luvwelly

I think we've all just got too much time on our hands

Markk is totally right about those stages of attitude adjustment.

luvwelly

I agree and disagree -
2 Kiwis have suggested I am now a Kiwi simply because I have been here for several years now (I think they like it when Poms stay longer than 18 m)

An agency babysitter I hired a couple of years ago - made a remark 'oh and you British never change your accents when you come to live here....' ROFL does she think she as an adult would start speaking with a cockney accent if she moved to the East End of London?

The older Kiwis who have never left NZ are the worst. An Aussie friend of mine in a group, had to listen to 'What's really surprising is that even the Aussies came over to help with the Christchurch earthquake'
Bevs the Mayor of Wellington is a pom - so is she not a Kiwi Mayor? , the PM of Australia was born in Wales, the leader of the Aussie opposition was born in London....

Watt Dabney

What an interesting thread.

On the subject of being NZ'er, Pom, Kiwi. As someone who is English, emigrated to NZ became an NZ citizen and now lives in Oz on an NZ passport I have a little experience.

In NZ it was always made quite clear to me by a lot of 'kiwis' that I was and always would be a Pom and would only ever be a NZ'er on paper. Such a shame, I find this attitude very sad, and archaic, and feeds the feeling of division that bubbles away under the NZ psyche between kiwis/maori/asian/pom/other migrants, all desiring the ultimate crown of a true NZ'er and excluding all other pretenders to the throne.

In Oz on the other hand, I may be asked where this oddball accent hails from, but I am to the majority of whom I encounter......just me. If I am a good person, am contributing to society, a hard worker and raising good kids then I am an Ozzie regardless of what my passport says (until it comes to sport obviously lol). What I am trying to say is any talk of nationality is done with interest and fun without any negative undertones, unlike my experience of NZ.

On the original subject (if I qualify as I am not a true 'kiwi').

When we moved to NZ our children were 4 & 7. We lived in beautiful little village of Kaiapoi SI and the whole experience of the small population felt liberating to us as parents. However as our children grew older and showed academic potential with dreams of careers in engineering what was once liberating started to feel restrictive and suffocating, hence jumping the ditch.

However I would like to point out that leaving NZ was 100 times harder than leaving the UK. It always has a very special place in my heart and we will never rule out the possibility of returning there when the children have flown the nest.

Expat Kiwi

I'm not so sure you're right about other countries. Australia has a way of assimilating people pretty quickly if they want to fit-in.

How large a proportion of NZ's population do you think was born overseas?

Outside of the larger cities there are some places in NZ where its Kiwi through and through and you're known by who you know and who you're related to. People are very interconnected you know.

janek

More than 25% are born abroad.
I for one detest the term 'kiwi', if you want to annoy me start calling me one; mind that I might call you something in return though....
I find it a derogatory term and a lot of those who use the term are well aware of this.

Expat Kiwi

Not quite as much as being called pakeha, but I understand your point. I hate that people categorize based on ancestry or skin tone.

janek

yeah well there's the rub!

janek

same as the UK then or Australia for that matter

Expat Kiwi

Not noticed it Janek, then I've made contacts and networks pretty easily here. Perhaps its different in the more remote communities.

I tell you, it is easier coming from NZ and fitting in here than it would be for a Kiwi to move from North to South Island

BEVS

HHmmm. That's an interesting question. If this was here where I live , then no. She would not be a Kiwi Mayor. She would be the Mayor of Wellington but originally from overseas and therefore not a Kiwi.

I can only repeat what has been drilled into us over the past 7 years by the many home grown where we live. We are not Kiwis & never will be. You need to have been born here to be considered a Kiwi & preferably with several generations behind you. That's is OK with me. It is their sense of identity, culture and history , not mine.

We can assimilate best we can but we will always be English in a Kiwi's eyes and that is also fine with me because being English and for that matter British is my sense of identity , culture and history..... although me Mum was Irish.

BEVS

UUmm. No. I lived in the UK for 50 years and it wasn't like that where I lived in a seaside town at all. On your own merit was the order of the day . Not who you knew at all.

It's a learning curve.

Watt Dabney

Agreed, I moved to Brisbane with the same attitude and desire to 'fit in' as I had when we moved to NZ. The reception was however VERY different, Ozzies are very much more relaxed about the whole thing.

IMHO kiwis need to chill about the whole thing......this obsession about identity based on ancestry is holding them back and stiffling unity and progression as a country in a global community.

BEVS

Really? People around us here are proud to describe themselves as Kiwi . Same with the media at every opportunity.

Expat Kiwi

Why would you want to move to a country and not fit in? People here appreciate it if you make the effort.

Bo-Jangles

I find it depends entirely on the person's achievements: if they have done good then they can become an instant Kiwi. The guy who was New Zealander of the Year 2010 was Raymond Avery a British born guy, but always described as 'Kiwi scientist...' and the same can be said for many others that have claims to fame. Irene Van Dyk, the South African, who plays netball for Silver Ferns is another who becomes Kiwi by defaiult.

I agree though most will never be a Kiwi unless they can show grandfathers birth certificate and even then it's doubtful if you are of any obvious ethnicity, such as Indian or Asian of which there are many now in this country with more than one or more generations.