Is it easy making friends in New Zealand?

A lot of expats there find it hard to connect with locals, but the expat community is very friendly and open. Its very tough to belong in NZ, unless you were born there. The only way "in" is to develop strong interests and give of yourself to the community - so maybe a church or charity is a good option to break down those barriers. Kiwis are good people, but insular, so you will need to be persistent about making friends with the locals.

It depends where you are going to be living. I would assume that you will be going to one of the major cities, so the social life should be fun for you. It depends on what you are looking for. The Kiwis are generally very friendly people and easy to befriend, so look forward to a good time.

Sadly no its isnt easy to make friends here, I am in my 30's and was a social butterfly like you at home friends with anyone and everyone. Here it is clicky and very difficult to fit in. I disagree with the poster above, kiwis are not all that friendly and are very judgemental. I have met a couple of lovely people but on the whole i would say i am extremely sad to find how unfriendly kiwis are.

No its not easy at all to make friends in New Zealand. I have been here for 16 years and I even met a kiwi woman with 2 little kids which I am helping to bring up. I'm their stepdad. But her family - especially the men - will not befriend you. I am dragged to the family parties and both her Dad and her sister's husband just stand a few feet away talking and chatting, and ignore me like I was not there.

Hi everyone.  I would like to maybe help you guys out a little.  Yes New Zealanders are reserved it's true.  I am one.  But you know what?  In NZ I had lots of friends and I used to socialize a lot and I now have been living in Brazil for 7 years.  Brazilians are said to be open friendly people, but I haven't made a truly close friend here since I arrived.  More like people I'm friendly with but not real 'count on each other' friends.  It's a hard thing to live in a different country, to enter into a place were everyone has already made their comfy circle of friends, they have their habits and don't spare a thought to how needy you might be. They just don't think about it.  If they were thrust into your country, they would go through the exact same thing.  It sucks, I know, and our feelings are valid, we need friends to be happy whether we are introverts or extroverts.  Sometimes it's a matter of not really meeting people like you, the same way to think, interests etc.  When we're teenagers and in our early twenties we are all open to making new friends cause everyone is in the process of making them, we are all receptive to it at this period of our lives. Adults, have issues, work, commitments, families, it's just easier to go with what you know.  I've decided to seek out other foreigners, as just like when we are younger, suddenly you are now both more receptive to making a new friend because you need one. 

Just know you're not alone in how you feel and as for those people who stand next to you and ignore you, well, in NZ people are awkward, (due to our colonisation happening in Victorian times and our isolation and small population) they don't learn social graces growing up, and no one really knows what to do. It might not work with everyone, but sometimes when you show them how to do it, (i.e. be forward and charming, smiles and ask them questions about their house, garden cat, or ask for advice about something etc) suddenly they relax and are grateful that you broke the ice of which they have no idea how to do.  They might suddenly think you're the bees knees, and then you'll see how dear, honest and genuine NZders can be (of course if they continue to snob you then they're not worth the effort). Just remember, NZders also show very little outward excitement, even when they are thrilled, (sorry about that and it's especially bad when it comes to men) just note that you might think they're not interested but it could just be that weird NZ body language, or perhaps lack of.  There do exist excitable interesting Kiwis, might take a while to find them but they do exist!  I'm one of them!