How to Get Set Up

Getting set up in a foreign country is a complicated dance with lots of different steps that need to be completed in the right order. I think we mostly got things right with this move, and in the hope this may be useful for someone else, here is what we did.

Step 1. Finances
If possible, set up finances from your home country. New Zealand banks (ANZ in particular) made this process incredibly simple with a banking package advertised on their international splash page targeted directly to immigrants. Basically you can set up an account from your home country, transfer money into it, then when you arrive, visit the local branch with ID, complete the opening process and have immediate access to your funds. In the case of ANZ, we were also provided on the spot with an ATM and debit card which let us use cash machines, buy goods online and use the EFTPOS machine in shops straight away. Amazingly the NZ bank was OK with us not providing an address initially. I am quite sure this would not be the case in the US. When we explained our situation, they just asked us to come back and update our address once we had one. As a second tip, we transferred funds from our US to NZ accounts using a fintech company called Transferwise which was much cheaper and faster than an international inter institution transfer.

Step 2. Immediate Transportation and Housing
We were very fortunate that as part of our relocation, the firm provided two weeks of accommodation and two weeks of car rental. This was about the perfect amount of time. We ended up finding a flat and moving in within a week, but it took us almost a full two weeks to find and buy a car. Having a place to sleep and a way to get around for at least a couple of weeks was critical in reducing the stress levels and increasing our flexibility.

Step 3. An Address
An address is a precursor to so many things, so this should be a top priority. Having the funds in place to pay a deposit and initial moving costs make this possible. More details on house hunting in Wellington can be found in the post - "You Don't Look Like Axe Murderers..."

Step 3b. Permanent Transportation
We decided we wanted to buy a car to provide more freedom and flexibility, but depending on where you live, you could make do with public transportation for sure. Wellington has a pretty good system of buses, light rail and the iconic Cable Car.

Step 4. Utilities
With a home comes all kinds of fun things like bills. Unless you are renting somewhere that provides an all inclusive rent price, you will need to get set up with things like power, water and internet. Once again NZ made this unbelievably easy. They have a service called FastConnect. You basically call as single number, provide your new address and they contact power companies, water etc and get you set up. Its free for individuals and paid for by the utility companies I believe. Its amazing, they were super responsive and saved us a ton of research figuring out who we needed to call to get set up. Internet isn't one of their services, but Chris loves diving into the details of things like this, and he had our WiFi set up in the new place before we even moved in.

Step 5. Local ID/Drivers Licences
Although we could have driven within NZ for six months or so on our US license, we decided we wanted to have some local ID and a drivers license was the easiest way to do this. Now we had an address we took our US licenses to the local VTNZ filled in a form paid a modest amount and in a week or so we should have new NZ licenses sent to us.

Step 6. Taxes
Assuming you're not independently wealthy and you will have to work, you will have to register for some kind of local Tax ID. In NZ this is called and IRD number. In order to apply for this, we needed NZ bank accounts, photo ID and a local address. You fill in the forms online, scan in your documents and 8-10 days later you can get paid in NZ!

Step 7. Healthcare
As part of our visa, we are entitled to NZ healthcare, which like the UK is open to all residents and citizens. You can also get private health insurance, but I am not sure yet if we will do this. We do need to register with a local doctor however and that's our next step.

Step 8. Register to Vote!
Ok so maybe this one is only SO important this year and with this US election, but for sure we want our voices heard. Fortunately visiting the US embassy homepage from overseas right now directs you straight to the Federal Voting Assistance Program site which enables you to register to vote by postcard. I can't wait to see how this works..... Wish you were here, the weather has been somewhat crappy but the people are lovely. PS I vote for Hillary...

That's all the basic stuff you need to function, but of course to integrate and get to know your new home, there are lots more fun things to do - like explore the area, find the best bars and the nights for the best happy hours and meet your new neighbors. But we'll leave that recap for another time!