Ok, that sounds worse than it is. Scotland is lovely but being from California and having lived in Sweden and Scotland I am looking for a little more sunshine. Currently it's snowing here in Scotland, which I like, what I don't like are the endless days of gray dricht (scottish for horrible, drizzling, and cold) weather. My wife is Russian so Australia is too hot for her. I know this because my Dad lives in Arizona and when we visited I literally saw my lovely wife melt, a puddle, just a spot on the floor. She went to the pool and we never got her out of it. So I think New Zealand is a nice compromise. I've had friends and colleagues visit there and they loved it.
I am a university lecturer in biology and my wife has degrees as a preschool teacher and also in teaching and translating English. What are our chances of finding employment in NZ.
Cheers,
Mike
Looking for a way out of Scotland
Welcome on Expat-blog Mike! 
You can have a look at the Work in New Zealand guide.
Hope this helps
Good luck
Christine
Thanks Christine, I'll take a look.
I would also love to know other people's opinions about living and working in New Zealand.
What are the day care centres like? My wife has a degree in early childhood education.
Where would you choose to live?
Is it easy to make friends? I know that's hard to answer, but we are fairly outgoign and like outdoor activities. We love bike riding, the beach, hiking. My son (10 yrs old) is a very good football (soccer) player, well at least in his Dad's mind.
My wife is also an artist, are there any good art communities in New Zealand? I'm sure there are, what I mean to ask is where are the art communities in New Zealand?
Cheers,
Mike
Mike - I feel your pain. We are a South African family living just outside of Glasgow and can't wait to get out of Scotland either.
Coming from Cape Town - we've realised that we need more sun as well. I'm just hoping that Auckland isn't too cold.
HI Mike - I've been in Christchurch for 6 mothhs - If you like the outdoors you will LOVE NZ!!! There's so much to do and it's a fantastic place to bring up children.
It's not home quite yet, miss some friends and family but my immidiate family is here with me. The culture is very similar to the UK in many respects. The NZ immigration site will be a good place to find out if your skills woudl entitle one of you to gain skilled migrant status (who can then sponsor the other).
I'm confident neither of you would struggle to find work providng you satify immigration requirments.
Hi Mike. If it's sunshine and a great outdoors lifestyle you're looking for I'd say look at Australia. Not all of it is hot enough to turn wives into puddles 
and it sure beats watching her turn into an ice pole in winter!
Hi Mike
My husband and I are both mature health professionals from Scotland and have been here for almost 2 yrs in North Island.
As a lecturer in a specific subject, I have no idea how easy it would be for you to find work, simply because there are a lot less universities here so a lot less openings. (but check out the Seek website). Your wife on the other hand would have no trouble anywhere. And there seems to be an art population in about every place I have visited (done most of NZ now) Christchurch seemed very arty.
It's easy to make friends, and perfect for walking, biking, beach etc - perfect (unless you have dog 
- seriously ) They have a different dog culture here.
The weather is definitely hot but bearable during the summer. But the downside for us is that in Scotland we made a comfortable living. Here we cannot afford to save due to the much lower wage structure and the recession.
And what do I miss most - ancient buildings and museums. LOL
So - swings and roundabouts.
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