Just got our VISAs! - Now what?

[slider2]

Hi Guys,
Me and a mate came over 12mths ago to have a snoop around and I decided its the best place I've ever been - so me, the missu and kids are NZ bound.

Trouble is I dont know where we're going to live yet and it might affect teh vehicle collection as to what's coming over.
Currently have a 1993 964 C2, a hyabusa engined locost + trailer, a 1992 ducati, a harley fat boy chopper, a nissan pickup (95 model) and a 92 toyota LC SWB

I'd actually not like to be parted from any of 'em since its been my life's work to acquire them www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/icons/4.gif but obviously they'll cost money to ship etc.

So a buch of questions are preying on my mind - hope you can help with some of them...
What are the issue with bringing in / registering the Locost as its technically a self-build?
Do I have to pay import duty on anything I've owned under 12 mths? (ie truck)
Is it worth having the Locost at all if I'm on the S.Island - say Nelson as there dont seem to be any tracks there - or are there?
Are there any tracks near welly? Are the tracks in NZ short straight or long?
Is insurance going to be a nightmare on any of these vehicles? dont know if insurance is the same sort of thing in NZ as it is in UK - insure each vehicle separately (and expensively!)
If I want to continue my Petrol Head lifestyle should I drop ideas of living in the boonies like Nelson (or to a lesser extent somewhere outside Welly) and just go to Auckland - In which case if get a job ( :-( ) in the city - can I M.Bike it in busting teh traffic Q's as in london? (How cold / wet does it get in Winter in Auckland)
Sorry about the millions of Q's - It's just a (worried) mind dump!!

Thanks in advance for any help!
Cheers
James
Hope to see you all sometime soon.....

[Mustang-man]

I'm completely biased of course because i live here, but i think you should move down to Dunedin!

In our rush hour traffic we can manage about 80-100km/h compared to Auckland where apparently you have trouble doing 25 km/h! Plus Auckland has over a million people (1/4 of NZ's population) and Dunedin only has 130,000 or so.

www.cityofdunedin.com

If you are after a job it might be harder living in Dunedin (don't quote me though) but it is in just the right place, there is a race track three or so hours south (Invercargill), a proposed one three or so hours west (Cromwell), one three hours north (Timaru) and another an hour or so north of Timaru's, in Christchurch.

Can't really help you with anything else sorry but glad you like the country!

[GravelBen]

i'd suggest you sell the truck(s) before moving, as you can pick up jap imports dirt cheap over here. i'm in Dunedin and loving it, but you might also want to consider Christchurch (pop~350,000 last i heard), theres a track there, plus one in Timaru 1.5 hours south, has plenty of good driving roads (as do most places in NZ though), and above all is in the right island!

[Kiwi XTR2]

I've got a road-legal 'busa-powered Westie XTR2 so if your Locost could be made road-legal that's also an option.

There's a track just south of Auckland (Pukekohe), one being built a bit further south again (see earlier thread on Hampton Downs) and more as you head south.

What kind of employment or business would you be looking at? You never know if someone here might know someone else who . . .

[Esprit]

You'll want to get rid of the trucks.... keep only the specialist vehicles you want to keep.

Normally you can't import vehicles older than 1996 and register them on the road.... so not sure how the C2 would get on... unless they have a special exemption.

www.ltsa.govt.nz/ is who you'll need to contact... they're the people who say what you can and can't register on the road and also the special conditions you'll need to meet to get them done.... beware, they're a bunch of idiots and some of their rules seem to have no foundation on reason but unfortunately their word is law.

[speedy_thrills]

slider2 said:

Sorry about the millions of Q's - It's just a (worried) mind dump!!

Don’t worry about it, I’m sure we have all been there while moving half way around the world.

I’m with the others on the trucks, cheaper to sell it and buy a new one. It may be the same for the Ducati, they are readily available here in Wellington (Not sure about other cities) new and second hand (As long as it’s not a rare one). As mentioned the Porsche might be a problem but there are always a few floating around here (And other nice cars of course) if you cant import it easily. Just a matter of cost analysis and availability really.

Plenty of little events to run a locost and suitable roads (North island at least). As for insurance reasoning, I’m fairly sure you can get a policy to cover everything (depending on your history I suppose). On the latter issue you could have a little call around the insurance agencies before you come and see what they can do, they wont usually turn away the opportunity to make a few dollars. You should find insurance here significantly cheaper than the UK (at least it has been in my families experience).

