New Zealanders Are Flooding Home. Will the Old Problems Push Them Back Out?
More than 50,000 have escaped the pandemic by moving back, offering the country a rare chance to regain talented citizens. But they are confronting entrenched housing and employment challenges.
Charlotte Graham-McLay
Enjoying a slide in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.Credit...Cornell Tukiri for The New York Times
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Like many New Zealanders before her, Cat Moody chased the broader horizons of life abroad, unsure if she would ever return to a homeland she saw as remote and limiting.
But when the pandemic arrived, it “changed the calculus” of what she valued, she said. Suddenly, fresh air, natural splendor and a sparse population sounded more appealing, as did the sense of security in a country whose strict measures have all but vanquished Covid-19.
In February, Ms. Moody, 42, left her house and the life she had built in Princeton, N.J., and moved back to New Zealand with her husband, a U.S. citizen. She is among more than 50,000 New Zealanders who have flocked home during the pandemic, offering the country a rare opportunity to win back some of its best and brightest.
The unexpected influx of international experience and connections has led to local news reports heralding a societal and industrial renaissance. Policymakers are exhorting businesses to capitalize on the “fundamental competitive advantage” offered by the country’s success against the coronavirus.
The question is how long the edge will last. While New Zealand may look from the outside like a liberal Eden, those returning to the country face some of the same pressures that provoked their departure, like sky-high housing costs, lagging wages and constricted job prospects.
Given those issues and others, one out of every six New Zealanders lives abroad, a million people in all. Successive governments have pledged, without much success, to find ways to stanch the flood.
Cat Moody, a New Zealander, and her American husband, Eric Mills, returned from the United States.Credit...Cornell Tukiri for The New York Times
For many, higher salaries, particularly in neighboring Australia, are a distinct draw. Another powerful force is the intractable housing shortage in New Zealand, which has vexed the current government, led by Jacinda Ardern, and its predecessors.
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Charlotte Graham-McLay
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Like many New Zealanders before her, Cat Moody chased the broader horizons of life abroad, unsure if she would ever return to a homeland she saw as remote and limiting.
But when the pandemic arrived, it “changed the calculus” of what she valued, she said. Suddenly, fresh air, natural splendor and a sparse population sounded more appealing, as did the sense of security in a country whose strict measures have all but vanquished Covid-19.
In February, Ms. Moody, 42, left her house and the life she had built in Princeton, N.J., and moved back to New Zealand with her husband, a U.S. citizen. She is among more than 50,000 New Zealanders who have flocked home during the pandemic, offering the country a rare opportunity to win back some of its best and brightest.
The unexpected influx of international experience and connections has led to local news reports heralding a societal and industrial renaissance. Policymakers are exhorting businesses to capitalize on the “fundamental competitive advantage” offered by the country’s success against the coronavirus.
The question is how long the edge will last. While New Zealand may look from the outside like a liberal Eden, those returning to the country face some of the same pressures that provoked their departure, like sky-high housing costs, lagging wages and constricted job prospects.
Given those issues and others, one out of every six New Zealanders lives abroad, a million people in all. Successive governments have pledged, without much success, to find ways to stanch the flood.
For many, higher salaries, particularly in neighboring Australia, are a distinct draw. Another powerful force is the intractable housing shortage in New Zealand, which has vexed the current government, led by Jacinda Ardern, and its predecessors.
more...
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