Preface
Do you often struggle with the 996 work system, struggling with heavy workloads? While your friends are enjoying the weekend, you have to work overtime to get things done. When I was rarely relaxed, I began to repeatedly calculate how to turn over the next month's mortgage and car loan. Even the May Day holiday has become a window of time for you to secretly work overtime. The beautiful life I longed for as a child seems to be getting farther and farther away from you. If there is a country that allows you to get away from these troubles and live an ideal life, are you excited?
1. New Zealand country profile
Pick up a world map and turn your gaze to the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, where an island known as "the loneliest country in the world" sits New Zealand. It consists of two large islands, north and south, which are bisected in two by a strait. New Zealand covers an area of about 270,000 square kilometers, which is half the size of Sichuan Province on the mainland. Surprisingly, the population of this isolated land is only 5 million, which is only a quarter of the population of Chengdu.
New Zealand is isolated in the Pacific Ocean, almost 1,500 kilometres from its nearest country, Australia. Surrounded by the endless sea, New Zealand has never had a territorial dispute with other countries. This geographical location has saved New Zealand from the ravages of war and is one of the best-preserved landscapes in the world.
Imagine being on the shores of Lake Te Anau on New Zealand's South Island. When the first rays of sunlight shine in the morning, the entire lake instantly turns into golden sparkling; When night falls, the surface of the lake turns a deep blue. You can wander on the lakeside, overlooking the clouds of the mountains on the opposite bank, or you can fish in the lake with the palm of your hand, and hold a pool of lake water, which is clean and can be directly entered.
It is surrounded by wildlife and is home to rare birds such as turtle doves, horsetail parrots and New Zealand hummingbirds. You can even have a fire by the lake and enjoy the fun of the whole family. This is everyday life in New Zealand, uncontested and tranquil.
2. New Zealand's way of working
In New Zealand, work and life are two completely separate activities, and it is the philosophy of New Zealanders to concentrate on work when you go to work and live seriously after work. Their working hours are vastly different from what we imagined.
New Zealanders work just 26 hours a week, five days a week, and no weekends off. On average, the working hours are only 5 hours a day, and the time spent in the office is much shorter than ours. Even if you work overtime temporarily during busy times, the salary will be paid at the standard of 1.5 times, which undoubtedly increases the cost of overtime, so that many companies tend to arrange work reasonably rather than working overtime for profit.
In addition to the short working hours, the level of wages in New Zealand is also staggering. It is generally believed that wages are often linked to the length and intensity of work, but in New Zealand this conventional wisdom is completely reversed. Even an ordinary cleaning aunt has a monthly salary of no less than 3,100 New Zealand dollars, equivalent to about 14,000 yuan. Not to mention the salary package of other industries, the per capita disposable annual income of New Zealand residents in 2023 will be as high as 45,000 New Zealand dollars, equivalent to 225,000 yuan, which is difficult to achieve even for the high-income class in first-tier cities in China.
So, in the country of New Zealand, everyone lives a well-paid, high-quality working life. Their salaries are not only ahead of their peers, but also surpass many professionally trained professionals. Moreover, New Zealanders have no idea what the "996" work system is, and there is no such overtime culture.
3. Generous holiday system
In addition to short working hours and high wages, New Zealand's holiday system is also enviable. Not only are there a large number of national statutory holidays, but also regional holidays are set up, allowing different regions to stagger the peak holidays, avoiding the crowd congestion caused by the national swarm of holidays.
Specifically, New Zealand's annual statutory holidays include Christmas, New Year, Easter, Anniversary, Queen's Birthday, Good Friday, Carnival Monday, Labor Day, etc.
Moreover, different regions can also decide the holiday time according to their own situation to achieve staggered peak holidays. For example, Auckland is on holiday, and Victoria will go to work as usual, which not only avoids the tourism peak caused by the national synchronous holiday, but also prevents the workplace from being affected by the shortage of manpower.
In addition to national and regional holidays, New Zealand also offers a large number of paid annual leave to employees. Every year, New Zealand employees are entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave, and when they have worked for 10 years, the number of paid annual leave days will be increased to 30 days.
Even in the day-to-day work of New Zealand, New Zealand is extremely human. According to the law, if an employee works 2-4 hours a day, the boss must provide them with a 10-minute paid break. If you work more than 8 hours a day, your salary will be 1.5 times.
