About living and working in nz

also, what is the average cost of a plane ticket from the states? and (sorry, this is alot of questions) when it is winter down there, when all the ski hills are open and everything, are there still parts of the country with milder climates, where you could get away from the cold for a while? much obliged.

1.It will probably be better to organise work beforehand, the positions fill out quick.
2.Its pretty much just find your own accommodation sort of thing, I'm pretty sure.
3.Cost of living is pretty expensive in the Wanaka and Queensown etc., but not too bad. You most likely won't save up much money, but you should make enough to get by without many problems.
4. I would suggest Treble Cone, awesome backcountry and freeriding terrain, and they usually get an alright park going, but then I think you also get sweet discounts on Cardrona, which has a pretty good park, and theres Snowpark NZ across from there, arguably one of the best parks in the world.
5. Not too sure about plane ticket prices, just look around heaps and there's bound to be a better deal. If you've started organising things with one travel company, and you find a better deal, tell them and they will most likely try to beat it.
6.South Island stays fairly cold during the winter, but its not the same cold as you're used to, a cold day for us is $ degrees celsius. But places like Christchurch are a bit warmer and not too far away from Wanaka or the South Island.

4 degrees celsius, sorry. hope i've helped

awesome! thanks for the ideas. when exactly does ski season start in nz. which place usually opens first?

I agree that Christchurch isn't too far away from the south island :-p

the season usually starts middle june/early july, running through to september.

Remarkables also has some good freeride terrain but treble is probably bigger

hahahahahaha good call. whoops. i think i meant Queenstown... maybe...

so, like, here in the states, when it is winter, there are still some areas, mostly the south, or the coasts, that are still pretty much summery. would i be able to get away to some nice beach weather during ski season? cuz i want to travel around the country when i'm there, not just work.

I'm working at the Remarkables and living in Queenstown at the moment and it is pretty wicked. I would definitely try and sort a job out before you get here, it can be tough once you are here as there are loads of people looking. Housing is hard to sort out before you get here, there is no employee housing, people generally just rent houses in town, some people I know are just living in backpackers hostels as accomodation is scarce at the start of season. Basically you have to get here a bit early and try hard, if you work at it you will generally get a decent place, if you are lazy about it, you will stay in the backpackers!
Cost of living is ok depending on how much you want to drink and which job you have, I am not saving any money but I go out a fair amount. I think lifties/ guest services/ rentals get paid a bit less than me (instructor).
As for the hill, Remarks is actually really good (for NZ anyway), freeride terrain isn't quite up to TCs standard, and park isn't as good as snowpark, but it does have both! If you work for the hill you get a pass for Mt Hutt, Coronet and Ohau and 50% discount for everywhere else.

fly over to queensland for the weekend.
thats about the closest summery weather your going to get in new zealand winter.

awesome. lovin all the tips. ^^so how early before the start of the season should i try to show up? like a month? a couple weeks? is queenstown a pretty happening place? do you know what the vertical is at some of these areas? thanks all!

I am considering going to college in Christchurch next year because my university has a direct exchange program.  How is the skiing around that area and how would living in Christchurch be?

well pretty much the only reason for going to chch for uni is to do engineering. mt hutt and club fields are pretty close though

How far away is it from snowpark or other sick places?

maybe about 5 hours to wanaka from christchurch I think?
its about 3 from dunedin.. if your university does exchanges with otago university then come to otago

About Chr, i lived there last year, and went to Uni. I am an Art student, so being an engineer doesn't really matter. Mt. Hutt is a nice place to have close by and there is a chill scene there. I went to Wanaka on my weekends and stayed with friends who worked at Cardies. the Cadrona park is bigger than snowparks (more features) but snow Park has the scene, which makes it as famous as it is, an dwhy everyone just goes there. Otago is another good Uni, but they are 3 1/2 hours form queens/Wanaka, and Chr is only 4. For those who want to work, get a job here in the next few months, it is a hard place to get employment, expecially for a ski field, and sometimes they require you to have a reference, cause they recieve so many applications. Good luck with everything.