Continuing in our series of Migrants Tales, first hand accounts of the migrant experience on New Zealand.

Today’s tale was sent in by Tony.

Tony was born and raised in New Zealand. He left when he was 23 years old and spent many long and happy years in the US. He was forced to return to NZ when his parents became ill, but is counting down the days until he’s able to leave once more.

Here’s why.

I have been reading comments here and feel very sad for the people who drank the governments Kool aid advertising campaign .Its a mystery to me why the N.Z government continues to lure people to this country with false promises of employment and lifestyle perhaps it’s because N.Z has become addicted to fleecing outsiders of their life savings and then tossing them onto the scrap heap.Many people come to N.Z with great expectations only to be devastated by the social isolation and the ignorance of the locals,some people begin to question themselves,what’s wrong with me ?why can’t I fit in or make friends?

Surely there will be a turning point when things will suddenly make sense ,all the while eating their way through the money they saved somewhere else,God knows there are very few ways to make an honest living in N.Z..

In general and of course there are exceptions, New Zealanders are mean spirited,they thrive on watching other people’s misery and failure.As mentioned above they are serial backstabbers and gossips, possibly some of the most racist people on the planet, arrogance is ingrained in this society to a point that you can actually see it on the faces of the people.
Who would have known that arrogance could be such a debilitating trait for an entire nation but it is. Just think best in the world, best in the world, those people who have had the misfortune to live here will understand this one, I wish I never had to hear those four words used together ever again,but unfortunately I live here so I am destined to hear it twice a day for the rest of my life. Dishonesty and lying . This must be what the young woman in the above post meant when she referred to N.Z culture.There is no N.Z culture outside lying ,it’s so prevailant and acceptable that most people do it without even thinking, the Prime minister John Key even does it on an almost daily basis,when they get called on a lie their solution is to lie about why they lied, simple as that, there seems to be very little shame in being caught out .

Rugby is a game which involves large men running around chasing a plastic air filled bag. These people smash into one another with incredible force often causing damage to their bodies such as paralysis , brain damage , knee injuries and many other forms of horrific and often permanent damage, the bill for these injuries is paid for by the employers of the country under whats called accident compensation insurance. This game is worshiped in this country, N.Z prides itself in being …..Best in the world ….at this barbaric sport. The local News channels usually dedicate 15 minutes to world and general local News(gossip) and 15 minutes to talk about rugby, most New Zealanders now more about Rugby than current events, global events or local politics , this works very well for the government who get to basically run a dictatorship and line their pockets with taxpayer money while the Sheeple watch the Rugby,God forbid anybody talks about politics, this is socially unacceptable and will lead to further alienation of the perpetrator.

Violence is O.K in N.Z, we are the best in the world at it, maybe this is another aspect of N.Z “culture”. Nobody is immune to violence in N.Z that includes women , children and the elderly unlike many countries where a person can avoid violence by not getting involved in criminal activity or going to known trouble spots and thus avoid violence,it doesn’t work like that here in N.Z ,people get beaten raped and robbed on a daily basis an incredibly high number of tourists fall victim, perhaps because they believed the hype about how nice N.Z people are.

Lastly ,New Zealand is a low wage economy,expect to receive about 30 to 50% of what you would get for the same job in the U.S also remember that you will probably not get a job as you will be discriminated against because you are a foreigner, Americans are hated openly no exceptions although American culture is embraced. Goods and services cost an average of 70% more than they do in the U.S there is a limited selection of available choices and the quality is often very substandard, many stores which sell these defective goods will not accept them to be returned when they fail to perform there intended function.

Houses are of poor quality , often little more than a barely habitable shack with no insulation which will overheat in summer and be about the same temperature as the outside environment during the winter,for the privelage of owning one of these shacks in an area of Auckland where it is relatively safe,without constant dog barking,stereo music from neighbours etc expect to pay about $800,000U.S.D as mentioned earlier, be sure to bring this money with you from your country of origin as you will never earn it or save a deposit in N.Z.If you would like to rent the shack instead of owning it be prepared to pay between $600 to $800 N.Z dollars not to bad says you, that’s per week and you will be expected to pay at the end of each week, if you get cold you can always turn the heater on, if you leave it on it will cost you about $100 extra per week on top of your regular overpriced electric bill.

Hopefully your accomodation will be fairly close to your employment as fuel is very expensive , about$100 U.S.D to fill the tank on a very small compact car.A word of warning here, if you exceed the speed limit by 1km per hour bear in mind average human walking speed is about 4kph , you will be photographed by a fixed mounted or sneakily placed speed camera, you will receive a ticket in the mail for around $40u.s.d. Its best to drive around with your eyes glued to the speedometer to avoid getting to many tickets, this is how it’s done in N.Z.When you park the vehicle its best to walk up and down the st for a while checking all the signs and making sure that they do not conflict one another, if you intend to park in a pay and display area make sure you pay the full amount for the time required , often when you return you will find the tow truck already backed up to your car and waiting to hook it up if you are late returning, they love to tow cars and it will cost you a small fortune to retrieve it.

This is getting a little long winded but I really hope it will serve as a warning to anybody considering making a move to this country,unless you are in a really bad situation in your present country don’t do it,if you read this and believe well that’s just the rantings of an unhappy person,it’ll be different for me ,wrong and it won’t .

I was born in N.Z and schooled ,not educated here, I left here aged 22 I lived and travelled in Europe before moving to the U.S where I happily lived for 23 years.I made the mistake of returning here to support my parents through their ill health,cancer etc.I used to be a happy joyful confident person,N.Z has made sure I did no remain this way.

I have singlehanded my own sail boat around South America and crossed the Pacific Ocean , not that anyone here has ever been the least bit interested in discussing my adventures and experiences , being that it wasn’t in N.Z I guess it’s irrelevent I used to wake up and look forward to everyday, not so anymore , I will be leaving here and returning to California when I’m sure my parents are o.k DONT MOVE TO N.Z UNLESS YOU RISK DEATH OR TORTURE IN YOUR COUNTRY.