Arguably, New Zealand has the most user-friendly holiday system in the world, allowing for an excellent work-life balance. If you work hard, you can relax on holidays, travel the world, and feel the infinite beauty of life. This is a great benefit for a modern country.
Fourth, perfect welfare protection
In addition to the good working conditions and ample holidays, the benefits provided by the New Zealand government are also impressive. Whether it is childbirth, parenting, education, or pension, New Zealand has a complete set of policies for people to enjoy.
The first is the fertility aspect, for any expectant mother living in New Zealand, all pregnancy-related expenses are free of charge, including prenatal and postnatal check-ups, childbirth, etc., without any out-of-pocket payment. Not only that, the government will also issue a one-time birth subsidy of about 6,500 yuan to provide financial support for the arrival of a new life.
After the birth of a child, New Zealand's welfare policy is also very humane. Every week, the government will distribute about 600 yuan of "milk powder money" to parents to buy milk powder and other daily necessities. Until the age of 18, the New Zealand government almost covered the children's food, drink, education and training expenses. It is worth mentioning that from 2023, women's maternity leave will also be extended from the original 18 weeks to 26 weeks, and 712 New Zealand dollars (about 3,000 yuan) will be paid every week for maternity leave, so that mothers can raise new lives with peace of mind.
In terms of education, primary and secondary schools in New Zealand are completely free and do not have to pay any tuition fees. Even at the university level, tuition fees are extremely low, and the vast majority of students can rely on government loans and subsidies to complete their studies.
Finally, when people enter old age, New Zealand's pension policy is also reassuring. As long as you have settled in New Zealand for more than 10 years and are 65 years old, you can receive a pension of 6,500 yuan every two weeks and live a carefree old age, which is what a thing to look forward to for ordinary wage earners!
It can be said that the New Zealand government uses practical welfare policies to provide all-round protection for the people from birth to old age, from childbirth, education to pension, so that the people can live a happy life and realize the beautiful vision of "family, country and family".
5. Popular destinations for immigrants
Because of New Zealand's high quality of life and good welfare benefits, this isolated island country in the Pacific Ocean has become an ideal immigration destination for countless people. Among them, the Chinese are a major force of New Zealand immigrants.
According to Statistics New Zealand data in 2023, last year alone, about 17,000 Chinese chose to immigrate to New Zealand, a significant number. The reason why they love this remote, sparsely populated country is simple: New Zealand's leisurely pace of life, beautiful natural environment and advanced social system make countless people yearn for it.
In fact, Chinese began to arrive in New Zealand in large numbers decades ago. Up to now, about 5% of New Zealand's total population of 5 million are Chinese, and in its largest city, Auckland, the Chinese population is as high as 60% of the total population, which can be said to have gradually formed a Chinese community.
Many people are attracted to New Zealand's pastures, pure air and natural dairy products, and settle down here to start a business and live a comfortable life.
6. High quality of life but perhaps loneliness
New Zealand is indeed a country with a very high quality of life, with short working hours, high wages, many holidays, and good benefits. It can be said that it is the "affluent life" that modern people dream of. However, living in this isolated island nation will inevitably feel a little lonely and lack of a sense of belonging.
Although New Zealand is an island country, its combined population is only 5 million, which is less than a medium-sized city in China. In addition to the endless sea, the nearest neighbour, Australia, is also nearly a four-hour flight away. This geographical isolation may give people a sense of loneliness left in the corner.
Even though the place is full of beautiful natural scenery, it lacks the lively city life and strong cultural atmosphere, and over time, it will inevitably feel monotonous and boring. After all, human beings, as social animals, are always eager to fit into a warm family.
Therefore, whether it is a high quality of life or a leisurely pace, if you are closed in such an isolated environment for a long time, you may lose the joy of life. Everything is too idealistic, and it will gradually become boring.
epilogue
New Zealand is really a paradise for modern "workers". Here, you can live a high-paying and low-intensity work life, working only 26 hours a week, and the average annual income per capita is as high as 225,000 yuan. Generous national holidays, paid annual leave and regional off-peak holidays give you a lot of time to rest and travel. More importantly, the New Zealand government provides people with a full range of welfare guarantees from birth to old age, from free maternity check-ups to all-inclusive fees before the age of 18, from free education to pensions, all of which reflect the humanistic care of socialist countries. So, for those who hate being imprisoned in the office and crave a work-life balance, New Zealand is definitely a middle-class "worker's paradise" that allows you to live an idyllic life.