Why?

This is the question that always comes up in one form or another.  Why move from the United States to New Zealand--the other side of the world?  Or, more generally, how did you end up here?  What is your story?

Before I go further, there is a given I should mention.  I miss my friends and family in the U.S., just like I still miss the friends I made while I lived in the UK.  Things like email, Skype and Facebook have done a lot to make the world a smaller place and though they are no replacement for being together, communication is much easier.

Like most things in life, there are two sides to the story, good and bad.  There are strong positive reasons for making this move, but the negative reasons are there and so often easier to dwell on.  I'll outline both here.

This was not a single person's decision, but a family one.  These reasons are based on our experiences, our opinions, and our values.

Positive reasons:

1. Adventure.  Twenty-seven years is a long time to be in one place, even if it is Bedford Falls.  We love to travel.  We love the concept of a year-round outdoor life style but still a change in seasons.  New Zealand has so much to offer in a very short distance.  It was time for a change.

2. Education. New Zealand's primary and secondary education system are statistically better than the US, particularly in math and science.  The tertiary system is about equal (but far less expensive). Education and educators are valued here more than in the U.S.  This is good for the kids and good for me.

3. Life/Work Balance. New Zealand gives us more family time, and family is often is a part of the working community, as opposed to being a night and weekend job.  This is big difference between the Kiwi attitude and the American attitude.  Americans are driven to succeed, preform, and produce as quickly as possible.  In New Zealand, success, performance, and production happen at a different pace (note I did not use the word slower here).  There is more of a team effort, more willingness to share.  As an American consumer, the Kiwi attitude can take some getting use to.

4. Health Care.  When Molly broke her arm playing netball in Dunedin, the care was superb, there was no more wait time than I've experienced in the U.S., and my out-of-pocket expense was NZ$20 total.

5. Opportunity. This is the big one, and ties into all of the other reasons, good and bad.  Moving to New Zealand will give our kids more opportunity to be kids, to enjoy life, and still reach their professional dreams and aspirations. It gives us opportunity to travel to places that I would not have thought of going to 5 years ago.  It gives us the opportunity to enjoy our family a little bit more and to do more together.  It gives us the opportunity to feel safe without feeling confined, to make new friends,  and to learn more about ourselves by moving just out of the comfort zone.

Negative reasons:

1. Greed. Claire was bitten by a tick that happened to be carrying Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  We almost lost her, but we were lucky and had an infectious disease specialist in Bloomington and the cure was made in time. She is now an even better version of Claire, running and biking and much fitter than I will ever hope to be.  There is no chance of a relapse or of the disease coming back.  But the insurance companies don't see it that way.  Because Claire got sick and had the gall to cost them money to save her life, she is now considered 'uninsurable' in the U.S.  Options exist, but they are so ludicrous it defies any logic.

2. Wrath.  Statistically speaking, it is highly unlikely that my children are not safe at school.  Yet they have had a lock-down or two, as well as just having to practice lock-downs.  Do you feel safe?  No matter where you go in the U.S., do you feel safe?  Further, when James Madison and his peers wrote the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the 'arms' were muskets.  They had no concept of the semiautomatic weapon let alone some of the horrific uses it could be put to. There are many democratic countries, including New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, that have stringent arms control.  Are the citizens of these countries any less free? Armed teachers in the classroom?  No, thank you.

3. Sloth/Envy/Pride.  I am convinced that the U.S. political, educational, and medical systems are broken beyond repair.  The divisiveness of our U.S. 'leaders' continues while the common people can't get ahead and the gap between the 'haves and have-nots' continues to widen.  Good and bad teachers are reviled as the responsibility for student performance is placed more on the teacher than on the parents. Medical reviewers paid by the insurance companies make the decisions on an individual's health care options, rather than the individual and their physician.

Of course, any of these points, positive and negative, could be argued, but there they are.  Volumes of books could be written on any of these topics, pro and con. I give one very big caveat here: there is no place, including New Zealand, that is a utopia.  New Zealand has its fair share of problems.  Yet, they seem far less insurmountable.  Geographically, the Southern Alps do not match the majesty of the Rockies, there is no Grand Canyon to take your breath away, no cultural hubs like New York, Chicago or San Francisco (but Auckland is close). But New Zealand does have Hobbits!

So there, in a tiny nutshell, are some of the reason why.