‘I love my country. I don’t want to leave’: readers reflect on the exodus from New Zealand

As people continue to move away in record numbers, readers share their reasons for leaving and contemplate life in New Zealand

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n the past year, tens of thousands of New Zealanders have left the country, surpassing the last spike in 2012 and raising fears of a “hollowing out” of mid-career workers. Guardian readers share their experiences on why they left – or are thinking of moving out of New Zealand.

I was searching for employment for seven months back home. I have experience in my field, and was only getting bites here and there from hiring panels who were genuinely more overwhelmed than I was. I found a job in Australia within a week.

I dream of scenes from my childhood: beaches, fish and chips, and the bright bloom of pohutukawa trees. But as vivid as those memories are, you can’t build a life on scenery alone. Adam