Douglas taught me a lot throughout our time together. Whether it be through a witty comment, a sharp story from his personal life, or a New Zealand take, he had a plethora of information that was applicable across the country.
Some of the most interesting things I learned from Douglas existed from our smaller, more personal discussions. Several of these conversations existed around the topic of immigration and housing in New Zealand. While New Zealand as a whole is known for being incredibly welcoming and livable, it has a recognizable issue with certain regions cost of living and available housing.
In Auckland alone there is an extreme housing shortage. Traditional housing styles in this area are individual homes with yards, since most people prefer spaces to continue an outdoor lifestyle. However, due to Auckland being the most populated city and there being limited housing, much smaller apartments are being built to accommodate the issue. Housing prices in this area are skyrocketing, as well as in other major areas of the country such as Wellington. Overall, it is estimated that only 20% of New Zealanders will be able to own homes in their lifetimes due extreme housing prices.
Another topic surrounded immigration. While New Zealand has a tremendous housing crisis, their immigration policies do not reflect this. As a whole, the country is pretty lenient on foreigners requesting to move to the country. However, many people take advantage of this to establish a sort of false residency in New Zealand in hopes that an application to live in Australia is more attainable. Australia’s immigration policies are much stricter but do show favoritism towards New Zealand residents, hence the increased desire to be a New Zealand citizen. I think this is incredibly interesting that New Zealand has not recognized or work to remedy this issue yet. I really enjoyed being able to talk with Douglas to get his insight on bigger issues and have discussions that I would not have been able to have on our group tours. I think learning about some of the country’s issues are just as important to understanding a country and its culture as are understanding its positives. Overall, these discussions went above and beyond in what I had already learned from our classroom experiences.
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