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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

#341

Post by hkmurakami »

reality_czech wrote: post #257
cookiecaper wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The thing to remember about these SV people is that they're mostly single people or working couples who are living in ridiculously tight spaces like these "microapartments". [0] They're forced out after having a kid or two. Almost anywhere else in the country, that $2200/mo will get you quite the spread; you can trade off between square footage, neighborhood, and commute time, but you're going to have very nice…

I have a lot of friends who live in Sillicon Valley and have kids. They don't live in "microapartments" (those aren't even legal to build, there are space minimums.) They mostly live in houses which they either bought or rent. If you have a job, you can pay for housing and everything else. I truly don't understand why anyone would live in Florida unless they were growing sugarcane. The climate is extremely hot and da…

For older folks, the weather is great compared to the northern states or countries (ex: Canada) that they originally come from. Lots of retirement communities that provide the social circle and activities they can engage in. No state income taxes is a bonus.

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

#342

Post by mkl »

dvtv75 wrote: post #291
EdwardDiego wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I live in Christchurch and that's news to me. The central city is best avoided for other reasons: the 2010-2011 earthquakes disproportionately affected the old buildings there and the rebuild means it's a constantly shifting maze of closed roads and detours. This is now hardly noticeable in most of the rest of the city.

I found an article [1] about it which contradicts your understanding of the crime here. Auckland is much worse as a city overall, but Cathedral Square in Christchurch is dangerous compared to the rest of the country. I can't find a good comparison of actual crime rates between countries, but did find articles saying the perception of crime risk is way off here compared to reality.

1. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79704084/New-Zealand-rates-f...

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

#343

Post by HXFIVE »

justinclift wrote: post #60
HXFIVE wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

75% of the population will have access to fibre at gigabit speeds by 2019 [1]. Coverage will increase to 84% by 2024. Not sure about latencies off the top of my head, but there are several new international cables under construction [2] which will help which accessing sites hosted overseas. [1] https://www.crownfibre.govt.nz/ [2] http://www.hawaikicable.co.nz/

That nice for 2019. How about atm though? :)

The rollout started a number of years ago. They're already over 70% of the way towards the 75% target.

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

#344

Post by hkmurakami »

mahyarm wrote: post #191
cookiecaper wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The thing to remember about these SV people is that they're mostly single people or working couples who are living in ridiculously tight spaces like these "microapartments". [0] They're forced out after having a kid or two. Almost anywhere else in the country, that $2200/mo will get you quite the spread; you can trade off between square footage, neighborhood, and commute time, but you're going to have very nice…

If they want a family they don't live right beside work in the middle of a busy and dirty city. They move out to the suburban south bay (which has more tech jobs) or east bay, have 30m-1hr commutes and are dual income families. TBH the harder part of the bay area and kids is actually finding an affordable place to live that have good schools.

Grew up here and went to elementary school ~ HS here.

At least for HS, MV High has come a very long way since my time and would probably lead the "affordable good school" category in the area.

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

#345

Post by HXFIVE »

lacampbell wrote: post #294
Tiktaalik wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

You wouldn't be allowed to build a new house today without proper insulation and double glazing.

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

#346

Post by hkmurakami »

besogno wrote: post #45
mywittyname wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> $50,000 in Fort Lauderdale is as good as $120,000 in the valley. No, it's really not -- it's actually more like $77,000[1]. With the bulk of the difference being driven by housing prices. And $77,000 is actually above the average salary for a SE in Ft. Lauderdale (according to Glassdoor: $73,000). [1] http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-l...

The average income of a programmer is as relevant as the average income of a musician. It will not tell you anything about how much Lady Gaga makes, or the fact that the richest man in the world is a programmer. This kind of averages could possibly be relevant for bricklayers, but even in that case I doubt it.

Even the medium isn't truly informative in terms of purchasing power within a geographic region.

It really boils down to your relative earning power vs your professional peers (including non engineers) in the direct geographic vicinity of you, in a supply constrained bidding war situation like desirable real estate.

Let's say the average primary care physician's salary has been matching inflation for 20 years while that of the software engineer has outpaced it. Well even if a physician is doing just fine vs his physician peers, the rapid rise of sw eng salaries and the dramatically increased number of such people will have reduced his or her relative earning power and the standard of living he or she can afford, over said 20 years.

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

#347

Post by 0xADEADBEE »

bspn wrote: post #28
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 too am considering a move to NZ for family reasons, and visited Auckland last month. It truly is a spectacular city framed by an amazing harbor, but it's not without some faults. My thoughts on the cons you raise based on conversations I had with a few locals: > housing prices are extremely high. I don't understand that, there is plenty of space everywhere (maybe except Wellington) and somehow they manage to not us…

I'd disagree with your last point: 'Getting ahead', and the instinct behind it seems to me to be the main driver behind New Zealanders being generally much more entrepreneurial than their European counterparts (anecdotal is not the plural of data, notwithstanding). Additionally, working in Wellington yields a London rate but without the equivalent expense (I'm a contractor); so attainment of 'ahead' is well within the grasp of someone competent and reachable for those who aren't, at least as far as I can tell. While I am in no position to comment, my experience has also lent itself to the deduction that the education system here isn't as rigorous as it is in other places, but this is entirely anecdotal also, so should be taken for exactly what it is worth.

I guess if I'm being picky, I'd also pick you up on the point prior; fatty foods aren't necessarily correlated to obesity, but I'm guessing that's not exactly what you're driving at.

Thank you for making me think a little more!

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

#348

Post by santaclaus »

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…

> Salaries

Are salaries that bad? I know a bunch of developers in the Wellington area (and used to be one), and most are making around ~100k USD a year. Yea, it isn't Bay Area Google money, but also not terrible.

> the size and quality of the roads

I can't speak too much for the south island, but on the north island the roads seemed fine. The roads in San Francisco and Oakland where I live now are way worse then I ever experienced in NZ.

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

#349

Post by HXFIVE »

mistermann wrote: post #93
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…

> 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).

Supply (particularly in Auckland) has been a big issue. The government has recently been working to rezone more land for development/higher densities.

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

#350

Post by HXFIVE »

chadgeidel wrote: post #37
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…

The Internet connectivity issue was the big deal-breaker for me. Australian bloggers have been complaining about it since the beginning of the WWW. Apparently there's one provider and they don't care about anything beyond "email and casual browsing". I've heard that Australia and New Zealand share the same ISP and the same policies. This is going to be a huge hinderance for any tech enterprise. I'm glad to see @bspn…

A few others have pointed it out already, but you're quite misinformed (not uncommon, most Australians assume NZ has worse internet connectivity).

NZ has a nationwide copper network owned by NZX listed company Chorus, and there is a gigabit fibre network nearing completion (Chorus and about 3 other companies). Network owners are prohibited from retailing and must provide retail ISPs access on fair terms (wholesale pricing is regulated).

There are a few Australian owned ISPs, but none that operate in both Australia and NZ.

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