In March 2024 I packed up my life in New Zealand and bade goodbye to the lush green forests, dream-like beaches and easy going lifestyle to move to London. The choice was not an easy one — I was saying goodbye to family and friends, I didn’t have a job lined up, and I was terrified.

However, having lived here for more than a year now, I can pretty confidently say it was the best decision of my life. Despite being comfortable with my choice, I’m always a little taken aback when I say where I’m from and people who were born and raised in the UK ask the same question: “Why on earth did you leave New Zealand for this?”

I think I must have been asked this a hundred times, and honestly, the only answer I had at first was, “Why not?”

But, once I thought about it a little more, I realised there’s so much more to my decision than just whimsy. 

New Zealand is a beautiful country — that’s undeniable — but it is also extremely small. Although our actual country is similar to the UK, there is a massive difference in population size. Aotearoa (the Māori word for New Zealand) has a population of approximately 5.4million people, compared to the 9million in London alone. When you’ve lived your whole life in this country, you begin to realise that no matter where you go or what you do, someone you know is going to hear about it.

I have proved the two degrees of separation multiple times since I’ve been living in London. As soon as I meet another Kiwi, I can find a common link between us within two questions, without fail. There is a lovely sense of community in New Zealand because of this, but it is a double edged sword, and I wanted to experience the anonymity that such a massive city like London provides. 

There is also so much more opportunity in the UK than there is in New Zealand. When I left New Zealand, our media industry was on its knees. Multiple news organisations had closed down, and the career I loved was looking increasingly challenging to maintain. Here, there is a much more diverse range of opportunities. The same is true for almost any industry — you will be paid more, and your quality of life will be better because of it.

I also grew tired of living in New Zealand’s unbelievably poor-quality housing. I am a renter, and always have been — and in Aotearoa, rental properties are extremely expensive, yet what you pay for is often cold, damp, and riddled with mould. There’s no such thing as central heating, I had never seen a double glazed window, and my homes would frequently make me sick in the cold, wet winter months. 

My third reason was one which so many other Kiwis who have moved share. By living in the UK, you have Europe on your doorstep. New Zealand is the most beautiful country in the world, it’s true — but it is at the very bottom of it. Getting abroad from New Zealand is expensive and tiring — even flying to Australia is about four hours depending on where you’re going. So many people who have moved say they did so to be able to see more of what the world has to offer. Since I have moved to London, I have visited Greece, Spain, Portugal, New Orleans and Austria — and that’s all within the year.

I love my home country and I always will, but I feel as though it has been romanticised by a lot of people into an idealised version of reality. Life in New Zealand can be difficult, expensive and crowded — it’s not all tropical sunshine and roses.

New Zealand will always be a place I want to visit, to ground myself and nurture my connection with the whenua (land) but I am extremely lucky to also be able to call England home.