Global Kiwi

Eileen Bryant, Florida

How long have you lived offshore?
Thirty years! I left New Zealand in December of 1994, and since then have visited several times, mostly to connect with family and friends.

What do you love most about Florida?
The wildlife and the wide open spaces. Where we live is semi-rural, and there’s a canal and a wildlife preserve behind our house, so we see a variety of critters including: deer, wild pigs, otters, raccoons, possums, wild turkeys, coyotes, foxes, squirrels, snakes, a myriad of bird species, and the occasional black bear. In our neighbourhood everyone has half an acre, so the houses are not close together.

What other places did you move to, and why did you settle in Florida?
In the past thirty years I have lived in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Okinawa, Italy, and finally Florida, where I have lived for eighteen years.

While in Saudi Arabia I met the man who would become my husband, and then accompanied him as his career took him to other countries. When he retired we moved to Florida to be near his family.

What is your favourite hidden gem destination that you would recommend to anyone visiting Florida?
Florida has so much to offer it is impossible to choose just one! The beaches are beautiful and popular with surfers and fishermen. Where we live in Ormond Beach we are close to the Daytona Speedway, Cape Canaveral, the Kennedy Space Centre, and of course Orlando and Disney World.

The Florida Keys are a day-trip away, and Key West boasts the home of Ernest Hemingway. The Everglades are accessible via air boat, and are teeming with wildlife. All are tourist destinations, so clearly not hidden, but certainly worth visiting.

What is the best thing about being a Kiwi offshore?
Kiwis abroad are known for our work ethic, and our friendliness, our “can-do” attitude, and our knowledge of the world. Americans tend to be somewhat insular, whereas New Zealand is a little window on the world.

What do you miss most about New Zealand?
The simple things! The food – good meat pies, fish’n’chips, a variety of vegetables on the plate. I miss a good steak and kidney pie too, but Americans find the thought of eating kidneys distasteful.

The unspoiled landscape, and not being asked to “say tomato” over and over again because it’s “cute” with our accent! I also miss having my cats able to run freely in and out. There are simply too many predators here, and our one cat who loves to be outside has to wear a harness and walk with one of us. Cats should be free, but those who have short lives and meet grisly ends, sadly.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about making the move overseas?
Do it! Go with an open mind and a respect for the cultural differences you will encounter. Keep your options open – you may decide to live offshore long term, or you may decide New Zealand is where your heart longs to be. Travel is the best education as long as you are prepared to learn about the countries you find yourself in.

How do you remind yourself of home on days when you miss New Zealand?
I cook something typically kiwi – like a roasted leg of lamb with all the trimmings, including mint sauce I buy from England; or a bacon and egg pie.

A lot of Americans travel, and I love to be asked what they should see and do while in New Zealand! I love to get out my books and photo albums, and prepare folks for their trip to my homeland.

Lilly Maetzig, London

How long have you lived offshore?
I have lived in London for 8 years – the time has absolutely flown by. I have actually been here long enough to get a British passport!

What do you love most about the UK?
I love the UK for loads of reasons – but I think mostly, moving away from home has taught me that the world is far bigger than I knew. Even though the culture here is pretty similar to NZ, I have no ties here. Moving abroad opened my eyes to the fact that I can kind of do whatever I want, and there are no expectations of me, apart from the ones that I put on myself. It’s a weird feeling that’s hard to describe, but leaving the safety net of home has been very freeing.

Why did you choose to move to the UK?
I always felt quite a pull to London – it’s a big place, and it kind of seemed like fruit for the picking for opportunities to work in cool places, meet cool people, travel to cool places in Europe. It was an easy move for me too, as I had my sister living here, and her spare bedroom was a very soft spot to land!

What is your favourite hidden gem destination that you would recommend to anyone visiting Europe?
It’s not really a hidden gem at all, but my favourite place to visit in Europe is Copenhagen. I love Danish culture, the people, the food(!!!), and the love of craft. I am very tempted to live there for a summer or two actually.

What is the best thing about being a Kiwi offshore?
Something that I find quite sweet about being a Kiwi offshore is that often when people find out I’m from New Zealand, they will say, ‘Kiwi are the nicest people in the world!’ It makes me feel so happy that we all have this reputation of being kind, chilled out and open minded. It’s a cool thing to bring to the world.

What do you miss the most about New Zealand?
I miss my friends and family the most, of course. I find myself desperately wanting to just jump in the car, and drive over to someone’s house to hang out, and like, lay on the grass in their garden. I know I could get a car here, or go to the park, but there is something just more accessible and chill about life in New Zealand. People would absolutely think I’m nuts if I lay down in someone’s front garden here! I also really, really miss Kiwi treats, especially ginger kisses!

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about making the move overseas?
Please, please do it. Nothing in this world is permanent, you can always go home if you don’t like it, but throwing yourself into the deep end, learning about a different place, meeting different people, and having nothing to hold you back will change your life.

How do you remind yourself of home on days when you miss New Zealand?
Honestly, I usually just go for a walk and call someone from home. It makes me feel connected. Sometimes I will have a stash of NZ treats in the cupboard too, so maybe I’ll have some Marmite on toast to keep me going for a bit!

