"For one minute walk outside, stand there in silence, look up at the sky, and contemplate how amazing life is." - John Muir
My name is Amanda "Dea" Dauphinee and I am a Physiotherapist. I came to NZ in July 2021 from San Francisco, California, USA. The process to come to NZ took me 12 months and the easiest part of the process was getting a job. The most challenging part of the process was registration with physio board; packing up life and tying loose ends in the US, waiting for shipment to arrive in NZ, resetting up life in NZ.
Upon visiting in 2005 and 2009 my first impressions of New Zealand were amazing nature and adventure opportunities; upon moving here in 2021, my first impressions were that people are incredibly helpful, supportive, and friendly. I think the best parts of NZ are the NATURE!!, accessibility of other NZ locations, (eventually, closeness of Australia and South Pacific nations). What I specifically like about NZ is that many people can relate to travelling and that natural beauty is very nearby. I plan to visit the national parks, "Great" and great walks, mountains, ocean, everywhere in between; Australia; Pacific Islands; Southeast Asia; Singapore. What I miss the most is my friends & family, easiness of routine and knowing how things work, Mexican food and cultural diversity.
My advice if you are planning to come to NZ is to remember why you moved to NZ, do those things even if life isn't quite set up; understand that it takes 6 months or more to start to feel easier; have good strategies for communicating with friends/family at home (if that's important to you); rely on the kindness of others and say "yes" to invitations and activities. I like the ocean and hills nearby my area that I live in, also the good food, botanic gardens, coffee shops, bike lanes, easy to access nature and the International airport. Working full time doesn't seem all that different here to working full time in U.S., and lesser pay with higher costs of living makes it difficult to not work full time.
The major difference between my current role in NZ and my previous role in the USA is that the healthcare system is different and takes time to learn; in the US we don't do much acute injury care, and there is a lot of acute injury care in NZ due to ACC. People's bodies are pretty much the same everywhere - a shoulder is a shoulder, a back is a back. Acute injury care is done differently in NZ.
The team at Accent has been incredible - through the job search process, to visa decisions, to treat drop offs in MIQ, to support finding a place to live upon arrival. They've even sent text and email messages to check in on how we are settling in. So grateful to have found this group to support our relocation journey.
