Last Updated on March 23, 2021
I spend a fair bit of time in New Zealand. Mostly Auckland.
Notes on New Zealand Life Circa 2020/2021
This is mostly useful for those moving to NZ from USA or Australia.
Mobile/Cell Phones
If you need to dual sim you can do it pretty easily now! I have a kiwi Spark eSim as well as a US Google Fi physical sim in my phone.
Shopping
Coming from San Francisco means a downgrade in convenience and selection of shopping. However in 2020 finally most of the supermarkets deliver. You can still use Amazon, however as of 2021 the selection is still limited. Locally the Warehouse has pretty good logistics – next day delivery for low quality goods but with cheap prices to match. AliExpress is useful, you can find anything, although you need to change the default shipping option or things take months to arrive.
Be very careful will online shopping from overseas, over a certain value limit the local customs will hold onto your package until you pay the duties.
Healthcare
Public healthcare is excellent and world class.
Food/Entertainment
Check out some of my favorite places for eating and drinking in Auckland. And if you get to Queenstown, here are my favorite things to do/eat/drink in Queenstown.
Some of the best food in the world is in NZ. Because the produce is so excellent.
Eat the lamb.
Eat the seafood. Eat the oysters. Particularly the local Bluff oysters.