What is the biggest similarity and difference between New Zealand and UK & Europe that some people might not expect?
I think the thing that surprises people from this hemisphere is when they learn how similar the seasons are. I am often asked why I moved here, since it’s ‘so warm in New Zealand’ – they think that NZ is the same temperature as Australia, and are often genuinely surprised when I say that Christchurch gets just as cold as London.

The humour in the UK is pretty similar to home! People here are pretty sarcastic and dry, just like Kiwi are.

Josh Hansen, France

How long have you lived offshore?
Since June 2023.

What do you love most about France?
The history, mountains, and the diversity of experiences you can have all within one country.

Why did you choose to move to France?
I lived in France for a period when I was 12 in a very small town, then in Lyon in 2020 for university. These experiences made me want to immerse myself in the French way of life as an adult. Being in the middle of Europe has also been great for visiting friends and travelling.

What is your favourite hidden gem destination that you would recommend to anyone visiting France?
Le Quesnoy! The beautiful town in northern France liberated by New Zealand soldiers in the final week of World War One should be on every Kiwi’s bucket list. With the New Zealand Liberation Museum Te Arawhata now open, Le Quesnoy offers an experience of French community and history in a way where you’ll never feel closer to home.

What is the best thing about being a Kiwi offshore?
I think how being away from home reminds you so often of what it means to be a Kiwi, and all the great things Aotearoa has to offer.

What do you miss the most about New Zealand?
Running into friends on every block – and the beaches.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about making the move overseas?
Be open to the unexpected. Moving overseas opens doors where you may least expect.

How do you remind yourself of home on days when you miss New Zealand?
By listening to Whaling by DD Smash.

Joel Higgins, Vancouver

How long have you lived offshore?
20 years and 8 months give or take!

What do you love most about Vancouver?
I live in Maple Ridge 45 minutes east of downtown Vancouver. I like the variety in people, food, flora and fauna that each area in the Lower Mainland presents.

After living in London for 16 years the slower pace of life was also appreciated as I got older (and the lack of crowds).

Why did you choose to move to Vancouver?
I met my wife Lisa in London and decided after 16 years there it was time to be closer to family when our second child was on the way.

We did flip the proverbial coin on heading to New Zealand, Australia or Canada, and Canada won.

What is your favourite hidden gem destination that you would recommend to anyone visiting Vancouver?
Vancouver is a pretty city with the best views taken in when night skiing on Mt Seymour. It’s pretty special working a day in the office, then an hour after being on a chairlift heading for a sunset view.

What do you miss the most about New Zealand?
Meat pies, friends I have given up, and fish and chips. Plus the sense of humour as New Zealanders sarcastic wit, colloquialisms and dry delivery is utterly lost on Canadians.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about making the move overseas?
Check your family tree and get that passport or ancestry visa you may be entitled to. Commit to two years as the first goes in such a blur. Finally, remember that New Zealand is not going anywhere and most of your friends and family will be the same when you return.

How do you remind yourself of home on days when you miss New Zealand?
Watching sport highlights on YouTube, watching All Blacks games at strange times and reading the NZ Herald. I also found a meat pie company run by a Kiwi in Edmonton and had some shipped to me during the Rugby World Cup. It’s the little things (oh, and I can get Whittakers chocolate here!).

Not long before the birth of her son, US-based Kiwi Fiona McPherson Grant, set her sights on a career in healthtech. She had no official qualifications but was determined to work her way up, gaining what she needed along the way.

“I doubled down on industry knowledge and technical certifications, knowing that the job I wanted actually required a Doctorate or Master’s Degree – I wasn’t able to ‘fake it until I made it’, I had to work really hard to get to where I wanted to be, and I made sure to say yes to every opportunity that came my way. I really had to back myself in those first 15 years of climbing the ladder in healthtech.”

Fast forward 25 years and Fiona is one of a big group of offshore Kiwi who have extensive market knowledge and experience in their chosen field. Fiona says she’s done almost everything in the healthtech industry including working as an interface developer, business systems analyst, project manager and as a C-Suite advisor in big data and analytics. So when Kea got in touch to ask her to help a global Kiwi company looking to bring a new data-based product into the US, she jumped at the opportunity.

“Orion Health had this great product that they were trying to get into the US hospital sector but they needed insights on how the hospital system worked, because the way hospitals bring in and process data here is so different to New Zealand. What they really needed was someone on the inside who could speak New Zealand back to them and bridge the gap between the terminology. Some of their team were in the US for a conference so we met for lunch and it was amazing. We talked for an hour and a half and I remember one of their team members walking away saying ‘my head is exploding!’. I told them I was happy to keep these conversations going.”

**Fiona and Orion Heath’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Chris Hobson**

Andrew Bowater, Global Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Culture for Orion Health, said Fiona’s extensive knowledge and willingness to help was evident within minutes of meeting her.

