David and Lili's World Tour


 

  • July 2009 - A year in New Zealand

Kia Ora. This is the longest I have gone without an international vacation since 1994. But that's OK. We like it here. And we're about to go to South America on holiday! Meanwhile, life is good. I feel vindicated that we made the right choice; New Zealand does indeed get top rankings for livability.

It's interesting that wherever I go, when people find out I'm American they want to talk about politics, but when they think I'm Brazilian they bring up soccer. I have yet to hear a Kiwi say anything negative about Obama. The only critical voice is my own. I like Obama. I gave money to his campaign, and compared to Bush I think he's a genius and a saint, but I remain deeply concerned about his approach to reforming the banks. Giving new regulatory powers to The Fed doesn't do the job. In my opinion we are collectively underestimating the degree to which this matters, as it defines the future of the global economy at a critical juncture for humanity. Obama's team is composed of insiders who helped create the problem, not of outside experts who predicted it. The key word needs to be sustainability, not growth, per se, and without volatile speculation, an economy based on real things and not funny money created on a computer screen, an economy that values human needs over corporate profit. Things do not have to be this way. Read this. Oh well. I'm glad it's not President Sarah Palin.


  • December 31, 2008 - Christchurch

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Life is good in Christchurch. The big novelty is having all our stuff. Work is good. Home is good. Christchurch is nice. The only real downside is being so far away from family and friends. Skype helps. And we have new friends, a few Kiwis but most are imported like us, people here for the quality of living. In 2009, remember: no matter how bad the economic crisis might become, at least Bush is history. Lili and I are delighted that Obama won, but is he a miracle worker?
  • September 2008 - Christchurch

Lili and I live in New Zealand !!

Our stuff is in a shipping container somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, we're camped out in a rented house. We bought a car and two bikes. Our plan is to get permanent visas under the "skilled migrant" category, since my computer skills are on New Zealand's "long term skills shortage list." Meanwhile, I've got a work permit. I lined up my job last May during our camper van tour. It's an interesting job, but I'll refrain from going into details; this is not a blog about computer engineering.

Lili had to take a standardized English test (IELTS). She needs to get a higher score before she can work, so she's going to enroll in English classes.

New Zealand is a fantastic place. It is friendly, green, healthy, safe, with (relatively) good government and a (relatively) good economy.

As for the government, Kiwis do complain about their particular breed of corruption, but compared to the USA and Brazil, well, ... no contest. The government has been ruled by the Labour Party for 9 years, but the National Party looks likely to win the next election (on the promise of lower taxes). Roughly speaking, the NZ debate is wholly to the left of the American debate. While Americans debate war tactics, NZ promotes peace. While Americans debate universal health care as a distant dream, NZ already has it. While America is in deep financial doo-doo for decades of unsustainable corporate greed with too little government regulation, NZ is a world leader in sustainability. While Americans abhor taxes, Kiwis appreciate the benefits of having the government manage certain sectors of the economy, so as not to leave important services solely in the hands of corporations. I despise paying taxes in the USA because I disagree with the government's spending priorities. In New Zealand, I don't mind paying taxes at all. New Zealand's schools are pretty good too. I love to see the healthy kids playing in the numerous parks after school. In this regard, Christchurch is like Denver was when I was a child in the 1960s. New Zealand has a single house of Parliament with a Prime Minister, and no constitution. This means that much of the work of government gets hammered out in a single room, which is efficient, and transparent. It helps that there are only 4 million people. NZ is easier to govern than most countries, and as a consequence, it has better government! Kiwis do complain, as they should, whenever corruption shows its ugly head. Being critical of bad government is patriotic.

As for the NZ economy, it is good, but people are being pinched by high food and petrol prices, just like everywhere else. Many aspects of the current crisis are global. Housing prices are falling. Many young people move to Australia or Europe to make more money, so there is a skill shortage. You could move to New Zealand, too, if you have the right skills. Refer to: www.immigration.govt.nz

The hardest part of The Big Move is being so far away from friends and family. Several of my American friends said that they might move to New Zealand (or Canada, or Europe) if John McCain defeats Barack Obama for President. The world needs a radical change in American leadership. Obama offers that change, at least somewhat. McCain does not. But Obama might just lose. The American mass media continues to do a pathetic job to inform (the Internet offers hope). GO OBAMA !!!

As for the current financial crisis, wow! About 3 years ago I put my World Tour on pause to sell my house. I'm glad I did. This crisis was predictable back then. The housing market was an obvious bubble, and the financial derivatives market is much worse. This bubble is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000.00) dollars! Bailing out a few Wall Street firms with taxpayer money does not go to the root of the problem. Here is the best explanation I have yet to read on the subject. It's time for the government to take over the Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed), and more... Believe it or not, the USA does not print it's own cash currency, it borrows it from The Fed, with interest. Hmmm. Did somebody say Socialism?

Lili and I look forward to exploring New Zealand's fabulous nature in depth. South Asia will be our new backyard. But with limited holiday time, we're resigned to fewer, shorter trips for the foreseeable future.