I live in New Zealand, and have done so all my life. It’s not a bad place, and most of my family’s here, but I find it a bit confining. Ideally, I’d pick New Zealand up and move it to the Bay of Biscay or the North Sea or something, but I can’t do that.
The next best thing I can do is move to Europe. The following is a close look at the reasons I want to move to Europe. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Closer to things to do
New Zealand is gorgeous, and I know there are people who want to move here for the beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. However, it is also very isolated. This has its advantages but makes international travel difficult.
Our closest international neighbour is Australia, and frankly their culture and language is almost exactly the same as ours. I love the idea of being able to jump on a train and be in another country with a less-familiar language and culture in a couple of hours. That cannot be done in New Zealand.
So much history
Humans have lived in New Zealand for 1000 years tops. The country’s oldest building wasn’t built until 1822. There is no recorded history prior to the arrival of Europeans 300 years ago; even then, almost nothing notable happened before the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.
This sucks for people like me who love history – particularly older history. I love wandering around an old cathedral or some medieval church ruins, and there is nothing like that in New Zealand. However, Europe is full of old churches and castles.
Language Skills
Another disadvantage of living in New Zealand is that most Kiwis are monolingual. Everyone speaks English. There are quite a few immigrants (mostly from the Pacific Islands or India) who speak their native languages with their families, and there is a push to have more people learn Maori. Generally, though, Kiwis grow-up speaking English, and that’s it.
A disadvantage of being so isolated is that if you do want to learn another language and gain all the benefits associated with multilingualism, visiting a foreign country and immersing yourself in the language is very difficult. I want to be somewhere that I can easily immerse myself in a different culture and practice a language other than English.
That being said, I don’t want to live somewhere the culture is so foreign that daily life becomes a major problem. Western Europe provides that nice balance of being different but not too different, while also being close to other more different places.
Closer to my sisters
I have two older half-sisters. They, along with their significant others, have lived in the UK for over ten years now. This meant that for most of my growing years I didn’t spend much time with them. Sure, we did really well with social media and the like, but I wasn’t able to get to know them very well.
Last December/January, I spent time with them while I was in Europe, and it turns out, they are awesome! We had lunches together in London, went to Panto, and celebrated a birthday in Spain. They’re fantastic, they understand my desire for travel, and I would love to spend more time with them.
Great Public Transport
Public transport in New Zealand sucks. Intercity transport is limited to planes and buses, both of which take significant pre-planning to use. Our largest city, Auckland, has a grand total of five train lines with trains that run every half hour at their most frequent. There are buses, but they are slow and not particularly reliable. The capital city, Wellington, has a slightly more comprehensive train network, but it is prone to frequent breakdowns. I could go on forever.
When in London, I fell in love with the Tube network. Literally everywhere in the city is within walking distance of a station. You don’t have to check what time a train leaves because they stop at every station every couple of minutes. And the Oyster Cards take care of payment, so you don’t have to worry about buying tickets or working out what ticket is cheapest.
And intercity trains! Trains run between large cities in Europe more frequently than buses pass my family’s home in Tauranga. It makes daytrips to nearby cities so easy. Just jump on the next train.
Send lollies to my mother
This isn’t a huge motivator behind me wanting to move to Europe, but it would definitely be a perk. My mother likes Percy Pig lollies and that English jelly that comes in squishy, concentrated cubes, neither of which can be bought in New Zealand. It would be nice to be able to send her some from time to time.
So why don’t I?
Short answer: doubts about my mental health.
Long answer: like many teenagers, I left home when I was 18 years old. That year, my mental health struggle started, eventually leading to a diagnosis of depression and the appropriate treatments. My councillor told me that many people aren’t emotionally ready to leave home and separate from their parents that young.
While I am now quite a bit older, that first disastrous attempt at leaving home has left (mental) scars. Yes, I managed three months in the UK and Europe, and could have managed longer. However, that trip had a planned end; I knew that when I got back home, my home would be waiting, exactly as I had left it. If I moved, I would have to pack-up all my stuff for storage, and without me at home, my parents would probably move to a smaller house.
I’m not entirely confident about my ability to cope living overseas. Once the world has this covid situation under control and I have a bit more money in my bank account, hopefully I’ll have enough confidence to make a go at it.
Have you moved to another country far from your home? Or do you dream of moving abroad? What was/is your reason? Let me know in the comments below.
