you? from abroad or in NZ? any suggestions? "

I think job prospects depend on what your looking for. From what I get from the kiwi's, the north island has a better economy and job market.

"how is the cost of living compared to the US? Property cost, salary, etc? "

Property is through the roof. I was astonished at the price of housing there. If your from an expensive US area though.. you'll still find it cheap. It ain't SoCal! I asked around about salaries and they didn't seem to be that great given the cost of living. You'll definitely have less take-home than in the USA.

"pros & cons you've encountered... "

some consumer goods are quite expensive: bike parts, bikes, running shoes (VERY expensive), eating in a restaurant. High taxes as well... (hidden in VAT) but I'm from Canada, so used to it.

"weather, tri schene, etc... "

Go to a weather website to get monthly averages for weather. Canterbury was quite dry, but windy, and mostly temperate (not too hot or too cold).

The roads can't be beat for riding... I did a 5 hour ride on a Sunday morning and saw about 10 cars for the first 4 hours! Good swimming pools, plenty of other athletes. All round rockin place to train. The terrain in ChCh is either completely flat or very steep uphill... would be nice to have a few more rolling areas to train.

I hear Tauranga on the North Island is pretty good.. ?

Thanks, I appreciate it!

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“You can't coach desire.” --Dathan Ritzenhein
http://xtreme4.com/ -- an extreme ride for extreme change: go green

yeah, all this is pretty much true. Chch is a great area to train in, housing there is not too ridiculous (cheaper than up, for one).

We are actually experiencing labour market shortages in lots of things! So, in certain industries you would walk into a job. I think immigration are the biggest bunch of pricks on the planet, so they can be tricky. But if you speak English, and you are white-ish (no joke), they are nicer to you.

Bike prices - huh! A bike like the Dual is about $1500 US for you, but nearer to $3000 here, although our dollar buys 72 of your cents around now. Shoes etc ditto. Go figure.

But, let me tell you, kiwis are very good looking. Yessirree Bob, damn fine group of specimens.

Did I mention intelligent, too? ;)))))

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kiwipat

per ardua ad astra

What, you know Portugal and still want to go to NZ??? LOL, just kidding, take me with you!!! :-)

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-
"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

:) Thanks for the input. I hear Kiwis are indeed a very nice bunch!

I'll make sure to bring along my bikes and a good supply of ASICS and bike shoes.

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“You can't coach desire.” --Dathan Ritzenhein
http://xtreme4.com/ -- an extreme ride for extreme change: go green

Actually, if you are coming, I've been trying to buy a timex HRM online and not having much luck. Retail for about $70 US, and $240 NZ here!

So, I may be in the market for a courier...I think the watch would fit nice and snug next to that OTHER package, the one with all the funny white powder in it! ;)

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kiwipat

per ardua ad astra

Hi, I can't tell you much about the NZ process, but I completed the similar migration process for Australia and am moving to Sydney next month. It's not an easy thing to do bureaucratically or even pschologically, but sometimes you just have to follow your gut.

PM me if you like, and I'll give you all the gory details.