Too Good To Be True?

[dales]

The only possible downside to this is having Cricket shoved down your throat 24/7.

New Zealand town with 'too many jobs' will give you $165k to move there
By Alyssa Pereira

Updated 4:21 pm, Friday, July 1, 2016



The southern New Zealand town of Kaitangata appears the prime example of the pastoral landscapes the island is known for; it's lush, hilly, green, and peaceful. Only about 800 people live there, and it's a mere eight minutes from the coastline.

For those who prefer the rural, slow lifestyle and community feel in their living environment, it's basically perfect.

And here's the best part: New Zealand desperately wants you to move there. Seriously.

The small town is a heavily involved in necessary industries relating to dairy processing and freezing works, which more than fill the area's economic needs. In this very unique case, that presents a real problem: there are around 1,000 vacant jobs and too much affordable housing for the residents to fill.

"We have got youth unemployment down to two," Mayor Bryan Cadogan says. "Not 2 percent —just two unemployed young people."

So in response to this peculiar crisis, Cadogan and the town's bank, lawyers, and community services are launching a recruitment campaign to try and lure candidates to the area with housing and land packages worth NZ$230,000, or almost $165,000 U.S.

According to the local residents, "Kai," as citizens call it, is warm and community-oriented.

"This is an old-fashioned community, we don't lock our houses, we let kids run free," a local dairy farmer and third-generation native named Evan Dick told The Guardian. "We have jobs, we have houses, but we don't have people. We want to make this town vibrant again, we are waiting with open arms."

If that's the sort of thing that sounds like a siren's song when staring down the soaring Bay Area housing costs, you might want to get in touch with the mayor soon — he and Dick have already received thousands of inquiries.

"It's gone nuts," Dick tells the New Zealand Herald. "A mother and her two children just flew in. I took them to their section and the look on her face was magical. 'Is this all ours?' I can already see positivity and vibrancy flowing through the town."

Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.

[Scooter]

Why does it sound like one of those horror movie plots where people are lured to a town and then enslaved or slaughtered in some incredibly gruesome way.

[rubato]

Why does it sound like one of those horror movie plots where people are lured to a town and then enslaved or slaughtered in some incredibly gruesome way.

Or worse, made to participate in Morris dancing.



Poor things, twitching uncontrollably in a horrible arrythmic fashion .


yrs,
rubato

[kmccune]

How come the posistons havent already been filled with Chinese or other destitute people? Something doesnt sound right . What are the qualifications ,besides a willingness to put in long hard hours

[No Greater Fool]

Turns out it's bogus.

New Zealand town says 'nope, we won't pay you $160K to move here to work'
Javier E. David,CNBC Sat, Jul 2 11:13 AM PDT Comments Like Reblog on Tumblr Share Tweet Email

One town in New Zealand is suffering from a problem other places around the world would love to have: Too many jobs with too few workers. For anyone looking to apply, just don't expect them to foot the bill for the move.

Kaitangata—a New Zealand town with a population of only 800—has hundreds of vacant job positions in its agriculture sector, and it's dying to fill them. In a further embarrassment of riches, the town has an ample stock of affordable housing to go along with its full employment.

However, the town on Saturday denied a spate of reports suggesting Kaitangata would offer sizable incentive packages to fill open jobs. The San Francisco Gate reported that Mayor Bryan Cadogan and the town's professionals collaborated to come up with a package worth NZ$ (Exchange: NZD=)230,000 (more than $160,000) for job seekers to relocate.

"There is currently a story that has been published by overseas media that we are paying people $160,000 to move to Kaitangata and people should ring the Mayor about it. This is NOT TRUE," a statement on the town's website read.
As one might expect in a global economy suffering from stagnant middle class wages, the mayor's office was deluged with calls from around the globe responding to the initial reports of a fat check awaiting those who wished to relocate.

No such luck, as it turns out.
"People are not being paid to move to Kaitangata and you should not contact the Mayor about it," the statement on Saturday read.
Still, the mayor touted the town's relatively cheap housing. He also suggested interested applicants comply with New Zealand's applicable immigration laws, and check in with the town's economic agency for job openings.

"If you do meet the (immigration) criteria and you'd like to know more about the affordable House and Land packages ON SALE in Kaitangata, you need to visit" the city's website to check out the openings, the statement added.

[Long Run]

Of course it is bogus. Everyone knows you have to contact Bill Gates to get the money for this move.

[dales]

He's on my "short list".