Expatexposed.com

[kiwidream]

Just came across this site on the web due to a link on this forum. There seem to be many bitter and extreme opinions about living in NZ.

I wonder how much of it is truth and how much has been exaggerated/fabricated due to the negative experiences of a small minority with unrealistic expectations.

Has anyone else had experience with this forum and is able to relate to any of the content? Trying to gauge how credible some of the material is.

[YouMeAndThree]

http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....t=expatexposed

It's was asked recently on here

[Mamee & Co]

I have read some of the posts on it. To me, it seems to be people who possibly have had bad experiences, or didn't do their research before coming etc. They have therefore developed very extreme reactions to the place.

Yes, NZ has its faults, but so does anywhere, and I think, if you come expecting Utopia you will be disappointed. However everyone has a set of values and it is a case of those matching what you find and if it is a comfortable fit. For those on the other site I don't think that they have that fit.

From my point of view, before coming, I read both good and bad experiences as I think it gave me a more balanced point of view on arrival, so I wasn't shocked at the networking for jobs, the prices etc. etc. I knew what to expect.

[moz]

Two words, stay away...(from it I mean)

[Familyofmonkeys]

There was some mention of this other forum a couple of years ago on ENZ. I've just had another brief look, and IMO it seems there is a disproportionately large number of people posting who are in a relationship where one person is desparate to leave and the other is blissfully happy. Yes, the discussions do mainly seem a bit extreme, but it seems a large number of people are venting aggressively because they feel trapped with a lack of choice, and perhaps being in NZ is only a secondary issue?

I also think that, as other here have said, there are some people who simply didn't do their homework or really think about what they werre hoping to gain by moving here. I think it's important to have a 'big picture' view of life because it's not a steady state of existence. Throughout or lives, one set of frustrations will often be replaced with another, and emmigrating is no different really....it's just a case of lots of changes to get used to in a short space of time. Some people seem less able to adapt than others and have become disillusioned.

[Duncan74]

I've read a few posts, but met some of the people that post on there.

The information is probably as credible as anything on here, through the eyes of those that post.

What I mean is that there are people everywhere in the world that are unhappy with life, struggle to make connections and settle, hate their job, can't find a new one, etc etc. Most of those people are in their home country, but a small percentage are emmigrants. So the expectation that everyone that's emmigrated is going to be happy with life is really very very far from the truth.

If I had to say there was any emphasis on ENZ, then I'd say it was to help inform people. Not to paint a rosy picture, but to provide information for those that follow, right from the EOI through to house building over here. Expatexposed has a clear focus, but I can't see who benefits from that. Yes it's someone to listen to you moaning, but from little I've seen then I can't see where the real benefit comes from. But that's just my opinion, and others may well find it useful.

Remember though, there are generally reasons for people making those posts, it's not jsut really happy people posting that for fun. So the posts and thoughts are based on someone's real experiences, but perhaps without anyone to give balance then I wonder if some of the bad experiences and events get 'blamed' on NZ, as opposed to just life breaking that way which could happen anywhere.

[Super_BQ]

Consider the demographics of NZ citizens around the world. Recently i've heard on the radio NZ saying that there are over 1 million NZ citizens living overseas. That's almost 1/4 of the NZ population. Such a high proportion of citizens living abroad just doesn't exist in large 1st world countries.

Some migration stats below:

http://www.nzinstitute.org/index.php..._of_citizens1/

Also I don't believe the current National political gov't is doing much to make NZ a better place to live. The recent earthquakes will have a major hit on the gov't fiscal and monetary policy (mass amounts of borrowing in proportion to the total population). Places like Australia too can have natural disasters but the size of the population can weather 1 major hit. But for NZ, a major disaster with the same economic cost is a burden to the tax payers.

[Duncan74]

?? Bit left field based on the last few posts, but I'll go with it.

The 'OE' (Overseas experience is a rites of passage, just like sprng break in the US or what used to be interailing as a Gap year in the UK). I get the feeling economics means that the gap year doesn't happen as much.

NZ had the $8bn EQC fund for a disaster, Aus have had to introduce a tax levy as they couldn't stand that financial hit.

But in reality, those are jsut additional bits of information that add to what's a really complex situation.

EDITL TO clarify, the OE means that many kiwis head overseas for a prolonged period of time in their formative years, and so it's natural that there is a high level of permanent migration as the 'fear' of living overseas has been conquered at an early stage, they've built friendships/relationships and so don't come back from the OE, etc etc.

[JandM]

Duncan, do you have any figures on those who do, and don't, return from their OE? My Kiwi d-i-l seems to feel that there is a large percentage of her Kiwi friends of similar age who've done what she did - go on the OE (a prolonged one, in her case, as she also holds UK citizenship by descent), acquire a foreign partner, and then bring him/her back with them to NZ when they start a family.

[Super_BQ]

and so it's natural that there is a high level of permanent migration as the 'fear' of living overseas has been conquered at an early stage, they've built friendships/relationships and so don't come back from the OE, etc etc.

or it could be that the standard of living is so much better where they are that when they do visit NZ, they realise they would be better off not coming back to live.

The other aspect of migration is that we need to determine which % of those are 'NEW' migrants from places like Asia that know their standard of living would be far better in NZ than where they were from.