Genesis

NZ is having lots of bad press at the moment, falling tourism, carbon foot print, falling levels of emigrees, people leaving for Oz etc..I was wondering what still makes it an attractive place for those currently considering coming here?

cally49

Maybe the way its "sold" to people on those living down under programs....
Cheers
Cally

Riverside

Could it the fact that in the uk we have....too many tourists, too much of a carbon footprint, too many immigrants, and not enough people going to Oz??
Nick

Genesis

[QUOTE=Riverside;6931527]Could it the fact that in the uk we have too many immigrants



NZ IS FULL OF 'EM!!!! YOU WON'T ESCAPE THEM BY COMING HERE!!!

Jokerman

Exactly. I was speaking to my ex today about NZ's high child abuse stats. You will never hear certain cases in the UK. Like the Nea Glassey case. They were blown away by that.

Why do people go? Searching for something aren't they? I wanted a better life.

What I found was a country which had huge problems (it mostly doesn't seem that keen on addressing), cold houses, small job market, obsession with rugby, poor print media, poor tv, insular parochial people, isolation, crime stats similar to the UK, high child abuse, problems with Maori and the Treaty, distinctly average weather, tall poppy syndrome, backward work-place practices. It's backwards in so many ways!

I don't get why people think it's so good! But each to their own. My best mate loves it and has lived there now for over 10 years.

I don't regret my 7+ years there, though. Good experience. Would I do it again with 20/20 hindsight? No chance!

Browner_

Nor would I !

lapsed kiwi

Wow! Seriously? There's a surprise!

CAN2NZ

Funny, I was just thinking something along these lines today. Given what I know now, I don't think I would come given 20/20 hindsite.

Now, for me what I see is that we have this small place, a great place, that is being ruined. I won't give you all my thoughts, but here is just one.

We are afflicted by MMP and the lack of a constitution. We have people of low principle in government who seek at all costs to hang on to power. They will seek to say and do anything that serves their own interest regardless of how damaging or improper.

Today we heard Helen Clark say she is now in favour of entrenching the Maori seats. Last week she was against it. This week she sees she has almost no chance of returning to power. What is wrong with this? Should she succeed and she carries out her promise, she will in concert with others affect a profound change in New Zealand that requires more careful consideration and should not be connected to the consideration of re-election.

So, what am I saying. I am saying that while others have made other valid observations, I am saying that there is fundamental rot in the institutions of the country that mark it for future instability and frustrated development. Don't forget to make sure your kids hang on to their rights to British or other passports.

hosebergine

Genesis, from our point of view, we have decided we'd like to spend a bit of time going on an adventure with our young children before they grow up. It is tempting to think we should save more money and do it when they're older but they grow up so quickly. My mum died very young and I don't want to put off everything for fear of missing out. My husband would love to work in a different culture and we adore the thought of living near the beach and getting back into sailing.

There are so few places where we could afford to live near to work and combine it with the sort of life we want for the weekend. We've done the hour and a half commute into London; now my husband has an hour of travelling in Yorkshire (we moved here to get away from the rat race a bit and yes, that extra half hour each way makes a big difference). It is really difficult for him, trying to make sure he sees his children everyday. He could more than double his salary by going into consultancy but he'd be doing more travelling and family time is too precious.

I travelled in NZ when I was a student and loved it. My husband, daughter and I went over for a recce this year and decided that we'd like to spend more time there. So we're just about to send in our ITA. We're fanatical researchers and know there are some huge problems in NZ. But we're going for it anyway. We're lucky, our mortgage is manageable and we budget carefully so we're keeping our house in the UK and taking some savings. We've gone straight for PR because we have enough points and we're planning to take a couple of months off when we arrive for job hunting and settling in.

We're taking the attitude that there are problems everywhere, let's give it a go and we'll come back if we don't like it. Nothing has to be forever. Economic problems are a worry but we started the application process before the sub-prime market collapse and can delay our arrival if we need to. Our choice of NZ is fuelled by a desire to spend time with our children, not by rejecting all the UK has to offer.

Sorry for the long post but it isn't the sort of decision you can make without some serious soul-searching.

owen

It was quick to get in.....

sr71

The point about tourism is irrelevant unless you are wanting to work in that industry.

The carbon footprint is one of the largest scams in mankinds history. I am at this very moment planning to by a large V8 car.

Again, failing levels of emigrees could be for any number of reasons.

People leaving for Oz is true. Then again Oz has exactly the same problem with a mass exodus of it's population too.

The principle attractions of NZ are exactly the same as they have always been, and that doesn't include getting rich.

cally49

[QUOTE=Genesis;6931810] Hi Genesis! Never a truer word said in fact thats exactly what we all are if we are away from our birth country
Cally

Chubbypants

Hmmm.... the UK. Obsessions with: football, cold houses, insular parochial people, poor print media, problems with council estate chavs, backward work practices, distinctly average weather, high child abuse, erm.... What else, it's a damn site more over crowded, and not everyone earns the big bucks that many ex UK residents claim they did before they left for NZ, however, there are some bloody great things about the UK too. Horses for courses. As for the child abuse in the UK, you guys perhaps missed this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/s...re/7682771.stm

This WHOLE thing about whether a persons life will potentially be better in one country than another is totally objective. One thing I've noticed now, is so many people are quick to offer opinions, or point out that people must be crazy for going/staying etc, as though it were something as trivial as buying a car.

I would add that, in answer to the OP question, what makes it attractive for people to go to NZ is the "potential" of a new, improved quality of life, based in part on some potentially valid reasons. Why do people change jobs if they get paid a salary, they should just stay, right? What's the point in going elsewhere? People do it for the potential of better job satisfaction, salary etc. The potential is that it may not work out, but hey, you don't try, you don't find out. I'm in that situation with my job in the UK. I've waited months for what I thought would be a great opportunity, hasn't quite worked out for several reasons, I've only been here a few months, but I know it's not for me. Same with moving country, fancy a shot of living with my relatives who've been there for years, fancy a change of living in the Midlands. There's the potentialfor us to live a life we believe will be better for us.

Dustybin

It's the little blokes with hairy feet that did it for me...

BEVS

You've met my husband then.