Hi, my name is Simon Koh. I’m a Singaporean currently living in Auckland, New Zealand with my two children. We immigrated to New Zealand in 1999 to look for a less stressful lifestyle for ourselves and the children.
New Zealand is a clean and green country with heaps of space for over four million people. People are generally friendly and caring. Auckland has the highest population of Asians and is the biggest city in New Zealand.
Houses and cars are cheaper than Singapore. You can own a used car for a couple of thousand dollars and there is no COE. Road taxes are fixed at a standard price regardless of the capacity of your car. You don’t have to scrap your car after ten years. Most families own more than one car. Just imagine how many cars you can buy with your money to obtain a COE.
You can own a three bedroom home with a double garage, a small garden and a freehold land for about five hundred thousand NZ$. Off course a better location will fetch more money.
If you are a permanent residence, education is free for your children. As a PR, we enjoyed almost the same rights as the Kiwis.
As for myself, I’m retired and I try to fly back to Singapore to see my parents and siblings every year. Travelling has been made easy recently by budget airlines like Jetstar.
Cheers
Simon Koh