Podlings drained of their essence

Another tale from the forum at Expatexposed,  a support forum for migrants in New Zealand:

“Remember the film The Dark Crystal – well we all feel like podlings with their very essence sucked dry since coming to New Zealand in Dec 2006. We came here full of hope for this new chapter in our lives. I had researched the place (well, I thought I had – and I was a Uni Research Associate in the UK) and we had visited for 6 weeks. My wife got the job offer as Nurse, I am a postgrad with 14 years research experience – well you can guess where this is going. I’ve had enough now that I couldn’t care less about the place anymore. We’ve basically lost all our money, extracted by robbing kiwis during our house renovations – god I hate this place, all smiles upfront and knifes outback. I apologise if this email is not particularly articulate and structured as I’m just blurting it all out.

We bought a house to renovate and found out the survey (if you can call it that) was half fake and made up – the guys gone bust and no comeback. New floors, new roof etc all unbudgeted for. Builders (if you can call them that) doing crap jobs, never returning, etc – on and on and on. All adding another 0 to the end when they hear my accent. Oh, and I am utterly p*ssed for forever getting asked eh?, what? uh? with my mild northern accent – are they taking the p*ss?

My daughter has moved school 3 times now in 3 years because of bullying and the kids incapacity here to accept or even acknowledge anything different to their own kiwi crap is unbelievable. She’s not going on the school camp as the Principal has now made the biggest school bully who has driven other kids to almost suicide, the SCHOOL LEADER. Just reward the bully would you, she now knows she untouchable, well done that person. The woman even had the nerve to say that camp was not optional it was essential – get real lady. I just said do your worst then. My wife’s employer works her to the bone (DHB) and we have about one in 5 or 6 weekends together at the most (thats 8 per year!). I have now applied for over 50 jobs, 8 replies, no interviews, not even for shelf stacking (no experience).

We’ve run out of money (well I have some, not a lot left in UK), unfinished house, can’t get a job to get money to finish it. Can’t make friends, I have to say I find locals the most insular, inward looking prejudiced bunch of d*cks I have ever laid my eyes on. Local place for local people with no sense of humour, post 8pm it’s like 2012 has already been and gone, oh I forgot the usual p*ssheads are out and about drinking and driving with impunity.

We had work, friends, family and lived in a rather nice place in Cumbria but alas were lured by the EnZid propaganda trap, like all of us were really. My daughter had a health scare last year (appendix and some cyst type thing). Not ONE person here offered to help out, not bloody one. Says it all really. When I leave this place, and I WILL, maybe not next year or even the year after but I WILL, I will never ever look back.”