Lower Silesia, Poland offers so much more than New Zealand.
Continuing in our Migrant Tales series – first hand accounts of the migrant life in New Zealand.
Today’s tale was written by someone who is leaving New Zealand for a better life and a higher quality of living in Poland. The reasons why New
Zealand doesn’t make the grade a many. Here’s here tale…
“I really wish I could talk about these things frankly on my own blog but I run the risk that someone from my own work seeing it or someone I am friends with seeing it and them getting upset or offended. Such is the sensitivity of people here to negative comments about New Zealand. So much so that I feel I can only be understood by other people who have emigrated to Auckland and are living here too. The gripes from my friends who have come here to live / make a living are all the same as my own concerns about this place. It seems I’m not imagining all of this.
Instead I feel comfortable to write about it here instead. Here are the things I have found to be frustrating about living here for these past two years. It’s for all of these reasons that I will be moving somewhere else.
After going with my Polish partner to Poland in Lower Silesia, I can see that you can have a better life there than in New Zealand and we are making preparations to move to Poland. Yes believe it or not, Poland is on the up and up since joining the EU and the culture and lifestyle you can have there is just incredible. Here are the main reasons we are going to move.
Expensive food
Expensive rent
Expensive to buy a house
Shitty public transport that never comes on time
Overcrowded and congested
Terrible traffic
Problems with violent crime
Problems with drug and alcohol-related violent crime
A massive gap between the rich living in the north shore and those living on the streets or in parts of south auckland.
A chaotic and disorganised healthcare system with overstretched GPs and expensive medicines.
A comparatively low average wage compared to other western countries
Apathy to world events and global turmoils going on in other parts of the world
The paranoia and hypersensitivity of local people when ever anybody criticises New Zealand.
The lack of access to a variety of consumables and every day items here. Often there will be only 1 shop (in a main city) which can provide what you need for something specific like say a particular type of glue. That one shop will sell the item at a premium because its the only place that sells it.
Poorly made clothing and shoes that is sold for exhorbitant prices, sometimes with a mark up of 200% even though it is clearly low quality and made in China.
The anti-intellectualism of the media – the media only show stupid reality shows or fluffy news, there is no real current affairs program to talk about issues affecting every day people. There is no media outlet that properly holds anybody to account.
The lack of diverse music culture here: On any given night in Melbourne or Berlin or London (where I’ve lived before) you can find every kind of music being played in pubs or venues all over the place. Not so in New Zealand – Ive found that every band is either reggae, rap or soul influenced – none of which interests me.
The holding up of sportspeople as gods. (Although to be fair that’s a western culture thing, not a NZ thing).
How Auckland is over populated and yet the rest of the country is practically empty- a planning or immigration fail…wtf?
The bi-culturalism of the country: this ignores the fact that Asians are now as numerous as Maori but are yet invisible in the media and in social policy. A more outwardly looking and international country would honour people from other parts of the world who come here, but its like foreigners are invisible and ignored here (ostracised from kiwi social circles) and also in social policy.
The now confirmed massive amounts of tax evasion here – and not surprisingly, the New Zealand media kept quiet about it and nobody in New Zealand really talks about it.
How 1 in 3 children are living in poverty here. Just not right for a so-called developed country.
The real irony is, now we have discovered that it’s possible to have a much higher quality of living in Poland – a former part of the Soviet Union compared to a so-called developed nation like New Zealand.”
About Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia’s cultural landscape includes approximately 200 regional and national cultural institutions, 700 libraries, 42 museums, 19 theaters and musical institutions, 23 art galleries, and 36 art colleges and universities. Regularly held musical and drama performances attract visitors from all over the world. As one of the most significant Polish cultural centers, Lower Silesia is famous for its festivals. Every year in the region there are about thirty regional, national and international music, theater and film festivals.
E2NZ.org 
I also wanted to brush on a recent experience with N.Z beuraracy ,I won’t mention my recent interaction in which the county council claimed ownership over a piece of land adjacent to my property however denied all responsibility for maintaining it,nope I won’t mention that.
