Twenty years of memories spilled over into Jacinda Thorne’s garden.
Teddy bears and textbooks, camping gear piled on top of my husband’s drum kit, a jumble of whisks and frying pans soaking in the morning sun.
Armed with just five suitcases and a Shih Tzu bubble, Ms Thorne, 43, her husband Blair, 44, and their children Ava and Chase swapped their home in New Zealand’s capital for a home in Melbourne that was a third bigger for the same price.
“I never thought I’d end up living outside Wellington, let alone New Zealand,” she told CNN from Australia two years later. “I still love it, but my family is thriving now and there’s a whole new sense of adventure and ease in life.”
The picturesque South Pacific nation of New Zealand consistently ranks among the top countries people want to move to, making it an attractive loophole for wealthy Americans seeking a safe haven in an unstable world.
But it is firing its own citizens at near-record levels.
Over the past four years, the number of New Zealanders aged 30 to 50 immigrating has more than doubled from 18,000 to 43,000, driven by rising costs of living and a weakening job market, demographers told CNN.
Mr Thorne’s more famous namesake, former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, recently became the unlikely face of this exodus. The 45-year-old’s office confirmed last week that she and her family had moved to Sydney after being spotted house-hunting on the city’s affluent northern beaches.
Kiwis moving abroad is not uncommon, with more Kiwis generally choosing to move abroad than ever before. Approximately 122,000 people emigrated in the year to November 2025. This is a 4% increase from the previous year and higher than the previous spike in 2012.
But traditionally, young people in their 20s packed up their lives and moved to London or Australia to work and travel for a few years. Locals even have a nickname for it: “Big OE,” or overseas experience.
Government data shows these young people remain the largest group heading overseas, but middle-aged people like Ardern are now the fastest-growing group, and retirees are increasingly joining.
“This is a very unusual trend,” said economist Brad Olsen, CEO and chief economist at Infometrics. “Typically, you only see net outflows of people over 40 in very tough economic times.”
Paul Spoonley, a sociologist and professor emeritus at New Zealand’s Massey University, says this age group of 30s to 50s stands out because its members are often shifting their “center of gravity” away from established careers, networks and family ties.
“Therefore, the decision to migrate requires very strong economic imperatives to overcome it.”
The Thorne family is reaping the benefits after Prime Minister Blair revealed data engineers’ salaries would jump by 50% in Australia. In Australia, New Zealanders automatically have the right to work and live.
Ava, 16, and Chase, 10, are doing well in school, and their family has a lot of savings. Their weekly grocery bill dropped from the equivalent of about $400 to $267. Fuel and public transport are 40% cheaper. You’ll also save 25% on GP visits and replace week-long waiting times with same-day appointments.
CNN spoke to more than a dozen New Zealanders who are heading overseas mid-career. They include a family of four settled in the UK, a thriving family in Scotland and a woman who calls Spain home after short stints in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Turkey.
Some new companies have started in the United States, particularly in urban centers such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.
Darren Eckford landed the role of setting up the overseas arm of a New Zealand charity in the UK and moved with his partner and two children just three weeks later, aged 33.
He is currently Head of Learning and Organizational Development at CIWEM, a professional body in the water and environment sector.
Mr Eckford told CNN: “The traditional ‘Kiwi’ skill set, which was in abundant supply back home, was in high demand in the UK.” “And by pooling my savings and moving to the UK, I was closer to buying a family home.”
New Zealand has been suffering from economic stagnation for two years, with negative growth in the year to September 2025 and unemployment reaching a 10-year high in recent months.
The housing market is also in freefall, with major cities Auckland and Wellington experiencing their worst slump in history following post-pandemic price increases, with prices in the capital falling nearly 30% since January 2022.
“The country is facing the highest unemployment rate since 2016, making it harder to find work, especially for young people and mid-career workers,” Olsen said.
In some cities, fewer government and public sector jobs are forcing many people who could previously rely on stable, high incomes to make difficult decisions.
Senior policy adviser Aaron Harrold and his law partner moved to Australia last spring after concerns about job security after their Wellington employer made two consecutive layoffs over Christmas.
Harold, 43, told CNN: “In Australia, the pay is equal and the employment law allows for longer probationary periods, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons.”
“Career opportunities are better here and I have more options. I also enjoy city life and the warm weather.”
Almost 60 per cent of those leaving are heading to Australia, but the government estimates that 670,000 Kiwis currently live in Australia, equivalent to 12.5 per cent of New Zealand’s current population.
According to 2025 data from Stats NZ and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate is lower at 4.2% compared to 5.4% in New Zealand, and median weekly earnings for full-time workers are 37% higher, which equates to $912 in New Zealand compared to $1,451 in Australia.
Mark Berger, director of NZRelo, which helps New Zealanders cross the Tasman Sea, said the biggest change he had seen was in people’s motivation.
“New Zealanders are no longer moving for a few years of better pay,” he told CNN. “They are permanently relocating to rebuild their lives, driven by a desire for stability, opportunity and equity.”
Mr Berger said leading the way were not only essential workers such as nurses, police officers, teachers and tradesmen – who have long been targeted in Australia’s recruitment drive – but also remote professionals drawn to “lifestyle regions” such as Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
New Zealand continues to see more migrants arriving than it loses, with official figures showing a net gain of 13,700 people over the past year.
But that gap is narrowing and population growth is at its lowest level in 12 years, Olsen said, and it won’t be an easy trade.
“Attrition rates are much higher,” he added, noting that this “turnover” can reduce productivity because new employees take longer to adapt, while professionals who leave mid-career are often robbed of decades of experience and organizational knowledge.
And as New Zealand’s population ages, replacing retiring workers will become increasingly difficult unless workers in their 30s to 50s can be retained or recalled, Mr Olsen added.
“If fewer young people are coming in, keeping prime-age people in the middle will be critical to keeping New Zealand’s economy moving.”
Mr Spoonley said the departures had undermined “the amount of great New Zealand talent we have”, raising the question: “Will they ever be brought back?”
Meanwhile, current trends in people arriving in New Zealand include migrants from India, the Philippines and China, and Mr Olsen said “that change is very rapid”.
“New Zealand’s demographics are changing significantly and quite rapidly,” he added.
Mr Olsen said these arrivals were working in all industries, but primarily in construction, domestic work, IT and computer-related jobs, as well as primary industries such as agriculture, forestry and mining, which are among New Zealand’s main industries.
The experiences of Scott and Charlotte George, who immigrated to the United States during the last migration surge, highlight both the challenges and opportunities for those who make migration permanent.
After losing their home in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the then-38-year-old couple moved to Boston with their children Marcel and Hilton in search of better economic and educational prospects.
Mr Scott, the founder of payment system Paywaz, said he was attracted to the US, which has more capital, specialist talent, a larger market and a faster network than New Zealand, especially the size of the entrepreneurship opportunities.
But the move was not without its challenges, including limited access to capital as immigrants and the need to build a professional track record within a system where credit history and length of residence matter.
“The biggest challenge is finding our ‘fit,'” he said, adding that he feels each U.S. state is culturally and economically distinct.
“Being a Kiwi and coming from a small country can create a sense of distance. It takes intentional effort to build community and put down long-term roots.”
For many like the Georges family, identity remains core. Many of the migrants CNN spoke to described themselves as “proud Kiwis” who are building lives elsewhere, balancing the benefits of living abroad with a lasting connection to home.
“Home becomes a relationship, not a zip code,” George added. “I find myself carrying my country on my back in my accent, my values, my humor and my attitude.”
