New Zealand is seen as an Eden by its new arrivals, but the locals are still leaving for better opportunities elsewhere, reports Tim Dick.

Doug Kirkpatrick and his wife, Carolyn, were thinking about moving from Denver to Europe - probably to France - when they went to New Zealand on holidays in 2004.

They stayed in its sunniest town, Nelson, travelled down past the glaciers of the West Coast and on to Wanaka, a ski town in the Southern Alps with fewer French and better pinot noir than the northern hemisphere version.

After 10 days, France was off. ''I've been to over 50 countries, lived half my life abroad,'' Doug says. This move was the first not for work or parents, but motivated entirely by what felt right. ''We could have chosen anywhere in the world, we chose New Zealand.''

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