“For Many NZ is the New Utopia”

20 April 2004 – The flood of US immigrants seeking a better life in NZ continues – with good reason, according to a lengthy San Francisco Gate article. “It’s like California, it’s like San Francisco, it’s like the Old West. But better. For those of us raised with a typical cartography centered on the Northern Hemisphere, NZ has always represented the edge of the earth. But since Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings has turned the NZ capital of Wellington into a burgeoning Wollywood and 9/11 has made escaping to “Middle-earth” look increasingly attractive, NZ has experienced a rush of immigration and foreign real estate investment.” Currently, 40% of foreign investments in NZ have US involvement. The figure seems set to rise, thanks to an active recruiting campaign of skilled Americans by the Helen Clark’s Labour government.