Good question!
We came here because we wanted a change in lifestyle. To be honest, we didn't really know what that means. We were touring NZ and on our last day we stumbled over a job add that perfectly fit my husband's profile. More as a joke he ringed, got a job interview the same day (had to fly from CHC to AKL and back) and then we didn't hear anything for three months. We were already back in Switzerland working like crazy again and then we received an email with a job offer. It took us less than a minute to decide. We packed up everything, got married and off we went. We lived in Auckland first (which was a nightmare really) and then moved down to the lovely Kapiti Coast.
To put it in a nutshell. NZ appealed to us because:
1. perceived laid-back lifestyle
2. great outdoors
3. green and clean
4. lot's of business opportunities
5. "something new"
Looking back from where we are now I must say that in my whole life I have never worked more that I do right now (we are currently building up our own business).
NZ is indeed a beautiful country and we enjoy all the outdoor activities enormously. Especially the fact that "our" beach is just a few meters away and it is always empty. During summer, when it is really (annoyingly) crowded, then you meet about 5 people in one hour...
Most disappointingly for us was to discover that NZ is not at all green and clean, quite the contrary. This - together with the way this country is governed - was almost a reason to move back to Switzerland. This government is (in my opinion) a nightmare.
There are (were) a lot of business opportunities here in NZ. But the economy is really low at the moment and many business struggle! We don't anticipate a change in the near future. Australia has a very strong economy and therefor we found most business opportunities in Oz, which means that we live in NZ and work 80% in Australia.
Did NZ live up to our expectations? No. Are we happy here? Yes, very much. But we are not more/less happy as we would be in Switzerland. Happiness for me mostly depends on the relationship I am in and the social network I have. Would I do it again? Yes! Will we stay here? I don't know. That depends on how quickly we can make our business independent of us. Also, we don't have kids and are free to move around and there is really still a lot to see...
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