As for living outside of cities it’s perfectly possible and quite easy, Auckland and to a lesser extent Wellington do have congestion issues but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to London (As I’m sure you have noted in many ways Wellington and Auckland are quite different types of cities as well). It all depends on your employment situation of course but their seems to be no lack of housing/land in rural areas, the planning office seem to have got rather ahead of themselves actually in many small towns with subdivisions and paper roads so they are quite numerous. Your best bet on living in the country is probably a commute into a smaller city, distance seems somewhat irrelevant when you aren’t sitting in traffic (i.e. you can make “rapid” progress). Are the kids primary or secondary students? Might be worth looking at the various school options.

[Kiwi LE]

Slider - pre "welcome to NZ"

To answer your questions in 2 minutes or less -

As above - sell the jap stuff it's very cheap to get either car or truck down here.....bring every thing else if you can afford too - even if you sell it here, you should make $$$

[What are the issues] as Espirt has said above check LTSA out, if not ring Ken Woodburn he will sort you out on any tech stuff - [phone]
12 mths? ownership will put you in good with the TAX guys over here - not sure on the exact figures.

[Is it worth having the Locost at all] - YES no matter were you live - get it road registered.
For tracks check - www.motorsport.org.nz/ or http://motoring.xtra.co.nz/clubs.html

There's other being built at Hampton Downs and Taupo is being extended as I write this.
www.hamptondowns.com
www.taupocarclub.org.nz/default.asp
www.toyotaracing.co.nz/default.aspx?pageid=115&yearflag=2006

Insurance is cheap compared to the UK - about half or less so don't worry about that side of things, lots of place to get deals - I'll sort you out with one when you get here.

Where you live depends on what you do for work or if you have to work ?? I'm in Auckland and yes it's a shit fight at time but not bad, again depends what you want, the middle Nth Island is nice, Tauranga is nice weather etc, and the Sth Island is great most places.
Riding the M/Bike in NZ is a bit of an issue in towns - Kiwi drivers are agressive...you have been warned...

Weather wise further north you go the better the temp in winter, as far as rain etc, no more than England, NZ summer can vary but I would say drier and hotter than the UK ??

See ya soon......D



>> Edited by Kiwi LE on Saturday 26th November 01:32

[kylie]

Hi I have lived in both Islands originally from Timaru in South Island, so am not taking sides. I moved up to Auckland to further my career with the intentions of moving back south one day as its more spacious, friendly people who speak a common language and houses are cheaper in the small towns. In Auckland houses are more expensive and you really have to plan your life sometimes around the traffic if you need to go across the city. For me I had to adjust my hours to glide time to avoid the traffic congestion, my choice of course. This is not always the case though, many people live close to work and take a bus or train too. You have a huge advantage buying up here on the pound. We had new neighbours move in about two months ago from London and they are loving it here in Auckland. They have a mansion compared to the semi detached..? town house they were in. So they thought it were xmas when they found their house here.

As mentioned its a warmer climate up here on the whole. Down south you are blessed with the four seasons, but boy it gets cold the further south you go. If your a ski rat then you will love it.

Was there a particular town/city you liked the most when you visited? I guess its a good starting point to discuss.

[RobDickinson]

I moved to christchurch 2 months ago and loving it so far, sold the rx8 before I came, pointless shipping jap stuff.

Shipping is about £2k per car, 1k extra stuff and (I think) 7%import duty and 12% GST unless you've owned them 12 months and keep them 2 years.

Theres a track not far from chch that looks ok and cheap to use, and some of the best driving roads I've seen literaly on my doorstep, gotta watch plod tho.

Chch gets cold in winter but not like north england cold, houses though are generaly poorer built and heating is limited (often to a single logburner), you get used to it tho.

Houses here arnt massivly cheap unless you have £200k+ cash your unlikely to be mortgage free(in a major city in a nice area) and intrest rates are shocking, but it is affordable to live here.

Good luck with the move, I'm off for a surf....

[Esprit]

RobDickinson said:

Good luck with the move, I'm off for a surf....

Good old sumner eh? Although you'd be better off going to Taylor's Mistake... lest you get knocked over by all the boyracers doing laps up and down the sumner waterfront.

Valuable information.... Where RobDickinson's living is one of my fave places in NZ. Ruapuna (the track he was talking about) is probably the best racing circuit in NZ at present.

