I have lived in New Zealand with my family for nearly 25 years. During that time, I gained NZ citizenship and now hold dual British/New Zealand citizenship. I visited the UK once about 21 years ago and have no plans to return. As a single child, I have no close relatives left in Britain. I do have two close friends in England. I have known these drunken reprobates since I was eighteen years of age, and to be honest, I miss them, but not enough to shell out the travel costs. Also, I hate flying, not because of any innate phobia of flight. I suffer from severe spinal arthritis, and I find the cramped seats horrendously uncomfortable. This becomes an issue on a combined series of flights lasting approximately 27 hours. I have never been able to make friends easily, and though I have met many wonderful folks since emigrating to NZ, I have made zero friends. The friends I do have here were originally from the UK.
I love it here and would not contemplate living elsewhere. I believe New Zealand is one of the best countries to live in this turbulent world if you have moderate financial means. However, this does not mean that New Zealand is without problems. New Zealand is subject to the same issues as the UK and the US but differs in degree. Having said that, the United States is, in my opinion, the best place to live if you are very wealthy, but hell on earth if you are poor.
There is one thing about living in New Zealand that is frankly terrifying. Due to the vagaries of nature, New Zealand lies directly on several geological fault lines. In fact, one runs several kilometres from where I live. As a consequence, New Zealand is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The 2011 Christchurch earthquake flattened large parts of the city and killed 185. In 2016, Wellington shook to a less devasting event. I was a resident of the northern suburbs at the time, and the event was pretty scary.
One week ago, as I lay in bed at about 10.30pm, I felt a little bump; it did not last long. Fifty minutes later, just as I was about to turn off the lights, I heard a sound. It was difficult to describe but similar to an approaching train. I had heard this sound before and knew what was to come. And then it hit. It lasted a second, but in that brief period, the house violently shook. Once I had gathered my wits, I checked out the online earthquake resource, Geonet. According to Geonet, the earthquake was classified as 'Severe' and occurred 10 km east of Eketahuna, 35 km in depth, with a magnitude of 5.3. I did not sleep well that night. Since then, NZ has been subject to 32 quakes, all classified as light or weak.
If the 'Big One' hits, I'm as prepared as you can be in such circumstances. My home is a brick bungalow. As I understand it, a brick home does not do well in the event of a strong earthquake because bricks do not flex. In contrast, timber homes do better due to wooden frames having a degree of give. My home is an 'odd one out' as most Kiwi homes are constructed of timber. In the wood-framed barn, I have a small tent and a bugout backpack containing the usual survival items. I'm hoping that it never comes to that.
Life goes on. It is best not to dwell on catastrophic eventualities I cannot control. However, initiating and maintaining a survival mindset and establishing the relevant systems makes sense- just in case.
Apparently, there was an earthquake in Dudley in 2002. Sadly, there was only minor structural damage.
Watch and Weep
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