unofficial Aspergers thinking of moving to NZ--- HELP!

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Ok so I am 24 years old living in the US and am a self-diagnosed aspie. Basically, I want/ need to get my masters degree (in library studies) and the places around me (kentucky) that can go to kinda suck (i want an all in class or with few online options and everything around here for my degree is the exact opposite). there is a school in New Zealand that has a program that looks mostly classroom based. so i have decided that i want to move there and do the program and maybe work there for a while. however i am nott sure if i could handle it. while i have been out of the country before, i have never been somewhere that was more than 2 hours away from my family where i didnt know anyone there before.
does anyone have any advice for moving/ study abroad, as well as resources for people with aspergers in NZ?

I live in Auckland, New Zealand. It's a very diverse city - it may suprise you to learn that about 20% of the city's population is Asian (not in the other cities though) - you will find that the student population is made up of a lot of students who come from other countries to study here, an extraordinary mix of nationalities.

There is a specific Autism support group for adults - they meet once a month - though I have never been to it. It's open to anyone. Someone told me that a lot of NT parents go to talk about their autistic children, as well as adults on the spectrum - and that mix doesn't appeal to me at all. There was a women's group but it has folded recently.

I wanted somewhere I could socialise with other ASD people, so I joined a meet up group for social anxiety (which I have). It has been great experience. Very inclusive and supportive bonds between the participants, and maybe half of us (from the amount of stimming I observe, for example) are on the spectrum. I've never met such a nice bunch of people in one place as this group. They don't play NT social games, they aren't ageist, and I have made good friends there, with people who are just generally supportive. kind, respectful and sensitive people - NT or ASD.

There are one or two specialist psychotherapists in Auckland in private practice who seek clients with Aspergers, though I haven't used their services. Generally though, support for adults seems very thin on the ground here - just like most places - what government support there is goes to extra school services for children - and even that seems very limited and hard to get access to. The universities include general counselling services which are covered by the overall course fees. All students can use them free of any extra charge as far as I know.

So overall, if you do come here to study, you won't feel the odd one out in terms of coming from another country.

Some of the really good things about living here are:

-the lack of pollution
-the health services (anyone having an accident in NZ is entitled to largely subsidised treatment, whether citizen or visitor) and public medical care in hospitals is free to all citizens and of very high standard
-the environment: Auckland is a harbour city, lots of beaches, parks, not far to the great outdoors..
-New Zealanders are generally fairly accepting of people from other places

the not so good things:

-cost of living (higher than the states, food/petrol/rents are relatively expensive)
-too many cars causing delays - the volume of traffic is just too great for the capacity of the roads. The public transport system is adequate though not great.

Which city are you thinking of going to?

Im also in NZ, although exact details differ I do think much of what B19 has said reflects the city I live in - although thankfully our ASD group doesnt have NT parents coming along to talk about their children

Which city are you in Cogs?

I would probably be starting out in Wellington because of the program at Victoria University. Also, I am coming from big-ish city (its the biggest in my state).

Wellington is a very different city from Auckland, more political (it is the capital) and the students there will be mostly locals. I know it well, as I used to live just up the road from Victoria University.

The city area (where the university is) is quite small - for you it could be like living in a large village, and the larger city is like a series of villages connected by hills.

The downsides:
it's very windy at times; you get medium-sized earthquakes every few years, but the damage is limited to property, not people - they are quite something to experience though, especially if you come from somewhere where this never happens. I've been in a 5.6 earthquake there, on top of an 18 story building which swayed from side to side, as they are meant to do - wow that was quite an experience!

The upsides:

people who live there tend to love it
cultural centre for "serious" art/music/theatre events
less expensive than Auckland
easy to get around in, even if you don't have a car

If you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them.