Moving to New Zealand from USA Now What?????

A friend emigrated back in the mid 90s and related to me that he had to pay pretty stiff tariffs to take his gear into the country. New Zealand, like Australia, protects its domestic markets with import tariffs.

Would be nice to see our NZ friend Redkiwi chime in here...

Check before you move with customs. Most countries do not charge tariffs if your gear is part of a rivate household you move with.

If NZ is like the UK (which is likely as it's a former colony, and still has close ties, and very similar laws) then there is no import duty on personal posessions, regardless of value. You may have to sign something saying you will not sell your gear for 2 years.

External step down transformers are inexpensive, and according to a couple of manufacturers I spoke with, work just fine, causing no audible degradation, provided you get a suitable power rating.

If you end up deciding to stay in NZ permanently you can always have equipment modified later.

It's a beautiful place. If it were not for family ties to England and the US I'd move there in a hearbeat.

Thanks for all the advice!

I will be living in or around Auckland-at least at first. The plan is to pack up move, buy a car and drive all over the country. Figure out where we ant to live ect...

I Know that Mesa can convert the amp for me, However I just did not know how common audiophile equipment was in NZ.

I have another issue with DVDs.....Does anyone know if there is a universal player for all regions and NTSC-PAL????

Is new zealand on PAL?

Anyway thanks for the help. My wife and I feel like we are getting while the getting is good and are looking forward to pushing the reset button on life!!!

Now about the guitar gear....