American Family 2 Years After Leaving the USA: Is New Zealand Home Now?

About this episode

Ben shares his family's journey of adapting to life in New Zealand two years after leaving the USA.

🇳🇿FREE 5-DAY LIFE in NZ VIDEO GUIDE HERE ➡️   www.nzahead.com/free  Today, we reconnect with Ben, an American dad who immigrated with his family from Missouri, USA, to Auckland, New Zealand, two years ago. When we last spoke, Ben was in the thick of the transition. Now, the dust has settled. His daughter is thriving in school. His wife, Kira, is loving her job as a nurse. They bought a house, made friends, and started building a life. But then came the trip back to the States. Today, Ben opens up about what it felt like to return to the country he once called home, only to realise that "home" now means something completely different. We also dive into: What life in Auckland, New Zealand  really  looks like after the honeymoon period The surprising challenges of buying a house in New Zealand How Ben and Kira saved aggressively to make the move work Why work-life balance in NZ has been a game-changer for their family The beautiful (and sometimes uncomfortable) process of immersing in Māori culture And Ben's simple, powerful advice: "A goal without a plan is just a wish."   Links & Resources: Join our free NZ Ahead community on Slack by taking the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Liz Deacle, Brian Deacle

Guest: Ben

Topics covered

• immigration
• family life
• cultural adjustment
• work-life balance
• real estate
• Māori culture

Keywords

• American family
• New Zealand life
• Auckland
• cultural immersion
• buying a house
• work-life balance
• Māori culture
• immigration experience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NZ Ahead

Places: USA, New Zealand, Auckland, Missouri

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