Graaaagh

[whyBish]

"The US Government has decided that, with effect from 1st October 2003, citizens of countries which participate in the Visa Waiver Programme ... must hold a machine readable passport if they wish to enter the United States without a visa."

"The Consulate General office in Auckland issues hand written passports and it will not be until late in 2004 that machine written passports will become standard issue"

So the U.S. Visa waiver program with N.Z. is useless since you still need to apply for a visa since N.Z. does not currently offer machine readable passports.

Just something I stumbled over while contemplating a trip to the U.S. to find a job.

[Guest]

Unemployment here is rather high, I don't think now would be the best time to come job hunting... It took me the better part of a year to find a job where I could pay my bills and still make it to my classes.. Its a LOT lower paying than I expected.. but, I guess we're in a recession?

[whyBish]

I must recant. This information is only partially correct. I will need a machine readable passport, but they are available here, just not at the outlet that the information was taken from.

Remember kiddies, relying on a single source of info is bad. *slaps own wrist*

[whyBish]

I think it is the best time for me personally to come. Any business cycle will be short term (3-5yr), but if I stay here it is financially prudent for me to stop renting, and buy a house. Trouble is, owning a house reduces my liquidity, so when the situation gets better I would be in a harder position to move. Not to mention the possibility of ending up married with kids in this country.

[Occhidiangela]

What the down side is to your being married and having kids in your fair land? :) Your parents did just that, and look at how well you turned out!

However, you have previously told us why you would like to emigrate and begin the Green Card Gamble, so this is just a friendly nudge and a wink. ;)

[kandrathe]

Unemployment is only high in some places, and in some industries. Overall, unemployment rates now are no worse than they were pre-bubble (circa 1991). Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas in the USA

Hope you didn't have your heart set on Yuma, AZ. :D

The USA Bureau of Labor Statistics has a rather extensive and useful website;

[whyBish]

Wow that is a great site. Thanks. Now I just need to find some time to look further. You've made my day :)

[whyBish]

What the down side is to your being married and having kids in your fair land?  :)   Your parents did just that, and look at how well you turned out!

However, you have previously told us why you would like to emigrate and begin the Green Card Gamble, so this is just a friendly nudge and a wink.  ;)

Hmmm, I don't think I have enough time tonight to spew vitriol ;)

Perhaps a succinct summary will do...

I don't feel that it is fair to be forced* to live in a country that I did not choose. I am only a NZer because my parents happened to give birth to me here (although I will admit that the country is in the same position : forced to have me as a citizen).

*Becoming an Australian is a fate worse than dreaming about Elrics' trout ;)

--Edited to fix my spellung ;)

[kandrathe]

I don't know too much about NZ, other than they have quite a bit of wilderness and beautiful scenery, and lots, and lots of sheep. I would imagine that you might feel a bit remote. I have many good friends who have migrated to the USA from all over the world, and I guess they did find what I imagine you are looking for. One of my best friends, a South African, wanted to see every place he had seen in American movies. The best yet was our road trip to LA, so he could check out Venice Beach, and the Whiskey A-Go-Go.

[WarBlade]

I don't know too much about NZ, other than they have quite a bit of wilderness and beautiful scenery, and lots, and lots of sheep.  I would imagine that you might feel a bit remote.

*grins*

Let's see now . . .

- There's world class Rugby.
- The yachting is cutting edge and as a sport NZ is often ranking at the top.
- Lord of the Rings? :D
- Walking barefoot to the dairy is quite normal.
- It takes less than a day to walk from the East Coast to the West coast through NZ's largest city (the North - South motorway drive can be a couple of hours though).
- Tectonic plate boundaries mean geothermal hotspots, extinct and dormant volcanoes, some mountains and occasional earthquakes in some areas. All pretty much within a couple of day's drive too. Rotorua (Rotovegas to the locals) is geothermally active to the point the entire city smells of sulphur and graves appear as concrete slabs above ground (digging them in might be a little iffy what with the possibility of steam coming up through a grave and all). Volcanoes . . . I can think of four lifeless cones I've walked through personally, three of which are in the heart of Auckland.
- Lord of the Rings. :P
- Water sports/recreation. Things like being able to sail out into the Hauraki gulf and having dolphins zipping along a couple of metres away below the bow is an unusual experience for many, but I've done that too locally. My nearest beach is five minutes walk down the hill.
- Beer. White wine (kiwis still have a way to go to get the reds better than the imports).
- Comfortable climate with no predators to worry about when traipsing around in it.
- Bunji jumping and other assorted 'fling the tourist on the tether' money making schemes.
- And of course, Lord of the Rings, plus a zillion other notes that escape me at the moment.

Remote? :huh: How so? As a nation in relation to other nations?

[TaMeOlta]

Hey , you left out Xena , warrior princess , Hercules and possibly that short lived Sinbad series was filmed there ! (Mmmm , Xena .... :P )

Aren't one (or two ?) of the cities located nearly on top/ right next to a volcano ? Rotorua doesn't sound like the name of the one I saw recently on The Learning Channel special on New Zealand . Then again , maybe I should have paid better attention or at least taken notes :P !

