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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.
Or a girlfriend. Sheep outnumbers people by 10 to 1.
If you want sheep shaggers, go to Australia.
They have yet to explain why Koalas have STIs
And Rolf Harris (in Prison in the UK for behaving like Trump) sang a popular Aussie song all about tying a kangaroo down mate....WTF????
Well Weta Workshops seems to be going just fine.
I'm Australian but have worked and lived in Wellington a bit, and in the USA. New Zealand internet on the whole is pretty good. Within Wellington you should be able to get a fibre connection at 100 Mbps no problems, at a cost similar to in the US.
Ping times to sites in Europe and America are obviously high, but not much you can do about that (pesky speed of light!) Most big sites have CDNs in NZ or Australia though, so it's not really a problem unless you enjoy playing online games that don't have local servers...
Yeah! ...and it is illegal to have a private garden. Kiss "Goodbye" to your geraniums if you move here.
I live in NZ, just in Auckland - but I did live just outside of Wellington for part of my childhood. It's rare to see these kinds of comments about living in NZ, but I have seen them, and like the others I've read I have to say I think you may have come with the wrong expectations.
If you come here expecting that you'll have beautiful weather every day and otherwise it'll be just like back home - payscales and all, you'll be disappointed. It's a place like many others on earth rather than some ethereal wonderland, with advantages and disadvantages. It's not the kind of place where you go and work for big bucks for a short time and then return home with your riches. If you're realistic, recognise that it's somewhat isolated with a small population and therefore the economy is different and some things aren't as easy to find or are more expensive (though nowhere near like it was in the '80s when my family moved here) you can have a very comfortable life. That's completely ignoring the beautiful and varied landscape, outdoor opportunities, etc. - all of that you have heard about is true. Given the choice I wouldn't live anywhere else - and I recently returned here from London, by choice.
Besides, Wellington is famous for its windy weather, so you could definitely have known about that in advance ;)
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?
Lol, another bitter Kiwi, probably butt hurt from all the losing at cricket.
You know why Kiwis dont take their girlfriends to the cricket?
They are afraid they will jump the fence, and start eating the grass.
Why do Kiwi horses go so fast?
Theyve seen what happens to the sheep.
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 suspect that is because you can retire at 65 so they are basically saying they expect 10 years work from you for their investment. From what I hear age is a big issue in Silicon Valley but is is not here in New Zealand, the only problem I find as an older employee (54), is that my pay expectations are now too high for a lot of companies. If I didn't mind a pay cut I would expect I could find work at almost any tech company in New Zealand as skills and ability to fit in with the existing teams are the main thing employers are looking for here.
About Wellington, they say "You can't beat Wellington on a good day" and that is true, but they do have a lot of windy days there, you have been warned. Depending on where you come from you may find Wellington has a very small feel about it but it does have great people and a good culture so is worth checking out.
Seriously guys, why don't you pick someone far away to hate on?
The worst insults and nastiest fights are often between brothers and sisters.
I grew up in Wellington and now live in Auckland. The stats are more hours of sunshine in Wellington than Auckland and the reported temperatures are similar. The real catch with Wellington is the common icy cold winds coming up from down south often ruin what could be a lovely day. I ride a motorcycle often so I care about the weather and Auckland is much better. That said Wellington is still going to be a lot better than some places I have visited. Simply put what you think of Wellington weather is going to depend on where you come from, what you are used to.
Probably terrible if they aren't letting any non-white people in
Your last sentence is probably true. Income inequality especially in healthcare isn't nearly as high is in the USA.
Your second sentence doesn't make sense to me unless your distant cousin is just ridiculously frugal. Lots of middle-class NZers eat out very frequently.
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.
No. That particular silliness should perhaps remain on Reddit.
What's the difference between Australia and an apple?
If you leave an apple for long enough, it'll grow a culture.
(And no, I'm not a Kiwi)
Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.
The downside is that you *can* experience some pretty horrific latency when accessing stuff that isn't physically located in NZ.
That's just the laws of physics
Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.