The Big Move
This is the second time that I have moved across the ocean down to this part of the world. My cultural transition into Western Australia in the 1990s was much different than this time around. For one thing, Western Australia is quite Americanised and much different than New Zealand. New Zealand reminds me of Britain twenty years ago.
So many people have asked me why I made the choice to leave a very secure and comfortable lifestyle to move to a place with a lower standard of living. There is no question that life in general is slower and less commercialised in New Zealand. There just isn’t as much to buy! And who can afford to buy it, anyway? The population is not large enough to support the commerce that exists in countries such as the US.
I decided to move because about four years ago, I attended a funeral of a young faculty member who passed away during childbirth. Her funeral was one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed. I was depressed for weeks afterward. However, it forced me to realise that if I did not take action and realise my dream of moving back down to this part of the world, that I was likely going to die in Holland, Michigan. Life is too short. I’ve lived in four countries, traveled in more than 30 others. I was not going to die in a little Midwestern town. No offense to the city; it is a lovely place in certain respects, but life is so short. I had to just go for it and realise one of my dreams.
Putting the plan into action was quite a different matter, however. I actually did not have a clear plan for how I was going to find a way out until my sabbatical two years ago. During that time, I had the proper time to come back down to New Zealand and Australia. I surprised to learn that it is not hard to emigrate to New Zealand if you have the right skills. I should say, skills in the sciences and medicine. Timothy had two job offers in two weeks and I am still searching.
I arrived in mid-October and things are still very much in flux. We have a few furnishings and I am mostly around the house during the day. I try to keep busy with exercising and joined a gym. I put in an application today to volunteer at an animal shelter. I also applied to be a volunteer newsletter editor. I am definitely not one to sit idly around the house, so I look forward to the routine of working again.
As far as the simple living aspect, I wanted a less consumerist lifestyle. In my former position, I (along with most I knew) hired people in order to maintain my lifestyle. I was overwhelmed by the house, however lovely it was. In New Zealand, our house in the northern Wellington suburbs is about 1/3 (if that) the size of all the houses on my street in Holland. I can clean our rental house here in an hour. When I go shopping, there are two and sometimes three choices of most types of products. I felt overwhelmed in the US with the sheer number of choices.
I look forward to falling into a routine and feeling like I am home in the coming weeks and months.
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