I was unfortunate enough to have to re sit my N.Z drivers licence ,I read the road code and noticed that many of the questions were designed not to test knowledge but rather to intentionally trick people into choosing incorrect answers based on the wording of the questions and answers.One such trick was to substitute a correct speed limit answer with one which said such things as mph rather than kph ,irrelevant in a country where we use the metric system and our vehicle speedometers and road signs have been in kph for over 40 years.There were many examples of this stupidity however I decided just to memorise their stupidity and received a 100% score.When it came to the practical test $60.00 I failed before even driving anywhere as my car had a burned out bulb in the high stop light on the hatchback,I was asked to pay another $60.00 and rebooked for the following day,the entire test procedure seems to be designed to terrify and intimidate the applicant ,the use of words like critical error and instant fail were happily banded around .I have driven all over the world during the last 35 years and just determined myself not to let these idiots rock my calm ,I would compare the driving stress equivalent to having a women in labour screaming at me from the passenger seat.Apparently they only have a 42% pass rate which coincidentally would mean that 58% of applicants pay their application fee multiple times,no doubt many victims of this scam are novice drivers who are struggling to allocate time and money for this idiocy.The test fool couldn’t help but tell me I had not correctly checked the blind spot when making a left turn and he was basically doing me a huge favour by letting me pass,I counted ,he told me this same bullshit 8 different times in different ways which stressed his authority to fail me and what a good guy he was for letting me slide,what a dick,he then went on to tell me that the applicant ahead of me had arrived without an authorised driver so he had immediatly failed her and threatened to call the police if she attempted to leave without an authorised driver .
Why these people can’t just pass competent drivers and let the police deal with their behaviour after that is a Kiwi thing and we still have the worst most incompetent drivers in the world .
To me this is just another example of self centered,self important N.Z retards making one another’s lives more complicated and difficult every chance they get.Wish I could have had the opportunity to meet a guy like this looking all lost in L.A I could have given him really good instructions how to get to Compton and he could get some real life experience.
Well if N.Z wants to investigate our internal social issues we might want to start by appointing non corrupt officials to investigate and attempt to resolve the problems. N.Z is a low wage economy and many of the labour law protections have been eroded and completely removed.While N.Z workers have had their 10 minute morning and afternoon tea breaks removed ,our government, on behalf of the N.Z taxpayer sent someone called Dame Goddard to England as our envoy to investigate the horrible crisis of child abuse which is ongoing in N.Z.Dame Goddard apparently saw this role as an opportunity for a N.Z taxpayer expensed holiday in Europe.Despite receiving salary ,expenses and a general renumeration package of around N.Z $660,000 per annum ,that’s N.Z $55000 per month .Dame Goddard decided to say fuck the abused children and take the first 3 months of her 5 year tenure as holiday and play time on our dime .To put her salary in proportion ,her annual salary is equal to what your average Kiwi( the people she was supposed to represent) would earn in over 13 years.
Dame Goddard has now resigned after 16 months in her position ,this will no doubt protect her from answering some awkward questions about how she’s spent the last 16 months of her time .
According to reports available on line ,Goddard has been completely ineffective and distanced herself from the concerned parties( when you’re that rich why would you want to deal with nasty child abusers).In good N.Z tradition this issue has barely raised a ripple in the media and the N.Z public is not really interested ,we do hear a lot recently about a skanky looking hooker who got naked in front of a bunch of drunk rugby players and was apparently inappropriately touched .
With a huge lack of transperancy ( and apparently public interest) this bears the question as to how many other taxpayer funded elite corrupt frauds are holidaying around the globe.
Interesting article. We have been in Australia for a few years now and I would say one of the main things I notice is that the overwhelming vibe of hostility, aggression and downright malicious or deviant behaviour is not present in our day to day lives like it was in NZ. And we live in a major city here in Aus.
People in NZ just seem ground down and depressed and suspicious and like they want to drag everyone else down with them. Life over here just seems a lot more normal and dare I say wholesome and upbeat.
Ditto to life in the U.S ,people are much happier ,the whole ,be suspicious of everyone comes from the fact that most Kiwis are shifty themselves and are looking out for being done over by their neighbour or business associate who is most likely as dodgey as they are.The drag each other down mentality is summarised as the tall poppy syndrome and is the Kiwi way,best in the world at dragging each other down to the lowest common denominator ,destroying pride and diversity and being smugly satisfied to do it .Yeah Nah
Leaving for Poland may not be such a bad idea,it would seem the N.Z illusion is starting to unravel ,despite the media compliance there are some things which can only be hidden for a limited time ,corruption would be one of these things ,currently N.Z is under investigation by the E.U as being an international tax haven ,while the proceeds from this unethical business goes to the few ,the fallout ,if N.Z is found to be guilty could have profound effects on all N.Z citizens ,limiting our international travel and denying us access to international trade markets could change the Auckland cafe conversations.
Maori party has not only refused to endorse Helen Clarkes bid for the United Nations but has slurred her name and provided ammunition for her opponents.
