Vetted by NeuralPress's Multi-Agent Verifier for strict factual validity and event relevance. Our compliance engine cross-checks and filters search results to ensure zero false correlations or misleading content.
Primary Sources
Moving to New Zealand: My Experience (Updated for 2026)
You’re planning on moving to New Zealand?! Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, I’ll give you all the details on the different types of visas for New Zealand. Plus, I detail the best cities to live in New Zealand and how to find a place to rent in each one. I will add that searches for ‘moving to New Zealand’ have increased tenfold since the most recent U.S. election. In fact, one large recruitment agency here has said that emails from Americans looking to move to New Zealand have increased by 5 emails per day to 100’s of enquiries a day. We lived in New Zealand for over 4 years – first in the sunny Bay of Islands on the North Island and then in the adventure capital of the world, Queenstown on the South Island. And we were lucky that we got in on a Working Holiday Visa, which is fairly easy to get however, if you’re not eligible for that, getting a work visa for New Zealand can be tricky. You’ll read all about those below. All in all, I will say New Zealand is a brilliant place to move to – the work/life balance here is excellent, the pay is great and the people are so friendly. However, finding a place to call home can be a challenge! Read on how you can make your dream of moving to New Zealand a reality! Is it worth moving to New Zealand? The Blue Pools are a cool place to visit on the South Island! The short answer is yes, it’s definitely worth moving to New Zealand. New Zealand is arguably one of the most beautiful countries in the world – think jagged snowcapped peaks and wild beaches. Not only is New Zealand home to the adventure capital of the world (Queenstown), but its actual capital city, Wellington, is one of the coolest cities I’ve visited. Plus, New Zealand is one of the safest countries in the world – and in my four years living here, I’ve never felt unsafe at night or getting public transport on my own. The lifestyle you can have when you live in New Zealand is second to none; it’s very relaxed here, and of course, the stunning great outdoors and friendly people add to its appeal. However, it is expensive to live in New Zealand, so, of course, earning a decent wage is important to truly enjoy life here – rent can be very expensive, as I’ll explain later. New Zealanders have a fantastic work-life balance with a minimum of 20 paid annual leave days and 10 paid sick days a year. If you’re a new mother, you can take up to 26 weeks of paid primary carer leave. And in addition to the above, the average work week in ...
I moved from the US to New Zealand for love. I forgot to build my own ...
The author said she regrets not building her own life when she first moved to New Zealand for love. Courtesy of Ashlyn Oswalt. 2026-05-13T09:26:01.243Z After navigating a long-distance relationship for a year, I took the leap and moved to New Zealand. I got my happily ever after, but lost a bit of myself in the process. If I had it to do over, I'd do some things differently. When I met CJ at a Montreal hostel, I didn't expect to purchase a one-way ticket to New Zealand around a year later. But after months of enduring a long-distance relationship between Chicago and Toronto (where he was living at the time), and falling deeply in love, I chose the path of least resistance: a New Zealand work visa and a flight to Christchurch, CJ's hometown. I moved without a shred of research, convinced love would be enough to build a personal foundation in a foreign country. I was in for a shock. The author and her now-husband took their first photo together while seeing their reflection at the Cloud Gate in Chicago. Courtesy of Ashlyn Oswalt. I relied on my partner's social circle, instead of finding my ownCJ grew up in Christchurch, and I lazily relied on his established group of mates to become my social circle. While they were lovely, our lives couldn't be more different. They were buying homes and having children, while CJ and I were still in the discovery phase of our relationship. I moved from the US to New Zealand for love. I forgot to build my own life when I got there. Everything changed when I made my first American friend. We bonded instantly over the things we missed from home and the friction of life here, and I finally felt seen. This relationship opened the door to my own community, and soon I had a group of people who knew me for me, not just as CJ's partner. The author admits that she relied too heavily on her partner's social circle when she first moved abroad. Courtesy of Ashlyn Oswalt. Professional isolation seeped into every facet of my lifeI kept my remote US marketing job when I moved. Earning USD was great, but it meant I was physically in New Zealand while mentally and socially stuck on another continent. I had no reason to leave the house, no local colleagues, and nothing anchoring me to New Zealand — aside from CJ. That's a heck of a lot of pressure to put on a relationship. Eventually, I landed a copywriting role at a Kiwi outdoor brand. It was a dream job I'd struggled to find in the US. Being part of an iconic company connected...
10 Best Airlines to New Zealand For Your 2026 Travels
These are the 10 best airlines to fly to New Zealand in 2026, plus new routes and Skynest bunk beds that make the flight way more bearable.
Latest U.S. News | Top headlines from the USA | Reuters
Reuters.com is your online source for the latest US news stories and current events, ensuring our readers up to date with any breaking news developments
