Life-long expat and adventurer Bridget Romanes on relocating to New Zealand

Bridget Romanes is the visionary principal of Mobile Relocation, a consultancy that aids people in the complex process of moving and settling into New Zealand life. Born and raised in New Zealand herself, Bridget's early life was anything but ordinary. Her father, a mountaineer who ascended the Himalayas with the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary, infused Bridget's childhood with a spirit of exploration and a global perspective. Her home often buzzed with intriguing guests from various walks of life, enriching her understanding of the world.

Tune in to hear how the allure of New Zealand's community and breathtaking landscapes could be your family's next chapter on this episode of Adventure Calls.

From a young age, Bridget's vacations were a tapestry of experiences that spanned trekking in Fiji's rugged highlands to sailing across the azure waters of the Maldives. These adventures weren't common in the seventies and eighties, setting Bridget and her family apart as uniquely proactive global citizens.

It comes as no surprise that Bridget, influenced by her unconventional upbringing, would eventually carve out a niche in helping others navigate the life of an expatriate. Today, she intertwines her rich heritage of travel and cultural immersion with her professional acumen, serving as a guiding force for those embarking on their own journeys to new horizons. Bridget Romanes is not just a name but a synonym for cultural fluency and the passion to make the world one's home.

Perceived Social Liberalism and Safety in New Zealand: "once they get here, they do feel safe in a way that they haven't felt before." - Bridget Romanes

Find Jessica Drucker online: 

Website: www.jessicadrucker.com 

Coaching: www.jessicadrucker.com/coaching 

How To Move Abroad Book: www.jessicadrucker.com/book
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowrelo 

Find Bridget online:

Connect with Bridget on LinkedIn

Visit Mobile's website to learn about working with us to set up a new life in New Zealand

Access 100+ articles about relocating to New Zealand

Transcript

Bridget Romanes [00:00:00]:
Welcome back

Jess Drucker [00:00:00]:
to the Adventure Calls podcast. The show that empowers queer folks and their families to move, live hands thrive abroad. I'm your host Jessica Drucker.

Jess Drucker [00:00:09]:
This is one of

Jess Drucker [00:00:09]:
our first shows back after a long hiatus, and it takes us all the way around the world to one of the world's friendliest countries for LGBTQ folks and their families. And that's right, when you're truly considering moving as far away from North America as possible, my guest today is the one who can help you get there. Bridget Romaines is the founder of Youll Relocation, a company that helps people get settled in New Zealand. Bridget was the proud winner of the 2023 Youll Mobility Champion of the Year at the Employee Mobility Institute Awards, and her company Youll Relocation won To awards for best workplace well-being initiative and new way of working. In this interview, Bridget talks about her own time living Abroad. She is an expat through and through herself, how she ended up back in New Zealand, and we talk about what it takes to relocate to New Zealand as a US cities, specifically. New Zealand is one of the safest countries in the world, ranked 2nd on the Youll peace index, there's free healthcare and unrivaled foodie culture, of course the landscapes are breathtaking, and it's an adventurer's dream as well. New Zealand is relatively LGBTQ friendly with queer rights protected by the Human Rights Act hands same sex marriage rights actually extend also to immigration, meaning you can bring your same sex spouse to New Zealand as well.

Jess Drucker [00:01:26]:
Most cities have pride festivals that continue to increase in size and support each year from the community, so if you're looking for an English speaking queer friendly country with loads of adventure, food, and also great coffee, Tuck in, get ready for today's guest, Bridget Romaines of Mobile Relocation call the way in New Zealand.

Jess Drucker [00:01:55]:
Bridget, thank you so much for coming on today. I'm so excited to talk to you. People are very interested in relocating, especially to New Zealand. I'm getting a lot of inquiries. I have a couple of clients that are interested in relocating to New Zealand. So there's going to be a lot of interest, I think, in this conversation. So thank you so much for coming on today.

Bridget Romanes [00:02:12]:
Kia ora, Jess. Look, it's a pleasure to be here. We have a lot of American clients Move made their way to New Zealand the last few years, and good to hear that the interest is still holding up.

Jess Drucker [00:02:22]:
I wanted to sort of kick this off with you best talking a little bit about how did you get involved in in inspiration? So and the name of your company, of course, and a little bit about your background Do we know who we're talking to.

Bridget Romanes [00:02:33]:
Right. Who I am today is Bridget Remains, principal of mobile relocation. Where I've come from, basically, I think I was always actually meant to be an expat. I grew up in New Zealand. My father was a mountaineer who climbed in the Himalayas with Sir Edmund Hillary. So we had all sorts of interesting people coming through our home hands, you know, our holidays were things like trekking in the highlands of Fiji and sailing in the Maldives. This was way back in the sort of seventies and eighties. So in those days, we were kind of like the weird Youll.

Bridget Romanes [00:03:00]:
And I can't say that I grasped all of it fully, you know, enthusiastic, but I did grow up with a much bigger awareness of the world than a lot of my peers did for that reason. So it was very normal for me to be among people of different cultures and be curious and just be, you know, enjoying that experience, I guess. So my own journey started when I, I left home as soon as I Youll. Age of 17, went to cities far as away from home as you can in New Zealand, which is right down the bottom of the South Island To Dunedin. Very different city to Auckland where I come from. And from there, I, I lived in Wellington. I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade which is equivalent to State Department so I was a diplomat, I was posted to Singapore and India so that way it kind of played out through my life, this whole idea of being an international person. So it's something I'd always wanted but I sort of got to a point where a couple of things were kind of puzzling me because I was quite enjoying my life.

Bridget Romanes [00:03:58]:
But I looked around and I thought, there's quite a few people living beside me in these countries who actually really don't like living here. They complain a lot. And I thought, well, that's interesting. I wonder, you know, why why that is because that's not my experience. And then the other thing that really hit me life a bit of a freight train was I was on my 2nd posting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Singapore. So it wasn't as if I was inexperienced as an expat, but I was hit with depression hands I thought, why has this happened to me? I'm living my dream, my life. Why is it? So fast forward a bit. Still, I didn't know the answer to either of those questions.

Bridget Romanes [00:04:31]:
Got back to New Zealand and sort of realized, well, you know, I've pretty much done every kind of expats experience there is. I've gone overseas as a single woman. I've gone with a partner. I've gone with a partner who doesn't have a job. I've gone as a dual career couple. I've had 2 children overseas. I became the typical trailing spouse myself. I'm sort of following my husband for a while.

Bridget Romanes [00:04:51]:
I repatriated to New Zealand twice and on the second time came back pregnant so I gave birth to my 3rd child in a medical system that I had no familiarity with even though it was my own countries because I had my previous 2 in Singapore. Yeah. So all of it sort of came together and I thought as I started doing a bit more research around the whole kind of expat experience. And I discovered life you go back to real basic psychology, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which some of your listeners may be familiar with, you know, food, shelter, and clothing are the basic building blocks of survival. So when you come to a new country, if you don't have those things sorted, really throws you. And I looked back at my experience of depression in Singapore. I had moved into it was a big mix up around my How, and I had moved need to move into a property that wasn't my choice. I just had to To live there.

