“We may have been living in the States but we weren’t really living.”
Every week, successful Americans are making the decision to sell up, pack up and move out to a small nation in the South Pacific. Why?
Try freedom, a more relaxed pace and a new life in a land abounding with fresh and exciting opportunities and possibilities. And you’d be on the right track. Those who’ve experienced New Zealand tend to agree that it is one of the friendliest nations under the sun. It has a population of just over four million and one-third of the country is protected by national parks; but that doesn’t leave this small yet diverse nation without sophistication.
Exclusive retreats and sporting lodges are just one place where you can find Americans who have made a lifestyle transplant. These fine hideaways are in some of the most beautiful locations you can imagine – in mountains or forests, beside lakes or the sea, or adjacent to a thermal wonderland.
One such secluded luxury lodge is White Shadows Country Inn. Bill Bailey and Mike Harris run this romantic rural hideaway at the base of Coronet Peak, near Queenstown in New Zealand’s South Island. The pair lived together in Los Angeles for 30 years with their own respective businesses before making the decision to move here. Bill says they had been visiting New Zealand regularly for about 10 years.
“We loved New Zealand, and one day suddenly thought - what are we doing living in Los Angeles when we don’t want to leave New Zealand?”
So they sold everything, packed up and have never looked back.