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Emigrating to New Zealand
Some places have to be seen to be believed. For scenery New Zealand is unrivalled and Patricia Curmi uncovers the reasons why more Brits are emigrating to New Zealand
There's a good reason for emigrating to New Zealand - Kiwis are some of the friendliest people you're ever likely to meet. You'd be quite cheerful too if you lived in one of the most diverse, awe-inspiring landscapes on the planet.
A better quality of life was the single biggest reason Brits gave for emigrating to New Zealand - the Land of the Long White Cloud, and it is the feature they are most happy with after their arrival, according to a 2005 survey conducted by the New Zealand Department of Labour. Of the 2,000 people interviewed, 85 per cent believed the spectacular scenery made their life more enjoyable, along with the perception of lower crime, more leisure activities and the relaxed pace of life, a real bonus being that everything from skiing to whale watching is so close to each other.
Undeniably, emigrating to New Zealand, or any country for that matter, poses unique problems, and New Zealand is no exception. The cities still have traffic jams and no matter where you relocate to you may feel the occasional tinge of homesickness, but it's hard to find many British migrants who regret their decision to up sticks and emigrate to New Zealand. As Mike Cole, a recent emigrant to New Zealand, said in the March edition of Emigrate New Zealand, "It's a better, more caring society, safer for the kids, better weather, great beaches, less traffic and people and a general 'can do' attitude".
It would be all too easy to reel of a list of all the things that make New Zealand appealing, but it's far trickier to sum up how it feels to walk, sandals in hand, from your front door to a warm, secluded beach while snow-capped mountains peep over the horizon. Or see fruit stalls by the roadside that still have honesty boxes out for people to pay for the food. Even Auckland, the busiest city in the country, has miles upon miles of beaches to help you forget the rush hour, lie back and relax.
So what other factors could see you emigrating to New Zealand? Well the economy is growing, property prices are rising steadily and migrants are fulfilling a much needed gap in the market. The government, along with the majority of employers, believe migrants play a key part in the New Zealand success story. But the emphasis is being placed very much on quality as opposed to quantity.
New Zealand, at the time of writing, has upped its threshold for automatic approval from 100 points in the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), the most popular application route, to 140 in a bid to pull in more skilled workers. With a country roughly the same size as the UK and a population of only 4.12 million, it's understandable that they want to keep a check on what migrants have to offer instead of an open door policy. After all, living in community orientated towns and cities that aren't overcrowded is a big part of the country's attraction.
But to think of emigrating to NewZealand, or Aotearoa, to give the country its indigenous name, as just extended holiday is to miss out on a business market that offers big rewards to those with the entrepreneurial spirit. While the country isn't in a high wage category, the strong work ethic that exists in New Zealand is evident in the number of world-famous Kiwis and Kiwi exports. In this country there truly exists a belief that with a bit of creative thinking and hard work, anyone can make a go of it.
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