Asia Expats Forum

ExpatExposed · Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Posts: 1 Location:

We're Americans, came from the Bay Area as skilled migrants last year, lured to Christchurch with the extra points and the promise of something called the "Canterbury IT Hub". It's been a miserable, year. I'm of Japanese descent, and I have never lived anywhere where people were so damn hostile to me. I've been called chink, chop-suey, you name it, and glared at, talked about and generally treated like something foul. I say this as a person who's lived in 7 other countries and visiting close to 40. I have also never been so consistently cold in my life, felt so ripped off by everybody from our landlord (and I identify as a New Yorker!) to the bank.

NZ is very aggressive about attracting migrants (the 900,000 foreign-born residents/citizens contribute more money to the economy just in taxes than the 310,000 NZ-born), but the fact is, a significant minority of migrants would never have come here if they were given more facts and less hype. I've met so many migrants from the U.S., U.K, continental Europe and especially Asia that are or want to leave. (I even started a support and info forum site for us, expatexposed.com.)

Seriously, give it a good, hard, pessimistic thought. It can't hurt you to know the worst-case scenario. There's good, hard, pessimistic reasons 20,000 Kiwi leave the country every year. There's some pretty hard, damn heartbreaking reasons 1 in 5 migrants leave after 5 years, with figures higher for Asians.

I've heard that Wellington and Auckland are better, but with the economy so underproductive and the infrastructure so poor (I pay NZ$90 for terrible "broadband", it feels like 1999), I couldn't recommend NZ to anyone who isn't wealthy and white, or doesn't mind being poor or having bottles thrown at them.

02simoz · Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Posts: 2 Location:

Please understand this, what ever they tell you its a lie. Technology hub? right... what are they counting the electric fence? The entire of the south island has only ! million people in it. Dont be fooled.

Christchurch is full of small minded people, well the entire country is, but the racist people down there is 3x what you would find anywhere else.
Yes wellington is better, and yes Auckland is better, you will find that Auckland will be more like home for you. a bit bisier than wellington but just more to do!

Wocca · Scribe Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 970 Location:

Confucius says ...

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.