Bridget Romanes [00:05:40]:
So my Move situation, you know, wasn't quite right. And then the other part of it was my community. I instead of working for the New Zealand, high commission, the equivalent of the US embassy, I was working in an international support. So I felt those anchors hands gone. So that made me think about what Do people actually need to be successful when they move countries. And in New Zealand, the the sort of outside picture was we have a very high level of immigration. We have done for probably 15 years now. For example, since the borders opened with COVID, we'd have over a 100,000 people come here.

Bridget Romanes [00:06:22]:
Really? For a population of 5,000,000 is huge. We're we're a country of recent migrants. So there were many businesses out there who were bringing people into the country and also private individuals Thing. And I thought, well, you know, I can pull on my expertise and background and problem Move for those businesses and for those individuals to optimize their experience of moving to New Zealand so that they call deliver what they need to deliver at work. They can be happy. Their families can be happy. So that was the kind of genesis of mobile relocation. So we've been in operation for 7 years now.

Bridget Romanes [00:06:53]:
We run resettlement programs to set people up for success in New Zealand. And most of our client base are businesses who think that's really important. If they're paying to pay bring people here, then they want them to be successful. And the other 30% are private individuals who find us and and use our programs, you know, for their own benefit. So we have a team of 20 throughout the country. So wherever you think your dream might be in New Zealand, we're there. Yeah. And I mean, history, does that cover off what you're asking? Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:07:24]:
I think the next question obviously lives, like, when are you writing your book or making a movie? I mean, what a life. What a life. That's so fascinating. Wow. I didn't know we were gonna have Sarah and, Hillary talked about in here hands and hiking the Himalayas. Wow. What a story.

Bridget Romanes [00:07:40]:
Yeah. Well, there's lots of adventurous New Zealanders, you know, and that's one of the things I think that adventurous Americans kinda connect with. You know, you gotta be a bit of an adventurer to come to New Zealand, but there's something in your heart that Thing, Thing down there for me.

Jess Drucker [00:07:54]:
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And, you know, I

Bridget Romanes [00:07:56]:
think one of the you

Jess Drucker [00:07:57]:
you know, you said you had been an an expats. You had been a trailing spouse. You had been the one with the job. You had gone with your husband who didn't have a job hands all of those things. And the other thing I think is really interesting, and I share this with you, is that you had also kind of been an expat in your own country because so much of your formative years were spent outside. I feel like I can look the same way at the US and think I know what it's like to resettle here almost as a foreigner because my my years abroad, I you know, I all of my formative years were abroad. And when I resettled back in the US, I felt a 100% like a foreigner. I did not feel like I belonged here at all.

Bridget Romanes [00:08:28]:
Totally. Yeah. And I I think for me, and this is one thing I look for my team, the experience of having relocated in some way yourself because empathy is a huge part of what we To. You know, and then some of the sounds of that sort of world, but the To things that Best people How, empathy and organization in my team, they have to be amazing organizers because so many logistics. But it's one of the big myths of relocation that it's all about logistics because it's not. It's actually about the emotional side as much as the sort of organizing everything.

Jess Drucker [00:08:57]:
Yeah. Sure. The the logistics are, you know, upfront, very important. You know, there are certain things you really can't mess up or you won't be able to relocate or you won't get the paperwork done that you need. But after that, I think it's all emotional well-being that really settles you in. Right?

Bridget Romanes [00:09:10]:
Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.

Jess Drucker [00:09:12]:
Well, that that's great. I mean, thank you so much for giving that, like, really, really, detailed background To of of your company, and I didn't realize that you were such a large team. I feel like that's a large team for being New Zealand based. Right? Life you know, having 20 20 people across the country.

Bridget Romanes [00:09:26]:
For us, the local part is really important because Yeah. Youll part of New Zealand lives different, you know, like any country. So my people need to have really, really detailed local knowledge in order to settle expats into the local housing market, the local community, the local schools. There's no good good, you know, being out here in Auckland Thing people what another cities life. They need to talk to someone who's actually there on the ground.

Jess Drucker [00:09:45]:
Yeah. No. That's totally right. What are some of the you know, I really do have quite a lot of people reaching out to me about New Zealand in particular. I think there's a real interest in Move, especially for for queer folks. There is a real interest in moving somewhere that feels life, definitely maybe far away. That is also something. But there's a whole group of people who just have really no interest in relocating to Europe even though they feel like they they should follow like they wanna move there.

Jess Drucker [00:10:11]:
There's people who you know, Mexico and Canada are so nearby, but, you know, that's those just aren't interesting options for for for some folks. Hands New Zealand, like you said, I get

Jess Drucker [00:10:19]:
a lot of people

Jess Drucker [00:10:20]:
I I have a client who probably will listen to

Bridget Romanes [00:10:22]:
this, and she's gonna know

Jess Drucker [00:10:23]:
I'm talking about her. Her husband is, like, a semi professional kayaker, for example. Like, New Zealand you're meant to move to New Zealand. Right? Like, I feel like that's that's part of, life in New Zealand. Right? So you need to be adventure. But what are some of the other types of expats you see from your private clients who choose to relocate to New Zealand? What are some of those, like, characteristics that your expats have?

Bridget Romanes [00:10:44]:
Yeah. Well, I'm gonna To a step back here because I think what I see with everybody coming from the US is they all have a dream about New Zealand in some way. It's very seldom a, you know, I'll I'll I'm going to chase this amazing career opportunity in New Zealand. Mhmm. That's some other dream that they want to pursue. And that's actually really important and very valuable because having that overarching goal is what gets you through the tough lives, and I'll talk about that a bit later. But your question is more about what types of dreams or goals are there. Definitely the people who want to come because they identify with the outdoors in New Zealand, you know, it's very accessible here.

Bridget Romanes [00:11:23]:
I I live in 15 minutes from the CBD, and I can be probably within 40 minutes to 40 minutes maybe to an hour in traffic, you know, hiking in the forest. I can go 10 minutes in my car, take my kayak down to the beach, and go kayaking. Right. It's always there for you. So that kind of natural environment and also the environmental kind of values and qualities that people perceive we have in New Zealand. So there's that sort of nature kind of category. And then the other category is some sort of sense of identification with our society and the way people are treated and the importance of relationships here, you know, slower pace of life. Yeah.

Bridget Romanes [00:12:01]:
I I don't it's hard to articulate that, but I definitely see people, you know, comparing to where they are in the US at the moment and thinking New Zealand and is more how I follow. I want to be living in a society. And then the author part, the 3rd, area that people relocate for is children. 100%. You know, the the families don't want the future of their children to be in New Zealand. That's so interesting. They can trade off the things like we don't have Ivy League universities. We have really good universities, but not Ivy League ones.

Bridget Romanes [00:12:35]:
And, you know, we don't have a Silicon Valley. You know, call of the things that the rest of the world looks at the US and sees, oh, I want my kids to go there and have all those opportunities. We're finding this this category of Americans who are saying the opportunities in New Zealand, which are really different to that, are the ones we want for our children. So those would be the main three factors, sort of nature, identification with our society hands family To.

