About
Name: Astin
Age: 33
Occupation: Student
Number Emigrating: 3
Emigrated from: Singapore
Moved to: Cheltenham, North Shore, Auckland
When did you arrive in NZ: May 2009
My Story Written: September 2009
Daily Commute Time: 35 mins if no traffic holdups
Part 1
What were your reasons for emigrating?
We wanted a quieter pace of life, away from the crazy ratrace in Singapore where work almost totally dominates your life. We were tired with the tried and safe method of living in a country where everything is efficient like clockwork and rather boring. There is no great scenery in Singapore, awfully hot weather and far too many people living on a very tiny island.
What were your reasons for choosing New Zealand?
NZ has an image of a clean and green country with friendly people. During our trip to NZ a couple of years ago, we were pleasantly surprised at the level of friendliness, cleanliness and how relaxing and trusting Kiwis were in general.
It also helps that New Zealand is such a stunningly beautiful country.
What differences have you noticed between your NZ town and your home town?
People here are generally quite relaxed and unhurried in everything they do. In Singapore, we would call this 'slacking' and Kiwis are quite the 'slackers', more so than Aussies.
People here are friendly in general but quite reserved in their welcoming. Trying to make friends with Kiwis takes a lot of effort. Much easier to make friends with NZ migrants (regardless of where they come from) because they know what it feels like to be new here and isolated.
What do you like best about New Zealand?
Stunning beauty, fresh air, the four seasons of weather, general friendliness and helpfulness of Kiwis, good service almost everywhere we go. Honesty and trust are usually the attitudes of most Kiwis in general and they are willing to help friends and strangers alike who are in difficulty (not that we experienced a lot of difficulty here).
What don't you like about New Zealand?
Perceptions towards Asians in general. It's hard to shake off the attitude of a large segment of the general population here. Kiwis here seem to have a very provincial attitude about the world, generally quite unknowledgeable in matters outside their own or country perspective. Hence they form opinions of Asians based on what they see and judge you first before knowing you beforehand. We had a little of that experience and probably will continue to do so. I suppose it could be construed as "subvert racism". It's not a big deal to us but I presume at some point it will be irritating.
Much harder to find teaching jobs because there seems to be an undercurrent perception about Asians being "not up to standards" and incapable of speaking/writing well in English despite that fact that a lot of Asians migrants right now are arriving on skilled visa.
This is a minor irritation but Singapore driving licences are not recognised in NZ despite being recognised in Australia and the UK as equivalent and exempted. You still need to take the theory and practical tests when you are required to convert.
What do you miss from your home country?
Food, family and friends in great spades. Enough cannot be said about it but thank god for Skype. Right now I think it's the world's greatest invention.
We also miss how cheap things are in Singapore when it comes to the cost of living. We also earn much, much more in Singapore with our extremely low tax so coming to NZ was not a case of "getting wealthier" but rather we are taking a hit on our finances, following our dream to get out of the ratrace even for a moment.
Auckland or NZ in general is not as safe as Singapore however it is still safe if you keep some sense in mind. Don't stay out late, stay away from bad neighbourhoods and areas, live in a nice suburb, don't carry too much money with you and refrain from showing off your wealth. Asians who are flashy are generally the target of thieves and burglars. This problem is especially visible in Manukau and Auckland City and during the time we stayed there for a month, we heard about a dozen different stories about how household burglaries are common and how ineffectual the police seem to be in reducing their numbers.
It seems like having household insurance and a burglar alarm is a must have in these cities. We didn't make a conscious decision to move to the North Shore since our rental was up and we could only find a suitable one in Cheltenham at that moment but we are glad we took that route on hindsight. People here are not afraid of being robbed and certainly it is more pleasant to read in the local news of events happening around our area rather that reading about so-and-so person/organisation/school etc being robbed and getting paranoid about it.
I sure miss the safe, secure environment in Singapore which all along I took for granted.
How easily did you find work in New Zealand?
