Moving to NZ was a culture shock, even for an Aussie
The rose-tinted glasses came off, reality set in and my idealistic beliefs about life in NZ were severely tested.
It was a culture shock, even for me - someone who knew New Zealand well... or so I thought.
I moved my life from Australia to New Zealand in July 2015. I had experienced a few setbacks and needed a drastic change of scene. I successfully applied for a job in tertiary education in Christchurch and I made the leap across the ditch. I thought, "how hard can it be? I know it". I was born in Australia, however five generations before me were all born and bred New Zealanders.
My parents made the move across the ditch in the late seventies, but they always kept in touch with their Kiwi roots and made sure their children knew where they came from. Frequent family visits back to New Zealand ensured we had firm ties on both sides of the Tasman. It also made me feel confident that I knew the place and what to expect living there.
The first year after my move proved my "knowledge" was rather superficial. The rose-tinted glasses came off, reality set in and my idealistic beliefs about life in NZ were severely tested.
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I always knew New Zealand was not as economically robust as Australia, and I did expect to experience a slight change in my general financial state of affairs. However, I wasn't prepared for the poverty and ever-growing inequality that I see around me - in my own backyard and, no doubt, throughout the whole country.
A lot of people do it tough here. Wages are far lower than in Australia - fact - and the cost of living is higher, in my experience. The job market seems tougher and the "assistance" from the Government less effective and harder to obtain for people in genuine need (again, my perception - I'm sure there will be plenty of opposing commenters on this one - judge away!).
The most difficult and bitter pill to swallow for me is the dreadful housing situation and the fact that thousands of New Zealanders do not have a roof over their heads and a place to call home. Even worse, is the fact that the Government and other "wealthy entities" do not seem to care all that much, nor see any sort of urgency in finding solutions.
The steps taken so far to address the situation are clearly not having much of an impact and seem rather like token gestures to keep the watchdogs and voters believing they are doing all that they can. I have a good job and am lucky enough to be able to rent a roof over my head. Thousands of New Zealanders do not, and it bothers me that this is somehow acceptable in a modern developed society.
Home ownership would have been a very realistic goal for me in Australia. Now, it's a very distant dream.
Sure, there is poverty and homelessness in Australia too, but it is a far more systemic and pervasive problem here.
Home ownership in Australia would have been a very realistic goal for me had I stayed. Now I'm in New Zealand, it is a very distant dream that I will probably never realise. Again, low wages, high cost of living and the unfathomable cost of home rental mean that I will most likely be a slave to the landlord for a very long time - and I don't even live in Auckland! I feel for you all up north and wonder how you make ends meet.
Another harsh reality I was not prepared for can be seen in a rather disturbing trend that has pervaded even my life. A few weeks ago I called the police and made them aware of the frightening sounds I was hearing next door. It was undoubtedly a serious instance of domestic violence that got so bad, I thought someone would be seriously hurt or killed.
We all see it on the news - it is a nationwide problem. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the developed world - it is a national disgrace that seems to be frequently swept under the rug as it's bad for our image internationally.
Nothing can prepare you for something like that, and it should not be acceptable anywhere. All New Zealanders should be on notice - it's an issue we need to urgently address.
I am not painting a particularly favourable picture thus far and I can hear people saying, "go home then if you don't like it, Aussie". I'm not finished yet!
Those were the most significant negatives I have deduced from my life in New Zealand so far. However, rest-assured my experience here has been mostly good, with just a sprinkling of bad.
Nowhere on Earth will you find more friendly, down-to-earth, unassuming and humble people than here. Yes, it's a generalisation, but I have found it to be true for the most part. The warm welcome I received from people here when I arrived, and the help I have received from family, workmates and even strangers - both in a material and emotional way - was overwhelming. Even more so considering they knew I was an Aussie!
I'm convinced most average Kiwis are good, generous and caring people - this gives me hope for us Kiwis in a world where the future sometimes seems inevitably dark.
There are far too many more positives to mention here about my experience of life in New Zealand so far, but I hope you are catching my drift.
Before moving here, I idealised New Zealand as an almost-perfect country and thought I knew exactly what it would be like to live here. Whilst this picture-perfect mirage was shattered and my ignorance revealed a beautiful but flawed reality, I would not take back my choice to move here for the world.
I love this country and I am extremely proud to now be a citizen of New Zealand. At the same time, I also acknowledge that it is not perfect and we have a long way to go in some areas to address our social and economic issues.
We Kiwis need to roll our sleeves up - all of us. We have work to do!
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- Stuff Nation
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