Whybish , are you seriously considering coming over ? Which state / job market / weather pattern you lookin' for ?

[WarBlade]

Hey , you left out Xena , warrior princess , Hercules and possibly that short lived Sinbad series was filmed there ! (Mmmm , Xena .... :P )

D'oh! :o

The funny part is I've had small involvment with both of those! :lol:

Sinbad? No, that wasn't here AFAIK. Pacific Renaissance did Herc, Xena, some kind of crummy young hercules spinoff, plus Cleopatra 2525.

Aren't one (or two ?) of the cities located nearly on top/ right next to a volcano ? Rotorua doesn't sound like the name of the one I saw recently on The Learning Channel special on New Zealand . Then again , maybe I should have paid better attention or at least taken notes :P !

Hmm, Auckland has some old volcanos poking up through it. Taupo sits at one side of Lake Taupo, which was formed in a volcanic blast that was recorded in ancient China when they could see a strange glow on the horizon. volcano map
The central North Island has a few old pressure valves in it and some of them still work from time to time. Ruapehu and Tongariro (not far from Taupo) both feature in scenes you'll see in Return of the King IIRC. Egmont becomes "Mt Fuji" for the duration of that upcoming Tom Cruise vehicle "The Last Samurai". Tarawera, just out of Rotorua was famous for it's destruction of a settlement and the Pink and White Terraces in 1886.

The last decent sized eruption was less than a decade ago and proved to be a big deal to locals (economy linked to ski seasons, preferably ash-free) and some vulcanologists from various corners of the world.

[Feryar]

Any chances of snowboarding? at what time of year? And exactly how good is the surfing?

I'm considering doing one year of my education in NZ, so any input would be nice. And no, I refuse to choose out of the quality of the schools :)

[Occhidiangela]

Blasted Browser, how is it I keep double posting??

Need more caffeine. :P

[Occhidiangela]

I don't feel that it is fair to be forced* to live in a country that I did not choose.

Fair? Forced to live in the land of your birth? You and pretty much everyone else on the globe? I can understand someone living on an island nation holding some "Eutope envy" what with their border relaxations and the magnificent rail system that allows folks there to get about with great ease. I rather envy the Europeans that marvelous infrastructure myself.

Where you sit determines what you see, and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. In any case, I hope that your pursuit of your dream to change your setting progresses satisfactorily. New Zealand's loss would be our gain. :D

[WarBlade]

Any chances of snowboarding? at what time of year?

Yes and usually mid year, but it depends on where you are. The South Island is the cold mountainous island where mountain sports happen a lot. I'm not an authority on it so here's a link to get you started. :D

And exactly how good is the surfing?

Up here in Auckland a trip out to the west coast and jump on in. Plenty of people surf. The East coast where I am is way more sheltered from big seas and sailboarding is common when the wind picks up. Then there's that weird parafoil/surfboarding thing too . . . I forget the name.

I'm considering doing one year of my education in NZ, so any input would be nice. And no, I refuse to choose out of the quality of the schools :)

Google :unsure:

[Feryar]

Thanks.
Could the parafoil/surfboarding be kiteboard? It's like wakeboarding only you use a kite rather than a boat to gain speed, and you can get a lot more air once you take off :)

[kandrathe]

Yes, from what I've noticed as common in some of my friends who've come here is that they desire to be closer to "where things are happening". That is not to say that things don't happen in NZ. :) My personal opinion is that life is where you live it, and fun is where you find it.

Europe and Asia also have hubs of activity, and it has been compelling for me to explore them. Where I live is not quite a backwater, but it is extremely tame compared to NYC, Miami, or LA. I travel frequently to most major US cities for work, and most are less than 4 hours away. What is cool is that for a few hundred dollars, and a 10-hour flight I can be in Amsterdam, London, or Scandinavia anytime I'd like. From London, or Amsterdam the rest of Europe is very close. What is very far away from me are places like Tokyo, Melbourne, or Auckland.

[whyBish]

The last decent sized eruption was less than a decade ago and proved to be a big deal to locals (economy linked to ski seasons, preferably ash-free) and some vulcanologists from various corners of the world.

Yeah that was weird. I remember the sound like canons going off, and the ash in the couple weeks following (at a guess I would be 300-400kms at the time, er... 200-250 miles). It was so strange with all the sound and not being able to see anything.

[whyBish]

You and pretty much everyone else on the globe?
...
Where you sit determines what you see, and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I suppose it stems from being told most of my schooling life that the world was my oyster. I did not realise that I would have to eat it Fear Factor ™ style... shell and all.
Perhaps I would be satiated with life presently if I were not led to believe that more was possible.
I hope I'm not sounding bitter, I'm really just striving for more :)

I've been spending most of my free time lately either investigating study options for next year, investigating employment options for next year, or playing and helping out with tennis. I think this displays my general attitude of planning for self-improvement. I would hate to reflect on any year of my life and when asked what was achieved say 'well I went to work'.