Life is good in aeoteroa
The millions of Brits desperate to emigrate to New Zealand state a better quality of life as one of the major factors behind their ambition - and now a new National Quality of Life Survey has revealed that Kiwis really are content with their country, with nine out of ten kiwis rating their quality of life as good or better...
The survey polled 500 people in each of New Zealand's 12 main cities and 2,000 people from the rest of the country to find out whether they were content with their lives in the land of the long white cloud.
The results found that the vast majority of New Zealanders were happy, in good health and felt safe in their homes after dark.
Almost nine out of 10 people in the 12 cities said their overall health was good or better, and about 86 per cent in the 12 cities and 88 per cent outside them said they had enough money to cover everyday living costs.
Since the last survey, in 2006, far fewer people said they had not visited the doctor when they wanted to because of the cost. The number of people who said they wanted to visit a GP in the past year but didn't fell from 20 per cent in 2006 to six per cent. Universal subsidies for doctor's visits and prescriptions were introduced in 2007.
Nine out of ten people said that they felt safe in their homes even though they did have concerns about vandalism, car theft and dangerous driving. But, only 11 per cent of people said they felt safe in their city Centre at night. The most common reasons given for not feeling safe were the perception of dangerous people in the area, media coverage of crime and alcohol and drug problems.
Christchurch residents were least likely to feel safe in the city Centre after dark - although 71 per cent of them said that they felt proud of their city.
Christchurch Central Area Controller Inspector Derek Erasmus says, "Christchurch recorded 100 violent offences per 10,000 population, which is lower than Wellington, Auckland, South Auckland, Hamilton and Dunedin, making it the country's safest large city.
"Many perceptions about safety in Christchurch are not based on fact. Incidents of serious violence were highlighted by local media, yet there were fewer than in other major centres," Mr Erasmus added.
People in Wellington and North Shore were the most likely to feel safe in their city centres.
People were proudest of their city in Wellington, with 82 per cent of respondents feeling a sense of pride. Manukau (43 per cent) and Auckland people (51 per cent) were least proud.
The survey was paid for by the 12 participating councils, including North Shore, Waitakere, Auckland, Manukau, Rodney, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Porirua, Hutt, Christchurch and Dunedin and also by the Ministry of Social Development.
Picture by clix