mumomonty

My sentiments exactly. Well said. Have a on me!

hubbard

No your point is not missed just incorrect. If NZ was so incredibly popular it would have a higher influx of migrants wishing to live there than Australia, Canada or the US; would not have the fastest processing time for PR; would not have to have lowered their points system to a minimum level to attract people; would not have the Australian work rights of NZ PR removed; would not have the the NZ citizenship increased from 3 to 5 years.

I respect you like NZ but it really is not up there in terms of popular place to live based on the masses viewpoints - hence all the above legislation changes to keep migrants in NZ and not simply transiting through to somewhere they perceive as better.

You have to ask yourself, were all these people just unsuccessful in the work place and/or in social settings or did they find NZ not appealing to stay long term.

This is not an argumentative post and if someone has another reason for the legislation changes to try and stop migrants leaving NZ it would be really interesting. I have always put it down to the whole life package not adding up (e.g. work, cost of living, housing' education, weather, isolation) but if anyone else have a different theory....

This is not an meant to be an insulting or inflammatory post.

spoys

Hi - sorry I haven't been able to respond to all the entries on here before now but been out of town with work.

Firstly, still undecided about moving but are going out again this July to have another look around and get a better idea but, at the moment, I'm probably starting to realise how good I have it in the UK and whether that is worth gambling with - who knows ?

I am a legal aid lawyer but am making an OK living because my firm has diversified. Legal aid lawyers have had their rates frozen for the last decade - name one other profession that is trying to pay 2006 bills on 1996 wages - I can tell you it is not easy. That concerns me because of the creeping views in society that the police can do no wrong and if they arrest you, you must be guilty. Without a proper defence service, a state is on its way to being a police state because the police will get lazy and pick anyone up who they believe a court will convict - not necessarily the person who IS guilty - and before you think that could never happen to you, I have represented people who were stopped whilst driving, argued in the wrong way with the officer and been arrested for public order and put in a cell - perfectly decent middle class people (dare I say like you and me). At the same time that the criminal defence service in this country is being brought to its knees, more and more funding is being given to the prosecution and the police are recruiting anyone who loiters long enough outside their offices. Give a moron a notebook and truncheon and you haven't got a police officer - you have a moron with a notebook and truncheon !!!! Sorry to go on and on but people who think that only guilty people are arrested are living in cloud cuckoo land. I work very hard - all hours of the day and night - for my living and, I like to think, keep a balance, in my own small way, on how justice works.

P18PPS

I disagree, the post was all about whether someone should take the giant step to migrate, not NZ v Oz v Canada. I don't disagree that NZIS is doing all it can to keep it's immigrants, that's not to say that it isn't a great place to be - just that it definitely has the culture of moving on. People don't value their home as the place that they will be for the next 20 years, they are not afraid to move from one city to another for a job, they don't stay at home at weekends tied to a garden, doing housework, tinkering with the car etc - New Zealanders get out, move about and are not afraid to do this - I believe this is the whole culture of the country NOT a negative towards the place that everyone wants to leave. Certainly I could see us as a family in perhaps 5 years time deciding we want to have a go at Oz for a few years, this doesn't mean to say that we are turning our backs on what we have found and achieved here.

I also believe that there are a large number of posts made - not just on this thread, on ones that we have viewed since becoming members - that definitely slate the place unnecessarily - for instance how on earth you can compare Auckland to London as far as it's climate and rainfall is concerned?? The only reason London is suffering a drought at the moment is because the water companies in the UK are unable to repair the leaking pipes all over the place - it's got nothing to do with the rainfall!!

I too am trying to provide a truthful view of New Zealand, as a family we have a very optimistic outlook on life - god knows our time is very brief on this planet so you have to make the most of it. If you're into your materialistic things in life and measure your success on what you earn, your car, size of your house, nice clothes, expensive package holidays etc then New Zealand is not the place to be. However if you enjoy your outdoor lifestyle - this does not mean you have to be sporty, just enjoy exploring, going for walks, camping, seeing beautiful countryside, just looking at the sea, wildlife, geological "stuff", and your not too concerned if you haven't got the latest Gucci outfit, or that you've just missed the John Lewis sale then you will love it.

hubbard

So everyone who lives in the UK, US, Canada and Oz is highly materialistic and don't have the opportunities to go camping, walking or enjoy the wildlife!!!! You can do all this in the other countries too. NZ does not have the sole rights on a balanced lifestyle. We are now enjoying this exact lifestyle outside of NZ but with more hours of sunshine, lower cost of living, and greater career opportunities for ourselves and our children.

