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I have been reading the Australia and NZ board and most people say the downside to NZ is :
- high cost of living. Shown by the fact that good housing (proper heating) is expensive.
- lack of career opportunities. Not much work for skilled professionals outside the diary industry. Maybe a few in education.
- NZ itself has a high emigration rate, esp to Australia.
So why do people still go to NZ? There must be other factors besides the excellent opporunity to enjoy the extreme sports setup. I mean what about people with families or planning to have one.
-clean, green image
-laidback lifestyle
-novelty factor
-family ties
-beautiful scenery
-change of lifestyle
Whether they decide to stay forever depends on how much they like it. Some people move to NZ because it's easier to get a Visa to then go to Australia where the opportunities are better. Others hate it and go back to where they came from. Others love it.
nz isn't for everyone, but then neither is the US, Canada or Oz for everyone..
By the way here is a scary quote:
There is a need to look into why many migrants leave New Zealand after a relatively short period of time.
from a NZ gov't website: http://www.dol.govt.nz/actreview/sum...tion-h1_16.asp
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 06-13-2011 at 07:44 PM..
Reason: links to competing forums not permitted
I have been reading the Australia and NZ board and most people say the downside to NZ is :
- high cost of living. Shown by the fact that good housing (proper heating) is expensive.
- lack of career opportunities. Not much work for skilled professionals outside the diary industry. Maybe a few in education.
- NZ itself has a high emigration rate, esp to Australia.
So why do people still go to NZ? There must be other factors besides the excellent opporunity to enjoy the extreme sports setup. I mean what about people with families or planning to have one.
You are correct in the sense that those moving in the reverse direction, from Oz to NZ, is much less than in NZ to Oz direction.
Plenty of Aussies have been to NZ for a holiday, it constitutes nearly 50% of international travel for Aussies.
Few move there as it is seen as generally colder with less employment oppurtunities, as well as too isolated from family etc.
Air-fares are still not that cheap down here.
In saying that, if you are retired, then a ""tree change"" as opposed to a sea change, has been more popular amongst some older retirees.
I know of one family that lived there for a few years (Christchurch), but it was always their intention to return home.
What it comes down to is it's one of the most isolated countries in the world, in the middle of an ocean with 4 million people. Opportunities are always going to be limited no matter how spectacularly awesome NZ is. Even with modern tech, there is still the limitation of distance.
I think it's a great place for young people traveling, retirees and people looking for a more simple, quieter lifestyle devoid of mass consumerism.
With people with very targeted careers, obscure career fields, business entrepreneurs, etc, it's a tougher field to plow.
So for some people it could work well or it could be complete misery, depends on their circumstances.
If you're relatively wealthy, and looking for a beautiful part of the world to retire in the NZ certainly fits that. It is probably one of the most beautiful places on Earth. If you are working, in all but a few industries, then NZ doesn't really offer much. And certainly in most professions you will earn significantly more in Australia or other English speaking countries. The NZ economy hasn't really kept up with other developed countries. Whereas 30 years ago it was the top of the OECD it's now very much mid-tier. I guess it really is due to it being a small country at the the end of the world. The brain drain in NZ is very much a real thing.
With people with very targeted careers, obscure career fields, business entrepreneurs, etc, it's a tougher field to plow.
This is not necessarily true either. I work in an obscure field and I am actually earning more in NZ than I was in Australia.
As most people have said, you never really know until you get here. Come for a holiday and check it out. I loved NZ from the first time I visited, and love it even more now that Im living here.
I wonder how much the recent/on-going earthquakes have effected the emigrating to NZ. I know a couple Kiwis that say Christchurch is in shambles and that with each shake they lose a little more of their home. With over $100k in damages already and counting. It also appears that the government seems a bit lost, a lot of talk with little action. But apparently this is the first large scale natural disaster in about 100yrs so it sounds like they had become rather relaxed.
I wonder how much the recent/on-going earthquakes have effected the emigrating to NZ. I know a couple Kiwis that say Christchurch is in shambles and that with each shake they lose a little more of their home. With over $100k in damages already and counting. It also appears that the government seems a bit lost, a lot of talk with little action. But apparently this is the first large scale natural disaster in about 100yrs so it sounds like they had become rather relaxed.
More unprepared than relaxed. You gotta remember that NZ is a country of only around 4 million people and not a lot of resources, so trying to deal with a natural disaster of this scale is proving very difficult. Plus each aftershock pretty much puts things back to square one.
So yeah the earthquakes will definitely affect immigration to Christchurch. A lot of residents would be leaving the area if they weren't financially tied down. It's a really sad state of affairs in what was a beautiful city.
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