Here's why the grass isn't always greener at home for us Kiwis

Whenever a Brit learns that I'm a New Zealander - grew up there, got the passport, only moved to the UK in 2017 - often their faces scrunch up with confusion: “Why would you live here when you could be living there?”

- Elle Hunt

It doesn’t seem to matter if they’ve been to New Zealand themselves or not. The implication is that I have known the Garden of Eden, even been granted a key, and responded by saying: “Actually, you know what? I'll take Norwich instead.”

Whether it better reflects contemptuous familiarity with the UK, or an idealised view of New Zealand, I’m not sure. But few people seem to believe me that, in many ways, the quality of life is much better in Britain.

So I was not surprised by the interest in a recent report about New Zealand “hollowing out”, with record numbers leaving through 2023 into 2024. Over the past two years, so many people have left the country - often for Australia, Canada or the UK - there are fears some small towns and rural communities will collapse.

There’s a long tradition of Kiwis heading overseas. What makes this recent rise in departures different is the apparent sweep of it. It’s not just young people off on their “big OE” (overseas experience). It’s those who are further along in life who have come to believe the grass may be greener elsewhere.