This story has recently been EVERYWHERE. Have you seen it? Apparently, there is a town in southern New Zealand called Kaitangata and they are offering the deal of a lifetime. If you qualify.

The area is lush, hilly, green, and peaceful and only about 800 people live there. Oh, it’s also just eight minutes from the coastline. If you love picturesque beauty and the ocean, if living abroad is your cup of tea, if you LOVE a rural, slow lifestyle and community feel in your living environment, this deal is perfect.

Here’s the deal, the small town, heavily involved in necessary industries relating to dairy processing and freezing works, has around 1,000 vacant jobs and too much affordable housing for the residents to fill.

From the article:

“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 costing only NZ$230,000, or almost $165,000 U.S. — a far cry from the $1 million homes in the Bay Area.

This is a community where people don’t lock their doors and kids run free. Do you remember what that was like? I know I do…and you won’t find that in many places these days. 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.”

But, as I mentioned above, you have to qualify. From the Mayor’s Office:

“If you are genuinely interested in the house and land packages in Kaitangata, which are on sale for $230,000 or want to know more about working and living in our district, and if you live outside of New Zealand the first thing you will need to do is check out our immigration rules to find out if you’re eligible to live and work here – https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas

If you do meet the criteria and you’d like to know more about the affordable House and Land packages ON SALE in Kaitangata, you need to visit http://www.cluthacountry.co.nz/live-in-clutha/hous… to view the prospectus.”

See the full statement here.

 

Source: SF Gate