Likewise my brother lives in Seattle and mountain bikes or kayaks in the summer and snowboards in the winter. I just feel 'the lifestyle' element is thrown around too much in regard to NZ to offset other more negative aspects of life there. And, surprise surprise, you can have the lifestyle elsewhere too, without some of the NZ related negatives.

Not everyone who lives in the US lives in crime infested downtown LA or materialistic Hollywood.
Not everyone in Oz lives in a heat ravaged, snake infested town.
Not everyone in Canada lives 9 months of the year at -30c
Not everyone in the UK lives in Bradford!!!!

turkeytickler

What have you been smoking?

I found my particular outdoor activity of choice - road cycling - hampered not improved by being in nz


That is an exceptionally ignorant generalisation to make and sounds more like sour grapes anyway.

hubbard

Didn't know anyone in the UK who could afford a Gucci outfit, didn't know anyone in NZ who could, and guess what, don't know anyone in OZ that can afford a Gucci outfit. I think your observation is a little off the mark if you think the population outside of NZ is bothered about wearing the latest Gucci outfit or could afford one even if they wanted to.

sky

Pmsl Im sat here wearing Warehouse jeans and T

hubbard

I cracked up to. Sitting in work in Sydney wearing a 8 year old Marks and Spencers suit!

kiwichild

Mate you live in christchurch right? What is stopping you cycling? It's flat, has 300,000 people or less and has always been a city with a high percentage of cyclists. I road a 10/12 speed there for years. Try cycling over here in OZ, then you'd have something to complain about (unless you were maybe in canberra or some regional area.

Get off ya bum and onya bike

turkeytickler

Its a combination of lack of decent clubs (no social scene), scary driving, long flat straight roads (im the wrong end of town for easy access to the port hills and the urban cycle paths plentiful though they are are normally littered with broken glass and gravel), poor road surfaces and ridiculously overpriced bike shops ($88 for a mich pro race vs £20 in the uk - do the maths yourself). On two occasions I have planned nice routes out into the southern alps and malvern hills, got out there, run the gaunlet with the local nesting magpies only to have my route scuppered because it took in gravel roads - which werent marked on the map.

I do cycle in ChCh - and i do regular bunch rides on tuesdays and sundays + the occasional race but it is - and this was my point - *harder* and also less fun to cycle in chch than where i lived in the UK.

P18PPS

[QUOTE=turkeytickler]What have you been smoking?


Muesli bars and 1080 apparently.

ranbysue

I take your point spoys but as a solicitor you would be swayed to say this. I actually work in the criminal justice system and have a very good friend in the Police Service - we both have a very different view to your and see the system in a different light. Yes not everyone who gets arrested is guilty but many are. You were right about employing anyone these days in the force and my friend would also agree with you there.

Anyway, like someone earlier on this forum says "life is for living" and we only get one chance at it and if you don't take the plunge then you will never know...you can always come back. That said I too am still after almost a year undecided but know that we must make a decision soon.

I didn't mean to have a go and I am sorry if I offended you on this subject. Wish you all the best.

livewire

Spoys.

There has been a lot of recent discussion on National Radio (very similar to Radio 4 but refreshingly less PC) about the shortcomings of the justice system in NZ, which has the second highest incarcaration (sp?) rate in the OECD. There are a number of issues eg. the appeals process seems to be in a bit of a mess. The prisons are too full and eyes are turning to Finland for inspiration.

Have a look at their website www.radionz.co.nz and see if there's anything there of interest, I think you can also listen to it over the net.

Before you consider whether you are going to be happy in NZ you need to make sure you're going to be happy in your jobs. Good luck.

livewire

Hey Spoys, found the link for that broadcast - it's on the net for 7 days.

The link is http://www.radionz.co.nz/nr/programm...onoon/20060215 look at the item entitled "court of appeal" there are also a couple of other items on the page which you might find of interest.

As an aside, The TVNZ item was also very interesting - quite an insight into the commerical aspects of TV in NZ and why we sometimes get so much fluff being aired.