Tonight, while volunteering to roll sushi for my daughter’s upcoming school Gala (the biggest school fundraiser of the year) I was surrounded by people from the world over. The only nationality missing? New Zealanders! The host was a Scot, the other four were from Britain, and I, of course, was from Canada. While we all tried to make our “moving to NZ” story sound unique, we have all come here for the same reason; it is beautiful, cheaper, warmer and less populated than the countries we grew up in. It is less money oriented, less stressful and more fun to boot! People like it here! This is a concept that wasn’t part of life in Calgary. People, like myself, were there because we grew up there. Others were there because of the proximity of the Rocky mountains. But most were there because there were/are jobs there that pay outrageous amounts of money to anyone who wants to accept them! A standard interview question (on behalf of the applicant) is “What are you offering?” To which the employer would ask “What do you want?” To which the applicant would say “I want an exorbitant amount of money, even though I have just graduated and have no actual relevant experience in your industry.” To which the employer would say “We’ll give you more than that!” And the negotiations would go from there. People could easily approach their employer and ask for a raise at any time because they’d been approached by someone else who’d offered them more elsewhere. Six-digit salaries were common, even among recent University graduates. Oil and Gas seems to be the primary employer of Calgarians. And anyone who isn’t working directly for Oil and Gas is working indirectly for Oil and Gas. Calgary’s existence is based on the Oil and Gas industry, and that is the reason people live in Calgary.
Service, as a result, was bad in Calgary. Christmas shopping became even more horrendous than it should have been because there would be only one employee working during this peek season at popular shops. It was impossible for companies to find employees to work in retail, or service industries of any sort as there were so many other, higher paying jobs available to whoever wanted them. I was out for dinner with my family one night and noticed there was only one waiter on staff for the entire restaurant. It took us all night just to get our bill the poor waiter was so flat out.
Service in Nelson is also bad. The reason here, however, is not because there is an abundance of money and jobs, it is because people aren’t after money here. “It’s the Lifestyle that Counts” reads Nelson City’s sign upon entering. The coffee shops generally close down at 3pm, although some will stay open as late as 5pm. On Sundays they are centainly shut down, and are unpredictably closed at various other times as the owners just want to leave town for a few weeks, or go for an afternoon surf, or hike up a mountain. The hours are rarely posted on the front doors, leaving the availability of afternoon lattes up to chance.
Doctors also enjoy the good life. Our family physician works 3 days per week because this allows her to earn enough money to pay her bills, and certainly gives her enough time to enjoy herself and her family. Today I called to book an appointment, but she is out of town for the next two weeks (this is the second time I have had this response). While it slows things right down, it makes me smile; people are living good lives in Nelson, not cash-starving existences.
People aren’t particularly keen to make a sale or push their product in Nelson. Consumers will purchase their product if they are interested, and this will happen in time, and the consumer will find the sales agent and their product regardless of the service that is given. Just last week I was trying to view a rental home and wanted to do so quickly- perhaps on the day I called even, but this certainly was not an option. The receptionist took down my number and said the agent would call me within a day or so about setting up an appointment. The next day came and went and I heard nothing. The day after that came and went and still nothing. Finally, three days after I’d made the enquiry, the rental agency called me back and said “We can take you through tomorrow at 4:30pm.” I told her I wouldn’t be able to make that appointment as I had to get my daughter to her swimming lesson. Un-worriedly she responded; “Well, we’ll let you know if we do another showing.” A week later I haven’t heard back. I guess in this case I was expected to jump on the opportunity I was being provided. I should have rearranged my schedule to fit the agent’s time frame if I was serious about renting the house. They know someone will rent it. I am learning these valuable lessons slowly.
There is a very relaxed feel, and a genuine understanding that people will like Nelson so much, that businesses will flourish and grow regardless of the amount of effort put in. Nelsonians don’t need to compete.
I do like being in a place that everyone loves, it makes the city feel livelier and encourages people to participate in all sorts of activities and festivals around town. I never loved Calgary and I never met anyone who did, and I lived there for 28 years of my life. I always saw Calgary as being a very transient city. It was hard to keep a friend for more than a few years there as, likely, once they’d made enough money they would move to a nicer place and buy a cheaper home maybe in their hometown, or maybe in coveted B.C.. I think I can say it is a fact that all Calgarians have plans to move to B.C. once they have enough money to do so, or are ready to retire. Nelsonians, on the other hand, already live in paradise, so will pay the price to stay here, be it through pay cuts (they call it a “sun salary” here as Nelson is a sunny city which makes it desirable) or through service cuts. Once people are here, they are here to stay!