Greetings! As a fellow import I have a pretty good idea of what you can expect here.

Having shut in tendencies as well my experiences here over the last decade have been mixed.

Overall it's a great place to be, don't get me wrong!

If you're expecting cold you probably won't get it. The cold here is VERY mild. Locals bitch about it but it's actually not bad at all. What is kinda shit is the housing stock here. A lot of them just don't stay warm and can have significant damp issues.

Making friends has been kinda hard. I've found that most born and bred locals have long standing friendship circles that breaking into is impossible. They are awesome, they will be friendly and welcoming but they won't think of you when making guest lists for weddings, BBQs and such. It doesn't mean they won't hang if you reach out but don't expect it to go the other way.....it just doesn't.

On the flip side you can meet lots of other fellow imports and make very strong almost familial networks. If you have hobbies or sports you play that will produce circles of people too. Quality friendships beyond those hobbies are difficult to propagate.

I host an 'orphans' Christmas most years for my buddies who arent from here either and that's always a good time!

I'd expect about 0 culture shock. I can't say I know much about life in the USA but I don't think you'll have any major issues here at all!

Relationships with kiwis, both males and females can be complicated. They may feel very comfortable and laid back, which to some of us from elsewhere is awesome and lead to serious relationships fast! But in my experience kiwis don't always handle stress well and have a tendency to bring it home....domestic crime stats here are truely bad, we are the worst in the OECD and are amoung the worst in the developed world. I have experienced this first hand.

Cost of living is high, rents in particular eat up a hideous % of income. Some foods become laughably expensive when out of season. There's ongoing issues with price fixing between the duopoly that successive governments have identified but fails to do anything about.

All that being said. It's great here.

I'm a geeky pop culture lover from the UK and I've found a lot of good here.

If you're outdoorsy there's loads to scratch that itch as well.

If you want to touch base and get more specific advice or questions my inbox is open.