# Canadian retiring in NZ



## kimo

My wife and I are mid 50's, and will be retiring soon, we are both Canadian, born and raised. We are looking at somewhere other than Canada to retire to, and since my uncle in Christchurch keeps saying, come here, thought I'd check into it, but from what I can find, we can't. We would not be working, would own our residence, either a house or condo, and be totally self sufficient. From what I could find, retiring is not on the list to qualify for a visa, am I right?. :hurt: Thanks


----------



## escapedtonz

kimo said:


> My wife and I are mid 50's, and will be retiring soon, we are both Canadian, born and raised. We are looking at somewhere other than Canada to retire to, and since my uncle in Christchurch keeps saying, come here, thought I'd check into it, but from what I can find, we can't. We would not be working, would own our residence, either a house or condo, and be totally self sufficient. From what I could find, retiring is not on the list to qualify for a visa, am I right?. :hurt: Thanks


You're right.
You need to have adult kids here as Residents for minimum 3 years, pots of money to invest and lots of time on your hands (as it takes years) if you want to retire here in your 50's.
You can retire here on your own merit from age 66 but again it'll be pots of money to invest and a long waiting list.


----------



## kimo

escapedtonz said:


> You're right.
> You need to have adult kids here as Residents for minimum 3 years, pots of money to invest and lots of time on your hands (as it takes years) if you want to retire here in your 50's.
> You can retire here on your own merit from age 66 but again it'll be pots of money to invest and a long waiting list.


Ya, pretty much what I had read, seems pretty archaic if you ask me, wasn't our first choice anyways, and by the time we are 66 we will have been settled somewhere like Mexico for many many many years. Guess our visit to NZ in 2008 will be our one and only time coming there, Sorry uncle and cousins, you'll have to visit us wherever we end up, too expensive to come back for just another visit. lane:


----------



## escapedtonz

kimo said:


> Ya, pretty much what I had read, seems pretty archaic if you ask me, wasn't our first choice anyways, and by the time we are 66 we will have been settled somewhere like Mexico for many many many years. Guess our visit to NZ in 2008 will be our one and only time coming there, Sorry uncle and cousins, you'll have to visit us wherever we end up, too expensive to come back for just another visit. lane:


Oh...How so ?

I wouldn't say archaic......more sensible - in my opinion of course!

Just for arguments sake, let's pretend there is a way that a person or couple could retire here from overseas and age wise in their mid 50's.

They pay a couple of thousand dollars for a retirement residency visa. They arrive here with a container full of stuff and buy a house, live the quiet life, have money in the bank etc etc.

What good are you to the country ?
What are you contributing ?
How is NZ a better, more affluent and more successful place with you in it ?

The answers to those questions are: 
Nothing, Nothing, It Isn't!

You wouldn't be working, you wouldn't be providing a skill, you wouldn't be providing a service, you wouldn't be paying tax or contributing to ACC.

You would be a burden on the NZ health system regardless if you had private medical insurance, especially in your later years.
You'd expect concessions wherever you went cos you're retired - i.e. public transport, parking, ticket for the rugby/cinema etc.
You'd be claiming compensation off ACC should you become injured etc by a third party or following an accident etc.

Still archaic, or sensible ?


----------



## kimo

escapedtonz said:


> Oh...How so ?
> 
> I wouldn't say archaic......more sensible - in my opinion of course!
> 
> Just for arguments sake, let's pretend there is a way that a person or couple could retire here from overseas and age wise in their mid 50's.
> 
> They pay a couple of thousand dollars for a retirement residency visa. They arrive here with a container full of stuff and buy a house, live the quiet life, have money in the bank etc etc.
> 
> What good are you to the country ?
> What are you contributing ?
> How is NZ a better, more affluent and more successful place with you in it ?
> 
> The answers to those questions are:
> Nothing, Nothing, It Isn't!
> 
> You wouldn't be working, you wouldn't be providing a skill, you wouldn't be providing a service, you wouldn't be paying tax or contributing to ACC.
> 
> You would be a burden on the NZ health system regardless if you had private medical insurance, especially in your later years.
> You'd expect concessions wherever you went cos you're retired - i.e. public transport, parking, ticket for the rugby/cinema etc.
> You'd be claiming compensation off ACC should you become injured etc by a third party or following an accident etc.
> 
> Still archaic, or sensible ?


Now I can see why Canadians say what they do about New Zealanders.


----------



## _shel

kimo said:


> Now I can see why Canadians say what they do about New Zealanders.


 You realise Canada doesn't offer a retirement visa and also places a heavy burden on older parents of citizens and PR holders who want to retire there for the very same reasons?


