i live in the north Island (also known as the 'winterless north' cos it doesnt snow where I am)
If I want snow need to go further south. Ive not been skiing but I have snowboarded. There are two main skifields one is on a volcano in the middle of the north Island and the other is in the South Island on the southern alps in a tourist town called Queenstown
Surfing there are many surf beaches on the west coast, the most famous being Piha which is not far from. where I am. But I am definitely not a surfie... haha
If you wanted to live somewhere that had a mountain to ski on AND surf beaches then Taranaki would be the place but youd be far way from everything else. And race relations are not the greatsest there ( small towns, small minds)
it amazes me that people think they can just up sticks and move to a new country and not really care about their family and friends left behind but people do it often without blinking and expect the host country to cater to them when in all likelihood there will be little land supply left to build a flash new house for you and you will have to learn new customs not expect everyone to cater to you, it will be a lot of hard work, and even if you bring a billion dollars into the country just cos you can, doesnt mean people will accept you. (one money launderer did that and built his own compound, apparently nz is host to rich criminals now) but if you want to pick apples, teach, or work in restaurants for low pay you can.
You have snowboarded?!?! That's really cool. Your are not a pro are you? If you are, can I have your autograph? lol You are very lucky to live in such a beautiful place! I ran into a couple New Zealanders in Hawaii, they were very friendly.
You probably don't surf, because you don't want to show off. I understand.
I have no plans of going to New Zealand, but did in the past. It wasn't just New Zealand, I looked at many different countries. Recently, I was looking at Armenia. They have the highest Christian population per capita and they don't speak English. So, it will be pretty difficult to get in an argument. lol Probably not moving to Armenia anytime soon, but don't see anything wrong with keeping your options open. I recently moved to Canada and feel like it was a good move so far, but it does take awhile to get used to living in a new country.
It shouldn't amaze you at all, that people pack up, and split to find a better life. This is normal. America is filled with people from many different countries, as well as New Zealand I'm sure. I believe Rome was a mecca for people from different countries back in the day, and the land prospered.
Picking apples doesn't sound like an occupation I would be interested in, but I'm good at eating apples. Do they have any jobs for people who eat apples? lol