Jess Drucker [00:12:57]:
Yeah. Yeah. And, I mean, I really see that even from from, you know, being a parent now. My kids are young still, but I just I you know, it's it's a sight you don't see anymore here, kids riding on their bikes or just living living freely. You know, everything is like very much organized hands every minute is scheduled, but also call just feels not safe to have your kids sort of outside on their own or things like that. So, you know, I definitely think about that as well for for my own lives. It's giving them a a real childhood in in some capacity. So that might be part of my dream.

Jess Drucker [00:13:24]:
I don't know. Maybe that's, maybe that's part of my dream. I'm not sure. Okay. And what about you? I mean, you so, you know, I I I knew that you had lived abroad, but I did not realize how much and in what capacity. So what is something that you really value about living in New Zealand yourself How that you've, you know, had other experience, especially in India and Singapore, such different, you know, such different cultures and pace of life to New Zealand.

Bridget Romanes [00:13:46]:
Yeah. A couple of things. One is what we call whanau, which is, it's a Maori word. It's a concept around, you know, you have your blood relatives, but then you also have a wider whanau, and that is people that you have a a connection with. So I think in New Zealand, it's it's kind of hard to describe, and I certainly feel this way that there are a lot of different people that I have relationships and connections with in different spheres. Even some of my clients, you know, I get to know them very well. There's that feeling of of a society where relationships are so important, and I find that personally very enriching hands it's something that I've been able to take as a New Zealander into my expat life and look for commonalities with people and form relationships and that's been really, really rewarding. And I think as a Kiwi, I Move kind of got that in me.

Bridget Romanes [00:14:33]:
And then the the second area, I mean, I'm How on again. Like, I love the nature of New Zealand, and I underestimated that until I went away. And I really didn't appreciate my own country, probably, until I came back with 2 preschoolers. And I remember, you know, driving around the city. And every now and again, you come up on top of a hill and you look out over the harbor, and we have a beautiful island in the middle of the harbor, Porangatoto, which is a volcano. So it's a pointy volcano. And I come over the call, life, oh my god. I'm driving my children to daycare hands look at this.

Bridget Romanes [00:15:05]:
Unbelievable. You know? Just yeah. That that for me is is Yeah. And what's funny is I feel really wonderful to be able to live here. And in the background here hands me is this is Waiheke Island, which is an island off the coast of Auckland. You can get there half an hour on the Thing, And one end is quite developed. The other end down here, I went on a 4 day hike around the island with some friends. There's a vineyard down there, and we did this terrible hike up the hill through the mud and then down to the vineyard for lunch.

Bridget Romanes [00:15:32]:
Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:15:32]:
Right? And you are rewarded with life, so it's not so terrible. Right? Yeah. But it's fun.

Bridget Romanes [00:15:37]:
But what

Jess Drucker [00:15:37]:
you say about the volcano is really funny to me because those are the moments you usually have when you're living abroad somewhere. And you're like, How. Look at this. I'm just driving my kids to daycare hands there's a volcano. But you're actually having that at home again, which is just so interesting. Yeah.

Bridget Romanes [00:15:49]:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Jess Drucker [00:15:50]:
So and you were talking about some of Youll, you know, the characteristics of the expats. But just to give some idea. So you're right. New Zealand isn't the place where you go where you think, like, I'm gonna start a startup or, you know, whatever. But what what are, like, sort of what what is the business environment hands what are the opportunities that you're Thing? Even in living that 70% of your client base, which is the the corporate ex Best team that you Yep. That you serve. What are the jobs and opportunities?

Bridget Romanes [00:16:14]:
Yeah. Well, actually, having best one point there, New Zealand is an amazing place to start a startup. In fact, number of US VCs who've come down here and are now running here. And there's also quite a lot of government support. So, yeah, that is it is quite a good place to start. And it's actually very easy to start a business here too because it's well, I never knows each other and, you know, once you get into things. But, yeah, I mean, generally speaking, the economy, if you're in America, you think of the economy and you shrink it by a really, really large number of factors hands then you have New Zealand. We have everything, you know, the the big four accounting firms if you're in there.

Bridget Romanes [00:16:51]:
There's a lot of infrastructure development, so there's plenty of jobs for engineers. We have huge shortages of the health sector. So virtually every sector in New Zealand doesn't have enough talent because we're the country of 5,000,000,000 people. We can't create enough talent. And also, we have a culture where people often go away and work for a few years and then come back again, so we always Thing to backfill. So, you know, just about any professional job that you can think of and some that are professional to. Trades jobs, if the trades jobs, you know, is open to internationals. You know, we I think you want to talk to me a little bit about visas later, but obviously, you do have to get visas to come to New Zealand, but there's plenty of opportunity here.

Bridget Romanes [00:17:31]:
What is the the point I made about not coming here for an amazing career opportunity is if you're climbing a corporate ladder, Youll know, you may not find the next rung here in New Zealand or the scale of business that you're after. So, you know, that's hands the salaries probably are not to be as good as you might be used to in some sectors, but that's the trade off that people make. You know, either they're stepping off a career ladder by choice or changing doing something different or, as I say, they've got one of those big picture goals, which as long as they're earning enough money, the kind of life factors are more important for them. You know, one Americans client, a very high powered engineer abroad out here to work on some projects. And, yeah, he was earning best. He got a little bit frustrated because he felt things went a bit slowly in New Zealand. So that was a kind of cultural adjustment for him. But the thing that sold their family on it was, he said, it's just normal to take the school holidays off.

Bridget Romanes [00:18:27]:
Mhmm. I have 4 weeks of leave every year. And I just say I want to take a week off, you know, in June and go skiing. And they stories Call a school of Mathis. Right. It's just Youll. That kind of work life balance. You know, that was just amazing for them.

Jess Drucker [00:18:42]:
Yeah. I know. I'm always telling clients hands things like, no, it's true. Health care is going to be much cheaper. You'll never go bankrupt from needing health care, you know, and and and things like that. And vacation people really do take actual vacations for long periods of life. You know, then people just think that's dreamy here, but that's just life in in a lot of the developed world at least. Right? Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:19:04]:
I know. And Do, what you're saying though is is really interesting. So, best, okay, like a slight maybe like a pay cut or, like you said, the next rung of the ladder. But also, I think I'm right when I say that the film industry is actually booming hands there's a lot of opportunity. Is that true in New Zealand?

Bridget Romanes [00:19:20]:
Yeah. Well, I mean, Peter Jackson is based How here. James Cameron lives in New Zealand. Yeah. So that that we do have I mean, it's not the same scale as Hollywood, but there are definitely a lot of films being made locally here. And also, it's used as location for a lot of international films too.

Jess Drucker [00:19:35]:
Right. And why wouldn't it be? It's so beautiful. Right? But I did wanna ask about the visas because, you know, you're you're talking about those to. But I think, you know, people don't really realize the the barrier that a visa can be in order to to immigrate or to immigrate to another country. And so when it comes to New Zealand so there's a lot of opportunity, but what kind of I know you can't give actual advice. I'm very aware that you legally cannot give us advice. But what are some of the visas that, let's say, people in the professional services go for that they're actually able to get to move to New Zealand?

