John Arimond was 45, had studied at Harvard and MIT, and had worked for 20 years for a US corporation when he and his wife Amy decided they wanted to start a family. But, as John points out, at that time his work life balance was "lousy" and he was disillusioned with what was happening in the US in regard to terrorism.

"We were weary of the non-stop fear-mongering that pervaded the US, and of how the whole situation was being handled. We were ready for a change," he says.

John and Amy had travelled extensively, and during a 2-week holiday in New Zealand in 2004 they were moved by the warmth and friendliness of people they met.   Now, with plans for a family and dreams of a better way of life, John and Amy decided to move to New Zealand.

Having a baby? No worries

John submitted an Expression of Interest under the Skilled Migrant Category and received a positive response within one week. He quickly informed New Zealand Immigration Services (NZIS) about their plans for a baby and asked if it would complicate the application should they succeed.

"NZIS was fantastic throughout," says John.

"I was immediately told 'no worries' about the planned pregnancy, that we would be welcome to socialised health care on arrival as Permanent Residents."

As soon as the couple's pregnancy was confirmed, John asked if their application could be expedited so that they might immigrate before the baby was born.  "Within 24 hours my case was kicked up to a supervisor, and within about a month my application was accepted."

But, despite the best efforts of NZIS, the couple weren't able to move quite as quickly as they hoped. A shortage of midwives in the Wellington region, where they were planning to start out, meant they delayed their immigration until their baby daughter, Corina was nearly 5 months old.

Finding the right job

With a new baby in the house, John was keen to find a 'dream job' where he could utilise his skills and experience, but not be working the long, long hours he had put in back in the States.

Before arriving in New Zealand, John screened the country's head-hunters based on their websites, and contacted two who gave him good advice before beginning immigration. One of the key pieces of advice he received is that it is a lot easier to secure employment once your commitment to immigrating is demonstrated, as employers are reluctant to waste time interviewing faraway candidates who say they plan to move to NZ. 

"So I waited until we arrived," John explains, "and toured the country for a few weeks to decide where we wanted to live. We decided to avoid the rainy west coast, and to target Tauranga and Christchurch."
John wanted to find a job in wind energy and found it as engineering manager at Windflow Technology, a global innovator in wind power turbine design, development and manufacturing, which is based in Christchurch.

"The work life balance here is great," says John. "I typically work about 45 hours per week, which is not much by US standards, but I feel among the 'workaholics' in NZ.  Salaries are considerably lower here than in the US, but I'm happy with the tradeoff we chose."

Dogs at home here too

Looking back over the process of immigrating, John continues to be impressed with the government systems in New Zealand. Even the challenges of bringing his two dogs to New Zealand is seen as a positive.

"We found the MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) process was more challenging than the NZIS process," laughs John. "But it's understandably so, as we are glad that NZ is and shall remain rabies-free."

John also comments that they have been very happy with the quality and accessibility of health care, and "the blessed absence of red tape - the billing and insurance paperwork that dominates 'managed' healthcare in the US."

John and his family, which has grown to include a son, Declan, who was born in New Zealand this year, have also found most people to be warm and friendly. This includes the people next door, in their toddler's playgroup, at work and church. And they appreciate the high level of common decency evident around the country.

Above all, John has high praise for the people they dealt with at NZIS during the process of immigrating to New Zealand.

"We've been delighted with the service and help NZIS gave us," he says. "Really, they were fantastic."

George Pirie and his wife Sharonn have always lived in the countryside close to a city. They're doing that in New Zealand too, but with the added pleasure of being at the beachside.

The couple and their two children have moved from Perth in Scotland to Clarks Beach, about 40 minutes out of Auckland where George works for the specialist electrical contracting company Electrix.  As George explains, it's easier to meet people in small community, and that's what they've found at Clarks Beach.  "It's even easier with kids," he says, "because you meet people right away when you take them to school, kindergarten, and sports.  "But what we've really enjoyed here is how friendly the neighbours are. They've become friends very quickly."

Clarks Beach is a small coastal village on the Manukau Harbour. It offers safe swimming, fishing, lots of sports facilities and a laid back lifestyle that's not too far from the city.

George and Sharonn made the decision to come to New Zealand once they had children.

"We had always enjoyed travelling but, with children, it makes more sense to be based somewhere and do short trips.  "We've always been keen on the islands around the Pacific, so living in New Zealand makes trips there very accessible."

Having made the decision to move to New Zealand, George wasted no time. It took just one month to sell the house, pack up, organise visas, a job, transport for the two cats, and get on the plane.

"I just went on the internet and sent out my CV to every New Zealand company in my field. In days I had six job offers. The hard bit was deciding which to accept."

After talking to the companies by phone, George accepted an offer from Electrix. It's been a good choice.

"It wasn't so much the salary or the relocation package," he says, "it was more that, although they're a big company in this part of the world, it's actually a smaller organisation than where I've been before. And that means I get much more involved in all areas of the projects I work on and have more chance to step up the career ladder."

Commenting on the immigration process, George says it was much easier than he expected. Because the company was in a hurry for him to start, he travelled on a holiday visa and applied for his 2 year work permit once he got here.

"I knew it would be okay because Electrix is an accredited company with New Zealand Immigration," he says, "but my timing was a bit out as there was a rush of applications at the same time as mine, so we had to take a few weeks holiday while it was processed." Asked if he has any advice for other people thinking about moving to New Zealand, George says not to worry too much about the paperwork.

"It's not hard. It might take a bit of time. But it's not difficult."

And as for life in New Zealand, George says his children Finlay, aged 6 and Rowan aged 3 already think of themselves as Kiwis. The cats have settled in to life at the beach too, and George laughs that they cost more to bring here than the kids.

