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New Zealand Will Give You a Free Trip If You Agree To a Job Interview (esquire.com)
An anonymous reader shares an Esquire article: If New Zealand is on your bucket list, it's time to fill out a job application. You see, the tech industry in Wellington, New Zealand is trying to recruit experts from around the world to their community, so they're offering a free trip if you can prove you want the job and deserve an interview. They're calling it a "global talent attraction program" and 100 potential recruits will be invited on the free (yes, free) week-long trip. But, of course, the catch is you have to prove why you could serve as a software developer, creative director, product manager, analyst or digital strategist to get a free ticket. Once you do, your itinerary will be filled with interviews and meetings with others in the New Zealand tech community members, as well as excursions around Wellington.
I lived there for 2 years - it was a waste of time.
You'll be a paid in NZ Dollars, (currently US$0.71) and a lower amount than if you were working in the USA, Australia or Canada.
Wellington weather is windy as f*ck and always raining.
If you're lucky you'll get a few sunny weeks during Summer, if the wind and the freezing water doesn't get to you, the sunburn will.
Any major city in the world will have more business opportunities than Wellington, the population is so small.
There's much better opportunities available elsewhere.
The tubes are all new, and they're fibre.
Most people get 100mbit. It's between $60 and $100 depending if you can live with a data cap or not. You can get up to 1g. My ISP offers a plan where "you should see 700 - 900Mbps" down and 400 - 450 up for $140
Of course fibre isn't available everywhere in NZ, but it is pretty much everywhere in Wellington.
I've lived in wellington for 20 years.
Wellington has an excess of I.T. people, but are unable to get jobs due to a screwed up government system or an unwillingness to pay a decent amount.
It already imports a significant number of indians for government jobs pushing out New Zealanders, as they are cheaper (at least through some creative accounting. They don't get paid heaps but thier contracting agencys do).
Also, we don't have enough houses to put everyone in. House and rent prices are going through the roof with no relief in sight.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/89933065/rental-crisis-deepens-as-mt-cook-flat-viewing-attracts-more-than-40-people
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2017/02/hot-property-wellington-house-values-up-21-percent-in-2016.html
What idiot came up with this plan?
Salaries are *low* in NZ.
Salaries in isolation means nothing unless you're saving up for living somewhere else. Cost of living in NZ is relatively low.
I'm not sure I agree with this. Housing is expensive, maybe not as bad as some places but there's a housing bubble right now. Finding rental properties can be difficult - according to the news paper 40 people looked at one rental recently. Anything from overseas often has multiple margins added as it goes through multiple distributors, or if you import it yourself shipping fees can be high and the government charges tax and sometimes duties. Food is cheaper in the UK and the USA - sometimes it's cheaper to buy NZ products like cheese and meat overseas than in NZ.