----------



## escapedtonz

kimo said:


> Now I can see why Canadians say what they do about New Zealanders.


.....and what do they say about New Zealanders ?

I have 3 Canadian colleagues here and they don't appear to have a saying for New Zealanders - confused ;-)

Not that it would bother me though since I'm not a kiwi. I'm just intrigued.


----------



## Liam(at)Large

kimo said:


> Now I can see why Canadians say what they do about New Zealanders.


Sorry, what do we say about New Zealanders?


----------



## anski

kimo said:


> My wife and I are mid 50's, and will be retiring soon, we are both Canadian, born and raised. We are looking at somewhere other than Canada to retire to, and since my uncle in Christchurch keeps saying, come here, thought I'd check into it, but from what I can find, we can't. We would not be working, would own our residence, either a house or condo, and be totally self sufficient. From what I could find, retiring is not on the list to qualify for a visa, am I right?. :hurt: Thanks


I know of others that have moved to NZ in their 50's with a required skill (one of them was employed in their professional category) but has now been retrenched & they are still here 18 months later living off their own resources.

Another couple bought a small business & sold it after satisfying requirements yo become citizens.

If you have your own capital & no doubt would be claiming a Canadian pension.

I came here aged 56 & worked here for 12 years paying taxes etc & yet I do not qualify for an New Zealand pension (I receive one from another country) so I do not feel I have burdened New Zealand by my presence here.
Dont be put off by other remarks but look into the possibilities if you are really interested in living in New Zealand.


----------



## kimo

Liam(at)Large said:


> Sorry, what do we say about New Zealanders?


If you don't know, I am not going to get into it, its along the same lines as the way the English stereotype Americans, or the western world stereotypes people from the middle east, or Canadians stereotype the First Nations people (natives, indians, aboriginal) in Canada. And some of the comments on here just proved that Kiwi's still have a certain way of thinking, which I did see for my self when we were there in 2008, and obviously its more widespread than what I thought it was from the people I met when there, and Kiwi's I have met when they came here were the same. Maybe it comes from being in an isolated part of the world, or from their heritage, I don't know. Either way, don't care, NZ wasn't even really on our list, was just a thought since we did have some family there. Bye Bye..:wave:


----------



## sharbuck

Either way , don't care ? Then this would not have been a good choice for you. Most of us feel lucky to be here I think.


----------



## ozbound12

kimo said:


> If you don't know, I am not going to get into it, its along the same lines as the way the English stereotype Americans, or the western world stereotypes people from the middle east, or Canadians stereotype the First Nations people (natives, indians, aboriginal) in Canada. And some of the comments on here just proved that Kiwi's still have a certain way of thinking, which I did see for my self when we were there in 2008, and obviously its more widespread than what I thought it was from the people I met when there, and Kiwi's I have met when they came here were the same. Maybe it comes from being in an isolated part of the world, or from their heritage, I don't know. Either way, don't care, NZ wasn't even really on our list, was just a thought since we did have some family there. Bye Bye..:wave:


Bitter much? NZ or any other country doesn't owe you anything just because you're Canadian. You seem to like overgeneralizations based on nationality - you should hear the things Americans say about Canadians...

Good luck finding a country to harbor you. With such an attitude, I'm sure you'll have no trouble whatsoever.


----------



## Kimbella

ozbound12 said:


> Bitter much? NZ or any other country doesn't owe you anything just because you're Canadian. You seem to like overgeneralizations based on nationality - you should hear the things Americans say about Canadians...
> 
> Good luck finding a country to harbor you. With such an attitude, I'm sure you'll have no trouble whatsoever.


What do we say about Canadians? (sincerely curious!). I've only ever heard Americans from the far north, and Alaska, even mention Canada/Canadians... the rest of the many people I've met had no opinion of them, except to say Canada looked pretty, and the comedians can be pretty funny ... My handful of friends from the far north have described their relationship with Canada/Canadians as a friendly rivalry... I always assumed because of the proximity.

I still find it odd when someone hears my accent, they ask if I'm Canadian, when I say, "no, close, though, USA, California," they *always* say something along the lines of, "thought so, but Canadians gets very upset at being mistaken for American, but Americans never seem to be bothered by being mistaken for a Canadian." I find that to be true: to me, the accent are generally close enough an honest mistake in either direction seems inevitable ... I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked if I'm from Canada, and can probably count on one hand the times I've been outright asked if I'm American. Funny to me, because I never realized that Canadians "hated" Americans *shrug* ... I never gave much thought about Canada when I lived in the US, maybe that's why they hate us?


