Pros and cons for a young family in NZ

[Dell]

My son and his wife are in their mid-30's with three kiddos, ages 2, 9 and 11.
Son was born in the U.S. and has NZ citizenship by right of descent. His wife is American as are all 3 kids.

They are trying to decide where to move to. The primary reason for relocating is quality of education for the kids. They live in a state that is ranked among the lowest in the U.S. for quality of education. They're considering Austin, Texas, L.A. area of California, New Zealand or Australia. According to this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...cience-reading
New Zealand is much higher on the list than the U.S. and the University of Auckland ranks in the top 100 universities in the world.

I'm elated that they're considering NZ!


(I think the blue banana is sacred and only used when someone is granted PR but in my case - this deserves a blue banana....in fact, it deserve a couple more!

Son is an illustrator and can continue to do the same work for the same clients no matter where he's living. DIL is a teacher but would like to go back to university.

I've given my son a list of the negatives:

Higher cost of food
Expensive for DIL to visit family in the U.S
Higher cost of furniture, etc.
Colder houses (according to some of you here!)

Positives:
Cost of health care
Free dental for kids
Better education
University education much less expensive
Access to beaches, etc.
Safer place for kids
Having US/NZ citizenship will open up more opportunities for the kids when they're older.

I'm hoping that those of you with kids can contribute pros and cons. Especially hoping to hear from families who've made the move from the U.S. to NZ.

Thank you!!