Reflecting on Home: The Experience of Long-term Expats in New Zealand
For many people living in New Zealand, the concept of 'home' can become complicated over time. A recent personal account has highlighted the unique feelings of those who have moved to Aotearoa from overseas, specifically from the United Kingdom. After living in New Zealand for two decades, some migrants report that they no longer feel entirely at home when they return to their country of birth.
This sense of disconnection often happens because an individual’s life, community, and daily habits become deeply rooted in their new country. While the UK remains a place of origin, the cultural and social changes that occur there over twenty years can make a returning resident feel like a visitor or a tourist. This experience is common among long-term expats who have built a permanent life in the Pacific.
However, this feeling of being a 'tourist' in one's own homeland is often balanced by a deep connection to New Zealand. Many migrants describe carrying a sense of responsibility and concern for the current events unfolding in their adopted home. As they watch their original country change, they simultaneously experience a personal grief or worry regarding the social and economic challenges facing New Zealand today.
Ultimately, the experience of being an immigrant involves navigating two different worlds. It is a reminder that home is not just a place where you were born, but a place where you have invested your time and emotions. For those who have spent twenty years in New Zealand, the country has become a central part of their identity, even as they maintain a complex relationship with their past.