[slider2]

Wow! thanks for all the helpful replies folks, I appreciate you taking the time.
In light of your responses I'm going to leave the trucks behind - no point in paying tax twice. Still thinking about the 964 though, what sort of proof do I need that I've owned it for more than 12mths? - Technically I did as it was a swap with a mate for something else but I didnt rtegister it until 3 months later due to it being in the bodyshop / mech work etc...

When we were over we spent a couple of days in Nelson and really liked the feel of the place there - people etc - however teh only other place we stopped fo rmore than 1 day was Auckland and we were just downtown so not much idea of what its like to live where a family might put roots down. We stopped oin christchurch too - same story as Auckland just styed ina downtown hostel.

I'm in IT, I've been a freelancer for some years now - mostly helping companies acquire systems - lately doing Gov work for big DATA and CCTV systems. They keep changing the terminaology on me but I might describe myself as a Systems/Business Analyst if I wanted to sound posh :-) - So I guess I could go back to all that - However I would prefer to buy a boat and do boat trips for tourists around Nelson sound or get a couple of rally escorts together and do a rally school ... What do you all think?

[RobDickinson]

I think stick to what you know at least for a while when you get here.

Its a big change moving to the other side of the world, adding on top of that a change to some pipe dream lifestyle without experience of the job or country is almost impossible. Plenty peiople come over and buy lifestyle blocks or have a mad change in career and few make it - not wanting to put you off but be realistic.

Tourist boat charters I believe are done on a permit basis, which are fought over and closely held, not cheap to buy into, you just cant get a boat and start up (at least at places like doubtfull/milford sounds etc).

The rally thing sounds like a good idea but you'll need to find somewhere to run it thats close enough to people for custom but far enough that there wont be any noise complaints etc.

I think they go on the V5 for how long you've owned the vehicle, what else could they use?

As for IT work in general theres plenty, especialy for technical people, but it is focused in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

[Kiwi XTR2]

I'm sure Rob meant 'pipe dream' in the non-pejorative sense.

It would be much easier to hit-the-ground-running by jumping into the IT sector. Probably in Auckland. That would then give you the chance to research the market, find out about our tax laws, the Resource Management Act etc.

Your business initiatives sound . They might just require re-tuning to the local environment. The RMA for example can just about prohibit anything fun

With that in mind it might be worth renting for a while to make relocating easier.

Best of luck.

[RobDickinson]

Kiwi XTR2 said:

I'm sure Rob meant 'pipe dream' in the non-pejorative sense.

Yep! Theres plenty of oppertunity to branch out here and either business idea sugested could work out, but a little settling in and local knowledge will make a lot of difference.

I found it enough just moving here and getting to grips with being a contractor without trying to launch a company.

I guess it depends on how motivated you are, how much local help/knowledge you can get and how much cash you have backing you - as a migrant you have no state help for two years if it all goes wrong.

[jamieheasman]

Hi James,

An an Englishman who's lived here for nearly 7.5years (Oh God - THAT long?!) I think I may be in a position to give you a few pointers.

Firstly, sell everything you don't absolutely need - it's just not worth the hassle. Bikes and Porkers are a dime-a-dozen here and by the time you've added GST and shipping (didn't know they'd re-introduced a 7% tax though?) it'll be no cheaper. Having cash really helps and your priorities may be different once you've had time to settle in.

I don't want to try and sell NZ to you because you've been here and seen the plus points as a tourist. Just remember though that this will be a LOT different. You will end up having a very similar life in NZ that you had in the UK - lots of work, lots of commuting/sitting in traffic, plenty of bills to pay and a completely useless government! Unless you've got oodles of cash to bring (and you can retire to the back of beyond) you will find the cost of living not dissimilar to the UK taking into account income, cost of housing, interest rates, groceries etc. Some things are cheaper, some more expensive or just not available.

Sorry, don't want to sh*t on your strawberries but a lot of ex-pats return quickly because they have in mind the enjoyable time they had when on holiday and forget the realities of actually making a living in any country.

Good luck and if you need any help with the whole process you know where to find us!

[Steve luck]

I second the above. Ive been here three months and all the tax and aggravation relating to bringing in vehicles and other personal possesions isn't worth it. I brought my Elise because their still pretty rare here. I almost wish I hadn't bothered!

The exchange rates are at their worst ever for new migrants so move your money to a UK bank with good interest rates and internet access. My parents arrived from the UK recently but have not been able to open new accounts in the UK now they are here in NZ. So open accounts in the UK while you have a UK address. First direct have been good I'm getting 5%

Steve