I'm on my way

I figured that I would give y'all a heads up. I'm planning on moving to New Zealand with my family. We are currently living in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In short we want more for our family and plan to come and help and fit in and help and work for the greater good. My wife runs a fairly large school and I am a fish biologist.
I have hunted for 20 years and I am self taught and have never paid a dime/penny/anything for a guide, lease, animal or rights to hunt on a piece of property. I have harvested maybe 35 or so animals, many bull elk (American Wapiti) (some big) many mule deer (some medium, one big), whitetail and several bears. I am not bragging I am just giving you a background. IN FACT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS ABSOLUTLEY TURNED ME OFF TO THE NEW AMERICAN HUNTING REVOLUTION IS THE BRAGGING. Social media has turned things into puffing up your chest as being the biggest and the best and much of it is fake as people do/pay whatever it takes to continue their fame. I DO NOT have any of those social media accounts and I am not a trophy hunter by any means. In NZ I would be hoping to harvest game for food only...we/I are looking for a simple life of happiness and togetherness and hunting and fishing to put food on the table.
As I said I have been a fish biologist for 17 years, salmonid based and mostly field work and hands on projects as opposed to working behind a desk. I live near one of our larger rivers, the Columbia, and fish a couple of tournaments a year with 40 or so boats participating. I really do like to fish and hunt for many many reasons but probably most importantly because it is an escape from everything...spending 5 hours out on the river playing captain in my boat and fishing my butt off or spending a few nights camping on a mountain.
I hope to learn your ways and ask for your help and help where I can. Here is a youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o0scwLCL3M&t=14s that I posted because a guy's disabled son had a license for the same area last year and I wanted to get him excited about it. It is NOT on a ranch I just titled it that so people wouldn't take notice. Please feel free to help me (I could use all the advice I can get) or tell me that you don't want me there :)

Nice introduction. It sounds like you are exactly the sort of person we do want in our little country. Unfortunately, it is already full:)
Joking aside, welcome to the forum and I hope your plans go well.

Welcome aboard man. And good luck with the move.

Welcome, if you want to work with Salmon then possibly Marlborough sounds is the place for you with lots of salmon farms. Another place could be Cawthron institute in Nelson.

welcome ........if your planning the big move research research to find the best place to offer the work/leisure balance you are looking for . yours and your partners skillset should be welcomed here income round the country is catching up with the big cities (in some places it already has)

Sounds like you are moving to the right country.
Welcome

Hello @Joe Schmo great intro, go South Island not North we have actual mountains and the best rivers!

Welcome mate. Just moved here myself

Welcome to the forum and NZ in due course. You may suffer a little culture shock when you arrive, not least because deer are officially classified as pests and there is a very inconsistent approach to salmonids. All introduced species, officially game fish, even stocked in places, but going against the tide of "green" politics which has unfortunately swept over the country, so we may seen some changes if voters don't regain some sense.

Welcome & in due course, welcome to NZ.

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Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Howdy.
Just be warned, our country is deteriorating. If I didn't have family and commitments here I would quite happily swap countries with you. But it is what it is.
And when you get here, you need to hunt down a beer called "Waikato". Brown bottle, green and yellow label. Don't let anyone try to talk you in to drinking any of those other sissy "beers".

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Lion Brown!

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Originally Posted by thatguy

Lion Brown!

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maybe the starting point on the graduated learning curve........

Gday mate :thumbsup:

Hi! Our native ecology is Non-Salmonidae so not quite the same however heaps of work for freshwater ecologists. You can't get into the country at the moment unless a citizen or resident. Also be aware New Zealand is an expensive place to live with relatively low salary.

[QUOTE=Howdy.
Just be warned, our country is deteriorating. If I didn't have family and commitments here I would quite happily swap countries with you. But it is what it is.
And when you get here, you need to hunt down a beer called "Waikato". Brown bottle, green and yellow label. Don't let anyone try to talk you in to drinking any of those other sissy "beers".[/QUOTE]

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Originally Posted by thatguy

Lion Brown!

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Please stop trying to poison this man!

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Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

Hi! Our native ecology is Non-Salmonidae so not quite the same however heaps of work for freshwater ecologists. You can't get into the country at the moment unless a citizen or resident. Also be aware New Zealand is an expensive place to live with relatively low salary.

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You forgot to mention being a DJ or a favourite singer of our PM

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Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

Please stop trying to poison this man!

