Immigrating to New Zealand maybe - gen questions

[argiris]

hi everyone
my name is Argiris iam living in greece but i also have italian nationality iam a physicist with a masters degree in medical physics (almost) and on top of all that iam a biker with more than 250000km on my back i currently own a gsxr1000 2 rg 500 and 1 rg 400 and iam thinking about coming and make a life anew in your country and i would like to have some insight from some fellow bikers regarding bikes and life in general down there iam calling the embassy tomorrow to find out more details about the bureaucratic side of things

my questions are these:
from the bikers side
!are there race tracks open for track days and how many?

i saw that the roads are beautiful but how the police is treating us down there is fast (not insane) road riding accepted?

from what i saw in the forum you are a live community with trips etc. but whats the weather exactly rainy sunny cold just perfect for bikes around the year?

spare parts mechanics etc. prices availability ?

outside from bikes

what is considered a medium to upper paycheck there

and whats the cost of everyday living rent food power phone you know the basics

rents? whats the cost for buying a medium class house?

earthquakes?

where is a good place to live, i like medium sized towns by the sea best

how is the community treating new comers?

is there an italian or greek community and where

keep in mind that i will pursue a teaching position in secondary school are there any non english speaking schools ? and maybe later a position as a medical physicist


these are my questions for now i know its boring to ask these here but i feel more comfortable around bikers than in a general purpose forum online community
thank you for you time
Argiris

[Big Dave]

Others can answer the specific questions. I emigrated nearly 8 years ago.

If you love beautiful countrysides and going around corners on a motorcycle: Move to NZ.

[Tank]

I started repling, but to be honest you are asking a lot of questions that just cannot be answered easily.

Salaries, homes, cost of living - all depend on where you are based. I would recommend some of the ex-pat and immigration forums for this kind of question - there are tons out there and they will be able to help you ALOT more than we can.

Good luck with the move!

[BIGBOSSMAN]

We love people from Greece down here, especially those with RG500's

[raftn]

I agree with Big Dave, if you llike corners....come here.

[avgas]

Aim for $100K, but accept anything over $50K - obviously depending on your skills (what is your background).
Prepare yourself to be placed in a multi-role position where you will do all tasks lower than your job spec as well. i.e. a Manager will also have to pack his own boxes etc

[chanceyy]

the further south you go winter riding can be interupted by snow .. but for scenery & roads you can not beat it .. you get the odd cop who loves to ping bikers but thats wot the back roads are for, much less traffic & the odd burst of speed to satisfy the need

Plenty of track days available around the country & I know there is a greek community in wellington (& prob auck/chch as well)

Lifestyle here is pretty relaxed & the ppl friendly, not far to travel to beachs mountains etc depends on wot other interests you have

as for the remainder will leave it to the experts


welcome aboard btw

[Maha]

If you like straight roads? South Island is where you wanna be. (be easy southlanders, tis a p/t)
If its the 'other' sort of roads you like, yeah head north....temps are better also...overnight low 9 degs tonight.....
Thats a good high for some South Island areas.....

Pic 1...some KBers on a spanking road about an hour north of here.
Pic 2...beaches a plenty up this way, this is where we spend xmas.
Pic 3...just another outing for some KBers
Pic 4...mmmmmm, ownered by DMNTD, note the suicide shift!!!

[YellowDog]

Yassou Argiris,

NZ has a lot to offer you however you would be best taking a holiday to see if it is for you or not. I live in Auckalnd and you can bike all year round (though it does rain a lot). The standards of living are not at all like Europe. You will feel cold in the warm winters. No one here will stop you having European comforts and lifestyle. If you have a good job ($80k-$150k) then you should be fine. Your skills will be very much in demand. Auckland is a cosmopolitan city and best for foreigners. There are some places that are best avoided. East coast to West coasts is just a few minutes away. Choosing where to live and the style /construction of house is a tough choice. Home loans cost around 10% and renting is better value :-o. There are many foreign communities. Eating out is cheap and you generally get to take your own wine/beer. There is a shortage of good greek restaurants. If you like oriental food, this is the place for you!

Good luck.

P.S. http://www.move2nz.com can help.

[JimO]

jeez most kiwis would want to move to greece

[Shadows]

Make sure you get a good tan before you apply for citizenship.

[argiris]

hi everyone thank you for your responses i will look into it it sure is something that needs a lot of thinking thanks again i f i came up with something more specific i will ask again
cheers

[scracha]

>!are there race tracks open for track days and how many?
Not many but they're cheap though.

>i saw that the roads are beautiful but how the police is treating us down
>there is fast (not insane) road riding accepted?
They're Nazis over here compared to Europe. You WONT get away with the 150kmph motorway cruising that you're used to.

>whats the weather exactly rainy sunny cold just perfect for bikes around
>the year?
Pretty good weather. Poor housing though and the majority of landlords are miserable bastards over here so you'll freeze in Winter.

>spare parts mechanics etc. prices availability ?
Small country, not a lot of spares so if you bin it you might have to be waiting on spares getting imported. Bikes and parts generally expensive. Good helpful mechanics though and there's the kiwi ingenuity when it comes to repairs.

>what is considered a medium to upper paycheck there
Be prepared for a big pay cut.

>and whats the cost of everyday living rent food power phone you know
>the basics
High in comparison to wages but lower than Europe.

>where is a good place to live, i like medium sized towns by the sea best
Anywhere but Auckland LOL

Christchurch and Wellington are nice little towns by the sea.

>how is the community treating new comers?
By and large very good but there's the odd nationalistic and racist incident out in the sticks. Blend in with the locals and you'll have a good time.

>keep in mind that i will pursue a teaching position in secondary school
>are there any non english speaking schools ? and maybe later a position
>as a medical physicist
Be prepared for NZQA trying to shaft you first.

The best advice I can give you is to come over for an extended visit before you decide. Many people love it but it's not for everyone.

[munterk6]

Big sacrifice in some ways, but sooooo many plusses in other ways!
come for a holiday first, kiwis are friendly to Europeans and you will get an idea of the culture here...ride a bike in the South Island and you will wanna stay!

[gammaguy]

We love people from Greece down here, especially those with RG500's

like he said....

in fact,you can use my garage,always room for another 2T