Didn't. Moved from Oklahoma to NZ in 1998. Best decision evar. AMA.
K. Whereabouts in NZ? As an American Kiwi, how to you feel about NZ's increasingly close relationship with the US? What changes in NZ culture/society/politics have you noticed in your time in NZ that your average kiwi might have missed due to a lack of external perspective?AMA.
Auckland. I'm not so sure we really are becoming "increasingly close", except maybe in regard to horrible things like the TPP - and that is seen as a result of pressure from the Americans; it certainly isn't helpful for anyone else, and it's actively harmful to relationships with our other trade partners, especially China. NZ is becoming more and more like America culturally (due to TV and Hollywood I guess), and most Kiwis aren't too happy about that. It shows in things like resentment towards Halloween (seen as a 'Walmart holiday' - we would call it a "Warehouse holiday" though, we have no Walmarts). We (rightly) don't want to lose the things that make us Kiwi.
You can visit for three months, they'll extend to six if you ask, but then you must leave unless you have a work visa or PR, permanent residence. There's a points system and I had almost enough for PR. With a bona fide job offer I'd have enough, so visited first and applied for jobs. Got one, applied, got approved, and moved. Could have gotten the work visa first and PR later but preferred the security of PR. With PR you're nearly a citizen, but you can't stand for public office, get a passport, or own non-residential property. We got citizenship a few years later.