Are you looking to get away? Perhaps your personal and/or professional life is not particularly rewarding, and so you are looking for a change?
Just how badly would you like that change? How far are you willing to go to obtain it, literally?
Well, there is a town in a remote part of New Zealand (which is known for being remote to begin with, of course) that is offering newcomers affordable property and homes, and this community is claiming that this town simply has "too many jobs" and not enough people to work them!
How does a move to New Zealand sound?
Okay, so maybe it's not for everybody. That said, living in a country like New Zealand sounds quite attractive to me. It's a beautiful country with an abundance of natural beauty, and from what I understand, a very high standard of living.
Of course, no everyone can just pick up and go, and that includes me. I have my son and other family here, as well as friends and the life that I have built. And for all of it's imperfections, I cannot simply pack up and head off to New Zealand.
But if I could, New Zealand might be one of the most attractive options. Much like Australia, it always seemed like a country that most likely has a lot of relatively empty land, as the fact that it has more sheep than people suggests. Also, it has an abundance of natural beauty, as some famous scenes from both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies illustrate. Indeed, I remember former US President Jimmy Carter suggesting that, if he ever, for whatever the reason, had to leave the United States, New Zealand would likely be the country he would choose to live in, and it is not hard to understand why.
Anyway, again, I cannot exactly just pick up and relocate to New Zealand. But that does not mean that others cannot. And if someone is interested, and happens on this particular blog (and this particular blog entry), then maybe this will indeed be of interest to someone.
For the rest of us, it's nice to dream of getting away, isn't it? Perhaps when we reach retiring age, assuming that retirement is still an option at that point, of course.
New Zealand town with 'too many jobs' offering packages of land and homes for $165k By Alyssa Pereira, July 1, 2016:
You don't suppose they'd consider making a minor concession by removing the K from "$165K"? Because I'd be packing in no time if they were to show a bit of flexibility there. It's just one letter, after all – practically the same thing.
ReplyDeleteYou should bring it up to them and tell them that you have $165 burning a hole in your pocket right now, and let's see what they can do about providing you with a home, property, a job, and a very enviable future for that $165.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be money well spent, if they are willing to take you up on your generous offer. Everybody wins. Actually, in all seriousness, it reminds me of that story that Pop told, about one of his former coworkers buying property in Australia for his retirement, when that was all of the rage. Turns out that this property was on the side of a cliff, with absolutely no chance of being used or developed. Really, you probably have to go there and, even then, there are risks. Anthony Kiedis wrote in "Scar Tissue" that he bought a property in New Zealand after one visit, not realizing that he happened to go on one of the few sunny days that this place, which gets around 300 or so rainy days a year, ever gets.
ReplyDeleteWell, if need be I'm prepared to negotiate, to assure them they're not dealing with some dumb-ass who's wasting his time and theirs because he's utterly devoid of a clue as to how the world works. "Oh, I see how it is. You want to play hardball. Fine. Three-hundred dollars. Enough with the gamesmanship, let's wrap this up now, we've both got people to see and things to do." As for Anthony Kiedis, it must be nice to be in a tax bracket that enables you to not only make purchases that 99% of us could never afford, but to be able to make such purchases on a whim.
ReplyDeleteI know these legendary negotiating skills of yours of which you speak. Powerful stuff. Powerful. As far as the Anthony Keidis book goes, I must say that usually after reading a bio about somebody famous like that, it makes them more real, and thus more of a sympathetic figure. You see their flaws, perhaps, but you also understand what drove them. In this case, I actually lost a lot of respect for him, because the book focused almost exclusively on all the ways in which benefited from things, and how often he had fun. It was loaded with such stories of spending excessively on such things, of his many, many sexual exploits and, of course, on his almost countless times relapsing into drug use/abuse. I read it a few years ago, but I don't even remember the parts where he described how inspired he was to make music, and only briefly touched upon the stories behind certain songs. He talks about his childhood, and then all of his efforts to basically follow his wildest desires, and little else. Disappointing book that made me look at him much differently, and not in a good way. I almost wondered how such a man who showed no imagination in what he could have written about in such a book could have helped to come up with such amazing music - particularly with what I believe to be RHCP's best album by far, Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Hate to say this, but it's true, I came away thinking less of the man, and try to forget his book when listening to the music he's involved with these days.
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant to say is that, while you often get the stories behind some great art or feats in such bios of famous people, and it often allows you to appreciate their work through a different angle and/or obtain a deeper understanding, in this particular case, the words about his music and what inspired him remained so much a part of the background as to be almost like a footnote to how many hot chicks he banged, how many and what kinds of drugs he got high on, and how easily and effortlessly he spent money on the most luxurious car or property that he obtained, as you suggested, on a whim. At times, it certainly felt like he was writing about it based on egotism, because he liked to indulge in those memories, and was almost showing off. And it was hundreds of pages like this. Kept waiting for it to delve a little deeper into something more meaningful, but my hopes were dashed as the end of the book neared. By that point, being so close to the end, I just finished it. But rarely have I had such high expectations for a book, only to be greatly disappointed by it. That is one book that I would never recommend to people, because again, it felt all about "me, me, me, and how many times I got what I wanted." If there is a way to sum it up, that would be it, and that was not what I was personally expecting.
ReplyDeleteGuess what? I wrote enough about Anthony Keidis's autobiography here, that it served as the basis of a book review, which I had never done of this particular book before. Probably will publish this a couple of days from now. Perhaps I needed some time - a few years, in this case - to get past the disappointment and, yes, actual disgust - in order to write what is likely a long overdue book review. Just not a particularly positive one.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fairly common phenomenon actually. I find there's often a disconnect between how much I enjoy listening to music versus the impression I get of the musicians as people when I find out about a little bit about them. I seem to remember hearing that John Lennon, for instance, once covered the walls in a room or the inside of his Rolls Royce with large bills, and of course he admitted to having slapped women around (Cynthia and some who came before her, not Yoko). I recently read an article in Rolling Stone about the Ramones, and Johnny Ramone (the guitarist) was apparently an insufferable prick - petty, confrontational, callous, and violent. I got the distinct impression that he severely hampered any joy his bandmates might otherwise have gotten from being in that band. Françoise Hardy, a famous French singer you may or may not be familiar with, has some great music. But I lost considerable respect for her when she commented on how much she pays in taxes, saying something to the effect of “I’m going to wind up in the street.” I found that sickening, because it’s a slap in the face to people who are actually in that situation. Her “problems" are petty by comparison, and she lacked the decency to recognize that and keep her mouth shut. I’ve also read about many anecdotes in autobiographies by rock artists about how other bands were initially seen as threats, which in some cases led not only to taunting or trash-talking, but even acts of sabotage (tampering with the gear right before a band is to take the stage, for instance.) And I don’t even need to tell you about the countless times Gene Simmons has called attention to himself for all the wrong reasons.
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