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Opinion
I came to New Zealand in the 1980s as an expat. It was a lovely place. Friendly people, low levels of traffic, fabulous beaches, jobs easy to come by. I thought I had come to heaven. I raved about the place to family and friends back home.
Now, after more than 30 years, I am surprised to find myself considering the possibility of going back to where I came from. This place is hell on earth.
New Zealand has been voted the second worst country in the world to move to, according to a survey to immigrants in different spots around the world.
In a survey conducted to nearly 12,000 immigrants, of 177 nationalities and living in 181 countries, expat network InterNations found that Mexico tops the list of the best country to live as an expat, while New Zealand ranked second worst, beating only Kuwait.
Survey respondents ranked their new countries based on criteria such as cost of living, safety, bureaucracy, quality of life and others.
Honestly, can you blame them? Traffic in the cities is unbearable because of a lack of investment in infrastructure, houses are ridiculously expensive (I could never have imagined paying over a million dollars for an average shaky little wooden house, yet here we are), gangs run riot, there are daily shootings, food prices are skyrocketing and jobs, which are once again easy to come by because of a chronic lack of workers, are still not paid particularly well. There is nothing attractive about this country any more… and most of the damage has been done in five short years.
While Aotearoa ranked 51 out of 52, our transtasman neighbours received a very decent ninth place, with people living there feeling that, overall, they receive fair compensation for their work, among other positive factors.
New Zealand’s 51st place in the survey was mostly due to lower wages and high cost of living.
If we stopped focusing on all this “Aotearoa” nonsense, and focused on things that matter, we might be better off. And yes – Australia is a far better place to live than the Venezuela of the South Pacific.
What is worse – in fact, horrifying – is that South Africa ranks above us, at 46th. South Africa is classed as a failed state, with one of the highest crime rates in the world.
If that does not make sobering reading, I am not sure what will.
With a worldwide shortage of skilled workers, this does not bode well at all for our chances of attracting overseas talent. Look at it this way: if you were a qualified nurse, say from Asia, and you were looking at your options, would you choose a country with good pay, decent housing options and one that lets you apply for permanent residency immediately? All New Zealand can offer is poor pay, no housing at all and the possibility that you will be thrown out of the country after two years of working here.
I know which option I would choose.
Ardern’s Government cannot even get basic things right. Australia and the UK give overseas nurses immediate residency, but the government has given no explanation as to why we do not follow suit. Jacinda, when questioned, mused that, if nurses were not prepared to commit to two years working here, maybe they didn’t really want to come to New Zealand at all.
Wait. What?
Does the stupid woman really think that this place is top of the list of preferred countries for skilled migrants these days? That everyone is fighting to get through the door? Well, this survey should be sober reading to her…except she probably hasn’t bothered to read it, as there is no applause in it for her.
What this will mean is a continuation, and further deterioration, of services in New Zealand. More people are leaving than arriving – again, you cannot blame them – and the health service, infrastructure services and other essential services will all continue to suffer as a result. This is another sign of a failed state, where citizens cannot get basic services because of failing health services and shortages in other key industries.
We are well down that particular track already.
In fact, when it came to the personal finance measures in the survey, the country was the worst performer out of all: 49 per cent of respondents said their disposable household income was not enough to lead a comfortable life – as opposed to 28 per cent globally.
Overall, 35 per cent of expats said they were unhappy with the cost of living in their country, but dissatisfaction jumped to 75 per cent when it came to New Zealand, making it the worst country to move to in terms of personal finance.
NZ Herald
It wasn’t like this five years ago. When the Key/English Government left office, this was still a desirable country in which to live. This disgraceful Government has damaged our country beyond belief. And when people would rather live in Mexico or South Africa than New Zealand, you know something is very badly wrong… and this Government is entirely and absolutely to blame. No one else.