“As a New Zealand founded and owned global company we love being able to work with other like-minded Kiwi all around the world. It always means a lot to us when we find New Zealanders across the globe who can work with or for us, and Fiona is a great example of this.”

Securing top international talent a key priority

The team at Orion Health kept up the conversation with Fiona, and Andrew says the company realised pretty quickly that they wanted her on a much more permanent basis.

“North America is an important market for Orion Health, and having a team member who understands healthcare systems and health data in the market like Fiona does is invaluable.”

Orion Health offered Fiona a job, which she turned down as she was in the middle of an exciting project with her own company and didn’t want to leave the US.

Undeterred, the Orion Health team continued to work with Fiona and eventually were able to offer her a unique opportunity – Vice President of Data, which allowed Fiona to stay in the US and work with the company’s US sales team and also the New Zealand product development team. It’s a role Fiona describes as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“The role is all about market placement in the States for Orion Health’s new data and analytics platform, which is my speciality. It was exactly what I wanted to do in my career and offered me a massive opportunity.”

Hiring in-market talent is key for export success

Andrew says Fiona’s unique skill set is an asset to the team and has helped them to achieve targets in the US that would otherwise have been out of reach.

“We’ve made the most of having Fiona on our team at Orion Health. Her can-do attitude means she’s fitted in with our team perfectly, and her proven track record implementing significant data and analytics strategies into healthcare systems makes her an asset to the team. We’ve worked with Kea for many years, and this connection is proof that Kea works wonders when the right people are connected with the right businesses. Kea was able to quickly link us with Fiona, whose unique skill sets were able to meet our needs with the bonus of a Kea bringing two Kiwis together in the middle of the US.”

For Fiona, the role is the perfect way for her to align both her worlds. Her expertise ensures Orion Health’s new platform aligns seamlessly with American healthcare needs and regulations, and while she is based in the US it allows her to also travel back to New Zealand frequently and connect with friends and family back home.

“If you had asked me eight years ago whether I was coming back to live in New Zealand, I would have said that my goal was to work in both America and New Zealand because I consider both my home. This role is a life changing miracle. You just never know what’s around the corner. I am so grateful to Kea for connecting us, if I had said ‘no I’m too busy’ then my life could have run a very different course.”

What was it that originally appealed to you about this role?

I was attracted to working in the heart of Europe across a range of significant and interesting bilateral relationships with varied challenges and opportunities. I love working in the Brussels bubble but I also love getting out of it and seeing the EU from the perspective of more recent members with different histories and interests.

What are the biggest challenges you are facing in this role?

One of the biggest challenges is the spread of issues and countries. I constantly feel the pressure to do more, and have to manage the expectations of bilateral partners carefully. The EU and NATO can swallow up all your time and energy but the bilateral relationships with member states are critical to understanding what makes the EU really tick.

What value do you hope to add during your time in Belgium, and across your regions?

Belgium and New Zealand have close historical ties which date back to WWI. There are more New Zealand soldiers buried in Flanders than anywhere else in the world. Honouring these close ties is a privilege and an honour. Beyond this, my priority for the relationship with Belgium was winning their support for our FTA through lots of quiet diplomacy and careful advocacy. Belgium has a mixed record on supporting FTAs but ultimately they did support the NZ-EU FTA – phew! A large proportion of New Zealand exports into Europe come in via the port of Antwerp so ensuring that our interests at the border are protected is also key.

Beyond that we seek to be an open and constructive partner with open lines of communication to address issues as they arrive – ranging from sharing approaches on tricky consular cases, to working together on Covid vaccine delivery (almost all of New Zealand’s vaccines came from Belgium!), or talking about our respective approaches to the Indo-Pacific. Belgium is currently EU President which has provided further opportunities to work together.

Why is New Zealand’s relationship with Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Moldova so important?

Each of these partners has a slightly different relationship but what is common to them all is our shared values and our shared commitment to the rules based order. With the arguable exception of Romania which can hardly be considered small, we are all small trading nations that have benefited enormously from the certainty and clarity of the international rules based order.

What value can strengthening ties between NZ and your regions bring to Kiwi?

As the world gets trickier to navigate, having friends who share our values is more important than ever. Strengthening ties between New Zealand and these partners will mean we can work together to protect the rules based order and that we can together navigate the global challenges we face including climate change and increasing geostrategic competition. Following the conclusion of the EU FTA there are also new and improved opportunities for our exporters – Europe is one of the largest and wealthiest markets in the world and the opportunities are enormous. Our job, together with NZTE, is to help exporters find them and make the most of them.

What opportunities are there for growing Kiwi business in your market?

The opportunities vary across the five countries. Belgium presents opportunities as an easy market to learn how to navigate European ways of doing business and lots of local expertise on how to do business across Europe. In Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova there is rapid development in parts of the economy and opportunities for healthtech, fintech and agritech. While we will always have to battle the perception that our food and beverages come from too far away, our sustainability credentials make us attractive and our innovative thinking is of great interest to partners here. Europe is known for its high quality and its high standards both of which present opportunities for New Zealand companies. It’s not always instinctive for our exporters to look to Europe but it is easier than people think!

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