Hey there, a lot of our research institues are under budget cuts and some are being disbanded (callaghan innovation). I would suggest you contact universities and see if they are interested in any aspiring research fellows. I am a master's student at Victoria University. My supervisor is currently in the works to help a professor (I think from MIT) come and work here. So even though my university is also under fire, I see a future where the immigration will actually produce a good environment for teaching and research here.
A big note is that we do have a right wing government at the moment, the most right wing it has been for sometime. Read on te tiriti and the hikoi against the treaty principles bill. We will have our next election in just over a years time, the last three polls show a preference for a left wing government.
Living costs are expensive. you will be spending a lot of money on rent (especially in Wellington) food and utilities. We have very poor public transport in the country, I hesitantly say our buses are okay but our trains are completely unreliable. A lot of our train routes end up getting replaced by buses because the trains are in such poor condition.
I have a couple friends from the US in Wellington, the main cultural integration I've heard them struggle with is the work culture. For the most part, work life balance is valued here, don't stay at work after hours you will be repremanded.
Hopefully this is helpful :)
No worries.
Our green list roles are a bit limited honestly, my partner does data engineering which isn't covered in the list. She ended up studying and applying for a Post Study Work Visa. It requires you to complete a degree in NZ and then you can have up to three years to work and aim for residency. We have one year master degrees, this is what my partner has done. Perhaps you could even complete your PhD here, I don't know what that process would look like though.
But.. our international student fees are expensive.