We had a family dinner last night and my daughter predicted I would eventually live in NZ. This surprised me but I guess I talk about how much I like it there, only two trips but it seems to a tourist at least the hunting is great and people are great, and generally a quieter life, easy to find property near the beach for a reasonable price, etc.

Is the grass greener?

Grass is always greener when you are looking in ...

Certainly many shades of green greener than Australia tho , although its unfair to compare the two cos they are so differant.

Ill be more than happy to swap my life here for yours in the US.

Remember it is your right to own firearms in the US,something you will not have in New Zealand.

Of course it is!

However maybe with some more information we could let you know what's what.

The gun laws are tighter. No military type without a special license, handguns you can own but not hunt with legally and the licensing side of them is hugely painful.

Flip side is if you put the hard yards in you can hunt deer/tahr/chammy/pigs/rabbits etc all year round. Because of this you have to work a bit harder to get them as people are out there all the time. In other words, you don't drive along the road and see them standing there.

Depending on where you live the main bird season is around two to three months long. Canadian geese ten months of the year. A bag limit of around 25 birds mixed would be the norm (per day)

For a nice beach front property hmmm, good question, that comes down to where your looking. South Island at a guess around 5ooG's NZD would get something nice.

What else do you want to know about?? What line of work are you in or would you run a business from over here??

Quality of life is pretty good compared to other places I've lived. Hunting year round is very good as long as you put in the hard work.

Cheers
H

404WJJeffery you need to buy a large farm with lots of duck ponds or better still a lake,i know you don't bird shoot,but you know someone who does

It is different not greener, if you have the money and means and can secure an income of over $70,000 USD pa with no mortgage commitments then you will start to have the time to hunt when you want, and you can here.
For a US citizen in NZ to enjoy the level of lifestyle you have in the states you probably need at least $70k-100k before tax.
My wife is a US citizen we return to the states every 2 years at least, do that more frequently and you need more money.
I live in Queenstown and it is cold almost all year round, summers less warm and winters less cold than Virginia/Maryland.
Beach front in a good area goes from $600k USD upwards, on 2 blocks back about $500k
Around Wanaka Queenstown area you can get a country place for around $1,000,000 USD

Just remember that NZ is 1200 miles top to bottom and no part is more than 130km from the sea. Depending where you want to be, the climate is like lower california up to oregon.

Kiwiland is beautiful! But, if I were a single man, and they would let me in the country, I would move to Australia in a minute! I don't know anywhere in the world that has better hunting and fishing than the Northern Territory. And I don't know anywhere in the world that has as pretty and as friendly sheilas as Sydney! Do the Aussies realize that they have heaven on earth? And the beer, wine, and the tucker is darn good too!

Time has obviously clouded your memories of flies , mosquitos , snakes , idiot gunlaws , bigger idiot politicians , and the awful whining accent that aussie sheilas all seem to have .... and the way they spell beer - imagine a nation that spells "beer" with XXXX .....

( that orta get ole Gryph going a little )

Thank you for the comments!

Re gun laws, remember it depends what state you live in and even what county.

In North Carolina, we have "right to carry" laws, meaning if you are not a crook, they must issue you a concealed carry permit. OK, even if you don't plan on carrying, it allows you to buy, over the counter, as many handguns as tickles your fancy. Long guns are over the counter as well, even without a carry permit. They do a 3 minute telephone background check on you and you are outta there.

I once bought a rifle at WalMart- a Win 300 WSM and from entry to the store to exit was 12 minutes.

Depending on your state and your local sheriff, you can obtain a Class III license and have full auto rigs for plinking or defense.

They actually control supressers/silencers here as well, but you can get them with a Class II as well.

Negatives- hunting here for deer is 6 weeks, two bucks, 4 does, and public land is impossible to hunt- full of hunters.

And that's about it- I don't know the bird seasons here. Out west in California I went out after varmints, plenty of coyote all year round, no season no limit.

There may be many other and better opportunities in other states e.g. Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico.

I was struck by the peacefullness of NZ and the general kindness of the people. Didn't seem like you had all the crime and racial problems we do.

I know property has shot up there but may be coming down?

Just love the idea of being able to hunt all year with no limits.

But like living at the beach and not going in the ocean, maybe that would get old.

We'll see.....!

"Didn't seem like you had all the crime and racial problems we do."

Yeah right that would make a great Tui billboard

"There may be many other and better opportunities in other states e.g. Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico."

Owning semi-autos and bird shooting are the only reasons i see to live in New Zealand over Australia.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:

Owning semi-autos and bird shooting are the only reasons i see to live in New Zealand over Australia.

How rude! Sack that man! lolz