2009’s Great Unknown?
Thanks Kirsty for this comment that re words my best things in life are free statement better …
“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy”- unknown
Back on topic….How many countries are in recession?
Actually quite a few OECD members, and one suspects as 2009 rolls on, the list probably won’t get any shorter.
Kiwis love the big OE.
One of the reasons for that is it not only gives us an opportunity to travel, experience the world, but many times the opportunity to display the Kiwi work ethic in countries where it usually stands out, or at the least is usually greatly appreciated. That appreciation frequently translates to the pay packet.
But for most of us [like myself, on 4 occasions in Australia, all in Qld] when we inform our employer that we are about to resign, most Kiwi’s discover that their employer’s don’t want to lose our services. The upshot, is that usually a counter offer is made, and if the situation is anything like what I or most friends I know have experienced, we find the resignation letter ripped up and is placed immediately in bin 13. For Kiwis when we are young, that’s just what we do.
The question is this then, when this recession [well actually from the chart you can see it's already here for many of us] hits those same countries that big percentages’s adventure to for greener pastures or just the experience, what or where will Kiwis thoughts turn to?
And that’s the great unknown.
I’ve alluded to it before, that it may come home to roost, the fact that Kiwis, on an individual basis are second in the world when it comes to the amount of “us” that are overseas at any one time.
As you may recall recent data from Statistics NZ showed that something like 600,000 Kiwis presently do not reside in New Zealand.
The undeniable fact is that nearly 15% of our countries population is living offshore. Forgetting those that just use us a transit stop [well, our laws let them] to get to Australia, surely consideration must be given to that figure of 12%. That’s still quite a good amount of individual Kiwis residing en masse offshore.
Born out of the “can take a Kiwi out of New Zealand, but you can never take the New Zealand out of a Kiwi” mindset one must wonder about what 2009 will hold.
Extrapolating data from Statistics New Zealand and recent census data would have me believe that many of our expats are on average living in a “Style” thats better than the average Kiwi at home in NZ as it were.
Keeping this in mind, and in the theme of this post, I guess there can only be much speculation as to any effect all of this may have in 2009 on New Zealand.
However, at the end of the day [and at the end of this equally heavily cliche laden post] one can only imagine the effect that bunches of kiwis “home coming” might have on the local market. In so saying, will they go back to their roots, or once having experienced a coastal / seaside lifestyle, desire that again? My bet is to err on the side of the latter. Anecdotal data from the last 2 rising markets would indicate that’s on the money too.
GRAPHIC SOURCE – FRIGGIN LOON article
January 12 2009 06:48 pm | The Market
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