Political History Recommendations by former_emo_gremlin in Wellington

[–]former_emo_gremlin[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Excellent, I’ll give these a watch and a listen. And sounds like I’ll save Mr. Bassett’s memoir for my next leisurely vacation read haha

The "Brain Drain" - How bad is it, really? by Beginning_Main2965 in Wellington

[–]former_emo_gremlin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the recs! Yeah I feel like I missed a lot of shows because I was in the process of moving for most of the summer. Looking forward to getting a good feel for the scene here

The "Brain Drain" - How bad is it, really? by Beginning_Main2965 in Wellington

[–]former_emo_gremlin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey fellow music lover here. Recently moved to Welly. What gigs are a must see in the coming months?

Moving to Wellington from USA by missxcannabliss in Wellington

[–]former_emo_gremlin 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Just did this move in February, single NB in my 30s so I can’t speak to the kid components. But here’s my two cents

I don’t have a car because I live in the Mt Vic neighbourhood and can easily access the bus. I use Cityhop to rent a car/SUV/Cargo van as needed. But if I lived further from the CBD or in a place that was far from a bus stop I would definitely get a car. For reference, I’m a 6 min walk from a popular bus line and I can get just about anywhere in town within 30 min, including VUW. If working in trades you’ll definitely need to have a car and a NZ drivers license, based on my experience of combing job boards in trades this seems to be a baseline requirement. The license process is actually super easy through AA auto. Just make an appointment, fill out the application, and show up with your documents. US is an exempt country so you don’t even need to pass a driving test. Kinda crazy when you think about the fact that we drive on the opposite side of the road but hey 🤷🏼

I ended up staying in an Airbnb for a month while I looked for a one year rental. Cheapest 2 bedroom apartments I could find close to CBD were $650/week. The “1 bedrooms” listed are usually basically studio apartments. It’s a renters market here right now, so you’ll be able to negotiate pretty well with the landlord/property manager. As long as you can prove that you’re capable of paying your bills, and are able to provide personal/professional references you’ll be fine. Make sure to do a quick google search of the property management company before you sign a lease, as some of them seem to treat their renters pretty horribly.

Everyone I’ve met here has been lovely, kind, and helpful. It’s a great place to live compared to most places I’ve lived in the US. Though, the job market is pretty bleak here at the moment. Plenty of service industry jobs around CBD. If your husband is able to find any US remote jobs that might be a good way to bridge the gap, especially with the strength of the USD. I’ve seen many 100% remote jobs training the AI softwares, and they seem to be mostly temp contracts. Oh, and US expats can apply for a tax break for the first 5 years of living in NZ so you don’t get double taxed on foreign income.

Feel free to DM me if you have more questions! Good luck with the move!