Permanent Resident in New Zealand - some impressionss

Lukas

Hi all

I am glad that I found this community one of the very few active ones debating the NZ emigration process and experience.
Here is a bit from “my story”:
I am a 33 y old Romanian national. Although I have completed my post-graduate education in Italy and Denmark I was never thinking seriously at emigration. Most of the people emigrating from my country are choosing Canada, few Australia…very few New Zealand.
In my case in 2001 I saw that is much easier to obtain a PR visa that a work one. At the time, it was also quite cheap (203 GBP). The pass mark was 24 I have got 25. In 2001 I Have stayed 9 months visiting the country from north to south, staying on the main cities and trying to get some reasonable work….then I went back in Romania to “recharge” my batteries. In 2003 I have stayed 6 months having quite a similar experience. Although I have met very nice people and I saw very nice places as long as you are not a tourist the real life in NZ can be a bit challenging. I have to admit also that it may depend a lot on what kind of life you are looking for and what you are expecting.
Reading your posts I was a bit surprised that no one is warning the potential emigrants about some realities on the site.

1.The Nature:

The nature in NZ (otherwise not virgin or untouched) no doubt is fabulous… but there are some minuses. You may see gorgeous bitches and great see water…but you can only watch…the water is very cold even on the mid summer and laying down on the bitch more that 10-15 minutes can harm you as far as the NZ sun is very dangerous. If you are having in mind swimming in Mediterranean style waters and Spanish or Greece style beaches forget…forget about it in NZ. Otherwise you can have a fabulous run on the morning along the beach, it may also please your dog. Another unpleasant think is the daylight brightness especially on the spring time….the good sunglasses are not a fashion accessory but a must cool

. Because of the light, I have had head eggs and eye pain for weeks Nutcase

. The clime in NZ is diverse but I found the clime on the South Island particularly Otago, and Southland quite challenging. On the summer very hot and dry during the day, cold and humid during the night (often you have to use the heater). And if you stay in an old wood or light structure house as most of the houses are …

The life style the people:

For someone coming from Europe in general and for someone coming from Easter Europe in particular, the kiwis would appear very friendly, very open sometime even a bit naive …and most of them very civilized.
Little bourgeois lifestyle…quiet, quiet…and again quiet. I won’t insist more about it, but for some one coming from Europe from a culture and life-vibrating city and if the cultural life is playing an important part on his life personal I can’t recommend NZ.
Although you may find reasonable European style cultural life and infrastructure on the big cities for an European for sure the cultural life is not a reason to emigrate in NZ.

The job market:

WARNING:
Although anyone is complaining about the money and the low wages compared with Australia in my view the NZ problem are not the money (about 20% les that in OZ) but the opportunities. The NZ job market is quite small unless you are not an agricultural or a professional somehow related with the food industry. There are good and well paid jobs but for those jobs you will have to compete not only with the 4 million kiwis but also with the 19 million Australians eligible to work in NZ and usually preferred to the new emigrants. The equation become much more complicated for those who are not native English speakers. Most of the Romanians living in NZ which I know have good jobs but, they are the kind of technicians who will find always jobs everywhere on the planet earth…I am not a technician but a social scientist .
The difficulty to find a good job make quite a good number of emigrants to leave NZ after a while. I an matter of months the citizenship law will change allowing the emigrants to get NZ citizenship only after 5 years (3 years now) which in my view is a good think as fare as many if not most were using NZ as a bridge to Australia.
Looking at the official statistics you will also see that the percent of kiwis leaving their country is very high…some of them will come back…some not.
In my view an European Union citizen having access to a job market of more than 350 million people, (thousands of cities he can live and work in any of the member countries, climateric conditions ranging from sub tropical to sub arctic) the decision to emigrate and to stay in New Zealand must be motivated by a total love for this country.

Advantages Nice One

In my view NZ is a great place to start a business with a good added value (not a manufacture one). Minimal paper work and bureaucracy. Great infrastructure…and one of the least corrupt countries on the planet earth. It is also a gate for the huge market represented by Asia. In my view, in economical terms this is the only comparative advantage NZ has compared with Europe.

This is my view, my experience…I don’t pretend to be objective. Probable I will be back in NZ in October. Till then I am thinking at the most suitable business, for my skills and financial possibilities (probable something related with educational services). There are so many people who would like to have NZ, PR …this is basically why I am still trying to valorize it somehow. fingers crossed

…please be tolerant with my English …I have learned it on my own when I was a University student Shy

OneWayTraffic · Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 10:53 am Post subject:

Your English is quite understandable, I'm teaching English to Koreans so I've had experience with truly bad English. Most kiwis that leave come back, although not always for good.

PS bitch is a completly different word to beach.

Moorf · Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 11:07 am Post subject:

I think your command of English is excellent Clapping

(ok, the "bitch" part did make me smile!).

Very interesting information too - thank you.

Moorf

JCM · Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 3:15 pm Post subject:

Hi Lukas, your comments make very interesting reading. Maybe its because I'm from the UK, but I've found the summer waters in the North of NZ very acceptable during the summer and Autumn. Definitely not as warm as the Greek Islands, but not cold enough to cause discomfort. I agree that the waters around the South Island are chilly though.

Definitely agree about the strength of the sunlight - I hadn't encountered such strong sunlight until I came here. Again, I've found a big difference between the intensity of the summer sunlight up Auckland way and down here in Christchurch. It's less intense in Christchurch - and much nicer for that.

You are right - not many people come here for the money. To make lots of money the U.S., I'm certain, is the best location.

