Immigrant Couple Want To Leave NZ And Return To UK

GordonGekko · Oct 22, 2009

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26738

4th September 2009, 05:13 PM

Paul & Rach

I think its time to leave

We came here just over 3 years ago hoping like many people on this forum to make a new life in this country. We both gave up well paying jobs and were prepared to make every sacrifice to change our lives and live here forever. We rode out the early days blues, the home sickness and doubt which many here will recognise. After 2 years we felt we could live here happily and start planning to get our own house and make a life.

11 months ago every thing changed. I was marched in to an office at work and "dis-established" as they call it here (made redundant). A shocking experience but I tried not to dwell upon it. Since then I have made every effort I could to find new work. Initially I thought I could find work quickly but I have found the IT employment market to be impossible. There is deep recession in the job market here and some very dodgy practices such as :

* false adverts (extremely common),
* people interviewing simply to gather information from me about my former employer,
* Interviewing for non-existant jobs
* Agents Interviewing for vacancies which had knowingly already been filled.
* changing job descriptions as a means to exclude applicants,
* poor pay,
* pathetically short contracts
* project withdrawals,
* interviewing for projects which haven't been approved.
* withdrawing the vacancy after being told I got the job.
* Impossible sets of technical requirements. Bizarre combinations of tools which surely only a few people anywhere may have encountered.
* Absolutely no scope for adapting existing closely related skills to the job.
* Being excluded from applying because I once worked for a company they did not like. (this happened this week)
* A total in-ability to act quickly and decisively about projects and people.

Auckland is a desperate place to find work. I've applied for countless jobs. Some, I have 110% confidence I could do well. Others, I could turn my hand to easily. I've been told 5 times I got the job only for the employer to withdraw the vacancy or project. I work hard at finding work. I have many, versions of my CV. I've sought professional help with the CV and interviewing. I spend every day looking for work and find almost nothing to be positive about. My confidence in this job market is shattered. Even if I get a job now I cannot picture myself being happy, valued, confident and progressing here. The situation has by now, affected my personal confidence and I find the length of my unemployment an embarrassment and an issue in itself.

New Zealand is a lovely place but if you cannot earn a living, what is the point ? I feel lost and isolated here. I think I have made a huge life changing mistake coming here. I spend most days alone trying to grind out some opportunity for work. Its a miserable depressing existence. Also, we are gradually losing everything we have. Living off money we brought here for a house. Its a sickening feeling. Total financial free-fall and I have no way to reverse it except to consider leaving.

I know things are bad in the UK right now but looking at job sites there, I feel like a starving man peering through a restaurant window. I see opportunities which simply don't exist here. I see opportunity and a means to to carry on. I see friends and family I don't see here. I see potential and a better "life" than I have here in this place. I've never given up on anything in my entire life, ever. But with the annual christmas employment slump on the horizon (usually 4 months long) I am now days or weeks away from buying a ticket out of here.

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26738

neddy · Oct 22, 2009

That is just about right. It sounds like a typical Brit whineing.

GordonGekko said:
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26738

4th September 2009, 05:13 PM

Paul & Rach

I think its time to leave

We came here just over 3 years ago hoping like many people on this forum to make a new life in this country. We both gave up well paying jobs and were prepared to make every sacrifice to change our lives and live here forever. We rode out the early days blues, the home sickness and doubt which many here will recognise. After 2 years we felt we could live here happily and start planning to get our own house and make a life.

11 months ago every thing changed. I was marched in to an office at work and "dis-established" as they call it here (made redundant). A shocking experience but I tried not to dwell upon it. Since then I have made every effort I could to find new work. Initially I thought I could find work quickly but I have found the IT employment market to be impossible. There is deep recession in the job market here and some very dodgy practices such as :

* false adverts (extremely common),
* people interviewing simply to gather information from me about my former employer,
* Interviewing for non-existant jobs
* Agents Interviewing for vacancies which had knowingly already been filled.
* changing job descriptions as a means to exclude applicants,
* poor pay,
* pathetically short contracts
* project withdrawals,
* interviewing for projects which haven't been approved.
* withdrawing the vacancy after being told I got the job.
* Impossible sets of technical requirements. Bizarre combinations of tools which surely only a few people anywhere may have encountered.
* Absolutely no scope for adapting existing closely related skills to the job.
* Being excluded from applying because I once worked for a company they did not like. (this happened this week)
* A total in-ability to act quickly and decisively about projects and people.

Auckland is a desperate place to find work. I've applied for countless jobs. Some, I have 110% confidence I could do well. Others, I could turn my hand to easily. I've been told 5 times I got the job only for the employer to withdraw the vacancy or project. I work hard at finding work. I have many, versions of my CV. I've sought professional help with the CV and interviewing. I spend every day looking for work and find almost nothing to be positive about. My confidence in this job market is shattered. Even if I get a job now I cannot picture myself being happy, valued, confident and progressing here. The situation has by now, affected my personal confidence and I find the length of my unemployment an embarrassment and an issue in itself.

New Zealand is a lovely place but if you cannot earn a living, what is the point ? I feel lost and isolated here. I think I have made a huge life changing mistake coming here. I spend most days alone trying to grind out some opportunity for work. Its a miserable depressing existence. Also, we are gradually losing everything we have. Living off money we brought here for a house. Its a sickening feeling. Total financial free-fall and I have no way to reverse it except to consider leaving.

I know things are bad in the UK right now but looking at job sites there, I feel like a starving man peering through a restaurant window. I see opportunities which simply don't exist here. I see opportunity and a means to to carry on. I see friends and family I don't see here. I see potential and a better "life" than I have here in this place. I've never given up on anything in my entire life, ever. But with the annual christmas employment slump on the horizon (usually 4 months long) I am now days or weeks away from buying a ticket out of here.

