Are you really thinking of emigrating to New Zealand?
If you are approaching that early mid life crisis that most intelligent people have, then right about now you are likely to be considering your options. Should I stay or should I go? Should I try a different job or even more daring, a career change. Or do you fall into the trap that reads - if I'm going to make a change - it might as well be a big one. Well - don't do it. Stay where you are - the grass is no greener - trust me.
I fell for it. I uprooted my family and abandoned my second career almost entirely. I fell for the clean green, outdoor image of New Zealand in exchange for my urban stereotype existence working somewhere near Hemel Hempstead in England. I swapped my hour long commute for an hour long commute in better countryside. I took a significant drop in wages to find that the cost of living here is much, much higher than in England. The work culture is laid back and the scenery is fantastic - until it rains. Then you and your bored children sit inside and get on each others nerves until the electric goes off.
Mortgage rates are over ten percent and rising. Savings companies and financial institutions are going bust. It's also election year - so the usual war of words and false promises is well under way. Summer is over and the storms and floods are imminent. Alcohol and substance abuse is rife - but hey, what else is there to do once you've watched the second repeat of the Bill on your standard Sky package?
So why did I come?
Clever advertising really. I read the tourist books, I Googled the house prices and I read the blogs. I went to the Expo's and fell for the lifestyle image and actually believed that there was little or no crime. Clearly the Trades Description Act is not an international document. Many things you read about New Zealand are blatantly untrue. Check out the immigration statistics for New Zealand. Tens of thousands of Kiwis are leaving for Australia every year. Better pay, better conditions. New Zealand employers are still under the impression that they are doing you a favour by giving you a job. Benefits - you don't have to wear a tie - that's about it.
Every night I look longingly at the deck outside my house and wish I could sit out in the evening without being bitten by mossies. My house has lost ten per cent of its value in less than a year - but my rates are going up, so is fuel, so is food.
Just another winging POM?
Not a chance - the locals beat you hands down in the complaining stakes. They don't have much news, so they spend their spare time writing to local papers who are edited by people who couldn't find work in advanced countries. Anything you do in the public eye will bring criticism, mostly uninformed drivel, and it will be very personal.
What about the recession?
It's not just coming, it's already here. If you have cash to buy a house or piece of land outright then you are laughing as it will go back up in a couple of years. If you need a mortgage - don't come. In fact if you are planning on living anywhere remote or in the bigger cities then just wait for a year or so.
See you soon.
