Why New Zealand?

And why now? Three key factors answer the question. 

First, we knew California. We loved living there. Standout elements were our community of friends, the outdoors, the weather, and the aggregation of knowledge plus the ‘can do’ mindset pervading Silicon Valley. California was a wonderful home to us. It wasn't going away. And we feel there is much more to experience. 

Second, we weren’t immune to the intensity of living on the razor’s edge of a fast-paced, high performance culture. We found it easy to add work and intensity, and difficult to subtract. Our ambition and preparation for living in New Zealand is to have more control on our ability to dial work up and down.

Third is adventure. Lisa and I have scouted living in NZ and Australia since college. Our interests in this have been: 

  • a personal adventure in a beautiful part of the world.
  • international experience for our kids.
  • exciting outdoor experiences that connect all of us to the natural world.
  • living where work/life balance is a cultural value. 
  • living in a culture that promotes diversity, equality, and deep respect for nature.
  • developed infrastructure (e.g. reliable roads, medical care, modern creature comforts).
  • favorable agricultural conditions. 
  • our ability to have meaningful work impact. 
  • and specific to Lisa, NZ and Australia offer 1-to-1 work transitions for physicians. So, she can largely pick up where she left off in the US.
NZ seems to offer all of this and more. So, we've jumped at the adventure. That’s our why in a nutshell. 


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