Lifestyle and Leisure
Reasons to move: Safe kids
For families what higher priority is there than the safety of your kids? This is truly what every parent wants from their home because the consequences of not being safe do not even bear thinking about.
For families what higher priority is there than the safety of your kids?
This is truly what every parent wants from their home because the consequences of not being safe do not even bear thinking about.
For every generation telling the one after that their childhood was an innocent experience, far removed from the dangers and trappings of today's children, there is a horrible event that takes over the news for weeks on end and highlights the importance of a safe environment for kids.
This year alone, the news has been covering the horrific gang violence plaguing the streets of London – over 20 young people have been murdered this year alone in the capital, and the Government is showing no signs of coming up with an efficient way of combatting the violence.
Waves of worry have affected families, not just in London, but all over the country, wondering if their child will be next?
Nowhere can claim to be a crime-free haven that is the perfect place for kids to live and it would be unreasonable to say that New Zealand is the safest country in the world, however, in light of the recent stabbings and shootings that have rocked the UK, moving to New Zealand is definitely a comparatively safer option than Britain.
Statistically, the UK's most recent crime figures are significantly down on past figures – according to the Home Office, the chances of being a victim of crime in 2006–7 are 24 per cent, down from 40 per cent in 1995.
Ironically, crime figures in New Zealand have risen in the last couple of years, after a large slump two years previously. However, the figures for 2007 seem to show that crime levels are beginning to level out.
Space is also an important part of childhood – kids need the freedom to roam around and play safely, away from the dangers of an urban
environment. New Zealand is certainly not short on space. Houses have a lot more land around them and in may cases the great outdoors is right on your doorstep.
How many of us in the UK can say this as Gordon Brown's 'eco towns' churn up our greenbelt countryside?
There is nowhere on earth that can claim to be the 100 per cent safest place for kids to live, but with the UK becoming an increasingly violent place for children, a country like New Zealand could be just what families need.
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