There are many great developers and communities (co-working spaces, meetup groups) in NZ in my experience.
I’ve worked with several developers from there (I’m in Australia), and they’ve all been very capable and great to work with.
Due to its lifestyle and culture, NZ attracts/keeps the kinds of people who care about interesting tech and worthwhile projects, rather than raw dollars.
Local salaries may be lower but cost of living is lower and work-life balance is likely to be better.
But timezone proximity to California and eastern Australia means you could seek remote work with bigger foreign companies that may pay better.
I’ve worked with several developers from there (I’m in Australia), and they’ve all been very capable and great to work with.
Due to its lifestyle and culture, NZ attracts/keeps the kinds of people who care about interesting tech and worthwhile projects, rather than raw dollars.
Local salaries may be lower but cost of living is lower and work-life balance is likely to be better.
But timezone proximity to California and eastern Australia means you could seek remote work with bigger foreign companies that may pay better.