----------



## ozbound12

Kimbella said:


> What do we say about Canadians? (sincerely curious!). I've only ever heard Americans from the far north, and Alaska, even mention Canada/Canadians... the rest of the many people I've met had no opinion of them, except to say Canada looked pretty, and the comedians can be pretty funny ... My handful of friends from the far north have described their relationship with Canada/Canadians as a friendly rivalry... I always assumed because of the proximity.
> 
> I still find it odd when someone hears my accent, they ask if I'm Canadian, when I say, "no, close, though, USA, California," they *always* say something along the lines of, "thought so, but Canadians gets very upset at being mistaken for American, but Americans never seem to be bothered by being mistaken for a Canadian." I find that to be true: to me, the accent are generally close enough an honest mistake in either direction seems inevitable ... I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked if I'm from Canada, and can probably count on one hand the times I've been outright asked if I'm American. Funny to me, because I never realized that Canadians "hated" Americans *shrug* ... I never gave much thought about Canada when I lived in the US, maybe that's why they hate us?


That's what I was getting at - the general American perception of Canada is either that it basically doesn't exist or is typically negative (charming/pretty but mind-numbingly boring and/or backward). Anyway, the OP seems to have a huge chip on their shoulder and revels in baseless overgeneralizations that border on bigotry (certainly his mention of aboriginals in Canada seems to indicate this). I don't think it's worth granting that sort of thinking any additional air time.


----------



## Liam(at)Large

Kimbella said:


> I never gave much thought about Canada when I lived in the US, maybe that's why they hate us?


Canadians hate Americans for the same reason the whole rest of the world hates Americans, but worse, because they're stuck right next to them... The above post only goes to highlight some of the reasons.

(True fact, many American backpackers abroad sew Canadian flags on their backpacks to pass themselves off as Canadian...)


----------



## Kimbella

Liam(at)Large said:


> Canadians hate Americans for the same reason the whole rest of the world hates Americans, but worse, because they're stuck right next to them... The above post only goes to highlight some of the reasons.
> 
> (True fact, many American backpackers abroad sew Canadian flags on their backpacks to pass themselves off as Canadian...)


That was unnecessarily rude. I never gave any thought to Canada, much as I'd never expect Canada to arbitrarily give any thought to the USA--aren't we all older than 12, and aware that our circle of influence is much smaller than our circle of concern--so we concentrate on what we can do within our means? Why would any nation give a crap if people of other nations "think" about them? 
For that matter, how much thought do you (or any of us) give to residents in the Cooks Islands and Niue, now that you're in NZ? And, they are fully free associate countries of NZ ... do you toss and turn in bed at night thinking about the plight of their people? Or, do you go about in your life, much like the rest of NZ (and the rest of the world)? 

The handful of times that Canada was a subject of conversation, it was never described as a backwater, or boring, etc., it was only spoken of in nice terms ... "I've heard (or have been and found Canada to be) lovely, cold, safe, (etc) ... It's a little mind boggling to me that adults would have such petty hang ups.


----------



## jawnbc

We don't know because either you travel in circles populated by dimwits or ignoramuses--we don't. 

Go for it then, move to Mexico: a third world country with dubious property rights and violent drug cartels. They're happy to take your money--and possibly your property--have fun. there. Cheap to live, life is cheap. You get what you pay for.

We won't miss you here.



kimo said:


> If you don't know, I am not going to get into it, its along the same lines as the way the English stereotype Americans, or the western world stereotypes people from the middle east, or Canadians stereotype the First Nations people (natives, indians, aboriginal) in Canada. And some of the comments on here just proved that Kiwi's still have a certain way of thinking, which I did see for my self when we were there in 2008, and obviously its more widespread than what I thought it was from the people I met when there, and Kiwi's I have met when they came here were the same. Maybe it comes from being in an isolated part of the world, or from their heritage, I don't know. Either way, don't care, NZ wasn't even really on our list, was just a thought since we did have some family there. Bye Bye..:wave:


----------



## jawnbc

Someone hears my accent..

"Oh where are you from in the States?"
"Where are you from in Australia?"

Pause
"Oh right, sorry. We love Canadians."

Lather, rinse, repeat. 



Kimbella said:


> I still find it odd when someone hears my accent, they ask if I'm Canadian, when I say, "no, close, though, USA, California," they *always* say something along the lines of, "thought so, but Canadians gets very upset at being mistaken for American, but Americans never seem to be bothered by being mistaken for a Canadian." I find that to be true: to me, the accent are generally close enough an honest mistake in either direction seems inevitable ... I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked if I'm from Canada, and can probably count on one hand the times I've been outright asked if I'm American. Funny to me, because I never realized that Canadians "hated" Americans *shrug* ... I never gave much thought about Canada when I lived in the US, maybe that's why they hate us?


