Moving to NZ

[McLeanMeister]

Hello,

I do not know if this thread goes in a certain topic I am new, so if it has to could someone move it.

I am planning on emigrating when I am 18 years old or 20, to either Australia or New Zealand to start a better life. I have saved up money since I was 12 in my savings account, now I have over £10000 and will have more by the time I am 18-20.
I know a lot of people would say that was too young, but I would rather get over sooner and get used to living etc faster. I have only been to Auckland.

I have a few questions:
- Where would be the best place to stay as a immigrant?
- What are the best job sectors to get into?
- What is the ideal amount of money to get on my feet?
- What companies can help me get on my feet?

Any other information would be great!

[Karen Phillips]

Hi. How old are you now? What qualifications do you have or plan to have? What are your main interests and skills? What is it you want from life "down under" that is different from life in Scotland? These are questions that you need to answer for yourself. Although you have saved up a lot of money (well done!), you will still need a skilled occupation or evidence of having run your own business etc. However, as a UK passport holder, you could head off on a UK Working Holiday Visa for up to 23 months. You could then tour the whole country, see where you feel most at home, work for up to 12 months and so make lots of contacts for future employment - and you would get to know whether your dreams of NZ or OZ are a reality. You could do an Australian Working Holiday as well! An alternative, if you are thinking of a University degree at some point, is to go to NZ and do your degree there. Although you would have to pay international fees, they need not be much different from the English University domestic fees. (Are they still free in Scotland?). Hope this gets you started. Kind regards. Karen

[jawnbc]

Working holiday is the way to go for you if you're a UK citizen. You'll need to prove you have some funds to get yourself started regardless. Once you're here you can look at longer term options if you feel like you want to stay longer.

[PJ87]

Hey McLeanMeister,

I would wholeheartedly agree with the previous posters. Get a Working Holiday Visa, go out and see how you like it, there's a big difference between living somewhere and visiting somewhere on holiday. I went to NZ aged 20 in 2007 with £3k in my pocket, admittedly the exchange rate was better then that it is now and I got a job around 2 months after landing in NZ and I had an absolute blast. There are minimum requirements for funds which you are supposed to bring into the country when you start your WHV so I would take this into account when planning your funds!

Good luck!