A new study on expatriates has shown that Kiwis living overseas who plan to return home will do so because of the country’s lifestyle.
About 57% of the 13,000 New Zealand expats studied plan to return to New Zealand in the future, mainly because of the country’s “enhanced lifestyle and culture”. Contrary to what would normally be expected, few respondents cited jobs, economic or income prospects as the reason for returning home.
However, those with the highest qualifications are more likely to live overseas for an indefinite period of time. Additionally, women are more likely to plan a return than men.
"Current measures don’t accurately capture the factors that are important to daily living for families with children, for whom lifestyle is the primary driver bringing them home," commented Dr Lindy Fursman of Victoria University’s Institute of Policy Studies, who conducted the study.
According to Fursman, there is a need to find new measures of lifestyle. "Given that New Zealand's competitive advantage internationally is lifestyle, we need to know how we are doing compared with other countries that New Zealand expatriates, and other migrants, favour."