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Bet a lot of folks would love the taste when blindfolded. Marketing hype [emoji51]

hey waikato though awful is better than DB draught!
but hell NZ is going to the pack faster than a slow antelope during a wolf population explosion

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Originally Posted by Pengy

You forgot to mention being a DJ or a favourite singer of our PM

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or holidaying billionaires, children play characters etc but not split families :(

Welcome to the forum @Joe Schmo.

Thank you all for the kind words and welcomes. This will be a multi year deal but we are focused and have money saved to make the change if we decide to do so. I'd rather not talk politics but I'd strongly argue with whoever said that YOUR country is going to hell and they'd swap places with me!!
But here...why do we want to come there? Because no one here is gettin out alive...and I want more for my wife and daughters.
This is the greatest hunting picture/experience that I've ever had and likely will ever have....it was just the two of us eating candy and then this dude came along.
Attachment 187316

Staying out of politics is a good idea. Stick to hunting and shooting:)

There are No Deer in the South Island.

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Originally Posted by thatguy

Bet a lot of folks would love the taste when blindfolded. Marketing hype [emoji51]

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There's an element of truth to that, ingredients are probably all Waikato cow piss water, sugar, some burnt grain and battery acid for flavor..

Oh btw, beer and rifle calibers (especially .270) are also just as controversial.

I don't drink and everyone knows there are no deer in places where people hunt a lot and first and foremost EVERYONE knows that the .270 is for sissies that can't handle a real gun....I kid I kid. That's one of the things I find super silly nowadays is the need not even to buy the latest and greatest gun but the latest and greatest caliber...like the 6.49 ABC or whatever. I think a well placed bullet on a animal from a .223-.375 will kill the crap out of it. Granted for your wapiti might want a .270 and up :)
We are SUPER stoked to check out the South Island...hopefully 2 weeks next December.

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Originally Posted by jakewire

There are No Deer in the South Island.

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That is a myth. They are only on the far end of Farewell Spit. Oh and welcome aboard Joe.

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Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

We are SUPER stoked to check out the South Island...hopefully 2 weeks next December.

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well come prepared for the weather......it will most likely be hot and dry with strong hot winds..........or really wet and flooded.........with a chance of a southerly blast from antarctica bringing snow flurrys or blizzards........

Only men drink Speights beer,head south.

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Originally Posted by Trout

Only men drink Speights beer,head south.

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My sister drinks it too.. I knew it!

Welcome, Northland has a place called "NIWA" lots of fishy research going on there, and a high population of beer connesurs, most highly rated beer is lion red.

There are good buggers everywhere in NZ, you can't miss

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Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

I don't drink and everyone knows there are no deer in places where people hunt a lot and first and foremost EVERYONE knows that the .270 is for sissies that can't handle a real gun....I kid I kid. That's one of the things I find super silly nowadays is the need not even to buy the latest and greatest gun but the latest and greatest caliber...like the 6.49 ABC or whatever. I think a well placed bullet on a animal from a .223-.375 will kill the crap out of it. Granted for your wapiti might want a .270 and up :)
We are SUPER stoked to check out the South Island...hopefully 2 weeks next December.

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Welcome mate, but be warned you appear to be making sense which is not always permissable in our culture!

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Originally Posted by scotty

well come prepared for the weather......it will most likely be hot and dry with strong hot winds..........or really wet and flooded.........with a chance of a southerly blast from antarctica bringing snow flurrys or blizzards........

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All in one day as well.

Welcome Joe

Welcome Joe,we helped 2 families from South Africa we worked with shift out ,IMO you need to be contacting prospective employers & sussing out what additional training you can both take on to make your applications/enquiries for employment from ho hum, to how soon can you get here. Good Luck & good on you for having a crack :thumbsup:

Ok. I gave you all well over a year to prepare…13 hour warning boys!!!

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Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

Ok. I gave you all well over a year to prepare…13 hour warning boys!!!

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Will you be ready to go floundering 48 hours from Now? we are ready to go and waiting for ya.

Better take him to a car dealer first?

Oh Joe not this week! All of the days this week have a “D” in them so New Zealand will be closed to inbound flights. Ha ha ha ha

hope you packed some warm jackets.....

If it wasn't for the winter, I'd be living in NZ as well
South Island mate, u wanna live in south island. Slow down , go fly fishing the rivers . Best place in the world to holiday, high cost of living and relative low pay compared to their northern cousins in oz
However , the possible lifestyle if u into hunting and fresh water fishing...
Their salt water fishing is fairly average...

;p

oh dear...thems fighting words right there....