Cali Kiwi Blog | Fehrensen Speech

Through Cali Kiwi Consulting, I share my personal experience moving from California to New Zealand and help others think through what that journey might look like for them.

While I’m not a licensed immigration advisor, I work alongside visa professionals and offer practical, real-life insight based on having done the move myself.

You can also check out the podcast here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3iyWFnzjS7xX8um5qoYaMi

If you would like to book a more in-depth one-on-one consultation with me, you can do that here:

https://calendly.com/calikiwi-consulting/30min

60 minutes – $150

45 minutes – $140

30 minutes – $130

Payment links:

60 min: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/EBLDWXBQT49PQ

45 min: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ENCRMLVRGWQQU

30 min: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/3T85EWHWTV45Y

You can also find and follow Cali Kiwi Consulting here:

Website:

https://www.fehrensenspeech.com/calikiwi

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581088348572

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/calikiwiconsulting

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@CaliKiwiConsulting

Thanks again for being here. I really appreciate the support and look forward to connecting.

Russell

Cali Kiwi Consulting

How about you write a book?

A Work in Progress: The Back Cover of Rerooted (and Why I’m Sharing It Early) I’ve been quietly working on a book for the past three years. Quietly… and very slowly. The working title is Rerooted , and right now it’s sitting at about 30 pages , which means two things can be true at once: It’s very much a work in progress It already means a great deal to me Rather than wait until everything feels “done” (spoiler: that day may never come), I wanted to share something early spe

Russell Fehrensen

Feb 82 min read

From a Google Search to a New Life: How We Went From Southern California to Auckland, New Zealand

From a Google Search to a New Life: How We Went From Southern California to Auckland, New Zealand In December of 2016, my wife and I were sitting in front of a laptop doing what millions of people do when they’re feeling uneasy about the world: We Googled “safest countries in the world.” At the time, New Zealand came up as number two. That was it. That single search cracked the door open. From that moment on, we went all in. YouTube videos. Blogs. Vlogs. Forums. Anything that

Russell Fehrensen

Feb 14 min read

Life in New Zealand: Why This Place Feels Like Home (When Mom Visits)

Having my mom visit us here in New Zealand has been such a joy. Thanks to the Grandparent Visitor Visa , she can stay with us for six months of the year , and we’ve made the most of every single day. From beach walks to helping out in the kitchen (my kids love her cooking), having her around has been a reminder of just how much family shapes our lives. At the same time, it’s been tough. Watching the news from the United States brings a wave of emotion that’s hard to shake. Lo

Russell Fehrensen

Jan 314 min read

Rerooted: Why I’m Writing Our Migration Story

Three years ago, my family and I did something that still surprises people: we left everything familiar in Southern California and moved to Auckland, New Zealand with three kids, a handful of suitcases, and a lot of unanswered questions. Not because we hated where we came from. But because we wanted something different for our children, and honestly, for ourselves too. I’m currently writing a book called Rerooted , a memoir about that decision, the years leading up to it, and

Russell Fehrensen

Jan 162 min read

From California to New Zealand: Why I’m Grateful We Made the Move, and Why I Now Help Others Do the Same

A few years ago, my family and I made the decision to leave California and start a new life in New Zealand. It wasn’t easy. We had stable jobs, family, friends, and a life that was familiar. But we also had a strong feeling that we wanted something different for our kids and for ourselves, more balance, more time together, and a lifestyle that felt healthier and more sustainable. Fast forward to today, and I can honestly say that moving to New Zealand was one of the best deci

Russell Fehrensen

Jan 163 min read

Parenting in New Zealand: What Moving Countries Taught Me About Letting Go

One of the quiet surprises of moving from California to New Zealand wasn’t the landscape, the accents, or even the pace of life. It was parenting. Back in California, I worked in schools for years, as a speech therapist assistant in elementary, middle, and high schools. I knew the systems. I knew the drills. Earthquakes. Lockdowns. Active shooters. They were part of the job, part of the background noise of American education. Here in New Zealand, the background noise is… laug

Russell Fehrensen

Dec 22, 20254 min read

Finding Home Across Oceans

The more we learned about New Zealand, the more it felt not just like a good idea, but like the only way forward. A path toward the kind of life we wanted to live, one where our children could see the world from a different angle, one where values like empathy, community, and fairness still had cultural currency. I write this today not because it was easy, not because we had or have all the answers, we still don’t. I'm old enough to realize we never will. But maybe someone el

Russell Fehrensen

Dec 8, 20254 min read

When “Home” Stops Feeling Safe: Why Our American Family Chose New Zealand

There comes a point in life when you stop telling yourself “This is just how things are” and start asking “Does it really have to be?” For us, that moment arrived slowly, like pressure building over years, and then all at once. I grew up in America during an era when violence wasn’t something you heard about occasionally, it was something that shaped entire generations. I came of age during Columbine and watched the Twin Towers fall while getting ready for school. Those momen

Russell Fehrensen

Dec 1, 20254 min read

Growing Up Under the Southern California Sky: A Story of Home, Change, and Why We Finally Left

I grew up all over Southern California, Ontario, Upland, San Diego, Hesperia, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and finally Lake Elsinore. If you drew a circle around the Inland Empire and the High Desert, that was my universe. Sunburned freeways, shopping centers that all looked the same, and housing tracts named after fruit trees that hadn't grown there in decades. People asked me where I was from, and I always envisioned the sky first: that endless blue seeming to hang ab

Russell Fehrensen

Nov 20, 20255 min read

“How Are You Finding It?” A Kiwi Question I Didn’t Expect.

When we first got here, this was the line that kept coming at us from every direction: “How are you finding it?” I had to adjust to that phrasing. In California, the version I grew up with was more like: “So — do you like it?” That one feels loaded, like the approval is already assumed. Like they want you to gush on cue. But in New Zealand, it felt like the opposite. No pressure. No presumption. “How are you finding it?” gives you space to still be in process. That was odd

Russell Fehrensen

Nov 10, 20252 min read

From Holiday to Home: Why We Chose New Zealand

Holiday In December 2019, we booked a holiday. A test run. I call it a reconnaissance mission. A chance to explore somewhere new before...

Russell Fehrensen

Sep 29, 20252 min read

Why We Left California for New Zealand.

The Why! On a hot June afternoon in 2022, my family packed into our minivan for the very last time. The car was stuffed with luggage, the...

Russell Fehrensen

Sep 20, 20253 min read

I'm writing a Book. But I think its a Blog!

Welcome to My Journey At 39, with three kids and a partner, I left everything familiar in Southern California and started over in...

Russell Fehrensen

Sep 15, 20253 min read

Through Cali Kiwi Consulting, I share my personal experience moving from California to New Zealand and help others think through what that journey might look like for them.

While I’m not a licensed immigration advisor, I work alongside visa professionals and offer practical, real-life insight based on having done the move myself.

You can also check out the podcast here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3iyWFnzjS7xX8um5qoYaMi

If you would like to book a more in-depth one-on-one consultation with me, you can do that here:

https://calendly.com/calikiwi-consulting/30min

60 minutes – $150

45 minutes – $140

30 minutes – $130

Payment links:

60 min: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/EBLDWXBQT49PQ

45 min: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ENCRMLVRGWQQU

30 min: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/3T85EWHWTV45Y

You can also find and follow Cali Kiwi Consulting here: