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As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

nytimes.com

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Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#111

Post by stevenwoo »

humanrebar wrote: post #3

> For all sorts of reasons, New Zealand suddenly makes sense. The cost of living is less than in San Francisco. Commuting is less wearying. And American politics, “Brexit” and the Islamic State are on the other side of the world. For the most part, this is all true in, say, Tulsa. Especially if you stay off Facebook. You especially don't have to go to New Zealand to find a cheaper, commuter-friendly place to work. No…

Staying off of Facebook doesn't insulate someone if they are not caucasian.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/24/shooting-of-2-indians-...

I don't know if you know this, but large swaths of America were so unsafe to travel for African Americans for a long time after slavery ended, that a guidebook was created specifically for the purpose of avoiding the most dangerous areas.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/green-book-helped-ke...

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#112

Post by EduardoBautista »

agentile wrote: post #78
anentropic wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true about NZ tax http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/filing-your-ret... I have heard that USA does that though

Yes, I may have that wrong. At the time I was a contractor so the fear was the following situation per "If you're a New Zealand resident, you're taxed on your worldwide income." If we wanted to eventually become residents of NZ, which we did, and I was obtaining income in the US, NZ and US would both tax me for that income. It seemed, however, less likely that NZ would approve me for immigration if I was not intendin…

> NZ and US would both tax me for that income.

Declaring your income does not mean that both will tax you.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#113

Post by Tiktaalik »

TheAlchemist wrote: post #13

That's interesting ! I'm intending to make a move with my family in near future, and we actually went to visit the northern island for 15 days last month. The country is really beautiful, and there are not a lot of people around, so you can't help but feel blessed by the surrounding nature. The people are great, probably the nicest I've ever seen (as a whole). I've noted some cons though (not blocking for us thankful…

I've been to NZ a few times, love the country, but agree with quite a few of these downsides.

I'd also tack on that the variety of transportation options are very low. Cycling and public transit infrastructure is very poor and far, far behind other first world countries. From my understanding traffic and commuting in Auckland is a complete nightmare due to the weak public transit system. It's a bit of a southern hemisphere LA. Auckland has finally recognized they have a problem and they're slowly fixing things, but they have a long way to go. They've just recently reorganized their bus system so that should help some.

The housing bubble is extremely bad in NZ so that spikes the cost of living. Another con is that it feels that NZ, like many countries, is having trouble transitioning from the mindset that everyone should have a single family home, to one where denser apartment living is going to be necessary. Auckland is very sprawling endlessly as there's a reluctance to densify and change established neighbourhoods.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#114

Post by SmellTheGlove »

rconti wrote: post #73

Funny how it goes from appealing to "American Lord of the Rings nerds and Peter Thiel" really quickly. Had our honeymoon in New Zealand and really loved it. Auckland and Wellington are both beautiful, but, frankly, I'd rather be somewhere more relaxed like Nelson. I wish we had spent more time enjoying the south island and less time up north. Not so practical if you're trying to find work, though, I suppose. (I didn'…

I left DC for Maine. So far, the novelty hasn't worn off. I like to think of cold, snowy winters as the natural repellent that prevents us from getting too crowded.

I am screwed if my job goes away (screwed in that I'd have to move). For one, there aren't a lot of fortune 500 companies up here, and I've noticed a desire for smaller companies to prefer people with small/startup experience. I don't blame them, some of the challenges are unique. Also, given where I'm at in my career on the low end of the executive ranks, there just aren't a lot of laterals available up here on a good day.

All of those downsides and it's still the best move I ever made.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#116

Post by tomdell »

throwaway729 wrote: post #109
muninn_ wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are so many things wrong with this comment. First, commuting refers specifically to the to-and-from of your journey to work. I hate cars, but you're being dishonest in how you're addressing the parent comment. Going to the grocery store, for example, isn't a commute. Actually you could probably use Prime Pantry or something and not even have to drive to go do those things. I strongly prefer a walkable city, and…

> There are so many things wrong with this comment. I feel strongly about the midwest. I hated living there. There are serious down-sides, and if people move to Tulsa thinking it's "NZ in the USA", they're going to be in for a rough surprise. Do you disagree? > First, commuting refers specifically to the to-and-from of your journey to work My point was that you're probably going to end up driving in either case, and…

Stop with the generalizations. They're inaccurate and insulting. You don't know what you're talking about at all.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#117

Post by Rapzid »

bspn wrote: post #75
agentile wrote: post #67

A while back I was going through the immigration process for NZ with an immigration lawyer and had all the points necessary and was moving on to the interview phase. My wife and I ultimately decided to stop as she became pregnant and didn't want to be as far away from family. That and the flight/quarantine times that would be imposed for our dogs. Another big issue was taxes. To my knowledge NZ and USA are two countr…

NZ doesn't, but the US definitely does which is infuriating when you're considering moving to a country with a top rate of 33% and no capital gains tax! Also, there is a tax treaty between the two countries to prevent double taxation and the US exempts up to ~$100k of foreign-earned income I believe, but if you're a high earner or make serious profit on property and/or stocks you could find yourself writing a big che…

Yeah, it's a pain. I left NZ right when my salary was crossing the foreign earned income exemption limit. I never had to invoke the tax treaty and don't even believe TurboTax has an option for that. Would have needed to hire a tax consultant most likely.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#118

Post by harigov »

nbrempel wrote: post #25

If you like the sound of NZ but don't want to commit to such a big move, come check out British Columbia. We're like NZ lite. :)

I don't think you can say that about weather. If BC is anything like Seattle, it's gloomy for most of the winter.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#119

Post by Rapzid »

agentile wrote: post #67

A while back I was going through the immigration process for NZ with an immigration lawyer and had all the points necessary and was moving on to the interview phase. My wife and I ultimately decided to stop as she became pregnant and didn't want to be as far away from family. That and the flight/quarantine times that would be imposed for our dogs. Another big issue was taxes. To my knowledge NZ and USA are two countr…

If you can fit all your income into the foreign earned income tax credit the biggest tax problem IMO is that the tax years don't line up.

Re: As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

#120

Post by badsock »

muninn_ wrote: post #104
throwaway729 wrote: post #98

> For the most part, this is all true in, say, Tulsa. Especially if you stay off Facebook. Really only the cost of living. > Commuting is less wearying Not really. There's a near zero percent chance your commute involves anything other than driving. The walkable areas of midwestern cities are certainly cheaper than SF, but they're also not exactly cheap. You're still looking at half a million for a decent house, 200k…

There are so many things wrong with this comment. First, commuting refers specifically to the to-and-from of your journey to work. I hate cars, but you're being dishonest in how you're addressing the parent comment. Going to the grocery store, for example, isn't a commute. Actually you could probably use Prime Pantry or something and not even have to drive to go do those things. I strongly prefer a walkable city, and…

It's deserved:

http://www.vox.com/2016/6/2/11833548/donald-trump-support-ra...

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