DIY Expats and Migrants

New Zealanders are famous for their “No. 8 wire” attitude — practical, resourceful and ready to give things a go. But that spirit isn’t unique to New Zealand. Around the world, millions of people move abroad each year without corporate relocation packages or well-resourced HR teams smoothing the way.

Unlike company-sponsored expats, these self-initiated migrants find the job themselves, sort the visas, organise schools and housing, navigate tax systems and health insurance, and somehow summon the courage to tell family and friends they’re moving overseas.

You can see the human side of this story at almost any international arrivals gate: families stepping into a new life with too many bags, tired children, and no one waiting to meet them. Some arrive chasing opportunity, others adventure, love, education or safety. All carry a mixture of hope, uncertainty and reinvention.

Research by Australian academic Dr Tracey Walmsley explored these self-initiated expats and found they tend to fall into three broad camps: the “Let’s just do it” adventurers, the “Where’s my safety net?” planners, and the careful risk-takers who weigh up every pro and con before making the leap.

But perhaps the most powerful idea in her work is what she calls the “silent risks” of moving. Not the visas or finances — the relationships. When a family moves overseas, it’s not just parents and children affected. Grandparents, siblings, in-laws and close friends feel the distance too. They miss birthdays, school performances, ordinary weekends, shared meals and the comfort of being part of each other’s daily lives.

For many families, migration creates a strange emotional tension: excitement and grief existing side by side. Modern technology helps — video calls across time zones, shared photo streams, voice messages and carefully planned visits — but it cannot fully replace physical presence. A child’s quick cuddle, an unexpected drop-in, or being there when someone needs help still matters deeply.

Chances are you know exactly what this feels like. In an increasingly mobile world, distance is woven into many of our stories. Yet so too is connection: the determination to remain part of one another’s lives despite borders, oceans and time zones.

Migration is often talked about in economic terms — skills, labour shortages, global talent and opportunity. But underneath those big conversations are deeply personal ones about belonging, identity, sacrifice and family. The people who move are not just workers or travellers. They are sons and daughters, grandparents and friends, building lives that stretch across countries while trying to hold relationships together from afar.

----

Walmsley, T.M. (2022). Travelling Without an Anchor: Risks in Self-Initiated Expatriation (Doctoral thesis). University of Technology, Sydney. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10453/168571