Commercial Intimacy

Wanting a better life – stay in New Zealand

Well on balance anyway – according to the OECD Better Life Index – which currently covers 34 member countries and looks at factors that the OECD has identified as essential to material living conditions and quality of life. New Zealand does well in areas such as Housing, Jobs, Community, Environment, Governance, Health and Safety. We don't do so well in areas such as Income and Work-Life balance – but I guess we already knew that.

If you combine all the factors and place them all at a high level of importance New Zealand comes out generally within the top 5 – a pretty good group that includes Norway, Sweden, Canada and our best mate Australia.

In New Zealand we often beat ourselves up when we get a low rating in the OECD. I have always believed that we should not worry about the individual rankings – while at the same time taking them on board – we need to consider them as part of the overall mix of what makes New Zealand a great place to live. One of the best in fact.