From Chile to New Zealand

Why you chose NZ

We chose New Zealand looking for a quieter and safer place to raise our then 4-yr old son Rafael, connect with nature and enjoy a more balanced lifestyle. We also wanted to gain international experience in our careers.

Most challenging part

Start over again in our lives. We left behind our personal and professional network, family and friends. In New Zealand, we had to start from scratch and this has been quite challenging for us as a family, specially the first 6 months or so. We felt overwhelmed sometimes, and often having thoughts whether if it was a good decision to make this change.

Easiest part

The onboarding process to my new job was quite smooth since the very moment I received the job offer back in Chile. They took care of every detail regarding the relocation, and even one of my Latin American colleagues was with his wife waiting for us at the Wellington airport and helped us with the first hours around our new city.

First impressions of NZ

People in NZ are very friendly and very aware of their community and environment. The natural environment is quite unique, you can find rivers and mountains everywhere you go.

18 months in

With the support of my company, 10 months after arriving in NZ we were already residents under the skilled migrant scheme, and this has been a boost to us as a family as we were able to access a wider range of options to achieve our goals. We also joined a catholic community in Lower Hutt where we have met other Latin American families in similar situations as ours, and this has helped us to expand our social network.

What you’re enjoying

Travelling and experience the outdoors and the uncrowded places. We’ve travelled a lot around the region and within the North Island as well avoiding the larger cities. I’ve been in the South Island for work, and we appreciate to be part of this impressive natural environment.

Any surprises

One of my first field trips was to Nelson, 2 months after arriving in NZ. When I got in the plane, I noticed in one of the front seats two little girls were travelling alone with some identification tags. I shared these with the Company manager and he explained me that during the school holidays is usual to see kids travelling alone to visit family. I think this reflects the whole NZ community-focused lifestyle. Now for me it’s natural to see 5 or 6 yr old kids walk to and from school everyday by themselves.

The part Peak played

Since we first got in touch, they checked my background and arrange a call with Lisa by the end of August 2022. I felt very confident sharing my profile with her, explaining what I was looking for and my special interest for Dams and Hydropower. It was a relaxed but very professional conversation. After discussing some of the current available options, she was able to match my experience with a different company specialized in the Dam Safety sector, and after some interviews I finally got a generous job offer with relocation coverage. Her ability to do this match was very valuable.

Afterwards, Peak team kept in touch through Vivienne, giving us useful advice regarding the immigration process, the first steps to settle in NZ and always open to help during the transition so they really connected with me and my family, for which we are grateful.



Advice to others considering NZ

If your skillset is aligned with NZ needs and enjoy a well-balanced lifestyle with a supportive environment, I’d encourage you to explore the opportunities that this beautiful country has to offer, the transition might be challenging but is part of a larger process. And don’t think only in the major cities, there are plenty of regional cities that are also very attractive for the engineering market.