Bridget Romanes [00:20:05]:
Yeah. Look, you know, getting visas to come to New Zealand, if you fit the right categories which are actually quite broad, cities not super difficult. You know, there's there's a a AWV work visa which is usually is obtained through your employer. So if you get a role or transfer, that's that's pretty straightforward. And then there's a essential skills work visa, which people can apply for independently, and that's kind of a points based system. But what I would say broadly is that hands this is probably true of anywhere in the world, but certainly New Zealand, you you can look at the immigration New Zealand website. And I think that should be as much research as you do online, to be frank, because going into chat groups, you get all sorts of people's opinions, Spend the money on a decent visa adventure. And if anybody wants to know life these visa adventure, contact me and I will give you some names.

Bridget Romanes [00:20:56]:
I I don't get any benefit from doing that in commission Youll cut or anything, but there are there are lots of visa advisers because it's quite heavily regulated here, and some of them are terrible, and some of them are really good. And it's worth spending the money. Most of them will do an initial call with you for free and give you some idea of Move got no chance, which will be few people, I'd imagine, or, yes, there's a pathway. This is how much it's gonna cost. It's worth paying for that advice because as you mentioned right back at the beginning on the logistics front, you know, you can't do anything without a visa. You can't get to New Zealand, and it's very easy to make mistakes in the process through no fault of your own because I'm not a Youll expert. Most expats aren't, and a lot of people will be relocating for the first time so they don't know how the visa system works. So pay the money, get the expert advice, maximize chance of success is my my what I say to all of our clients Youll.

Bridget Romanes [00:21:48]:
And call our employer clients too. I said, you should be using visa advices as well. Don't expect people to do it by themselves.

Jess Drucker [00:21:54]:
Yeah. I I mean, I I couldn't agree more. It's life part of feeling happy and feeling settled abroad is really life when you don't have to make every single mistake, it's easier that to then settle in. And I guess, you know, we've all had that experience moving every single mistake, but it would be easier if you didn't have to make every single mistake.

Bridget Romanes [00:22:12]:
Exactly. And to that, I would add that the residence pathways, which is the How grail for most Youll, because you can't actually purchase the property until you have residents in New Zealand. And also Youll want security. The residents pathways are getting opened quite a lot, you know, regularly for different categories of people and things. So, again, working with a visa adventure, you will should get on the right track at the beginning. If there is a pathway to residency for you, you might not figure that out by yourself. But a visa adventure, if you tell them you want that, then they can they get that pathway in place so that you can get it as quickly as you can as opposed to, as you say, learning on the job and realizing after 5 years, oh, I should've applied for that phase or I should've got that paperwork in 2 years ago.

Jess Drucker [00:22:56]:
Oh, yeah.

Bridget Romanes [00:22:57]:
Absolutely. Life think about

Jess Drucker [00:22:59]:
that. Yeah. And what about, you know, so much at best COVID, post pandemic, you know, there's so much happening with digital nomad visas and remote workers. Is that an option for people in New Zealand? Could could someone go with their remote job and relocate for a year?

Bridget Romanes [00:23:14]:
Well, that's a really good question. We don't have a digital no Move visa, but a lot of our clients do work remotely. And I think you need to talk to a visa adviser to find out how that would work. I mean, if Youll partner had a job, you're already then you'd get a work visa under them. But there are independent options as call. So that is a little bit complex. But, yes, a lot of people do it.

Jess Drucker [00:23:34]:
Oh, they do do it. So that's interesting, you know, because certain countries in Europe are just so much more friendly for the remote worker than others. So you just see a lot of more mobile folks sort of going going to those destinations, and I didn't know if that was an option in New Zealand. But,

Bridget Romanes [00:23:47]:
it's not as forward as it is in some European countries, but I have seen it Thing. So it's happening.

Jess Drucker [00:23:53]:
Yeah. Yeah. And and and maybe more so, you know, as the as as mobility becomes more important for everyone. This is sort of off script a little bit, but I'm I'm reading this book about climate change, and I can include a link to it in my notes. And it's basically talking about what the next century will bring. But in in this book that is both horrible and also should be mandatory reading for everyone, New Zealand fares quite nicely in in the climate change Move the next adventure. Is that is that something you guys are talking abroad? That's true?

Bridget Romanes [00:24:18]:
That is so interesting Youll should say that because I would say probably in the last 8 weeks, maybe everybody's reading this book, but we have number of clients from North America and also from Europe. In in our initial conversations, they're factoring that in. They're saying, oh, yes. You know, from a climate perspective, that's another one of our reasons for coming to New Zealand. And then they're saying, okay. Well, we need to talk about, you know, managing climate risk in New Zealand. And I always say to them, well, don't buy beachfront property. Snorkel, I Thing.

Bridget Romanes [00:24:48]:
Probably won't be insurable soon. Buy a property a little bit further up a hill. You know, we are an island, but generally speaking, best, the perception does seem to be that from a climate perspective, that is another reason for considering New Zealand.

Jess Drucker [00:25:01]:
Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, especially my clients who are, you know, LGBTQ, they have there's a lot of intersectionality, neurodivergence in in in my client base. And it and it's it's very interesting that for this group of people, climate change is, I would say not it's a major factor. It's definitely one of the deciding factors of where they will relocate to. And so that's another reason why that I think there is an interest in New Zealand. But that's increasing. I noticed that over the last maybe year, that change in mentality.

Bridget Romanes [00:25:30]:
Doctor. Yeah. As I said, I've just literally, you know, in the last few months, they have hearing hearing it come into conversations with clients. Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:25:36]:
I mean, where where where where do you wanna give especially

Jess Drucker [00:25:39]:
your kids, if you have a family. Where do you wanna give them a future? Somewhere where they could, you know, live is is nice. You know, that's sort of a basic need. Right? So okay. So let's talk a little bit about about queer folks since that is, primarily who I work with. I mean, of course, I work with all all people, who who are interested in relocating and have that sort of lives. But, primarily cities LGBTQ folks and their families. And I think we all sort of know gut instinct that New Zealand is a relatively friendly place for queer folks to to live.

Jess Drucker [00:26:09]:
Could you speak a little bit to what life world might be like for a queer expat? Perhaps you've had some clients relocate.

Bridget Romanes [00:26:15]:
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I'd start off by saying that, you know, I'm going to report my impressions for that community because I'm not a queer Right. Person myself, so Youll know. Right.

Jess Drucker [00:26:25]:
As an ally, please. Yes. Yes.

Bridget Romanes [00:26:29]:
Yeah. No. We have had both private clients and also corporate clients from the queer community. Mhmm. Some of them made a very conscious decision to New Zealand. Some Move been transferred, you know, by their work. And the to things I was thinking about this question before the session, the to things that consistently come up in our early conversations are safety and community. And that's the, you know, am I gonna be safe? Am I to find a community? You're right at a kind of a macro level.

Bridget Romanes [00:26:56]:
There's this perception that New Zealand is, you know, socially liberal and that, you know, it's gonna be better than some other countries. So there's they're they're in a positive frame of mind to start with, which is So around those 2 things, safety and community. Safety, again, what I've been told by our clients is that once they get here, they do feel safe in a way that they haven't felt before. That, of course, does does depend a bit on where you are in New Zealand. And I think that ties with community. Because one thing I've observed is people have been really successful where they have done research mainly online before they come to connect into the queer community in the areas that we're looking at. We can help them broadly with identifying, okay, you've got kids who like these cities. The city might suit you or the suburb, whatever.