Despite the best cover up efforts of Judith Collins and her team of spin Drs the real crime figures are starting to leak out,today’s tentative report ,crime increases 53% in some areas,that’s no secret to all the victims of burglary theft and assaults in our communities,at some point they may also mention that much of the crimes including child abuse and domestic violence are being fuelled by the drug methamphetamine which has now taken a stranglehold on N.Z society.especially in provincial towns outside Auckland ,it’s so deeply entrenched now it will be almost impossible to stop.
I wonder what will come to light next!
P is now rife through parts if the South Island but no one seems to want to talk about the issue. It is no longer isolated to just the less affluent areas. Given it can make people go ‘mental’ (for want of a better word) it is a grave concern
Very important headline in the leading national News source online ,Auckland Herald today had a lead story of a supermarket customer who using a self checkout stand was able to fool the code reader into believing that a $20 meat pack was actually a .89c bag of onions .This will no doubt make global headlines and is very indicative of the top class reporting from this institution ,well done yet again N.Z herald ,forget all the other petty issues facing our country ,we must stop the little people stealing from our corporate masters ,this person should be locked up and starved for a month.
Lol I’ve been doing that for years. Not with meat packs tho but with other stuff. I used to put 3 danishes in the brown bag and put it through as one, but now they are see through.
I say scam and steal from NZ supermarkets as much as possible because they RIP you off.
I did notice that maybe the reporter hates that supermarket.
The article (for educational purposes, of course):
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11682998
Great post! Thankyou for sharing and all the best in Poland.
I’ve been in NZ nearly 10 years and everyone should be aware that Kiwis are mentally ill people.
They are genetic defects. You will struggle to converse and understand them, so don’t bother. They are not worth anyones time, energy or sanity. Of course there are exceptions, but are far and few between.
NZ is a pathetic, insidious, revolting little country that lacks all morals, decency, intelligence and other common necessities to have a life here.
NZ is built on bullshit, extortion, lies, propaganda, jingoism and just about every other nasty infectious disease they can offer you.
The one thing that makes me laugh is my fellow British countrymen lying through their teeth and kidding themselves that they like NZ while they show no smile, look utterly fucking miserable and don’t even feign fake enthusiasm in their tone of voice. “Yaaaah, been here 3 years, its great” they say as they look like they are a day away from hanging themselves in their garage.
Stay the FUCK away from this revolting country if you have any sense what so ever. Heed these words my friends. New Zealand is a TRAP that will maim and scar you.
Cheers.
It’s still better than Somalia ,well except for the weather !
I’m not sure Poland is the Utopian dream for me. I’ve never been there so can’t really comment on it’s lifestyle, but I do know that many Polish migrants have sought greener pastures in the UK from their own country. Having said that I also have seen a huge change in New Zealand in the last 10 years and your comments are 100% true.
In fact so much so that you have managed to sum up conclusively some issues that I have been trying to decipher as my own paranoia or a certain malaise in New Zealand. Moving to a new country is different for everyone, having a partner from Poland would certainly benefit how you settle into a specific culture and lifestyle.
Auckland is one very mixed up town. The news, travel and weather is dominated by that particular region. It’s the perfect example of why we left the UK, the arrogance, weird spectacles and extremely false lifestyles so I wouldn’t be too quick to judge New Zealand on the downfalls of one very expensive, part of the country.
I have seen examples of your argument though in areas outside Auckland and you are absolutely accurate in what you are saying.
We are about to embark on a transition to the South Island in a last ditch attempt to resurrect our faith in New Zealand. If that doesn’t do it we may well see you in Poland in the next couple of years!! Good luck.
Good luck in Poland. Sounds awesome.
I just recently returned from an overseas trip to North America and couldn’t believe how polite and helpful the locals were. Putting this in perspective (and realizsing it was a holiday) I can now quite comfortably say that New Zealand is far below North America (Canada in particular) in nearly every aspect.
All I now see in NZ is self centered, penny pinching, un-hospitable people who would throw you under a bus (metaphorically) to serve there own interests. There will of course be exceptions to this as any country.
Canada scenery is like NZ on steroids.
Again I can’t believe what this once great country has become from where it was 15-20 years ago.
So true ,this has been obvious to those of us who have either immigrated to N.Z or spent extended periods of our lives outside N.Z.When your average Kiwi says we are the best in the world they show their arrogance and ignorance.The media is absolutely weak and government biased,the spin doctors have the citizens believing the corrupt governments b.s and as you mention the people are out to swindle one another for anything they can get.N.Z is a filthy trough and shows very little resemblance to what it was 25 years ago it’s become a society of shallow ,rude self centred assholes,the entire mental state of the population can be seen in their incompetent,dangerous aggressive driving practices.