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26738

kakowi · Oct 22, 2009

GordonGekko said:
...

This couple is quite shortsighted and this is due to a lack of thorough planning before migration and resilence after migration.

The situation can be mitigated:

(1) only one of them is out of job, the other is still working; so they still have an income

(2) he cannot find a job; so what's new? In singapore, we will laugh at him, call him fussy, call him lazy and inflexible; because he can always go for retraining and accept a $1,000 job over his last $5,000 job

(3) he can remain a New Zealand citizen since they loved the country so much and go back to the UK to work as a foreign talent and bring the money back to NZ; when they are stable, they can reside in NZ once again without going through the formalities of migration

Still that man may feel otherwise, especially feelings that he had done his best and the problem lies with NZ and not with himself for his own migration

In that case, he can always go back to UK and be a better man for it because he had made the effort to migrate and failed

Don Muthuswamy · Oct 22, 2009

kakowi said:
In that case, he can always go back to UK and be a better man for it because he had made the effort to migrate and failed

I thought he could be entitled to welfare in NZ if he is out of a job? Notwithstading that, he at least has a choice to go back to the UK. In Singapore you lose your job, you can't go anywhere so you jialat.

IWC2006 · Oct 22, 2009

There's why a lot of Kiwis move to Australia to work (esp Sydney & Melb) as there's better job opportunities there. I was wondering why didn't the Poms couple didn't consider trying to find a job in Australia because their NZ PR visa should entitle them to work there. Of course this is a very personal decision which we are not aware of just by looking at the article.

GordonGekko · Oct 22, 2009

neddy said:
That is just about right. It sounds like a typical Brit whineing.

If Ang Moh Brits are whining about NZ, imagine how much more whining & complaining Sinkapooreans will make about racial discrimination, lacking job opportunities, low wages & salaries, high crime rate, etc.. in NZ.....

GordonGekko · Oct 22, 2009

Don Muthuswamy said:
I thought he could be entitled to welfare in NZ if he is out of a job? Notwithstading that, he at least has a choice to go back to the UK. In Singapore you lose your job, you can't go anywhere so you jialat.

I don't know if NZ PRs are entitiled to unemployment benefits. Perhaps the British couple will have to become NZ Citizens first before they can qualify for unemployment benefits.

GordonGekko · Oct 22, 2009

IWC2006 said:
There's why a lot of Kiwis move to Australia to work (esp Sydney & Melb) as there's better job opportunities there. I was wondering why didn't the Poms couple didn't consider trying to find a job in Australia because their NZ PR visa should entitle them to work there. Of course this is a very personal decision which we are not aware of just by looking at the article.

From what I heard from friends in NZ is that NZ PRs aren't entitled to residency & work in Australia.

They will need to become NZ Citizens first before they can automatically reside and work in Australia for as long as they want. I don't how many years NZ PRs will need to reside in NZ before they can apply for NZ Citizenship.

neddy · Oct 22, 2009

GordonGekko said:
If Ang Moh Brits are whining about NZ, imagine how much more whining & complaining Sinkapooreans will make about racial discrimination, lacking job opportunities, low wages & salaries, high crime rate, etc.. in NZ.....

I think Singaporeans need more confidence and thick hides (thick skins) to stand up for themselves.

kiwibird7 · Oct 23, 2009

GordonGekko said:
I don't know if NZ PRs are entitiled to unemployment benefits. Perhaps the British couple will have to become NZ Citizens first before they can qualify for unemployment benefits.

That umemployed "POMMIE" should realise that there is a world recession out there and he is not the only one that is unemployed. There are also many NZ citizens that are unemployed while he being only a NZ PR should not complain.

In fact he should be thankful that even NZ PRs are entitled to 'welfare' in the form of unemployment benefits of around $200 per week subject to certain conditions like a minimum period of residency and willing to work in any kind of job given by 'Work and Income NZ' (WINZ).

There are also many ways of securing other forms of income such as taking in student boarders which reduces one's privacy at home but beggars can't be choosers.

And there is also the option of going for 'retraining' on a 2nd degree (no age limit in NZ Unis) full time to qualify for student allowances of about $200 per week for about 4 yrs (duration of a basic/honours degree) and an interest free student loan till the recession is over for NZ PRs as well.

neddy · Oct 23, 2009

And not forgetting that the Poms have access to the free healthcare in NZ under the reciprocal agreement with the UK. These Britons are just so spoilt.

The funny thing is that they tend to move to Oz/Nz with such ease. There are excellent service/support network (relatives/friends/employers/fellow Poms/established services such as direct furniture removal service)

kiwibird7 said:
That umemployed "POMMIE" should realise that there is a world recession out there and he is not the only one that is unemployed. There are also many NZ citizens that are unemployed while he being only a NZ PR should not complain.

In fact he should be thankful that even NZ PRs are entitled to 'welfare' in the form of unemployment benefits of around $200 per week subject to certain conditions like a minimum period of residency and willing to work in any kind of job given by 'Work and Income NZ' (WINZ).

There are also many ways of securing other forms of income such as taking in student boarders which reduces one's privacy at home but beggars can't be choosers.

And there is also the option of going for 'retraining' on a 2nd degree (no age limit in NZ Unis) full time to qualify for student allowances of about $200 per week for about 4 yrs (duration of a basic/honours degree) and an interest free student loan till the recession is over for NZ PRs as well.

Leongsam · Oct 23, 2009

IWC2006 said:
because their NZ PR visa should entitle them to work there. Of course this is a very personal decision which we are not aware of just by looking at the article.

NZ PR does not provide the right to work in OZ. NZ citizenship is required.

Immigrant Couple Want To Leave NZ And Return To UK

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