Making the move to live and work in New Zealand as a doctor

Dr Sina Karimian, studied medicine at Leeds University and did his foundation years in London. He made the move to live and work as a doctor in Tauranga, in the North Island of New Zealand in October this year.

"I love the outdoors and adventure," Sina explained. "I heard from fellow colleagues and friends that living in New Zealand is amazing. It's very outdoors orientated and has a lot of opportunities to do adventures. Also, the work-life balance is a lot better compared to the UK."

When asked about why he chose to work with Medrecruit to make the move, Sina said, "My friend recommend me Medrecruit as she had a great experience with them. Their reviews online were very good and I could see they had a long history of helping UK doctors move over to Australia and New Zealand."

Sina praised the support he received from Medrecruit, saying, "They were very approachable and supportive from the word go. Jessica was helpful in explaining to me the process of getting a job and helping me in preparing me for interviews. She and the whole team were always happy to help and responded in a timely manner. They made the process of applying and getting ready to move to New Zealand very easy. They were very honest and transparent from the start which was very important for me. I could not recommend them more highly."

When asked about his experience in New Zealand so far, Sina said, "My first thought was how friendly everyone was and how happy they were to see me move to New Zealand. I get a very warm welcome from all locals and the staff members at Tauranga hospital. The Mount area is beautiful and such a great place to live by the beach."

He added, "The workload in the hospital is definitely a lot less and therefore overall pressure is reduced. There is a lot more emphasis on being outdoors which I thoroughly enjoy both after work and outdoors."

In terms of his favorite things to do in Tauranga, Sina says what he enjoys most is the lifestyle. "I live in the Mount area and I love being by the beach. I'm a few minutes away from the beach where I can surf and swim. Very easy commute by bike to work which is fantastic. I love having the Mount as it's a beautiful view from the top and the mount centre has some awesome restaurants and cafes. It's also very easily assessable to the rest of North Island with 2-3 hour drive to Auckland and Coromandel. There is also an airport in Tauranga so can fly to South Island if you want to."

If you are looking to make the move to New Zealand to live and work as a doctor, register for our free service, and one of our dedicated IMG team will be in touch. They can assist you in everything from finding a role, to immigration and set you up for a successful relocation.