I'm 22 and I just finished school in December. I have a BA in English with minors in Anthropology and IT. In 3 weeks, I'm moving to New Zealand from the US to live with my fiance. I'm really excited and happy to finally move (been with him for 3.5 years). But I'm nervous too. He lives in a small town and I feel like maybe my nice shiny new degree is worthless in a small town like that. I don't feel like I wasted the past 4.5 years getting it, but it doesn't feel right somehow. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and will be able to use my degrees in a a job there somehow. I think part of this is a general pressure that exists to get a degree based on the job you want. I've always firmly believed in getting the degree you enjoy the classes for and the career will follow. Now that I'm pushed up against that wall though it seems daunting Generally, I'm trying to keep very open minded about everything and not make "in 5 years I will be ___" type plans. My plan right now consists of: Move to NZ, try not to stress out, get married in July, apply for Residency. Then we'll see what happens. But I'm a perpetual worrier.
Heh, didn't expect a follow up :P I kind of dropped off the face of hubski for a few months but I'm getting back into it again lately. Things are good. I don't have a job (yet), but like I said in the above post I'm trying not to stress out about that too much and I think it will be easier once I have residency rather than the visa I have now which only lets me take contract/temp jobs. My fiance makes enough for us and we just bought a house about a month ago - very exciting to finally live in a house again after so many years of apartment living. I've been spending my time looking after the house, taking care of our cat, and learning new things like how to make and edit videos on my computer.
Good luck. We have one resident Kiwi on Hubski, as far as I know. His username is briandmyers. He has written about the process of getting residency there in the past. You should contact him; could be a helpful resource. He always seems like a friendly sort.
Ask away! But it has been a long time since I got residency (1998). Look me up when you arrive and I'll buy you a coffee. My mobile number (NZ) is 021 170 7071.
I live in Auckland, quite a ways from Gisborne. No worries mate.