6 ms·

I lived there for a year. My wife is a kiwi so we visit from time to time. Lovely people, scenery, and weather. You need to be near a major hub. Auckland, W

I lived there for a year. My wife is a kiwi so we visit from time to time. Lovely people, scenery, and weather. You need to be near a major hub. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch. Outside of that is mostly very rural and has little opportunity. Things are expensive. Rent is very expensive in the hubs. Almost to the point of crisis in Auckland. I worked remotely for a company in the US while I was there so I didn't get too good a sense for the tech scene but it exists. I attended a jsconf while there and about 100 attended. From what I heard, the wages aren't as high. The biggest company in NZ is a dairy company. I wouldn't recommend starting a business there. The labor laws are out of control. I was in Christchurch. Nice place but it is still recovering from the big earthquake a few years ago. There are still dozens of small tremors happening every day. I started to lose faith in the ground while living there which is a weird feeling. Utilities are so expensive that most people use woodburners to heat their homes. It was a great experience and we'll be going back some time. If you do it, try and get a remote job for an outside company and prepare to tighten your belt straps a bit. If you are into hiking and camping in your free time, there may be no better place on earth. The scenery is diverse and truly stunning.

lostlogin 10y ago
> The labor laws are out of control There are two sides to this. The advert is for a job, and as an employee you're relatively protected against bad employers. Not protected enough in my view, but for those from other political environments it might seem rather alien. Given that most are employees and not employers it's a perspective worth considering.
- joshontheweb 10y ago
  I was speaking from the perspective of a bootstrapped startup founder. As I understood it, it can be quite hard to legally fire someone. This could easily be the end of an early stage company. Take my advice on this with a grain of salt as this was just what I heard from talking to people. I never hired anyone while I was there.
antod 10y ago
>The labor laws are out of control. Depends who you're talking to and their perspective. To an American, it seems like France. To someone from France (ie who you were replying to), it would seem like America.
- joshontheweb 10y ago
  Good point
tmnvix 10y ago
> I wouldn't recommend starting a business there. Ease of Doing Business Index: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?view=map&year_high_desc=false http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?view=map&... NZ is top of the list.
- joshontheweb 10y ago
  Go for it!
  - tmnvix 10y ago
    Actually, I am. Currently in Australia, moving back to NZ (where I am from) in a month or so and will take my business with me.
    - joshontheweb 10y ago
      Specifically what I understood about NZ labor law is that you can't easily fire someone that isn't working out for whatever reason. You have to have a history of documentation and written warnings to validate the cause. While this can be nice for an employee. An early stage company can easily get sunk by this. Again, this is just what I understood from talking to others but it was enough to make me nervous about doing any hiring there. It certainly can and does work for people regardless. Good luck with your venture.
      - tmnvix 10y ago
        Thanks. As far as letting go of employees that aren't working out, NZ industrial relations legislation does include provision for a trial period that can be included in an employment contract. This trial period can be up to 90 days. https://employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/trial-and-probationary-periods/trial-periods/ https://employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/trial-and-pro...
      - mdekkers 10y ago
        You have to have a history of documentation and written warnings to validate the cause. The UK is the same. Actually, most civilized countries have similar laws. You can't sack people at will (something I personally believe to be a terrible practice) and you have to have a good reason to do so. Never had a problem firing people that had to be fired. Just keep records, do things by the book. It isn't as onerous as it sounds. Send some emails, send some letters, most of the times nothing will be a surprise for anybody anyway.

lostlogin 10y ago

> The labor laws are out of control There are two sides to this. The advert is for a job, and as an employee you're relatively protected against bad employers. Not protected enough in my view, but for those from other political environments it might seem rather alien. Given that most are employees and not employers it's a perspective worth considering.

joshontheweb 10y ago
I was speaking from the perspective of a bootstrapped startup founder. As I understood it, it can be quite hard to legally fire someone. This could easily be the end of an early stage company. Take my advice on this with a grain of salt as this was just what I heard from talking to people. I never hired anyone while I was there.

antod 10y ago

>The labor laws are out of control. Depends who you're talking to and their perspective. To an American, it seems like France. To someone from France (ie who you were replying to), it would seem like America.

joshontheweb 10y ago
Good point

tmnvix 10y ago

> I wouldn't recommend starting a business there. Ease of Doing Business Index: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?view=map&year_high_desc=false http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?view=map&... NZ is top of the list.

joshontheweb 10y ago
Go for it!
- tmnvix 10y ago
  Actually, I am. Currently in Australia, moving back to NZ (where I am from) in a month or so and will take my business with me.
  - joshontheweb 10y ago
    Specifically what I understood about NZ labor law is that you can't easily fire someone that isn't working out for whatever reason. You have to have a history of documentation and written warnings to validate the cause. While this can be nice for an employee. An early stage company can easily get sunk by this. Again, this is just what I understood from talking to others but it was enough to make me nervous about doing any hiring there. It certainly can and does work for people regardless. Good luck with your venture.
    - tmnvix 10y ago
      Thanks. As far as letting go of employees that aren't working out, NZ industrial relations legislation does include provision for a trial period that can be included in an employment contract. This trial period can be up to 90 days. https://employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/trial-and-probationary-periods/trial-periods/ https://employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/trial-and-pro...
    - mdekkers 10y ago
      You have to have a history of documentation and written warnings to validate the cause. The UK is the same. Actually, most civilized countries have similar laws. You can't sack people at will (something I personally believe to be a terrible practice) and you have to have a good reason to do so. Never had a problem firing people that had to be fired. Just keep records, do things by the book. It isn't as onerous as it sounds. Send some emails, send some letters, most of the times nothing will be a surprise for anybody anyway.