Lukas · Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 8:16 pm Post subject:

..to OneWayTraffic

comparing my English with tho one of your Korean students...for sure is not a compliment. I agree that my written English need some serious work Wink

sesame · Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 4:16 pm Post subject:

Hi, Lukas!

i love your english!! Wink

hello to rumania!!

you are bright and bold to write your post and i for one, thank you immensely for that! i learned alot from it!

my husband, little boy and i are seriously thinking about immigrating to nz .... we currently live in the usa (where the three of us were born) - i lived/grew up in vienna austria for over 20 years - so europe is the home of my heart. in fact, we have just recently decided to go to europe FIRST (originally we were headed for nz this fall) ... but with a student loan to pay off (never mind money to take with us ...) ... we've opted for good ole vienna where we can stay inexpensively, have the support of family and friends, where my husband can get a 'good' IT job through connections (i'm a resident too....that might help??) ... so we'll do that first, see how it 'feels', show my husband a bit of culture (paris, venice,.... with a concert pianist as a stepfather - i 've done it all ?) - but my husband has never been out of this (usa) country ...

.... both of us could easily fall in love with the quiet lifestyle in nz though.... we're organic food grower's at heart, and love to homestead ...... but i do have some reservations, and you've helped me address them at a deeper level.... overall, i still think nz is geopolitically the best place on earth .... and that will be a big deciding factor for us in the end ..... sorry to hear about the cold/chilly ocean though ...

thanks again - please keep posting!
Yes

sesame~

richsadams · Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 4:17 pm Post subject: Lukas

Hi Lukas and All

I found your post fascinating and in parts hilarious…not that you intended it to be, but I had to thank you for making me laugh out loud! Laughing

Laying on the beach! Priceless! Woo hoo! cool

I commend you for your openness and honesty and since I’m only a newbie Kiwi from the U.S. can only agree with your take on things. It’s always educational and fun to hear what people from other places think…good bad or otherwise.

Your English is probably pretty close to excellent…it’s those darn spell checkers isn’t it??

Thanks again and let us know how you’re doing!

Lukas · Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:26 am Post subject:

And something else....

In downtown Christchurch you may find an office designed by the City Council to give advices to the new emigrants who may whish to locate in Canterbury.
I had a two hours discussion with the guy at the office. The guy was firmly convinced that is living in the World’s best city -“you don’t have to be a millionaire to live like a millionaire”- one of his arguments…well I didn’t argue him about it…why not to live him happy. Our talk may have ended in half an hour but at a certain moment he touch the NZ political field, more exactly the countries external relations…that NZ may have been created as a piece of Europe on the South Pacific but Europe is far away and the country need a more geographical realistic economic and politic orientation as well as his own identity. I told him that is a bit hilarious the fact that NZ was economically and culturally a part of Europe by the 19 century regardless the huge distance for the time while today on the jumbo jet era it seems to be too far… cool

Finally I went out from his office with two priceless advices:
As an immigrant to be successful in New Zealand you need to know exactly what you want and also to know exactly what is your comparative advantage for that on the NZ context.
Nice One

Unless you came in with a good capital and you sell previously your "Lexus and your wife’s Mercedes" Mr. Green

, many if not most are coming with an “I will do everything” policy…Honestly I saw many disappointed people. With this policy you may survive, but probable never regain your professional status. This is also the main reason the NZIS has changed the immigration policy: to avoid the too many “tax drivers” “cleaners”’ “laborers” and “factory workers” with an M.A or a PhD.

fingers crossed

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

Moorf · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:59 am Post subject:

Perhaps that's the case if you want to continue the lifestyle you currently enjoy in the UK / Europe / USA etc but that's not what it's all about is it?

It's about quality of life .. for us anyway - sod the Lexus and give us a truck and countryside to drive it in and we're happy bunnies Nice One

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

Lukas · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:04 am Post subject:

Ohhh yesss... Clapping

you have forgoted the first rule for an sucessfull emigrant...don't think as a turist.
You may take the truck and have a ride on the countryside...one day..one month ...but then...

By the way...to ride a truck on the countryside you don't relly need to go 20000 KM Wink

markkellaway · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:18 am Post subject:

This thread is interesting, one person seeing the glass half empty, the other seeing it half full and all the other sayings that mean the same thing.

Are you living in NZ now Lukas? You do seem to be very "down" on life there. Hmmm

I don't think many people on the forum think that everything will be a bed of roses, the very fact that people read, and participate in, this site means that they are looking into their options. Having a positive attitude is not having your head in the clouds. We have some friends who have been in NZ for 6 months now, they still love getting in their truck and going out for the day and it is the simple things like that which has made them happy. Life is not just about a career move.

Mark.

P.S., and please don't take this the wrong way, what is it about eastern Europeans, I work with 2 and they would much rather look "on the dark side". Sad

Timbo · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:25 am Post subject:

Maybe Lukas is not familiar with Monty python.

All together now....."Always look on the bright side of life"

Of course the grass is always greener and all that.(very true of NZ). But surely things can only get better eh.

Moorf · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:43 am Post subject:

I do consider we have experience in this aspect ... okay, so we didn't move abroad but we did "relocate" from central London to Scotland and lived a rural life and loved it... and we still enjoyed the countryside, the rural aspects and travelling/exploring 5 yrs after we arrived!! Dammit, the week after we got our new Mini we drove the length of the UK and made Lands End!!

We just plan to continue this in NZ.... life is what you make it, why stop exploring just because you live and work somewhere - why not STAY a tourist - you'd be surprised how many people don't visit HALF the country they live in and yet travel abroad all the time for new experiences!

And after today's Council Tax speculations and talk about charging us to drive ANYWHERE in the UK then YES, I may just have to travel 20000km to do it.... Yes