Following the "millionaire exodus" writing-on-the-wall, it appears Americans, who are renouncing citizenship in record numbers, have found their new safe haven from the Trumpian dystopia they appearently fear. In the 12 weeks since the election, the number of Americans applying for New Zealand citizenship has soared 70%.
Millionaires are already moving...
Courtesy of: Visual Capitalist
And with New Zealand becoming the place to be for hedge fund managers and elites alike, who are building airstrips across the islands as their ultimate escape routes...
AP reports that In New Zealand, the number of Americans who applied for a grant of citizenship rose by 70 percent in the 12 weeks following the election of President Donald Trump when compared to the same period a year earlier. Figures also show the number of Americans who obtained a New Zealand work visa in January was up 18 percent from a year earlier, as was the number of Americans who visited the country. Furthermore, in response to an AP freedom of information request, New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs said that in the two days after the U.S. election in November, the number of Americans who visited its website to find out about citizenship was up more than tenfold from the same two weekdays a month earlier.
Some Americans living in New Zealand say their friends and family have been asking them about moving there since the election. Alanna Irving, 33, a technology startup entrepreneur from San Francisco, moved to New Zealand six years ago and has since married a kiwi, as the locals are known.
"It's an extremely livable place and you can see and palpably feel the difference in how society is organized, and what people prioritize," she said. "New Zealand is a place that cares about equality, I think more. It's less individualistic, more community-minded."
Cameron Pritchard, an immigration consultant at Malcolm Pacific Immigration in Wellington, said the increase in citizenship applications could be a result of people wanting to feel more settled in their adopted country, given the uncertain nature of the world. It's about "getting a bit more security or really making a longer-term decision that New Zealand is the place they want to call home," he said. He said his company noticed a big spike in inquiries from the U.S. during the election.
"It's been more of a flurry of excitement initially than anything that's translated into a huge avalanche of numbers," he said.
However, as we noted previously, elite anxiety is a worrying indicator of America’s social crisis.
“Why do people who are envied for being so powerful appear to be so afraid?” Johnson said.
“What does that really tell us about our system? It’s a very odd thing. You’re basically seeing that the people who’ve been the best at reading the tea leaves—the ones with the most resources, because that’s how they made their money—are now the ones most preparing to pull the rip cord and jump out of the plane.”