Hey Propfails,

Koru will give you some good answers. He is the man!!!! With his help I have a "Meet and Greet" set up for next month.
In my experience Kiwis are a very accepting group. Especially if you act liked you mentioned, respectful and willing to adapt. Koru will give you more detail about his experience there. In short he really enjoys the folks he works with.

As far as pay goes... 1st year pay is 70K NZ which at todays rate equals approx 51K US. You are right the cost of living is much higher in and around Auckland but the further you get away the better it is. My plan should I be lucky enough to get hired is to live on the South Island near my wifes family and commute. Cost of living is much more reasonable down there compared to Auckland area.

Cheers,
JD

BTW...Saw you are a Navy guy...I used to fly in VT-31 and was on the CNATRA staff for awhile. Best tour this AF guy had!!