New Zealand’s Department of Labour has surveyed around 2,000 migrants, asking for their opinions about life in New Zealand. Over half the responses came from British migrants. This reflects:
- The large number of British arrivals in the Skilled Migrant Category in the last year or two.
- A greater enthusiasm on the part of British migrants than migrants from China and South Korea to complete the survey.
Work
Most migrants were happy in their jobs. 8 percent of migrants said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their jobs. Most of the dissatisfaction was related either to low pay or to migrants’ skills and experience not being used to the desired extent.
New Zealand
For most migrants the positives outweighed the negatives.
| Things migrants liked most about New Zealand | Percent |
| Climate, natural beauty, or clean green environment | 85% |
| Friendly people or relaxed way of life | 79% |
| Recreation and leisure activities | 65% |
| Safety from crime or violence | 59% |
| Able to achieve desired lifestyle | 58% |
| Things migrants disliked most about New Zealand | Percent |
| Distance from home or family | 40% |
| Cost of health services | 35% |
| Bad driving/lack of road safety | 35% |
| Poor public transport or lack of public transport | 32% |
| Poor quality housing or cost of living | 22% |