Hi, I migrated from the USA to NZ in the early 90s. 1) Lack of certification could hurt more than lack of university ("college" = high school in NZ). Got Cisc

Hi, I migrated from the USA to NZ in the early 90s. 1) Lack of certification could hurt more than lack of university ("college" = high school in NZ). Got Cisco or Redhat certs, or something similar? Also, knowing some Microsoft would not hurt. Many companies mix technologies, and most sysadmins are generalists, I think. That doesn't mean specialists can't make money, but specialists usually have certs. 2) Go to reddit.com/r/newzealand and read the FAQs on the right side of the screen. Don't post anything until you read the FAQs ... it is a NZ custom to mislead people who don't do the basic research. 3) What city are you thinking about? There are sub-reddits for the bigger cities. They have FAQs too and the posters can help you out. Did I mention you should read the FAQs? Those sub-reddits have FAQs too. 4) The other posters have the right idea, I think. Even the Aussie guy. Cost of living in New Zealand is NOT cheap. Living in the USA is mostly cheaper. If making money is a problem ... think carefully here. 5) If you are the paranoid type, remember that NZ is a member of Five Eyes ... we have fairly close spying relations with the USA. Will you be more comfortable here? One plus: religion is less dominant here. 6) Every country is retarded in its own special way. Before you decide to move to a country, research its news sites for a few weeks. That doesn't give you an unbiased view, but go into this decision with a cool head.