The Victors

We are doing two months in Auckland in Feb/March. we are renting a suburban house rather than staying in a downtown hotel. it is a trial run, no doubt about it.

we did the Melbourne trial run last year with him and it flopped. Melbourne is not for us, not as a family. it was a surprise given our joyful trips over the years, but we learned it is more of a DINK party town than a child town. at least that's what we experienced.

why Auckland/NZ, my wife was born in Wellington and raised in Melbourne so she is NZ/Australia dual. we have only done NZ for our son so far, but all three of USA/NZ/AUS allow multiple citizenship, don't have to renounce anywhere.

we did a short Auckland trip with him and it was incredible, total opposite family-first vibe. but we also recognized that we did it hotel style. so it's a very big trip/decision coming up.

my job is totally remote. American HQ is Seattle, APAC HQ is Singapore. new CEO is Singaporean. so as long as I am in good standing I think that move would be well received and not an obstacle, possibly even a bonus? TBD. not the highest priority but I quite like this job.

Wife works at Amazon which has an Auckland CBD office.

We are expecting to enjoy this trip, but if necessary, we are looking at Brisbane afterwards. We are not looking at Sydney as it's actually *more* expensive than California. I think Sydney might be the single most expensive city in the world.