Help, all my friends are going overseas
This little piggy moved to Melbourne, this little piggy moved to London, this little piggy went backpacking across Europe... And this little piggy stayed home.
Kia ora, my name is Janhavi! I’m one of the journalists on the Re: News team and recently I’ve been feeling like a little piggy who's been left behind.
Me, for context
Every week, I seem to find out someone I know is headed overseas.
I never realised how many people I knew until they started jumping ship, one by one, leaving me with a shrinking pool of friends that actually live in my city.
It motivated me to write an article called ‘Seriously, why is everyone I know moving to Australia?’ which came out last week.
The engagement on the article was amazing, it got tens of thousands of views (flex) but all that did was drive home the realisation that home… isn’t feeling so homely anymore.
The Trevi Fountain in Italy, with the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Source: Dupe.
A lot of my friends seem disenchanted with New Zealand — they’ve outgrown their home, their priorities have changed and they want more.
I can’t blame them.
While researching for my article, I learned that employers in Australia pay a minimum of 11.5% superannuation for eligible employees, which is their version of KiwiSaver.
The minimum New Zealand employers are required to contribute to your KiwiSaver is 3% of your salary or wages.
That was one of many differences that made my jaw drop. It’s hard to convince my friends to stay here when I’m not sold on New Zealand myself.
Big Ben in London, with a matcha ice cream from Japan. Source: Dupe.
As I’m writing this: my friend Sally is turning 28 in London after holidaying in Sri Lanka, Tanya is taking three months off for a group Europe trip, Thomas is solo travelling across South East Asia and Alice is soaking up the views in Edinburgh.
I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with keeping up with their travels on Instagram. I love them, I hate they’re far away. I love where they’re travelling, I hate I’m not there with them.
For me, travelling or moving feels like a potentially bad financial decision but staying put also feels the same.
Aperol spritz in Budapest, with rooftops in California. Source: Dupe.
My friends who aren’t headed overseas are still keen to leave town.
My best mate has been sending me photos of the wax seals and fancy paper she ordered online.
She tells me she’s taking up letter writing and she’s excited to write to me once she moves to Auckland. I’ve always known she would move after finishing uni but it doesn’t make it hurt less.
My one silver lining? While many of my friends are drifting away, my friend Anna is running back home.
She’s returning after a five month stint in Canada, which she describes as her “flop era”.
“Moving abroad has illustrated to me that any problem New Zealand has, exists everywhere else.”
That includes the cost of living, cost of groceries, housing availability and accessibility to healthcare, she says.
“It’s normal to crave something new, to want an adventure, especially in your 20s” Anna says, but moving overseas wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“When you're in a different place where there is more of an emphasis on hustle culture and corporate culture, it's actually crazy how much the New Zealand pace of life is taken for granted.”
It makes me feel better, ever so slightly.
Anna and I shoot voice memos back and forth across time zones. We get excited about seeing each other in person, making promises to get coffee and do tarot readings.
Maybe the deck will tell me when my time to leave home will come.
Re: News recommendations
These are not paid recommendations - they’re just things we like, including stuff we’ve enjoyed watching from our whānau at TVNZ 💗
Chappell Roan - She’s a queer icon. She’s a legend. She IS the moment. Chappell’s music is a combination of 80s synth pop and 2000s pop in the best way, and I’ve been listening to her latest album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess non stop. Highly recommend.
Mary & George: This new show came out last month on TVNZ+ and it stars Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine (swoon). It tells the outrageous true story of Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, who in 17th century England moulded her beautiful son, George, to seduce King James I and become his all-powerful lover. This might fill the Bridgerton-sized period-drama hole in my heart.
Sweet treats: If you’re looking for a sign to get yourself a sweet treat to keep the winter horrors at bay, this is it. I recently fermented my own ginger bug and made homemade ginger beer — here’s a recipe if you’re curious.