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Hi everyone. My wife and I were looking into moving from the US to New Zealand. I researched a great deal but I'm having trouble with the crime rates there. Apparently, New Zealand ranks number 3 or 4 in cime? Higher than the US? Thats according to nationmaster.com. Other sites and people say its a very safe place? Murders look relativley low compared to the US & other countries but why is the crime rate so high. We are looking for somewhere safe to live and raise a family so I'm kind of confused as to why the differing opinions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
from what I read NZ has a higher rate of burglary, robbery, street type assaults, rape but the US due to lax gun laws has more gun crime. I personally feel safer in the US, as gun crime tends to be in certain areas, and its usually done by someone you know. I wouldnt move to NZ because its safe. There has to be other strong reasons why. Expect a lower standard of living too, unless you are well off already. Higher cost for housing, higher tax, more expensive goods but it is a great country if its the right fit for you. Do your research.
It's very difficult to compare crime rates country to country without knowing what each country classifies as a crime. For example, some countries may classify jaywalking as a crime while others don't. Thus some countries showing high crime rates may simply have a lot of trouble getting their citizens to cross the road in the right place!
In the case of violent crime, NZ includes kidnapping, abduction, intimidation, threats, and group assemblies (whatever that means!) in the violent category, while the US does not. Conversely, US includes forcible rape in the violent category, while NZ classifies that as a sexual crime. So to find the true picture, you'd have to find out exactly what each country considers to be a crime.
I have lived in New Zealand, still visit often and have many friends there (most living in Auckland). None of my friends there have ever been a victim of crime to the best of my knowledge... and I've known them for nearly 40 years. Apparently Auckland and Hamilton have higher crime rates than other NZ cities.
Choose a nice middle or middle+ area to live in and I think you'll be fine, safety wise.
If you shipped all the maoris and pacific Islanders out of nz the crime rate would be very low.
Look at the stats which overwhelmingly confirm this. Hence live in an area with low maori and pacfic island levels to avoid crime.
Hi everyone. My wife and I were looking into moving from the US to New Zealand. I researched a great deal but I'm having trouble with the crime rates there. Apparently, New Zealand ranks number 3 or 4 in cime? Higher than the US? Thats according to nationmaster.com. Other sites and people say its a very safe place? Murders look relativley low compared to the US & other countries but why is the crime rate so high. We are looking for somewhere safe to live and raise a family so I'm kind of confused as to why the differing opinions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
There is quite a lot of crime in NZ - living in a middle/upper middle area will decrease your risk of violent crime but theft may still be an issue. Much property theft is under-reported.
I live in Auckland and feel reasonably safe but am always aware. I do not go wandering around downtown late.
We have plenty of murders ... often sexually motivated, gang related or something to do with drugs.
It is not often we have the really horrific murders here. I think there was a car jacking in Houston recently where a four year old was shot with an AK47
This stuff hasn't happened yet ... our criminals are still using knives and baseball bats...the odd sawn-off shotgun to rob a bank or dairy
from what I read NZ has a higher rate of burglary, robbery, street type assaults, rape but the US due to lax gun laws has more gun crime. I personally feel safer in the US, as gun crime tends to be in certain areas, and its usually done by someone you know. I wouldnt move to NZ because its safe. There has to be other strong reasons why. Expect a lower standard of living too, unless you are well off already. Higher cost for housing, higher tax, more expensive goods but it is a great country if its the right fit for you. Do your research.
Agree re high cost of living.
Many people from the US have emigrated here. I think they broadly fall into two groups:
- There are the wealthy who have a very nice standard of living here. These people are often business owners who have semi-retired or have retired early.
Often Republican or centrist. Traveled broadly, well-educated, dress very nicely etc etc. They often live in both countries, travel to each for the summer.
- The other group are often professionals who like outdoor activity eg sporty doctors, engineers, IT people. They tend to be more relaxed, more casual than the first group. Often democrats. They live here fulltime
If you shipped all the maoris and pacific Islanders out of nz the crime rate would be very low.
Look at the stats which overwhelmingly confirm this. Hence live in an area with low maori and pacfic island levels to avoid crime.
If you took everyone out, crime would be eradicated
If you shipped all the maoris and pacific Islanders out of nz the crime rate would be very low.
Look at the stats which overwhelmingly confirm this. Hence live in an area with low maori and pacfic island levels to avoid crime.
Then you'd have to kick all the pakeha out of NZ as they would be the cause of the remaining crime. Then when you kick them out... who next? Kiwis of African heritage? Asian Kiwis?
Then you'd have an empty island..
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