When are you too old to emigrate?
I’ve had a number of conversations with people over the last few months about whether they are too old to emigrate to NZ.
For those after the executive summary;
The answer is never
- What are you waiting for?
- Do you have your passport handy?
- Mines an Earl Gray tea, decaf Americano for Avalon – thank you
- The projected 3rd quarter benefit of taking on this challenge more than outweighs the possible opportunity cost, or indeed the potential to maximise productivity enhancements with your current strategy.
- There are tax advantages
- You can use a cool AirNZ iPhone application
While of course there are age limits if you want to come in on the skilled migrant stream (56 at the moment), you can still apply under the ‘investor’ category if you’ve got enough cash, or an adult child living in NZ.
So how old is too old?
There was quite a bit of coverage the other year when Eric King-Turner (102 at the time), emigrated from the UK to NZ, with his Kiwi wife (87). His rationale is quoted as being;
“What’s important is that, when I’m 105, I don’t want to be thinking `I wish I had moved to the other side of the world when I was 102’”
Of course in this case he had the advantage of a Kiwi wife, and I’ve no doubt the very bad publicity NZ & INZ would have got if they refused him. So on the face of it, you’re only as old as the man (or woman) you feel.
For us, that sentiment of regret was something we had heard from a number of people while we were still in the UK looking at our options. It served as a good motivator. Of course, you can always look back and regret not visiting NZ five years before, or regret not just jacking everything in and taking a risk. Any course of action that you didn’t take when you had the opportunity can be a source of regret. I believe it’s better to look at the time since then as a source of learning.
For some people they may not be at a stage in their own lives to emigrate. At least investigating it and considering the options is taking action and getting yourself on the way to moving. Or not, as the case may be. There are certainly a few people we know of who came to NZ, only to really dislike it, head back to the UK and find that they loved it again.
Moving away to find that you were really at home where you were may seem like an expensive circular journey. Or possibly a triathlon – going round in a very big circle, being exhausted and 20 pounds lighter at the end of it. It’s much better than living with the possible regret if you’d not taken that circular journey though. (For the record those people, sometimes known as ‘ping pong poms’ are in the minority.) Most people we know who have moved out of the UK and then returned for a holiday/business trip have hated the UK to varying degrees, and been really grateful to return to their new home.
Personally I found that was simply perspective. I’m used to less traffic, less people, empty beaches, friendly people and so on. The prospect of spending the day at a 500+ shop indoor shopping mega complex with 50,000 other people just turns my brain to jelly now.
From the backlog of parent applications with INZ, again there’s plenty of people mid-life who are looking to up sticks and move to NZ. It’ll take time with the expected two year wait, again that time can be used productively. So you feel at least two years younger when you then get on the first stage of the Immigration hoop jumping exercise. (Did I say triathlon? it’s more like a decathlon with mandatory gymnastics disciplines too)
So as with Eric, I think it’s better to get organised and take action than worry about what you might have done previously. Or indeed how old you may be today. Emigrating is more about open minds than any perceived ability to do a triathlon.
Related posts:
- Emigrate to New Zealand to escape Climate Change?
- Did we emigrate to New Zealand or Maoriland?
- Do Kiwis really have a better quality of life?
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