Innocents Abroad

1) Livelihood. The NZSO provides a reasonable living for players, even on one salary. Of course if you have a partner who works as well, you can be quite well off. Everyone is able to afford a reasonable instrument, buy their own home, take holidays, etc. Wellington is a compact city, so commuting is not an issue, except for a few colleagues who live in country areas for lifestyle reasons. NZ has a state health-care system, so health insurance is not a necessity, although you can belong to a “top-up” private scheme – just in case you want to get your varicose veins done! There is also state provision for retirement, but this is quite basic, and the NZSO offers an employer-subsidised superannuation scheme. There is no set age for retirement, by the way. It’s hard to judge comparable professions, but I’d say we were below lawyers and accountants (isn’t everybody?), above nurses and probably on a par with teachers.

2) Outside work. Many colleagues teach, either privately or at the NZ School of Music, and there is enough time to do this. No one to my knowledge takes on other jobs just to make ends meet.

3) Quality of life. I think the quality of life is pretty good here, but maybe I’m biased. Wellington is a small city (450,000 in the greater urban area) in a small country (4 million) so life here is going to be quieter than in NYC or even Sydney. That could be good or bad, depending on your point of view, but I find there are more cultural things going on than I can get to (and I’m definitely too old for nightlife). The environment is relatively unpolluted and we’re close enough to it, and have the time, to enjoy it. The only negative I can think of is that it sometimes gets a bit windy!

4) The question from “Scordatura” may not really apply to me, as a non-American, but I’d just say that if any American musician were to consider applying for a job here, apart from the fact that you’d find quite a few compatriots, be aware that, as I said yesterday, living and working here is not for everyone. Although there are superficially familiar things – McDonalds, Starbucks etc – and the language is English, the whole “geist” of the place is quite different to the US.