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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

#291

Post by dvtv75 »

EdwardDiego wrote: post #231
jly wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife is an expat kiwi and we visit NZ every year since most of her family lives there still. We have also been contemplating a move back from the US, but housing prices (especially Auckland, but everywhere that isn't rural farmland is an issue) and lower salaries are the only thing preventing us, still. Auckland is an amazing city but it's so incredibly congested and expensive that unless you are wealthy or in the…

Yeah, the rebuild is very slow, which frustrates the locals no end, but it's happening. CBD (aka "downtown") area aside, we've never stopped being like Auckland or Wellington - we have overpriced houses and congested motorways too!

My understanding was also that Christchurch is the most dangerous city in the country, but I've no figures to back that up. My ex lives up there, and when I stayed with her family they had me lock the car door when we were driving through the central city, something that I found very odd, and not at all reassuring.

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

#292

Post by lacampbell »

40_pending wrote: post #161

How bizarre. I specifically relocated from NZ to the U.S. because of the lack of job opportunities in the Tech industry. I'd been looking for a job for over 9 months in New Zealand. I flew into the U.S. to visit my dad and applied for some jobs and had an offer within two weeks. Not only is the cost of living cheaper here (where I'm located at in the U.S.), but my salary is much better off at about 30,000 higher than…

What was your salary in NZ?

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

#293

Post by will_brown »

RantyDave wrote: post #220
will_brown wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Quality of life" is inferior on any axis? Fort Lauderdale is the Yatch Capital of the World, the intercostal are a billionaire playground. Name any activity on the water from recreation, fishing, diving, to bio research...SV isn't on the map. On the other extreme - absolutely free - I would take Fort Lauderdale Beach and the weather over anything SV has to offer. After all there was a move to totally relocate Hollyw…

Ft Lauderdale is absolutely not the Yacht capital of the world. Sydney? Auckland? Southampton? Garda? Croatia's rocketing up the charts too. Or maybe you mean things with engines in which case St Tropez, Monaco, some place called the Caribbean seems quite popular too.

Why don't you try Googling Yatch Capital of the World...it's not my given title. A lot of the Yatchs you see in those places that you mention will have been purchased at the International Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, the largest such show in the World, I go every year and to Miami's too.

Edit: to get an idea do a Google image search of Fort Lauderdale International Boat show. As to your quip about things with motors, South Florida is also home to the largest cruiseships in the world (>100,000 tonnage) that are dubbed floating cities.

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

#294

Post by lacampbell »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #113
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 hemi…

One of the reason that NZers are so opposed to denser housing, is because the housing quality is so poor. How close to neighbours do you want to live when your walls aren't insulated and your windows are single pane?

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

#295

Post by lacampbell »

A lot of Americans seem to have an idyllic notion of moving to NZ - often for political or LOTR movie reasons. If you're even toying with the idea, do yourself a favour and check out the following:

- Salaries

- Housing price

- Housing quality - expect to pay top dollar for luxuries like insulation, double-glazed windows, and kitchens built within the last few decades.

- The cost of a car, and the size and quality of the roads

- The cost of electronic appliances, food, etc

Completely unrelated, what's the going salary for an intermediate programmer/analyst in one of those really flat US states full of cornfields?

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

#296

Post by lostlogin »

gravypod wrote: post #259
lostlogin wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us down here are plenty happy to pay for our share and would vote to increase what's taken to improve services. We don't need more immigration, we need infrastructure and need to pay for it. Taxes help pay for university here (and I wish it covered more of the cost) so if you were studying here, your partly covered. Why do you think we're isolationist? No part of NZ foreign policy is intended to be like that.

Why not just then vote against tax hikes and instead donate your money to the government or to charity organizations? When you vote for tax hikes you're essentially reaching into your pocket, taking out money, and giving it to someone. Then you're reaching into your neighbor's pocket, taking some more out, and giving it to yourself and that other third party. Why not let people choose to give their money? Why vote to…

Because I don't believe that would work. Where has it been tried and worked?

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

#297

Post by will_brown »

self-diversity wrote: post #199
will_brown wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Quality of life" is inferior on any axis? Fort Lauderdale is the Yatch Capital of the World, the intercostal are a billionaire playground. Name any activity on the water from recreation, fishing, diving, to bio research...SV isn't on the map. On the other extreme - absolutely free - I would take Fort Lauderdale Beach and the weather over anything SV has to offer. After all there was a move to totally relocate Hollyw…

If you aren't aware, there is abundant outdoor activity including water recreation in the bay area. You seem to think we have to stay in the valley

No doubt, but OP is saying nothing in Fort Lauderdale (our "Salt Life") is on axis with SV, With a fair reading I didn't claim the same. Florida keys and Caribbean are Home to the 3rd and 4th largest reefs in the world, so at minimum we can agree it's on the same axis as SV's quality of water activity.

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

#298

Post by cookiecaper »

dasil003 wrote: post #270
cookiecaper wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, yeah, you're correct that there are many more potential technical employers in San Francisco. However, this doesn't necessarily correlate with those jobs being more accessible or desirable than the jobs available in other places. For one, you have a lot more competition from other applicants, because every brogrammer thinks that he needs to move to SV to be part of the scene (and I really dislike that SV is b…

California has one big advantage though: employers can not legally claim your side projects.

In practice, this isn't likely to happen outside of California. Most companies are not going to sue you unless it's worth their while; that is, unless your side project is making a lot of money. In California, if your side project is making a lot of money, you should probably expect to get hit with a lawsuit for misappropriation of trade secrets, etc., because that's what people do when money is on the table.

It is of course true that the vindictive or psychotic boss could always try to make your life a living hell by filing a ridiculous lawsuit, but if they want to do that, they'll do it no matter what state you live in, and just trudge up whichever allegations seem most plausible.

California's toting of such protections is really a crafty political scheme. The change in law doesn't really make a substantial material change for anyone, as it's almost never worthwhile to sue someone over their side project (and if it is, you can usually get them on all kinds of violations that are related to but are not directly "he was employed by me while he made it"), but it sounds great in a soundbite and gives the people something to feel better about when they look at their tax rates.

Aside from these "protections", the state has significant disadvantages for someone interested in running a side project or any other type of business, not the least of which are the high taxes.

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

#299

Post by debacle »

lacampbell wrote: post #295

A lot of Americans seem to have an idyllic notion of moving to NZ - often for political or LOTR movie reasons. If you're even toying with the idea, do yourself a favour and check out the following: - Salaries - Housing price - Housing quality - expect to pay top dollar for luxuries like insulation, double-glazed windows, and kitchens built within the last few decades. - The cost of a car, and the size and quality of…

The politics of New Zealand, especially when it comes to land rights + individual freedoms, can be enlightening.

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

#300

Post by NickNameNick »

EdwardDiego wrote: post #222
mistermann wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> housing prices are extremely high. I don't understand that, Same problem Canada has: interest rates below the rate of (real, unadjusted) inflation, and no limitations on foreign ownership of real estate (a major catalyst, at least , for a bubble).

Also - no capital gains tax means that most domestic investment is poured into housing as opposed to something productive like investing in business.

Also, cost of construction is very high, which makes driving up the price of an existing house much more desireable than building a new one.
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