Coming from Singapore, we were treated very much on the low end of the pole when it comes to applying for teaching jobs. My hubby is a very experienced, excellent teacher but it took him months to get employment after submitting dozens of applications, even for relief teaching. NZ teaching agencies themselves commented that Asians who come here to be teachers will face huge obstacles and we even know some dropping out altogether.
Finally it was a prestigious international private school that hired him. They had a very globalised perspective with many international branches overseas and recognised that Singaporean teachers are certainly quite good. They were quite fast too in hiring him, within 2 weeks.
It was a pity that government schools didn't bother to interview him or perceived him as unsuitable because of his Asian identity. It took us months to find a permanent first job (which was helped in some parts by an economic recession).
Previously he had relief taught in a decile 10 school which didn't have any vacancies and a decile 10 junior high school which was interviewing him for a position (several weeks including teaching observations) but only offered him a long term relief teaching position finally which he of course rejected. Two interviews only out of countless applications. It was a stressful time for us.
The same experience cannot be said if you are a UK teacher coming over. You have a greater chance of getting interviews even from overseas and even being hired while still overseas. We faced the situation that UK/NZ teachers are preferred substantially followed by other native English-speaking countries. Asian teachers on the bottom of the pole. The idea that principals here prefer NZ curriculum trained teachers (for government schools) can be quite ridiculous since clearly UK and other overseas teachers hire cannot possible have NCEA training before arriving.
My hubby is concurrently attending a NCEA teacher refresher course which he started in June and half the class are Asian teachers from various countries trying to get their first teaching job and the other half are Pakehas who have left teaching years ago and are now trying to re-enter because of the bad recession.
This was a sobering experience for us and certainly a word of caution for Singapore teachers coming here. It is certainly not impossible to get a teaching job here in NZ but you need to be persistent, work hard at getting people's attentions (here it's who you know matters) and be prepared to have your ego bruised at the rejections.
For my case it was much easier since I am applying to study at AUT for a childhood diploma. Took them one interview to accept my qualifications and suitability. Of course it helped I had degrees from both Singapore and Australia and good referees.
Name: Astin
Age: 33
Occupation: Student
Number Emigrating: 3
Emigrated from: Singapore
Moved to: Cheltenham, North Shore, Auckland
When did you arrive in NZ: May 2009
My Story Written: September 2009
Daily Commute Time: 35 mins if no traffic holdups
Part 1
What were your reasons for emigrating?
We wanted a quieter pace of life, away from the crazy ratrace in Singapore where work almost totally dominates your life. We were tired with the tried and safe method of living in a country where everything is efficient like clockwork and rather boring. There is no great scenery in Singapore, awfully hot weather and far too many people living on a very tiny island.
What were your reasons for choosing New Zealand?
NZ has an image of a clean and green country with friendly people. During our trip to NZ a couple of years ago, we were pleasantly surprised at the level of friendliness, cleanliness and how relaxing and trusting Kiwis were in general.
It also helps that New Zealand is such a stunningly beautiful country.
What differences have you noticed between your NZ town and your home town?
People here are generally quite relaxed and unhurried in everything they do. In Singapore, we would call this 'slacking' and Kiwis are quite the 'slackers', more so than Aussies.
People here are friendly in general but quite reserved in their welcoming. Trying to make friends with Kiwis takes a lot of effort. Much easier to make friends with NZ migrants (regardless of where they come from) because they know what it feels like to be new here and isolated.
What do you like best about New Zealand?
Stunning beauty, fresh air, the four seasons of weather, general friendliness and helpfulness of Kiwis, good service almost everywhere we go. Honesty and trust are usually the attitudes of most Kiwis in general and they are willing to help friends and strangers alike who are in difficulty (not that we experienced a lot of difficulty here).
What don't you like about New Zealand?
Perceptions towards Asians in general. It's hard to shake off the attitude of a large segment of the general population here. Kiwis here seem to have a very provincial attitude about the world, generally quite unknowledgeable in matters outside their own or country perspective. Hence they form opinions of Asians based on what they see and judge you first before knowing you beforehand. We had a little of that experience and probably will continue to do so. I suppose it could be construed as "subvert racism". It's not a big deal to us but I presume at some point it will be irritating.