Also being that you have just experienced the genuine hospitality of North American people I’m sure you will also feel ashamed that these same people (Canadians & U.S citizens) are so often the victims of violence ,scams and thefts here in N.Z.Kiwis make no secret of the fact that while they embrace the culture they hate Americans ? Go figure most of them only know about North America from B grade T.V shows ,Kiwis mistake the respect ,trust and openness shown them by Americans as foolishness ,more fool the dumbass kiwis.
Hey Tony hows it going mate? I broke my hand a few days ago punching a brick wall out of utter frustration from this place. Definitely not the smartest thing I’ve ever done!
I can still drive my car with my left hand as its an automatic and had to deal with many lane changing dickheads all the way home, cutting me up, driving like bell ends and getting abused and beeped at because i wouldn’t let them pull out of a side road. If i had the use of my right I’d of been tempted to get out my car and…ahhhh its not worth it. Why go to jail over these pathetic wastes of flesh.
You been up to much?
Hi mate ,moved house and bought a few acres in the country ,I purchased some sheep to mow the grass,no neighbours ,I have a g.f with an apt in Welle so I do see humans every now and then ,Welle people are pretty nice .Sorry about your hand.
Great stuff.
Sort of true. But then you went to auckland which is NOT New Zealand, they are called jafas for a reason. 😆
But seriously. …a part, big or not of the housing issue is our lax immigration policy. They let everyone in without having the housing for them, ergo prices havery gone stupid.
[Deleted. Don’t troll. Admin]
There is a paradox in this situation in my opinion, Poland for sure has better quality of life and has much more to offer, but it’s busier and sometimes less money for long term, just people are more hard working. If you don’t work in certain industries, or for certain companies – might be difficult – and once you are, you are usually delegated to Germany or Denmark (guess why). In NZ people could have better life (and they are living easier life), but due to the ‘zombie culture’ it is the other way around. NZers are exploited, as hard as Polish people, but more primitive way, It is a shame and I would not blame NZ-ers or Polish people – it is the management – who do you think created things this way. We are all doing jobs for the elite of certain kind. In NZ is just going to far way too fast and people who know the difference are escaping, but what if those who lives there don’t have any other point of view, would they be the perfect small experimental society….fake food, fake culture, lack of awareness, cut of the others, demoralization, use of physical workforce in exchange of fake happiness like drugs, alcohol, media wash brain, sport, rave, desires, primitive instincts, lack of proper language – the typical kiwi using less words than 5 years old child in Poland and yet is it not the language which is the drive to development. I think the world in general is heading to weird Orwell 1984 reality…if we are not there yet.
So I am not the only one – I really think NZ is good only for photography!!! I am from Poland, been living in NZ (Tauranga, Christchurch) and to be honest I was just escaping this experimental country as soon as I realized how stuck people can be there. It is great if you live in Australia to maybe go for tracking in the mountains – that is all. I did went through the worse experience of my life in NZ, feeling almost constantly threaten by the zombie society. I cannot believe how media are corrupt to put this shit place up to people’s faces that it is a paradise.
For me main points were:
– everything is behind, school, people, houses, standards
– lack of choice
– everything is extremely dangerous, people on the drugs, homes which are making you sick, roads where so many people are killed and the pollution due to the diary industry
– people lack of manner, morals, experience, education, intellect, knowledge
– often there is only and only one thing to do drinking while watching sport (because most kiwis stop doing sport once they drinking habits are taking advantage and the age as well)
– families (OMG! drugs, lack of basic things, zero empathy, I am not sure if this is due to
fluoridation of the water or something but for me it seems like a zombie society, there was so many people which had stories like : my son has been stabbed, I have kid 8 months and I am with the other guy now, I have ten kids with different fathers, not mention the abortion as a common preventive action from the birth and lack of any culture – except this Maori for sale to tourist – although I think they probably have the most culture in them – even though as always with colonized countries they have been wash brain and brought by fast food and alcohol).
The most people coming there for a balance between job and the family – forget this as well. You won’t find a proper job because everyone are like above and they don’t mind lack of quality.
Forget about any balance at all – and they sun will burn your skin to death. The crime on the streets – good luck if you are single woman for example. I cannot believe this society and it is scary to watch, as we are coming a dangerous direction. The zombie culture or the fear of terror – will contribute to power of elite class which eventually will transform us if we want to (dont mind like NZ) or if we will be forced to – like in Europe though the fear. Anyway nice to know I am not the only one 🙂 Welcome to Poland – where you have everything you need.
i so agree with you! i’ve been looking up Romania Cluj in particular i was born there and left over 20 years ago and can’t stand this wasteland anymore