By: Mark at www.CapitalistExploits.at [5]
The week of March 22nd we'll be hosting our next Meet Up, in Auckland, New Zealand. After organising Meet Ups in places like Mongolia, Cambodia, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Singapore, it may not seem like an obvious location. However, it was an easy choice. Chris and I both live here. I've become fairly entrenched in the local startup ecosystem, and frankly the place is just awesome.
My journey to New Zealand, which ends with me living here pretty much full-time now, began about 8 years ago when the place was merely a screen saver on my laptop. It was a fantasy really, I wanted to see and experience it, but I had never been here.
I had a few Kiwi friends and they would tell me stories, show me pictures and otherwise talk it up. I was intrigued that there existed a place where there were more sheep than people, cops didn't carry guns, doors remained unlocked, and yet you could still enjoy all the "comforts" of modern society.
My first trip here was 5 years ago. It seems like yesterday. My wife and I spent 6 months traveling the south island and about a month in the north island. The two are very different. Instead of renting and RV or staying in hotels we decided to do "farm stays". Basically we helped out on rural properties in exchange for room and board. It's common to do that here, and it allowed us to see the real New Zealand and meet real Kiwis.
During that trip I was introduced to Chris by a mutual friend. He figured we had a lot in common and that we'd hit if off. We became "virtual" business partners almost immediately, authored an e-book together, and in fact operated for 3 years without ever meeting face to face! Somehow it worked... and it's still working.
Chris and I continued to collaborate while I was in New Zealand and eventually launched this blog and several other related businesses. My travels were not over however, and after leaving New Zealand my wife and I continued our global adventure in search of the "perfect place", which we know now is somewhere that does not exist.
After having traveled to over 30 countries and lived in 7 now, I can say that New Zealand is easily my favourite, and in fact is our "perfect place".
There was nothing wrong with the other places, really... Uruguay was very nice and I made a lot of great friends. Chile is beautiful and modern, at least in Santiago. Thailand is a playground to rival any in the world. Fiji is paradise on earth...
New Zealand is special though. I'm not going to lie and say it's perfect, because it is not. As I said a moment ago, no place is perfect, let's face it.
Despite the fact that culturally it’s aligned with the west and most of the non-native population is western European by ancestry, I find the people very nice, but a bit different than I expected. Just because someone looks like you, doesn't mean they think like you! It’s been a bit of an adjustment, but nothing like living in Thailand or even Uruguay.
Speaking the language helps! If you are thinking about becoming a globe-trotting capitalist or expat traveler, don't underestimate the importance of understanding what people are saying to you! At first it's fun listening in on conversations you don't understand and trying to decipher what's being said... it's even a bit romantic and "exotic". However, exotic quickly turns into frustrating when you can't even ask where the supermarket or the petrol station are!
So for me New Zealand ticks a lot of boxes... It's clean, green, and safe, albeit a bit boring and laid back, especially after Thailand. Despite being a socialist country, it's capitalist enough that I've managed in a very short time to plug myself in with the movers and shakers in the startup community. It's a community that is vibrant, growing and as innovative as any in the world.
Via our private investment syndicate, Seraph [6], we've participated in a half dozen Kiwi startups. We're looking at a half dozen more right now, and the pipeline looks to be endless. Everything from apps to agriculture, and augmented reality to robotics.
Kiwis love to create and invent. They are naturally a "DIY" (do it yourself) society. The geographic isolation has instilled a culture of frugality and rugged individualism. This is a place that you can still make your mark if you have passion and drive. You can carve out a lifestyle that most would envy, and it's not that hard!
Over the next few weeks we are going to write quite a bit about New Zealand. Part of the reason is self-serving, because we want a bunch of you to get the "bug" and come out to visit us at the Meet Up! However we're sincere when we say that we really love the place and we think if you have not been here you should come, and you will fall in love just as we did.
Natural beauty aside, you have to be able to make a living and exploit opportunity if you are going to carve out that dream lifestyle. We'll introduce you to people who can help in that capacity. Attorneys, accountants, bankers, immigration pros, trust specialists, entrepreneurs and even politicians...
If you come to the Meet Up you'll network with some of New Zealand's wealthiest business people and most successful entrepreneurs. You'll get introduced to dozens of startup founders and learn about opportunities you would never hear about elsewhere. We'll provide you with more information soon.
In closing I'll mention that recently I read a letter from another newsletter writer, a guy who focuses on the freedom lifestyle. One of his staff is a Kiwi who had decided to leave here because he was fed up with the regulations, restrictions and the endless "rules". He was heading to Acapulco, Mexico of all places! I'm sure Acapulco is beautiful, but I want to remind you that everything in life comes with a price. Often what seems to good to be true is. Remember, nowhere is perfect...
In New Zealand I have to pay relatively high taxes. In return I have world class infrastructure, beautiful parks, manicured trails and public transportation that is clean and safe. I don't have to worry about being held up at gun point. I really can leave my doors unlocked! I routinely forget things at the beach and when I go back hours later they are still there, sitting where I left them. People are basically respectful and honest.
Contrast this to most any third world country. The "wild west" can offer opportunities, yes, but it also offers risk, and not just the financial kind. I have many, many personal accounts and stories of my experiences outside the "first world" that, while they make for good cocktail conversations now, were not so much fun to live through.
So stay tuned. We're going to introduce you to a place that you may not have considered. A place that offers a lot more than Hobbits and Sauvignon Blanc. If we accomplish our goal we'll be seeing more than a few of you here in March!
Cheers,
Mark
"There's a real purity in New Zealand that doesn't exist in the States. It's actually not an easy thing to find in our world anymore. It's a unique place because it is so far away from the rest of the world. There is a sense of isolation and also being protected." - Elijah Wood