Akl based here. not a dev so take some salt - CS has a different vibe to other industries. it's a small country with all the pros and cons that go along with that. don't expect to land with a good idea and find a VC who'll chuck you $100k based on your 3 min pitch. most people i know doing their own thing do contracting gigs to pay the bills and do their own thing on the side ie, get paid 4 days/week and do your own thing 1 day/week - slide the 4 down to 0 as and when you can. the other thing mostly lacking in NZ is the big company/industry that supports the 'small provider ecosystem' - the big two in NZ are Fonterra (milk powder/farming) and tourism - neither of which (unfortunately) do a lot to support smart people developing widgets and websites. if you wanted to come over (and don't get me wrong - so long as your expectations are well calibrated, i think NZ is one of the best places in the world to be) i'd suggest a reasonable LSD trip (look, see and decide) say, 2-3 weeks min. and then if you still like what you see, make sure you have a couple months of your own cash to draw on - nothing beats the crap out of your creative zen than wondering where your next batch of 2-minute noodles is coming from (== ramen equiv.). have fun: if you make it here, drop me a note and i'll shout you a flat white and take you to piha for lunch - you haven't lived till you've walked a west coast black sand beach ;-)