Hi all and welcome to me :-)

[Achi]

Hi,

My name is Achi ("JC"), from Israel. My wife (who is english) and I are planning to come to New-zealnd for couple of years. This will happen at the end of this year, after our first born will arrive (yes, we are going to be parents soon.
I work in computers and my wife is working as Western and Therapeutic horse riding instructor.
I will be gald to get tips and info regarding life in new-zealand. Where to live (Auckland Vs. Wellington), how to rent a place (or shall we buy our house).

Have a good one.
From far away Jerusalem (snow will start this evening and will last for 2 days - hooray).
Achi

[MotherBear]

Hi Achi and welcome to MoveToNZ.

If you're only going to NZ for a couple of years I guess we're looking at short term. Have you decided which visa you will apply for yet?

With regard to housing, perhaps it would be better to rent than buy in case you have difficulty selling up when you want to leave. Over the last couple of years you would probably have had a fair chance of selling a house and at a profit, too, because house prices were rising crazily with many people buying. Now, however, the market has quietened down. Here's a site that tells you all about renting so you can find out what's what. There's been quite a lot of talk on here in the past about rentals not taking dogs although some do, so that's an issue you need to think about if you'd be bringing one with you. It's pretty easy to rent or buy property in NZ, so it's just a case of making the decision about which way to go.

[Achi]

Originally Posted by MotherBear

Hi Achi and welcome to MoveToNZ.

If you're only going to NZ for a couple of years I guess we're looking at short term. Have you decided which visa you will apply for yet?

With regard to housing, perhaps it would be better to rent than buy in case you have difficulty selling up when you want to leave. Over the last couple of years you would probably have had a fair chance of selling a house and at a profit, too, because house prices were rising crazily with many people buying. Now, however, the market has quietened down. Here's a site that tells you all about renting so you can find out what's what. There's been quite a lot of talk on here in the past about rentals not taking dogs although some do, so that's an issue you need to think about if you'd be bringing one with you. It's pretty easy to rent or buy property in NZ, so it's just a case of making the decision about which way to go.

Hi Mother (riminds me of the Matrix),

We will apply for a working visa, as we understood, my wife is entitled for a visa, thanks to her british citizenship.
We are looking for a short term visa, since we want to explore our opportunities, The 2 years can easily become 3, 4 and more in case we find life in NZ better than we expected.

Thanks for the help
Achi

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Achi

Hi Mother (riminds me of the Matrix),

We will apply for a working visa, as we understood, my wife is entitled for a visa, thanks to her british citizenship.

To be able to apply for a work visa you will need a job offer first. As a British citizen, your wife is entitled to visit NZ for up to 6 months on a tourist visa (which can be extended to 9 months if necessary) but, otherwise, she will have to apply for any other type of visa. If you get a work visa she will be able to get one through your application, but that applies to most nationalities, not just the British .

[Achi]

Apparently there are lawyers in Israel that helps with the visa application, so we will probably use their help.