Bridget Romanes [00:27:47]:
But connecting into those queer communities in those areas, not so much to get advice about, whether I should stay in this place or that place, but just to know that there's some safe people to come to. And that also brings me to another really interesting conundrum, which is that I have heard from Youll transgender community that sometimes the New Zealand transgender community is quite difficult to engage with because it's been they've had to be protective and they still have to be protective to a certain degree about who is admitted into that community, which was something that I hadn't thought of and didn't know about. And I'm not sure whether that's the same in other places in the world or not. So, yeah, I think I'd probably summarize by saying, you know, we can help with the sort of macro picture, but there's also a community engagement piece which I think is really important hands part of the, the feeling of security that our clients have managed to create for themselves.

Jess Drucker [00:28:43]:
Yeah. Yeah. And I I I do wanna say because you mentioned earlier, you know, don't as as far as, like, the visa and inspiration process is concerned, don't spend a lot of time researching online, which is true because there's a lot of bad advice. And call a lot of the advice is singular. It's like this one person with a YouTube channel had this experience, and it's life, well, not the experience that everyone is gonna have. Yeah. But when it comes to especially any any subculture. Right? So I I I always say, like, whatever.

Jess Drucker [00:29:08]:
Before you move, identify what all of your subcultures are, and that will help you find community when you go. Hands, obviously, being LGBTQ is life a major, subculture to be a part of. That's where researching online and connecting with communities is really important because you'll just Yeah. Just meeting locals. I mean, just Move you know, especially if you're moving, like, with the family or whatever, like, meeting other queer families, for example, would just make make it feel much more life home much faster.

Bridget Romanes [00:29:33]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

Jess Drucker [00:29:35]:
Like, generally speaking, same sex marriage, legal in New Zealand.

Bridget Romanes [00:29:40]:
Yeah. And, you know, Immersive families in schools. Mhmm. I mean, we and, you know, you you might find differences maybe in more rural areas, probably less common just because, you know, the populations are smaller. But, again, I think that community research prior to looking online and thinking, oh, that beautiful beach side community looks amazing. That's where I'm going to live. And then you need to do research to see whether your community, has presence in that area.

Jess Drucker [00:30:08]:
Yeah. That's absolutely right. I mean, I think that, like, all LGBTQ Youll sort of know or are aware of, like, urban versus rural almost anywhere. That's gonna be similar pretty much anywhere you go. Like, there's a

Bridget Romanes [00:30:19]:
difference in the sex sector. Another same sex couple hands they were going to travel around the country and do some sort of looking at different places before they cities down. And they mentioned one area they're going to to I know quite well because my husband comes to to area, which is sort of rural off in the Best Coast up to my mind, quite conservative. And I said to to, best, yeah, look hands go through there as a tourist. Just be a bit careful and a little bit kind of guarded when you're walking around. Anyway, they went off and did their research and found their community there, and they ended up staying in Airbnb run by a woman around the coast somewhere and just had a fabulous time. Mhmm. So, yeah, it's it's just a matter of Thing your way through.

Bridget Romanes [00:30:56]:
I mean, I think there are very, very few places in New Zealand where you might actually be in physical danger. You might follow, perhaps, unwelcome or a bit of a curiosity. Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:31:09]:
Yeah. Yeah. No. I mean, that that's really important. I think the especially in the US, I think it's happening in North America generally. But the political football of being LGBTQ, you know, that's that's something that I don't see happening in a lot of other countries, at least in terms of lives Europe, New Zealand. I think in Australia, perhaps in some places, I'm not sure. But yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:31:27]:
So I think, you know, that's what a lot of us are trying to get away from, especially sort of in the next year or 2. There's gonna be some elections where someone may or may not be reelected, and we might feel like we all need to leave. So yeah. So be be ready for more of us, I think, is what I'm saying. That call you more. Best. And also, I mean, honestly, just speaking about kids again, but, like, even if, you know, you you and your partner are are not a same sex couple, but you have, you know, LGBTQ kids, That's another deciding factor for for a few of my clients Youll currently.

Bridget Romanes [00:31:55]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And we have had some situations with I'm just trying struggling to think exactly what it was. But yes, that has been a factor in some families' decisions because I remember discussing with them. Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:32:08]:
Yeah. No. Totally. Okay. So let's talk a little bit about what the challenges are, whether you're queer or not queer, but, like, what what are some of the harder aspects of moving to New Zealand? I can I can certainly guess that being very, very far away from home may be something that you are attracted to, but being on an island in the ocean, sort of at the bottom of the map, does feel like that may pose some challenges? Is geography and distance one of the challenges that expats face?

Bridget Romanes [00:32:32]:
Yeah. It is. Because, you know, it takes at least 10 hours on a flight to get anywhere that's not Australia. That's how I see it. Okay. But, you know, it's more about a lot of these Thing, and you will know this, Jess, is it's all about mindset. So you're not gonna be able to go home and see your family and your friends every 2 months. So how do you build the structures that will enable you to maintain those relationships? Mhmm.

Bridget Romanes [00:32:57]:
Whether it's virtual or writing or, you know, storytelling or whatever you do to keep connected so that when you do go home, it cities a positive experience hands then you plan your trip home to make the best out of the relationships. So I think there's no getting away from the facts. And what immediately springs to mind when I say that is, you know, I think back to some of the unhappy expats I knew when I was overseas How spent a lot of time complaining about how far away it was from How. I mean, complaining, nothing is going to change that situation. So how do you work around that and make the goal that you have for coming to New Zealand the most important thing? And then how do you restructure your life so you can maintain the relationships, which the distance is a challenge.

Jess Drucker [00:33:38]:
Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I mean, we could I I bet life, we could talk about those unhappy expats all day because I was always bewildered by just how grumpy some of them could could actually be. Yeah. I mean, you're you're totally right. You went there for a reason. And so keeping that reason and those goals top of mind probably is what beats the.

Jess Drucker [00:33:57]:
And I can imagine you feel isolated or or something, you know, it's hard to build community at first. But keeping those goals in mind is is is what keeps you happy.

Bridget Romanes [00:34:05]:
Yeah. To and I think a couple of other things which I hear from most of our clients, but particularly from Americans is language. You know, we speak English. So, you know, it should be easy to come here, shouldn't it? English speaking country won't be a problem. It's so easy. One example I'll give you is the word bench. Okay. Mean to you when I say

Jess Drucker [00:34:27]:
like a bench, like that you sit on.

Bridget Romanes [00:34:29]:
Oh, very good. Because Oh, okay. It has to meanings. That's 1. The other one is the countertop.

Jess Drucker [00:34:36]:
Oh, yeah. No. No idea.

Bridget Romanes [00:34:38]:
So when you're in a cafe hands the barista says to you, oh, your, your your coffee will be on the bench over there Right. And you're looking around for a bench. So little there's there's a lot of little colloquialisms like that. There's also Teo Maori and the Maori language, which is the world of Maori and also the language which is integrated throughout our society. Your kids will come home speaking some Maori words, singing songs. They'll know their colors and their numbers and things are Maori. Wow. And as a parent, you won't know that.