George and Sharonn are very glad they made the decision to move here.

"We've got a far better balance of work and lifestyle than we ever could have had in Scotland."

“Getting a job before I left worked like a dream.”

“I’d never heard of New Zealand until I saw a travel documentary on TV in the States – and I was hooked,” says systems architect Heather Simpson, formerly of Knoxville, Tennessee. Heather is now living life to the full in Wellington.

For Heather, arriving in New Zealand without a job was not an option. “I was going to be migrating by myself, so I wanted to get the stress of job hunting whilst house hunting out of the equation.”

Heather gave her resume to a number of personnel agencies in New Zealand but it was finding a vacancy on an on-line employment site that really got the ball rolling.

“It only took two months from applying for a job to arriving in New Zealand. That’s fast!”

Heather was granted a two year work permit on arrival and shortly before that expired was granted residence.

“I could have got here sooner but I wanted to play it safe by getting work first. For me, it’s worked like a dream and I couldn’t be happier.”

"The job prospects here are very encouraging - it seemed like a better way of life, while having all the advantages of home."

Twenty eight year-old Stuart Birch freely admits he's living a life in New Zealand which he simply couldn't afford back home. What was intended to be a brief visit to New Zealand to cap off his overseas experience, turned into something more permanent, when Stuart realised the lifestyle on offer was something he couldn't pass up.

Stuart, from the county of Devon, reflects that if he had stayed in England he'd be "renting a bed-sit and living off creamed rice." He readily admits moving to Wellington has given him a life which he wouldn't be able to finance in England. "The wage here grants you a very good quality of life that you wouldn't have on an equivalent wage at home. I have a beautiful flat with a view – if I was in the UK I wouldn't be financially able to live as I do now."

Stuart arrived in New Zealand in March 2002, anticipating a brief holiday before moving on. "I'd spoken to a number of Kiwis travelling in Australia and Asia, and decided to give it a try."  However, after receiving a job offer as a Mechanical Patent Officer for the Ministry of Economic Development, he decided to prolong his stay. His degree in product design and manufacture is particularly relevant as his job involves assessing the viability of patent applications. "Basically, people come to me with ideas for patents and I examine their application and decide whether the subject matter is patentable."

Realising he wanted to make his stay more permanent, Stuart submitted an application under the Skilled Migrant Category at the start of 2004. "Originally I was granted a work permit. After four months I received an invitation to apply for residence, and I got my residence in December 2004."

Today Stuart is taking full advantage of the outdoors opportunities his new home has on offer. A keen snowboarder, he's only four hours drive from Mount Ruapehu in the central North Island. Over Christmas and the New Year he hired a campervan and toured the beaches of the Coromandel Peninsula, finishing off his holiday at Lake Taupo. "The beauty of New Zealand is that it's not only unique, it's accessible. I hadn't meant to stay here – I fell in love with the beauty of the country."

"Before I left, my Dad said 'Don't come home before seeing New Zealand'. I think he regrets it now because I've never looked back."

Farming has been a large part of English teacher Paul Jackson’s life. But when he left the farm in the village of Ponteland, just outside Newcastle in Northumberland, which his family has lived on since 1649, he wasn’t to know he would eventually settle on another farm on the South Island’s West Coast.
Paul had been to New Zealand during his travels as a young man, and his first impression was that the country was much like the UK in the 1960s. Now he describes life in New Zealand as “a wonderful lifestyle, and I just can’t get over how lucky we are.”

At the age of 30, married to Jacqui and with two small children to support, Paul was teaching at a school for profoundly handicapped and autistic children in Manchester. But he and Jacqui knew they were not going to spend the rest of their life in the UK and decided to emigrate to New Zealand.

A job in a minute

A break came when Paul saw an advertisement for teaching jobs in New Zealand.

“I got on the internet that night, and applied for eight jobs. Within a few hours the principal of one of the colleges, Bishop Viard College in Porirua, was on the phone. From that moment, things happened very fast. The principal faxed a letter to the New Zealand High Commission in London saying that he’d offered Paul a job. Paul sent his passport to the High Commission and got a one year work permit straight away.

“I was on a plane as soon as I could book a flight. Two weeks after being offered the job, I got off the plane on a Monday morning and was teaching that afternoon.”

Contrasts and surprises

Jacqui and the two boys, Harry and Robert, flew out over four months later, and the family bought a house in the seaside village of Pukerua Bay, north of Wellington. That experience was one of the first that showed them how different New Zealand can be from the UK.

“It was so easy to buy a house over here compared to the UK It’s also more affordable than in the .UK We paid just over $120,000, or £40,000, for a detached house with lovely views in a coastal village. That wouldn’t have bought a terraced house in Manchester.”

Career opportunities

By the end of four years, Paul had been promoted to head of a department and manager of curriculum change for the whole school.”

However, he was then lured to the West Coast by Greymouth High School, to build a new technology block.

After five and a half years in New Zealand, Paul appreciates his Kiwi students. He says they are more laid back than students in the UK, and they aren’t as aggressive.

“I also think the curriculum here is much better,” says Paul.
And Paul’s advice for teachers wanting to work in New Zealand?
“Jump on a plane and come over. We need more teachers, especially technology teachers. We’re desperately short of them.”

A wonderful lifestyle

Home is now a 40 hectare deer farm near Hokitika, on the West Coast, on the historic stagecoach route from Hokitika to Christchurch. Paul describes it as remote, although they have neighbours only 50 metres away on either side.

“We farm 60 hinds, and also have some pigs and hens.

“We have a wonderful lifestyle. We wake up every morning to the calls of tuis and wood pigeons. It’s a stunning place, and I just can’t get over how lucky we are.”