Resn - Newcomers give Wellington digital interactive edge
Wellington-based Resn, creative digital partner of leading brands and advertising agencies worldwide, needed to recruit flash developers and designers who are on the long term skills shortages list.
Resn has been proactively recruiting from overseas, successfully bringing in three migrants thus far.
Iain Shaw - Market Research Analyst from Scotland
Iain Shaw hails from Scotland and is employed by 4RF as a Market Research Analyst. He decided to settle in New Zealand because of the high quality of life, the outdoor activities available, and being from Scotland he finds the weather here a huge improvement!
Vincenzo Paparelle - Chef from Italy
It’s a case of second time lucky for Italian, Vincenzo Paparelle who works as chef at Soprano Ristorante restaurant on the Kapiti coast.
Annie Rastello - Project Manager from France
Annie Rastello is a Project Manager at 4RF. Originally from France, Annie moved to New Zealand from six years in the US because she was attracted by the fact that there are fewer people here than in many other English speaking countries.
Paul D’souza - Chef from India
Monsoon Poon is a restaurant located right in the heart of Wellington’s Courtenay Place cuisine precinct. One fifth of its workforce is migrants.
Mark Hussey - Emergency Doctor from The United Kingdom
Wellington's lifestyle and its people are unbeatable, according to UK-born emergency doctor Mark Hussey.
Cecile Diamante - IT Analyst from the Philippines
Wellington’s walkability and friendliness wowed Filipino IT analyst Cecile Diamante from her first moments in the city.
Netherlands to New Zealand – an inspired move!
Professor Jeroen Douwes – Co-Director from the Netherlands
Professor Jeroen Douwes is Co-Director of the Centre for Public Health Research Massey University, Wellington Campus. He hails from the Netherlands and - believe it or not - one of the things that attracted him to Wellington was the weather! “This may come as a surprise to many Wellingtonians,” he says,“but I prefer the climate here with its mild winters.”
There are, of course, other reasons why Jeroen and his partner Andrea ’t Mannetje decided to up sticks and relocate to the other side of the globe. Employment was a major one. Having spent 18 months in Wellington working at the Otago University School of Medicine as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Jeroen was offered a job at Massey University. The job appealed and so did career prospects, and although income –wise Europe had the edge, it couldn’t compete when it came to lifestyle.
“The more relaxed lifestyle in New Zealand and closeness to the beach, forests and mountains were particularly appealing,” Jeroen says. “The main attraction of Wellington (apart from the job) is that it’s a real city with a real city atmosphere that is located close to some of the best outdoor recreational areas I have experienced.
“Also, I’m able to live close to work and the city centre without having to compromise on lifestyle. I live 5 minutes from the beach, have fantastic views over Lyall Bay and Evans Bay, and my daily commute to work or the city centre is only 10-15 minutes, which is quite different from my daily 2.5 hour commute to and from work in The Netherlands due largely to traffic congestion. There are few other places in the developed world where you can live like this on an academic salary,” he says.
Jeroen found the process of settling in Wellington relatively easy, “because Dutch and New Zealand culture are in many ways very similar - they are both egalitarian societies, have similar social and political values, and people are very informal.” He also cites the welcoming nature of New Zealanders as a contributing factor to the ease of transition.
Andrea, who is also from The Netherlands found settling here easy too, but Jeroen points out that, “ there’s a bit of nostalgia for some of the ‘old world’ culture such as the arts and building.”
When asked about the differences between his new environment and his Dutch homeland, Jeroen is matter of fact. “Lower income, but better lifestyle; different food - often better, sometimes worse; fantastic location, but poorly constructed and insulated houses and poor heating; better climate; generally feel safer; not overly regulated; not the easiest place to use your bicycle due to the absence of designated cycle lanes and of course the presence of hills which are virtually non-existent in the Netherlands; poor reporting of news and current affairs with exception of National Radio which is great.”
Since moving to Wellington Jeroen and his partner now have an 18 month old son, Rim, and they have discovered that Wellington is a great place to raise children.
What advice does Jeroen have for people thinking of relocating to Wellington? “Invest in proper home insulation and heating. Otherwise, just enjoy the prospect of moving to an area that will most likely be more liveable than the place they move from”.
Petr Tobias – Anaesthetist from the Czech Republic
Its a long journey from the Czech Republic to Masterton, and for Petr Tobias, it was one that was a long time coming.
Carlos Zevallos –Beekeeper from Peru
It was the loud buzz of thousands of honey bees, music to a commercial apiarist ears which enticed Carlos Zevallos from his native Peru to the temperate shores of New Zealand.
Luca Fascione – Software engineer from Italy
It is not often that the Wellington wind gets good press so when Luca Fascione mentioned he loves the wind a further explanation was needed.
Ray and Diane Cherrell – diesel truck mechanic from UK
Ray and Diane Cherrell immigrated to New Zealand from Lincolnshire, England, in 2006. ‘We’d visited Auckland on holiday in 2002 –it rained every day but it didn’t put us off..”
Angela Ballantyne & Ryan Orange – academic & policy strategist, Kiwis returned.
After 10 years away, expatriates Ryan Orange and Angela Ballantyne were nervous that Wellington would not live up to their expectations on their return.
Cynthia Patterson – CIO from United States
“We wanted to live in a more progressive-minded society. Australia was too much like a mini-US, Canada was too cold, but luckily New Zealand was perfect.”
Desi Ramoo – Scientist from United Kingdom
“I’ve been lucky but when you are moving your family from one side of the world to the other it is important to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into, make sure everything is in writing.... "
Thomas Kuhne – University lecturer from Germany
“Wellington is a fantastic city with very friendly, relaxed people. We love the natural scenery and the fact it isn’t crowded at all.”
Gilbert Sanseau – Software engineer from France
It takes a certain kind of person to find the south of France boring but luckily for Wellington that is exactly what Gilbert Sanseau and his partner found.
Jitendra Bothara – Seismic engineer from Nepal
Back in 1993 Jitendra Bothara was in Nepal working on an earthquake engineering project when he met two men who would change his life. Beca directors Dr Richard Sharpe and Rob Jury.
Kation Cai – Banking consultant from China
Seven years ago Kation Cai set out on an epic journey. His goal, to learn English. Spurred on by the competitive cost of living and study, the friendliness of New Zealanders and the breathtaking environment, Kation made the 11,000km journey from Guangdong to Wellington.
Heli Matileinen – Research scientist from Finland
Heli and her husband, Mika spent two years in California while Heli was doing post doctoral research in breast cancer targeting but despite the sunny climes, America wasn’t where they wanted to settle and they applied for residency in New Zealand.