Bridget Romanes [00:35:09]:
They'll have to teach you that. That's fine. So that's something that people world need to get their heads around. And then I think it was this whole topic of expectations around it being easy because it's English speaking and sort of similar to the US is is a huge myth. And it was summed up very well by an American client of mine who'd spent a day going around looking at, properties. And he said to me, you know, Bridget, on the surface, everything looks the same, but underneath the infrastructure is completely different. Mhmm. And what he meant was our housing market, the way you rent a house, the size of the market, the types of properties, everything about that is totally different to the US, the way a realtor operates.

Jess Drucker [00:35:49]:
Mhmm.

Bridget Romanes [00:35:50]:
So on the surface, yeah, I can see an apartment. I'll go and live in that apartment. But unpacking how to achieve that is a big job. So in some ways, people who come from English speaking countries can be at a disadvantage because they make assumptions about the ease of moving to New Zealand, which just aren't true.

Jess Drucker [00:36:08]:
And I Thing that goes back to mindset. Because if you know you're moving to a Spanish speaking country, you're moving open to learning because you know there's no other choice. Probably the most difficult expat experience I had was moving to England for the exact same reason. You know, I thought, well, they speak English there. This will be easier. I was getting a degree there. I thought I want that to be in English. Actually, that was the most difficult time I had because I didn't understand, like, 50% of what was being said to Move, even though I I I know these are words that are are in my language.

Jess Drucker [00:36:40]:
I didn't know what people meant. And if you're going there because of the English language, I I I think you would have to have in your mind actually, it's a foreign language. It is a totally different dialect.

Bridget Romanes [00:36:50]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:36:52]:
And people aren't and people aren't expecting you to not understand either. That's the thing. It's life everyone's a local, so they expect you to know what they're saying. They're not adjusting for you, you know, unless they're excited that there's, like, an American in the cafe hands they say, oh, it's the counter, you know, but that never really happens, you know.

Bridget Romanes [00:37:06]:
Because they don't think of it because they don't know that word counter. We don't use the word counter.

Jess Drucker [00:37:11]:
Right. Exactly. A count Youll, counter is a stupid word. It would mean somebody who counts anyway. Yeah. That's right. How.

Bridget Romanes [00:37:17]:
I was thinking exactly the same thing when you said that. Yeah. We have to learn to say that when we go to

Jess Drucker [00:37:22]:
the US. Exactly. Yeah. No. That that's right. And that that's really interesting about the language. Now I am hearing a little bit about Thing for for a very current conversation, but I am hearing that the housing market is very difficult right now in New Zealand. Is that true? And do you have any tips for that?

Bridget Romanes [00:37:38]:
Oh, absolutely. You know, the housing market has been difficult in New Zealand since we started mobile relocation 7 years ago. Okay. We have a house shortage and we have very high levels of inspiration. Most of whom can't purchase properties because they're not resident immediately to go into the rental market. And traditionally, in New Zealand, we're not a country of renters. So renting property until about 20 years ago, very few people did it. So our pool of rental properties is very call, and the quality of housing is very, very variable here.

Bridget Romanes [00:38:07]:
And you don't have a lot of corporate landlords. So these are all things part of that difference. Now, you know, I would say, of course, work with us and we will get Youll property. But broadly speaking, you need to expect that it is going to be hard and it is going to be hard for you as an expert because you're not a Youll. Because if you put yourself in a property manager's shoes, of course, they're going to take somebody who's got Of course. A reference maybe from the same property management company hands they know the company they work for, all these sorts of things. So a couple of tips that anyone can take on board whether you're working with us or not is don't expect to find a property before you arrive. That's one of the we were talking before about what you call do in adventure, what you can't.

Bridget Romanes [00:38:49]:
Just don't even waste time doing that because, again, the person who's gone to the viewing and seen the agent is far more likely to get it than the one who applies to offshore How nobody knows who you are. That's one thing. Secondly, be very careful about your expectations of what you're going to need to pay for a rental property. There's a lot of information online hands I'll also say on our website, we've got over a 100 articles about all aspects of moving to New Zealand living the housing market. So have a look there. And in there, you will find articles which link to the average cost of renting in different cities. Those averages are only averages. It depends hugely on what you want and where you want To be in the cities.

Bridget Romanes [00:39:29]:
So don't be mislead by looking at an average and saying expats what I'm gonna pay. You know, you need to either learn more when you get here or, you know, get advice on that. Yeah. Those Youll probably be the main To things people would need to think about hands being aware, of course, that your expectations in the US about property are not going to translate to New Zealand. For example, linguistic thing, we talk about a suburb. In the US, a suburb has a particular meaning. You know, it's Youll similar housing, decent distance out of the city. Yeah.

Bridget Romanes [00:40:01]:
Here, a suburb is more what we call a neighbourhood. I live in a suburb which is 15 minutes from the city. I live in a, like, a historic house with a garden hands I've got next to me some townhouses. You know, that's it's not the same thing. So you need to be educated as to to what to expect in New Zealand. And call, you may have to adjust your expectations. You know, one of the most difficult things for us is when a client comes in and says, this is my life How. I want the same.

Bridget Romanes [00:40:32]:
Mhmm. And blame usually doesn't exist. We need to figure out what are the key elements or why you're living like that hands then translate that into New Zealand housing.

Jess Drucker [00:40:41]:
Yeah. I think the only way that you can have almost exactly the same life is if you are ultra wealthy, and that translates to, like, living in the the heart of any major global city, then it then you can have almost exactly the same life. Otherwise, you'll have to get more local real quickly. And it's a it's a different life.

Bridget Romanes [00:40:59]:
World, indeed. Even for the high Move of our clients are hyper wealthy hands Youll know, they they live in New York say, you know, and in their bracket of the market at any one time there might be maybe a 100 or more apartments that they might look at. In New Zealand, there might be one. Right. Because the rental market hands that part of the property market is not that big. Right. There aren't that many departments of that quality anyway.

Jess Drucker [00:41:24]:
Right.

Bridget Romanes [00:41:24]:
Yeah. Different call. Scale is important. And the other sorry. The other thing I just quickly mentioned about about housing is housing and public schooling are really closely tied in New Zealand. So you need to almost do those two things together because you have to live in a school zone in order to go to a particular school.

Jess Drucker [00:41:39]:
Yeah. Yes. The school district game. Right? Finding yep. Totally. That's similar to here. I can tell you. Okay.

Jess Drucker [00:41:45]:
And so let's let me just go through a little bit of a timeline for someone who is just trying to figure out if this is right for them. But basically, like, when you apply for visas, are we talking about, like, year long wait times that you see people living, or is this something that can happen relatively quickly?

Bridget Romanes [00:42:01]:
I haven't seen many people waiting for a year. I mean, it's going to depend a little bit about how how complex the call is. So I world, if you're a year out, I think you need to get in touch with a visa adventure now and get them to give you an answer to that question for your particular suit circumstances. Mhmm.

Jess Drucker [00:42:17]:
So less than a year.

Bridget Romanes [00:42:18]:
That's what it is, but it's not that life.

Jess Drucker [00:42:20]:
Yeah. Yeah. No. Good. Okay. So, like, within so, you know, for the dreamers out there, within a year, you could be living in New Zealand, essentially.

Jess Drucker [00:42:27]:
Right?

Bridget Romanes [00:42:27]:
I mean All going well. Yes. Yeah.

