Continuing in our series of Migrant Tales, first hand accounts of the migrant experience of New Zealand taken from places around the net.

Today’s tale was is taken from two posts first published on a British emigration forum, the author is in their mid 20s and considering leaving for America.

Having lived in Hamilton for the last 18 months, I have to say I can’t wait to get out of it.

I live in the Rototuna suburb, which is actually quite nice, but the place is just so boring and insular.

It’s the hardest place to make friends I have ever been to, the only thing people seem to want to do is go out and drink, which is fine from time to time, but not as a lifestyle.

The CBD is a crypt, there is no culture…. yeah, not good.

It’s probably fine if you are a lot older and just want to settle down, but if you still have a spark left in you, go to Auckland. I might see you there as soon as I can get a transfer out of here.

Hi forum,  my name is ***** and I have lived in New Zealand since I was 17, in 2005.

Having been here for 7 years,  I feel I have become so used to it,  that  I can give some insight into the positive and negative sides of New
Zealand.

When we were first going to move out here,  my parents fed me a fantastical story about a land of wonder and beauty.  And while there is  some truth to that,  it doesn’t paint the full picture.

The main advantage New Zealand has is the weather,  which obviously is a  lot better than that of the UK.  This is especially true for people who  like to do a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking,  watersports etc,  itself a great place for that.  Be warned though,  this is not Australia,  not even close.  Mid 20’s is what you get for the most part.

The other main advantage is the laid back atmosphere.  While this does tend to get exaggerated quite a bit,  it is true that work tends to be less stressful,  and you will have a more laid back lifestyle.  Again though,  for some people this might actually be a disadvantage,  especially if you are an ambitious and productive person.  An example of this would be a company that is satisfied easily,  and doesn’t take on board suggestions of how to improve productivity.  Most frustrating.

One more advantage is the relative safety of the environment,  to bring up children and things like that.  However in my experience this is relative.  If you moved from the lake district to South Auckland, obviously SA is more dangerous,  dirty and horrible.  So generally this is in relation to moving from inner city UK to small town NZ.

Ok and now for the negatives.

First and foremost is the isolation.  You are not only a long way from your family,  you are a long way from…..  Everything.  It’s going to cost you a minimum of 2000 dollars to get off this island for a holiday,  and even then I sure hope you like Australia,  because that’s where you will be going.  If you are a person who likes to explore the different cultures that Europe and North Africa has to offer,  you can forget anything like that,  unless you want to spend an extortionate
amount you are limited to Australasia. And it gets old,  real fast.

Culture in general is in short supply,  world class musical acts and sports events don’t come here very often,  so I hope you like rugby and kiwi music a lot.

The second disadvantage applies only to small town New Zealand,  Auckland is a little bit better.  And that is making friends and meeting  people.  Kiwis have a reputation for being a friendly,  open and welcoming people,  and I’m not sure where this has come from.  I have a good group of friends,  but fitting in is hard. Most kiwis I have met in the last 7 years are happy to hang round with the people they went to school with,  and aren’t fussed about meeting new people,  or doing
anything other than drink at the weekends.  It may seem a generalising statement,  but it’s what I have found.  You need to be very persistent to make any friends.  Auckland is different because it’s more open minded,  I made friends easy there.

So really that’s all there is to it.  It can be a great place,  but it might not be the paradise you have in your mind.

I would advise NZ to married couples with very young children,  I would advise younger people under the age of 40 to consider alternative options like Australia or the states,  as you will get bored here.

If anyone has any questions,  ask away

We’d also like to hear from people who have managed to get out of New Zealand, how long it took them, how much it cost, what they did to facilitate their departure, etc. There are reports that it costs as much to leave as it does to arrive.