The expat networking organization InterNations surveyed nearly 12,000 respondents of 177 different nationalities, living in 181 countries. Respondents were asked how they rated their new homes on factors such as quality of life, cost of living, safety, financial prospects, paperwork and ease of placement. In a ranking drawn from 52 countries – those for which there was a sufficiently large sample size – Aotearoa New Zealand was ranked in recession, 51st. Beaten to the bottom by Kuwait. Australia was ranked ninth best overall – people who arrived were much more likely to rate the economy positively, feel they are paid enough for their work or believe they have fair working hours. New Zealand’s poor ranking may come as something of a surprise. During the pandemic, some of its cities have been rated as the most livable in the world, and “move to New Zealand” has become a common rallying cry among Americans unhappy with their country’s political outlook. The country’s poor performance was attributed to lower wages and a high cost of living. New Zealand was the worst performing country on the survey’s measure of personal finances: 49% of respondents said their household disposable income was not enough to live a comfortable life, compared to 28% globally. For the general cost of living, 75% rated the country negatively, compared to 35% globally. New Zealand also ranked below global averages for respondents feeling fairly paid for their work, seeing purpose in their work or liking their working hours. “The cost of living is very high here compared to wages,” said one respondent from Botswana. An expatriate from India was concerned about the “widening gap between the rich and the poor”. New Zealand is in the midst of what opposition politicians have called a “cost of living crisis”, with rising costs for groceries, petrol and housing. Its strongest color was the countryside – environment and climate was the only metric in which New Zealand ranked in the top half of countries. Its natural environment was loved by 95% of those who arrived, compared to 83% globally – and for opportunities for recreational sports it ranked 84%, compared to 75% elsewhere. Mexico ranked first in the survey, with particularly high scores for personal finances and ease of settling. The top five were completed by Indonesia, Taiwan, Portugal and Spain.