Jess Drucker [00:42:29]:
Yeah. Okay. Okay. And then when it comes to where should when you say people obviously can't rent before they move, which is so obvious hands, you know, you have to really think about that. Who would rent to a foreigner they've never met? That just doesn't happen. What do people do when they first come then? How do they are they renting Airbnbs, staying in hotels? What's that first temporary housing look like?

Bridget Romanes [00:42:48]:
Yeah. That's that's a really good question. I'm gonna talk about out what we recommend for our clients and how we world with them. As we will we we do quite a bit with them pre arrival, all Thing preparation stuff. But one of the really key things is temporary accommodation because that can actually make or break your initial experience, you know, arriving and getting into this terrible hotel where it's very feels unsafe hands you can't get food for your kids hands, you know, cities you off into a negative frame of mind from the beginning because you're vulnerable. So what we do is work with people. We generally recommend Airbnb because it gives you the flexibility to try out a particular neighborhood that you might want to live in hands the quality and the options are much better than service department. Service department, since you're not that good.

Bridget Romanes [00:43:29]:
So we would typically get work with the the individual, the family, figure out some neighborhoods that might be suitable for them, get them to go away and find 3 or 4 Airbnb's, give them back to us for a bit of quality control, life, actually, that one's right next to the freeway or Mhmm. That one. Yeah. It went one client again found this mate. Oh, it's Thing. It'd be in big bridge. It really got to stay there. And I said, do you realize life it actually a red light To? Just, you know, down in front of you where you are? Because it was really reasonably priced.

Bridget Romanes [00:43:57]:
It looked great. Of course. Sure.

Jess Drucker [00:43:59]:
I can imagine. Kind of

Bridget Romanes [00:44:00]:
like kind of local knowledge there. Yeah. So, yeah, so a mixture of local knowledge hands Airbnb, I Thing, gets people off to a really good start when they first arrive. And I, you know, we recommend people when they're working with us, 2 weeks is usually sufficient in an Airbnb. And in fact, I don't life to stay longer because I think it's really unsettling. Youll kids can't start school when you're in an Airbnb because you don't have a permanent code hands and you're living, you know, out of suitcases. You don't know you can't start establishing Youll community because you don't know where your community is. So our emphasis is really working with people to get that rental property really Best, and we can usually get that sorted out within 2 weeks.

Bridget Romanes [00:44:35]:
It will take occasionally if there's a move in date that's a little bit later, you know, then then it might be a little bit longer. But it's it's definitely doable within 2 weeks if you have, if you're working with us.

Jess Drucker [00:44:45]:
And what about driving? So how long can you drive on your foreign license before you need to, like, take a test and apply? It's a

Bridget Romanes [00:44:51]:
slick question. Well, this is a real plus for New Zealand. If your life is written in English, which it will be from the US Yeah. You can drive for a year in New Zealand on that. Okay. And every time you leave New Zealand, that year starts again. So if you go on a little winter holiday to Fiji, when you come back To New Zealand, that year starts again.

Jess Drucker [00:45:09]:
What kind of a scam is that? That's lovely.

Bridget Romanes [00:45:11]:
Well, it's actually for tourists. I think it's it's really designed for tourists. Sure. But a huge benefit for expats. And transferring your license over is not such a big thing from the US. I'm Youll I don't there's a list of countries where you have to set some tests hands I actually can't remember if the US is on that list or not. But,

Jess Drucker [00:45:29]:
I think we we should be because we barely have to take a test. I mean, cities pretty bad. It's so easy. So

Bridget Romanes [00:45:36]:
yeah. But the good thing that I say to all our clients is cities just one less thing to worry about in the 1st week that you arrive. You know, you don't need to be concerned about that. That's something you can put on the 6 month list to review.

Jess Drucker [00:45:47]:
Yeah. Yeah. And it's something that you don't think about, but it does become a major problem. And, you know, I spoke with someone recently who had moved to To, and they had to take a a driving exam in Italian. There was no other option. And so imagine, you know, you you have to do that within I think it's 6 months or something like that. That's actually a huge impact on your life, especially if you decided to live more rurally. You've really got a challenge ahead of you now, something you didn't even consider.

Bridget Romanes [00:46:10]:
Yeah. Absolutely. That's a good point.

Jess Drucker [00:46:12]:
Yeah. Okay. Anyway, so so we're talking about, like, less than

Jess Drucker [00:46:15]:
a year, you could be living there. 2 weeks until you get a a a place

Jess Drucker [00:46:18]:
to live that's more permanent, especially for schooling, for families, etcetera. And you can drive on your own license. So, really, within a a short amount of time, that's that's sort of the timeline of how you can relocate to to New Zealand.

Bridget Romanes [00:46:30]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm talking Abroad, as I say, with our clients, might be a bit longer than yourself. And and the other thing I'd just highlight To is on our website. We've got a move to New Zealand checklist which has really comprehensively everything you need to think about hands it's deliberately not time bound because, it's more important to know what's ahead of you and start tackling Thing than to have some sort of arbitrary time frame because as I'm sure you world agree with me, Jess, relocation is nothing life not inherently unstable and unpredictable. So sometimes it faster, sometimes it will go slower, but you just need to make sure you've covered call everything that's on the list.

Jess Drucker [00:47:09]:
Yeah. No. Absolutely. I mean, I think the reason why I'm sticking with the timeline question there just a little bit is because one of the underestimated things about moving is the is is the, the the packing up of your life at home also takes a certain amount of time. And for example, sometimes the visa immigration, the paperwork will come through quicker. And now you're like, oh my god. We're leaving in 60 days. Like, we have to sell the house and pack and all that stuff.

Jess Drucker [00:47:31]:
So it's just it's it's important to sort of be clear on, like, how fast everything can go or or how slow it can it can go. Exactly. And so, Youll know, you were talking a little bit about the Maori culture hands, you know, a lot of people might not really factor that into the experience of moving to New Zealand. Yeah. But how how can people learn I know that your website I have downloaded your checklist. I think your website Thing that I watched? I I I chewed that up several years ago. But but realistically, what is some media that folks can consume to sort of start to understand the rich fabric of of culture in New Zealand?

Bridget Romanes [00:48:11]:
Yeah. Look, definitely go and have a look at our, articles on the website because there's links through to some ideas there for you. I wonder those. I've come in a couple of New Zealand really powerful New Zealand Move, and one of them is a book and a movie. So I recommend that it's called Whale Rider, and And it was directed by Nikki Call, who also directed Mulan. She's a New Zealand director, but she's become very well, very successful in the US as well. Mhmm. And it's a it's a it's a story written by an author called Cities Ihimaera who's a Maori author.

Bridget Romanes [00:48:42]:
And it's a sort of a traditional tale based on on the east coast of New Zealand about a whale. How hard to describe but anyway, read that. Okay. It may be slightly challenging read because it's written in a very mystic kind of way, but it really gives you a good window into Maori culture. But perhaps first watch the movie because it might be a bit more accessible. And then there's another movie called The Piano, which was made quite a while ago by another New Zealand female director call Jane Campion. And for me, that's a cities a colonial sort of colonial history and sort of interaction a little bit between Maori and Pakeha, How know, European New Zealanders. But scenery in that is just so much so New Zealand hands more so than Lord Lord of the Rings is pretending to be somewhere else, and it's beautiful.

