People are attracted to New Zealand by images of clear blue skies, fantastic scenery, friendly and honest people, low crime and low living costs. However, is this really the case? I've been speaking to people who have moved there and they have told me they feel almost lied to by the government of New Zealand, and by some New Zealanders. They've told me that the country, relatively speaking, is poor and a lot of it is in a state of disrepair. The wages are relatively low, and the living costs are as high as anywhere. Also, they've told me the crime rate is appalling, it only has a population of 4 million, and yet the violent crime rate per capita is higher than Britain, and also they have a lot of organised gang problem. I'm told you've gotta watch yourself more than average when you go out, and at night in urban areas, it's not advisable to go out alone at all - I'm not saying that that's different elsewhere, but it's a contradictions of what the New Zealand government try to portray to attract new immigrants, and also, a lot of New Zealanders are in denial about the state of their country and rant and rave about it. Also, while a minor dissatisfaction, I'm told the weather is not nearly as good as it's made out to be. British people have told me that the weather patterns in New Zealand seem identical to the UK, rain, then sun, then overcast, then rain, then sun in the summer all in one day, and not much warmer than the British summer (20-25C, occasionally pushing into 30C), and cold, grey and wet winters, which are about 10-15C at best on the North Island, and 5-10C on the South Island.
A lot of people seem to be going to New Zealand with the vision of heaven on earth in their minds, and discover it's worse than where they've come from, but can't raise the funds to get back due to the low wages so they're just doing their time in New Zealand until they are granted New Zealand citizenship, and can get out to Australia. Apparently, the New Zealanders with any sense/education have already done so.
This is a collection of what I've been told by people I've spoken to who have moved to New Zealand, of course, some like it more than others, but pretty much all of them said it didn't live up to the hype.
So, is New Zealand all doom and gloom like so many people make out, or does it actually have real appeal?
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