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“…what life is really like for US expats in New Zealand” is the full article title in the Guardian.
It’s a good article, as Guardian articles generally are. The title is light-hearted, but the subtext of the article is — to me, an American living in Aotearoa/New Zealand — devastatingly sad and upsetting.
The reasons people immigrate here from the States are many, but if you’ve followed recent events at all in the US, you can guess what the big ones are.
It is not my purpose here to encourage you to move here, though should you choose to do that it would (to me at least) be understandable. The truly upsetting thing about all this is, needless to say, the abysmal condition of what is actually a wonderful land full of wonderful people — the USA — a condition attributable to hatred, bigotry, white/”christian” supremacy and fascism.
The notion that 6 very powerful, very hateful men — 3 of whom were appointed by a clearly criminal “president” — can override the will of the people and the mandates of our elected officials is horrifying and baffling overseas.
I moved here with my wife and daughter more than 15 years ago. Our reasons and process were complicated. Migrating to a new country is, for at least many of us, a difficult and challenging experience. It took several years for me to come out of depression and find my footing here.
Most of what is available in the US is also available here, with some exceptions. Some things are much better here, as mentioned in the Guardian article: health care (it’s not completely free, but much of it is), lack of firearms (other than licensed hunting rifles or target pistols, never legal in public spaces), government representatives are readily accessible (as in, they show up at the local farmer’s market), indigenous people enjoy increasing land rights and are relatively well represented in many government posts and services. Aotearoa has recently declared its first national Indigenous holiday, Matariki.
It’s true that the food is often quite different — who ever heard of putting scrambled eggs on top of toast? — and that most cafés show an unimaginative sameness in their offerings. Very few houses have central heating; imagine that on a snowy day in Christchurch, in the deep south. Mammals, other than marine wildlife and native bats, are an invasive threat to native wildlife, which mostly consists of birds. The solution is a constant regime of trapping and poisoning, without which the beloved native birds do not survive. You can’t buy graham crackers, albacore tuna, or Rollaids; challah and matzoh are scarce, and there are no authentic NY style delis.
But all of these differences are important mostly as reminders of the big things that one can’t have here.
Childhood friends and family are very, very far away.
There are no raccoons, squirrels, hummingbirds, orioles, cardinals, foxes, beavers or sugar maples. People don’t understand what we mean by “real” Mexican food because Mexico and its people are, sadly, just as remote as the rest of North America. Kiwis tend to like African-American music and films — the Black Lives Matter rally in Auckland a couple of years ago was impressively large — but unlike in the US, African-American culture is far from foundational to Kiwi culture.
Being an immigrant in another country like Aotearoa/New Zealand is in some respects a matter of moving one’s initial, aching homesickness into the category of life-long losses. And watching one’s homeland undergo terrifying spasms of intolerance, despotism and hatred brings on feelings of heartbreak and helplessness. At least that is one thing we know that we share with our people back home.
Poll
118
votes
Show Results
At present my feelings about leaving the US are
118
votes
Vote Now!
At present my feelings about leaving the US are
I’m staying right here and fighting
I’ve thought about it but it’s very unlikely
I’m really seriously considering it
I’m actually thinking about it and NZ is at or near the top of the list
I’m thinking about it but I’d go somewhere else (use comments)
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