Bridget Romanes [00:49:30]:
But we know it's New Zealand, whereas this is just the story of New Zealand hands New Zealand. Absolutely stunning. Yeah. Those I mean, those are a couple of examples, but there's a lot. Yeah. Flight of the concords, that will introduce you to New Zealand humor. If you find it baffling, then that's what you're gonna face. Prepare.

Bridget Romanes [00:49:46]:
No. That's good. Very dry, very understated. If you laugh out loud, then that's excellent. You're on your way into New Zealand culture because we Right. It's Youll. Right. Yeah.

Bridget Romanes [00:49:56]:
So that those would be a couple of tips.

Jess Drucker [00:49:58]:
Yeah. I think it's so helpful to do that. I mean, anyway, you know, even if you're just interested, but especially if you're gonna move, finding that local media that you can consume. And call, like, for your kids, finding kids' shows that are local so that they sort of also have a little bit of an understanding of what the kids might be watching there and and that sort of thing. I always find that to be good advice.

Bridget Romanes [00:50:15]:
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Jess Drucker [00:50:17]:
Okay. So now how can people find you, and and where can they get in touch with you? And at what point in their journey should they start actually working, with you?

Bridget Romanes [00:50:26]:
Okay. Right. Where can they find me LinkedIn, Bridget Romanes? Find me there. Connect with me and tell me that, you know, you've heard this podcast hands Jessica your connection because we love connections in New Zealand. And I go, oh, yeah, of course. Now I know who you are. Right. But What I've told you, I'm not going to tell you the same thing again.

Bridget Romanes [00:50:42]:
Our website www.mobile relocation.com. And Jess is going to send out the links for that. On there, that's actually the front page, we try to make it really user friendly, but it's got 3 boxes. Are you a returning Kiwi? Are you an employer? Or are you coming to New Zealand as an expats from somewhere else in the world? Probably the 3rd box is most what most people would go and look at, and it kinda lays out what we do there for you. In terms of when to get in touch with us, I really, really like to talk to people as soon as possible, even at the point where they're thinking about coming to New Zealand. I'm more than happy just to have a call because I think knowledge is power. And look, you know, I'd rather I'm very honest with people life they say to me, you know, oh here's a read. I forgot to mention this before.

Bridget Romanes [00:51:28]:
We don't actually have an Amazon fulfilment centre in New Zealand. The closest one is Australia. Mhmm. So if you exist on Amazon delivering everything you need immediately yeah. I I say Do clients, there is no real Amazon Prime in New Zealand. Some people, you know, that's a deal for you. I'm gonna tell you that hands you're gonna know and that's important. It's not Thing Abroad how to deal with that.

Bridget Romanes [00:51:50]:
So I would always be honest, and I'd rather that, you know, you chose a different country if New Zealand isn't going to be the right place for you. So to me, that really that conversation of the decision making point is is is really valuable. And from there on in, once you've decided you want to be part of New Zealand, you know, we can be the resource and the pathway for you. You know, introducing you to the immigration advisers, the tax advisers, doing the pre arrival support, helping you get an idea of which city you want to move through right through the whole process of, you know, finding you somewhere to live, sorting out your schools, the whole shebang. So to me, we're most valuable when we engage early on. And in fact, the way our pricing structure works is it doesn't make any difference, honestly, if you're Best sooner rather than later. Obviously, if you engage us at the last minute, then we can only do a limited amount of work for you.

Jess Drucker [00:52:41]:
Mhmm.

Bridget Romanes [00:52:42]:
But whether you come to us sort of 2 months beforehand or 12 months beforehand, that doesn't make any difference because we have to do the same amount of or the same things we have to go through, whether it's in 2 months or whether it's in 12 months with you helping you make all those decisions and do the preparation. The piece on the ground is is is pretty much the same.

Jess Drucker [00:53:00]:
Yeah. Yeah. And, honestly, you're probably fixing less mistakes if you're if they're coming at you from the beginning, which actually takes almost, like, less time, right? Because you're not shoehorning in issues at the end.

Bridget Romanes [00:53:10]:
Hands it's less stressful for Thing everybody. You know, I think preparation is just so important. Preparation and planning with local knowledge alongside you. What I what I think is really distressing for people is when they go and do a lot of research online and come up with invalid information or incorrect conclusions because they they haven't got a local means on it to say the things like, you know, that type of property you're looking for actually doesn't exist in New Zealand. What do you really need in a house is what the solution is. So Thing think that that pre arrival engagement is with this what we call it, pre arrival engagement is really, really valuable.

Jess Drucker [00:53:45]:
Yeah. Well and also, you know, I'll I'll end with this. I mean, we started with your amazingly interesting life, and I think you really should be work working on a book deal. I do. Just an opinion I have, but it is fascinating. But also working with someone who's or your whole team has relocated. You said that's really important. But Thing with people who who know the corners to look around when you don't, working with people who have relocated.

Jess Drucker [00:54:04]:
Working with a local is great, but working with locals who have been expats is even more important because there's just so many mistakes that locals can't help you with. They don't know they don't know a lot. You need people who have been expats to really help you through some of the more difficult aspects, I think, of of Absolutely. And and

Bridget Romanes [00:54:20]:
one thing that I just comment on is that often people world say, oh, I've got a friend or somebody at world. They're gonna help me. And what but what they don't necessarily realize is that person is only looking at through their lens. So their friend or their personal world will say, this is the Best school in Auckland.

Jess Drucker [00:54:37]:
Mhmm. You

Bridget Romanes [00:54:38]:
must in the suburb. And from their perspective, absolutely right. Their child is really happy there. They love that area, but they're not you. And sometimes when people only know 1 or 2 people in the country, if you're an expat, you know, they they sort of latch to that what is really advice. It's not objective. I mean, we are really being objective is our goal and our goal is to have our clients become as informed as a New Zealander about making these decisions. So Exactly.

Bridget Romanes [00:55:04]:
We're here just living them up with anything they need to know. And as you say, looking ahead hands round the corner so that then they can make an informed decision that's right for them. Not my opinion. It's right for them.

Jess Drucker [00:55:14]:
Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. We will include every link that we talked about world be in the show notes for this for this episode and also on the website. And I really thank you so much for taking the time to explain this for people today.

Bridget Romanes [00:55:26]:
Thank you, Jess. It's been absolute pleasure, you know, to be talking to an audience of queer folks who are interested in New Zealand. I mean, that makes my heart sing to think that they feel that it is going to be their place in the future. And, you know, we'd love to be part of that journey with with anybody who's interested.

Jess Drucker [00:55:43]:
Alright. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Adventure Calls podcast where we empower queer folks and their families to move, live, and thrive abroad. If you life what you heard, please head over to Apple Podcasts or anywhere you're listening to this show hands give us a follow so you catch our next episodes as well. If you really liked what you heard, then we'd love if you could take the time to leave a review or even share this with a friend. And if you want more queer content about moving abroad or your own international relocation strategy, head over to rainbowrelo.com. That's rainbowrel0.com, and you can join our free Facebook group, Queer Expats. That's all for now and until next life, I'm Jess Drucker pushing you to listen to your gut and follow your own personal call to adventure.