Tips to make your 1st month living in NZ a piece of cake...
Hey all!
I arrived here in Welly on July 19th after a tiring flight. Since then I have done the following that has gotten me past all the set up stuff for my new life. It's worked out well for me so I figured I'd write up a quick list for all of you who will be arriving soon for your big move to NZ! I did this in this actual order...
a) DON'T get a contract cel phone as they are too expensive and don't give you enough included minutes. Get a Vodaphone pre-pay account with Text2000 as an addon. Once you meet someone nice.. i.e. your new best friend or a new mate (Girlfriend in my case), order Vodafon's BestMate option for $6.00/month for UNLIMITED calls to them/month. It's a good deal for NZ.
b) Set up a local bank account: I picked ANZ bank because they also own National Bank and between both, there's no ATM fees for either bank. Get an F-POS card! They are well needed here!
c) Apply for your IRD number!!! Apply for your IRD number! If you need it fast for your employer, request them to expedite it in writing via fax.
d) Set up a www.Skype.com VOiP account for cheap long distance called for outside and inside NZ! (yes it's costs far less to use Skype for LD calls within NZ!). AND get a skype tested headset for fun VOiP calls to your friends back home for dirt cheap. It's 2.1 cents/min from NZ to USA/Canada/UK/most of Europe and Australia...
e) Set up an account at http://www.xetrade.com for international cash transfers. It's sort of cumbersome to get it setup at first, but once you do you'll be very thankful! XEtrade's local NZ account is held at "National Bank" (wink wink, nodd nodd) - see letter "b" makes things e-z when sending your $ to them.
f) NZ Credit history: Like me, you will have none here but's important to build it up the sooner the better! Even if you had perfect longstanding credit where you came from it does not matter anymore nor does it transfer to NZ. So once you get settled in, get a Qantas Classic Visa card from ANZ bank for earning miles on Qantas. Qantas flies everywhere Air NZ does within NZ, but more places outside of NZ! If you are a PR holder & are employed with a decent salary it should be e-z get one, otherwise on a 30 mth WTR permit/visa (like me), you'll need to show your passport, work permit stamp, a NZ pay stub and your full time perm job offer letter to get an ANZ Qantas Visa card. Be forewarned, pay off your balance on this card each month or you'll be hit with a 19% APR on it.
g) For US citizens (like me), organize all your receipts from your expenses for your move to NZ as well as the receipts from any RECCY trip you took. Most everything is a tax write off with the IRS.(see the IRS for more info)
h) DO get a local land phone if you can share it with one or more persons. It will save you on those pricey outgoing cel phone calls.
i) Sometime sooner vs. later and for free parking and dirt cheap petrol costs, I got a scooter for my job commute to the Wellington CBD. It's fun, and gives you freedom on weekends to explore the town while parking your bike anywhere! Vroom Vroooom! Otherwise, get a car but be forewarned about parking $$$$$$$ and petrol costs!
j) Apply for a TradeMe (www.trademe.co.nz) account - it's worth it. You can bid on cheap stuff among other things as this is the "Ebay" of NZ!
Hope this helps and congrats to all you soon-to-be new NZ arrivals.
If you will be coming to Welly, let me know so we can meet up for a coffee!
Cheers,
John
Originally Posted by skibumwa