----------



## mikesurf

jawnbc said:


> We don't know because either you travel in circles populated by dimwits or ignoramuses--we don't.
> 
> Go for it then, move to Mexico: a third world country with dubious property rights and violent drug cartels. They're happy to take your money--and possibly your property--have fun. there. Cheap to live, life is cheap. You get what you pay for.


Not quite true though, who in their right mind pays a million bucks for a large shed with a tin roof??
This only seems to happen in NZ at the moment.


----------



## Kimbella

You'll all forgive me, I hope, for not engaging in a "we're better than you" argument--I thought we were here to help and support each other--not take pot shots.

cheers


----------



## kiwigser

*Sympathy*



Kimbella said:


> You'll all forgive me, I hope, for not engaging in a "we're better than you" argument--I thought we were here to help and support each other--not take pot shots.
> 
> cheers



I have been off the forum for a while, and see things have degenerated again. A few act like spoilt children. I see Mikesurf have returned with his fair and balanced views, the guy that moved to France and probably regrets it as he cannot leave the NZ forum alone.

I think I'll go on another sabbatical, life's too short.


----------



## mikesurf

kiwigser said:


> I have been off the forum for a while, and see things have degenerated again. A few act like spoilt children. I see Mikesurf have returned with his fair and balanced views, the guy that moved to France and probably regrets it as he cannot leave the NZ forum alone.


You are absolutely right, what I miss most about NZ are the value for money houses, fantastic culture, glorious weather, no crime (you know you can leave your door unlocked when you go out as crime is so low), strong family values (just ignore the domestic violence stat's)
oh how I miss NZ.


----------



## kiwigser

*I agree*



mikesurf said:


> You are absolutely right, what I miss most about NZ are the value for money houses, fantastic culture, glorious weather, no crime (you know you can leave your door unlocked when you go out as crime is so low), strong family values (just ignore the domestic violence stat's)
> oh how I miss NZ.


We agree then. Do the French make you welcome, they are renowned for their outgoing nature towards immigrants, or do you pass your time on the forum?


----------



## mikesurf

kiwigser said:


> We agree then. Do the French make you welcome, they are renowned for their outgoing nature towards immigrants, or do you pass your time on the forum?


In fact yes the French have made us feel very welcome, we've made more friends here in 2 years than we did in 6 in NZ. Don't get me wrong France has plenty of problems, problems which I would never cry about because people criticise France for it, unlike people in NZ who can't stand to be criticised. Quite similar to critiicising someone for using a forum when you are posting on it yourself.

So basically I should not post unless the posts are all positive and rosey??? This was not our experience and I don't see anything wrong with posting our experiences. If you can't deal with negative posts that's your problem. The saying goes "I think thou doth protest too much"


----------



## inhamilton

mikesurf said:


> Not quite true though, who in their right mind pays a million bucks for a large shed with a tin roof??


Quite a few, as it happens. Auckland has so many people wanting to live there, they can't build these 'large sheds' quick enough.  Hence the high value housing. It's called supply and demand. If the houses were so crap, people would move, but they aren't.


----------



## suslik

inhamilton said:


> Quite a few, as it happens. Auckland has so many people wanting to live there, they can't build these 'large sheds' quick enough.  Hence the high value housing. It's called supply and demand. If the houses were so crap, people would move, but they aren't.


Mikesurf does complain a fair bit, but he does have a point: quality of housing, if compared to, say, Northern Europe, is substandard.


----------



## mikesurf

inhamilton said:


> Quite a few, as it happens. Auckland has so many people wanting to live there, they can't build these 'large sheds' quick enough.  Hence the high value housing. It's called supply and demand. If the houses were so crap, people would move, but they aren't.


If you are really telling me that the majority of houses in NZ are not crap then I think this is definately the point I stop posting, hooray I hear you say. One thing that I have learnt while posting and reading posts is just how blinkered people are when it comes to defending there move to NZ and brushing any negatives under the carpet. It took me about 4 years before I stopped defending the downsides and realised it was actually quite a nice place to visit but quite a **** place to live.

No more posts I promise


----------



## sharbuck

I agree that not everyone is perfect here in New Zealand. There is something left to be desired no matter where one lives. Instead of defending New Zealand I would say that we have been willing to overlook some things in order to gain in other areas. We came to New Zealand because it was right for us and we have never regretted our choice. Others may not have the same experience and that's okay. 

The key is doing research, assessing the reasons for your move. And hey if it doesn't work out, then you can move back home or elsewhere.


----------

