Move Back Home or Start a New Life?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I have a friend (here in the U.S.) who is an accountant, a CPA. He has one of the best work/life balances I’ve ever seen. He is able to take a considerable amount of time off work and has enough money to enjoy that and still be financially secure.

He says that he went into accounting (mainly doing taxes, I believe) with the idea of observing which fields offered the best income opportunities so he could choose a well-paying career. I think he came to see that he liked accounting and was good at it, so there was no point in changing from that. He worked for a number of years at various small firms, then went solo as a one-man operation, which was not what he had in mind when he was in his twenties. You may find that there are opportunities for you in the U.S. beyond the world of large corporations.

Perhaps you can arrange for your father to fund your education while you live independently. You may have to work to provide for some living expenses, but that could be a good thing overall.

To make the decision, you’ll need to list and consider the pros and cons of each alternative, then prioritize them. One way to approach this is to make a matrix of all the key aspects, then compare each. For example, which is more important to you – U.S. citizenship or seeing your friends back home? Seeing your friends or getting a masters degree? Getting a masters degree or U.S. citizenship? And so on. By considering each pair of aspects and ranking them in this way, you can form a picture of which aspects really matter most to you, then see which path satifies more of them.

22

How considerable? Wiki’s article on annual leave lists, by nation, average yearly days off, including holidays. Personally, I feel lucky to get my 2 weeks off, plus 11 city holidays. In Australia, by contrast, I had six weeks off every year, plus holidays.

If your idea of a work-life balance includes travel to far-off locations, the US is not the place to live.

23

Yeah, but you don’t have to live in the US forever - I just don’t see why you’d pass up an opportunity for a valuable citizenship when it will be much harder later to get if you decide you want it. I’d say that to anybody five years from being a citizen almost anywhere but, like, Somalia.

24

Just to clarify my post earlier and comment on others:

  1. In no way am I saying the USA is the most wonderful place on earth - I lived in Berlin for 14 years when I was about your age. I also have a personal connection to NZ and have good friends who live in Christchurch. However, getting the immigration papers are no easy feat here, and it looks like you are on a pretty fast track to get that completed. To toss it and then perhaps get into the back of the line could add 5-10 years time later, if not more, so it does seem to be kind of a big deal if you want dual citizenship and the opportunity to move here and live/work in the USA sometime in the near future.

  2. Yes, working in the US is stressful, we mostly have crappy vacation time and often work for low wages. However, depending upon your work ethic and goals, the sky is the limit in most jobs here - whereas there might be some limits in NZ. Not to say that could be just fine and maybe you don’t want to earn huge bucks and be the top dog in your profession, but if you did stay here and start work - and then move to NZ - you would appreciate NZ even more! Plus, bringing your expertise from a high profile job in the US to NZ could only be an advantage when applying for a job. Why wouldn’t a NZ company take a very good look at you with your experience here - perhaps thinking you bring new ideas and experience from abroad?

  3. The real question is your value of instant gratification. Yes, you could get on the next plane, finish school in NZ and get a nice job, nice house, and live quite nicely - NZ has great social benefits and a fun/healthy place to live and be with friends. But despite the earthquakes, NZ isn’t going anywhere and will still be there after you get a degree here, dual citizenship (allowing the opportunity to quickly change your mind at some point) and in just a few years, you can literally have the best of both worlds.
    I do remember what it is like to be your age. I know what I wanted, and I wanted it now. I jumped on a plane after my BA, went to Europe and never turned back. I don’t regret a minute of it. However, I also know that I would have had the same experiences if I had waited a few years - and perhaps even made some wiser choices when I did move to Europe.

I still say it won’t kill you to wait a few years, wrap everything up here - and then hit the road! At least then, should you change your mind, you could instantly get on a plane and come back and re-evaluate - or maybe come back here, work a few years for the big bucks and then return to NZ and buy a house/business? Plus, if you go now, I think even your friends in NZ will look at you and say, “Really dude? You turned down free school and a US passport to get here five years faster?!”

But speaking from experience - whatever you do will be just fine. You will find what you are looking for - and that is the whole point. I would just try to be less impulsive and really think it over a bit - give yourself as long as possible, mark that cut-off date on the calendar, and then stick with that decision! It will all work out if you make a solid decision and go for it 100%. Happy trails - and serious best wishes. (Getting older and having to make life decisions is a bitch, ain’t it?!)

25

Listen to your heart, do what’s right for you. We’re I you, I’d be off to NZ without looking back. Mostly because about what you’ve had to say about the difference in work/life balance. That’s something I also value very highly, myself. And you’re not wrong about Western work modes being not for everyone.

Two things to consider immigration wise. When I was your age I too was qualified to work in England due to family ethnicity. I dithered and decided not to pursue it at the time. No such thing is true today, the laws have changed in England, through the years, and could well again before you pursue the possibility a few years from now. Something to keep in mind.

Things could also be tightened for the Au/NZ, at any time. Change of government, bad economic times, etc. Unlikely perhaps, but you should be aware that you can’t just assume, how things are now, will be the same in 5, 7, 10 yrs.

As for the US, they are busy working to reform a flawed immigration policy. Some sides insist they will not agree to any ‘path to citizenship’ that doesn’t first address the backlog of people who went through the proper channels. If that happens, there could easily be a speed up in the timeline for getting permanent status you described.

It is also possible that changes will come in easing restrictions for chosen groups such as well educated professionals, educated in America, or with relatives there. And it’s possible that could happen swifter than you’re imagining.

You’re still very young. At that age I believe one should pursue life with daring and boldness. It’s the time of life that should be adventurous.! Trying to squeeze your round self, into a square hole, in my experience, is never the right move. Don’t let your life be shaped by what you ‘ought’ to be motivated by, or pursue someone else’s path.

Be bold, that’s my advice! And daring!