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jaakidup profile image
Jaaki

Hey Helen, I've been considering New Zealand as an option to move to from South Africa.

What is the IT industry like over there?

I'm also very curious about whether the 'foreigners' integrate into the local culture in your experience.

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helenanders26 profile image
Helen Anderson • Edited

Hey Jaaki

That's great to hear. Tech is one of our biggest industries and there are plenty of opportunities.

Real-life Stories:

NZ did a recruitment campaign recently to encourage international talent to make the move. Here are some of their stories:

I find that everyone here is also really open-minded and it’s part of the culture to be really inclusive so people feel safe to share their opinions and know that they’re being listened to. One of the great aspects of the Xero culture is that everyone is really friendly, part of being an expat is having to make new friends and I can honestly say that I was easily able to make my new best friends at work.

NZ Resources

To get more of a feel for NZ here are some resources:

Wellington tech companies who are hiring

Good luck!

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jaakidup profile image
Jaaki • Edited

Wow Helen, you're a star!

Lot's of info for me to go through, so thanks in advance.
Yes, NZ has recently done a campaign to get some 6000 teachers too, that's how it got on my radar again.

That, and of-course New Zealand being well known a friendly bunch, apparently even friendlier than South Africans!! haha

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dvddpl profile image
Davide de Paolis

wow. that Β΄s very good news.. and I know I will not sleep for a few nights now. dreaming of moving to NZ. I was there on vacation in 1998. fell in love with the country and people and then quit my job in 2001 to do a sabbatical all over the country. I found a really good friend in Otaki beach that actually inspired me to dive into programming. My dream is to come back sooner or later, dunno if my wife and I will have the guts to move there with our 2 kids though.. we already move from Milan to Hamburg breaking their grandparents heart... NZ would definetely be too far for them. but who knows ( actually i am hoping that our kids will - in less than 10 years - move to study to NZ - and we will follow them! :-)

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madhadron profile image
Fred Ross

That's a great summary of the tech scene in NZ. Thanks!

One thing I noticed looking at the job board is that salaries seem low compared to Seattle, where I live. Poking around, cost of living in Wellington seems similar, but the jobs on that board that are in my current salary band (a bit over $200k/year) are for CTOs, General Managers, and the like, not for engineers. Is that an accurate impression?

 
helenanders26 profile image
Helen Anderson • Edited

Glad you found it useful :)

Cost of Living

I'm not personally familiar with the Seattle tech scene or cost of living but found Numbeo helpful when considering the cost of living differences between countries. The prices on the Wellington side look accurate to me.

I live in the city with two housemates and pay $NZD1000 / $USD687 a month for my rent and all bills. This is considered high but I don't own a car and walk ten minutes to work. This is half of my cost of living in London so seems like a bargain in comparison to that time of my life.

Our top personal tax rate is 33% for income over $NZD70,000. At the other end of the scale, the tax rate is 10.5% on income up to $NZD14,000. Healthcare and Education up to a secondary level is publicly funded so no need to worry about health insurance as you do in the US. Something else to keep in mind.

Salaries

  • The median salaries for a Software Dev in Wellington is $NZ63633 / $USD43764, with a high of $NZD95000 / $USD65337.
  • Senior Software Engineers can expect a median of $NZD95000 / $USD65337, with a high of $NZD117000 /$USD80467 according to Payscale.

Doing a quick Seek search roles that pay over $NZD150000 in IT that aren't C suite are:

Hope that helps put things in perspective.