Irish immigrants settle in New Zealand in waves

As reported by Irish Central, New Zealand is now attracting waves of Irish emigrants who have found themselves in hard times at home. Of the over 40,000 people who left Ireland in 2011, nearly 2,000 now consider New Zealand home, while thousands more are still on their way.

But the emigrant generations of New Zealand have discovered differences in the newcomers' motivations for entering the Pacific nation. While Irish people have been settling in New Zealand for decades now, the latest wave in different from its predecessors.

Sarah Murray writes that this new wave consists of highly educated and skilled people who do not see themselves settling in New Zealand forever. At this stage at least, they are not deeply concerned with keeping the Irish culture alive, she added.

Auckland Irish Society VP Michael Hickey emigrated from Tipperary to New Zealand in 1970, and quickly upon arrival found his social niche with other Irish expatriates. Giving his opinion on the latest wave of immigrants, Hickey said their “attitude is different” because they are not stuck here.

They are not emigrating with the mindset that they will be in New Zealand for the next fifty years, so they do not feel compelled to put down any roots, explained Hickey, adding that his generation wanted to buy homes and settle down right away upon arrival.