Much harder to find teaching jobs because there seems to be an undercurrent perception about Asians being "not up to standards" and incapable of speaking/writing well in English despite that fact that a lot of Asians migrants right now are arriving on skilled visa.
This is a minor irritation but Singapore driving licences are not recognised in NZ despite being recognised in Australia and the UK as equivalent and exempted. You still need to take the theory and practical tests when you are required to convert.
What do you miss from your home country?
Food, family and friends in great spades. Enough cannot be said about it but thank god for Skype. Right now I think it's the world's greatest invention.
We also miss how cheap things are in Singapore when it comes to the cost of living. We also earn much, much more in Singapore with our extremely low tax so coming to NZ was not a case of "getting wealthier" but rather we are taking a hit on our finances, following our dream to get out of the ratrace even for a moment.
Auckland or NZ in general is not as safe as Singapore however it is still safe if you keep some sense in mind. Don't stay out late, stay away from bad neighbourhoods and areas, live in a nice suburb, don't carry too much money with you and refrain from showing off your wealth. Asians who are flashy are generally the target of thieves and burglars. This problem is especially visible in Manukau and Auckland City and during the time we stayed there for a month, we heard about a dozen different stories about how household burglaries are common and how ineffectual the police seem to be in reducing their numbers.
It seems like having household insurance and a burglar alarm is a must have in these cities. We didn't make a conscious decision to move to the North Shore since our rental was up and we could only find a suitable one in Cheltenham at that moment but we are glad we took that route on hindsight. People here are not afraid of being robbed and certainly it is more pleasant to read in the local news of events happening around our area rather that reading about so-and-so person/organisation/school etc being robbed and getting paranoid about it.
I sure miss the safe, secure environment in Singapore which all along I took for granted.
How easily did you find work in New Zealand?
Coming from Singapore, we were treated very much on the low end of the pole when it comes to applying for teaching jobs. My hubby is a very experienced, excellent teacher but it took him months to get employment after submitting dozens of applications, even for relief teaching. NZ teaching agencies themselves commented that Asians who come here to be teachers will face huge obstacles and we even know some dropping out altogether.
Finally it was a prestigious international private school that hired him. They had a very globalised perspective with many international branches overseas and recognised that Singaporean teachers are certainly quite good. They were quite fast too in hiring him, within 2 weeks.
It was a pity that government schools didn't bother to interview him or perceived him as unsuitable because of his Asian identity. It took us months to find a permanent first job (which was helped in some parts by an economic recession).
Previously he had relief taught in a decile 10 school which didn't have any vacancies and a decile 10 junior high school which was interviewing him for a position (several weeks including teaching observations) but only offered him a long term relief teaching position finally which he of course rejected. Two interviews only out of countless applications. It was a stressful time for us.
The same experience cannot be said if you are a UK teacher coming over. You have a greater chance of getting interviews even from overseas and even being hired while still overseas. We faced the situation that UK/NZ teachers are preferred substantially followed by other native English-speaking countries. Asian teachers on the bottom of the pole. The idea that principals here prefer NZ curriculum trained teachers (for government schools) can be quite ridiculous since clearly UK and other overseas teachers hire cannot possible have NCEA training before arriving.
My hubby is concurrently attending a NCEA teacher refresher course which he started in June and half the class are Asian teachers from various countries trying to get their first teaching job and the other half are Pakehas who have left teaching years ago and are now trying to re-enter because of the bad recession.
This was a sobering experience for us and certainly a word of caution for Singapore teachers coming here. It is certainly not impossible to get a teaching job here in NZ but you need to be persistent, work hard at getting people's attentions (here it's who you know matters) and be prepared to have your ego bruised at the rejections.
For my case it was much easier since I am applying to study at AUT for a childhood diploma. Took them one interview to accept my qualifications and suitability. Of course it helped I had degrees from both Singapore and Australia and good referees.
