Kiwi, Me?

I'm up a little earlier than usual today. Uncharacteristically, I woke up ahead of the alarm because I have a question to answer. Yesterday I got a rather serious nibble about a permanent, full-time job in Wellington, NZ. I've been asked to answer the question "why to I want to migrate to New Zealand" in advance of setting up a telephone interview. I'm not exactly certain, "Because it is not next to the States" is really going to cut it as an answer. Or is it? After all I had a letter to the editor published in Macleans years ago now, well before 2001 and all the subsequent incursions into personal freedoms and the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" that have happened since, that if these things happened (as they have) I would pack my bags and move to New Zealand.

Obviously Elaine has friends there. And coincidentally enough a friend of ours from here has just moved down there for a job. That much I'm certain is worth mentioning. But how far do I want to go in answering this? Should I get political? And if so, how political? It's one thing to say this sort of thing in conversation with friends and acquaintances, but quite another in the context of a job application.

DRAFT: Why I Want to Migrate to New Zealand

Given that Lotus Domino and related products are typically deployed by larger organisations and development is typically done from "head office" locations, opportunities for employment in my profession tend to be concentrated in a small number of cities. In the English-speaking world this comes down to New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Sydney, Melbourne, Aukland, and Wellington. Within Canada, Vancouver is pretty much a "branch office" city and I have reached a point in my career where if I am to continue grow as a Lotus specialist I find myself looking to the opportunites in these other cities.

On a personal level, I'm not particularly fond of especially hot or cold weather, and neither is my common-law wife, and I also like being near both the ocean and mountains. Melbourne, Aukland and Wellington all have a climate, surroundings, and culture that compares very favorably to what we have become used to here in Vancouver - moreso than even my Canadian options of Calgary, Ottawa, and Toronto. New Zealand is especially attractive to my wife and I since she lived on the North Island for a year and she has maintained her friendships from that time and we also have a friend originally from here in Canada that has recently taken a position in New Zealand.

Another strong draw are the housing prices in New Zealand. Average house prices within the city of Vancouver are now well over one million dollars, making ownership nearly impossible without being forced into very long commute or settling for a tiny condominium in the city. The affordability of homes in New Zealand puts the prospect of owning a home and genuinely settling-in within reach.

Comments? Suggestions?

Before and After

I meant to post these ages ago. This is a little photo restoration work (the original and restored print are 8" x 10") I did for drakeula's birthday last year:

original

restored