Who's moving to New Zealand? (appointed, ski resort, real estate)

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by dca48

since the kiwi dollar is now close to 50 cents, you would get a very good deal.

Current speculation believes the kiwi could fall below 40 cents and soon. Which for us Americans traveling down with a bankroll of US$ we could live well, but for Kiwis the cost of imports will be sky high.

[minibrings]

Ive much time in Auckland and I agree about everything said (poor insulation, tall poppy). I do want to add that one of the advantages of NZ (in addition to scenery) is the influence of the maori culture and traditions -- which I find fascinating. They have similar tales as Hawaii (e.g. the God Maui brought NZ up from the ocean.. same story in Hawaii). Auckland has the largest number of pacific islanders in the world and along with the asians that have moved in and people from other countries, its a nice mix.

[dca48]

it was hard to adjust to the very low standard of living comparing to the US, the low quality of food, clothes, cars, service, gouging, no morals in business, bait and switch in every deal, having Americans in general ridiculed so often and so freely, was all hard. Most folks have false teeth or rotting teeth, as dental care is very expensive ($200 for a regular 6 month cleaning) most folks have pretty bad hygeine. Its rare to encounter a clean nicely groomed male in a clean pressed shirt. Hair dressers are arrogant and treat you like they're doing you a huge favor. Most probalby get paid bettern than corporate managment, no douches, no decent clothing or furniture or shoes. They don't rinse the soap off the dishes so if you eat over at a kiwi's place, it usually tastes like soap. You don't want to invest in a home because most were built to allow leakage and most homes smell like mold. Even expensive ones. Regardless of being the first country to allow women to vote, women are very old fashioned and I've met only a few who actually work full time in a professional position. As a result, men treat women like 2nd class people worse than in the US. So those things were hard to adjust to.

What was easy was very little crime, courteous interaction from strangers, and simplistic world views. People dress very simple and cheaply and it's not unusual to see people walking barefoot in tank tops down the street in the rain. They seem very relaxed and carefree in their appearance, unlike Americans, who are a bit more proper in their grooming.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by msta999

If it were 3 years from now, I'd take you up on it, but I have one more kid to get through school, so I'll have to wait. If you don't mind me asking, what was hard to adjust to?

If you don't mind me saying as I've lived in NZ on extended trips where I have rented apartments there and lived a normal daily life, there were a number of things I found hard to adjust to as an American being there.

1. Physical distance. You literally feel the physical separation from the world. In some ways good some bad. After a while it dawns on you, you are currently in a small country in the southern Pacific far from anywhere else.

2. Plethora of choice. In the USA you get spoiled by having so many places to shop and eat along with competitive prices. In NZ the choice isn't there whether in good restaurants and selection of different cuisines or trying to buy something in a store.

3. Guest service. Guest service is a concept a lot of kiwis don't get. Sometimes it's a titanic battle to get served in restaurants and properly.

4. Cold houses. Can't tell you how many times I've had to sit in front of those little in the wall warmers to try to keep from freezing to death since they don't use insulation or central heating much in NZ.

5. Broadband. I use the internet a lot for work and free time and internet speeds are still in the stone age there but getting better.

6. Kiwis themselves. I lived and worked with hundreds of kiwis here in the USA in ski towns so I know what to expect and can speak the lingo, so I think I fly under the radar in NZ, since I act, sound and dress like a kiwi and most I don't think would know I'm American.

I find Kiwis are like the Brits, friendly, polite and nice, but there is a barrier there of don't get too close. I tend to find for instance Australians being very gregarious and open and talkative by comparison to Kiwis who always hold a little in reserve. I also tend to find them a bit "stiff upper lip" and not beholden to emotion. I remember my first Super 14 rugby game. 30000 people in the stadium and dead quiet. The only cheers were when someone make a break or scored a try, otherwise you could hear a cow fart. Kiwis just take a bit getting used to.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by dca48

it was hard to adjust to the very low standard of living comparing to the US, the low quality of food, clothes, cars, service, gouging, no morals in business, bait and switch in every deal, having Americans in general ridiculed so often and so freely, was all hard. Most folks have false teeth or rotting teeth, as dental care is very expensive ($200 for a regular 6 month cleaning) most folks have pretty bad hygeine. Its rare to encounter a clean nicely groomed male in a clean pressed shirt. Hair dressers are arrogant and treat you like they're doing you a huge favor. Most probalby get paid bettern than corporate managment, no douches, no decent clothing or furniture or shoes. They don't rinse the soap off the dishes so if you eat over at a kiwi's place, it usually tastes like soap. You don't want to invest in a home because most were built to allow leakage and most homes smell like mold. Even expensive ones. Regardless of being the first country to allow women to vote, women are very old fashioned and I've met only a few who actually work full time in a professional position. As a result, men treat women like 2nd class people worse than in the US. So those things were hard to adjust to.

What was easy was very little crime, courteous interaction from strangers, and simplistic world views. People dress very simple and cheaply and it's not unusual to see people walking barefoot in tank tops down the street in the rain. They seem very relaxed and carefree in their appearance, unlike Americans, who are a bit more proper in their grooming.

What is that with not washing the soap off of plates after dish washing? My kiwi flatmates used to do that nonsense and if my plate got washed I knew I'd have to rinse it before using it.

I lived with a lot of university aged kiwis and most were filthy dogs that lived like pigs. I could tell some stories.

[dca48]

wannero, in spite of it all, would you ever consider living here in NZ? and what do you miss, if anything about it? are you currently living in the US?

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by dca48

wannero, in spite of it all, would you ever consider living here in NZ? and what do you miss, if anything about it? are you currently living in the US?

A lot of it is the motor racing that I have an interest in Aus and NZ. That is the big draw for me. I have a project going to visit every town in NZ, large and small and I am pretty much done with most of it. Therefore I have seen just about the whole country that you can access from a road. I noticed on the last trip I seemed to be getting a bit bored in some ways because I've done so much and I've seen everything there is to see. Ready to move on back to Australia and do more there.

I've been having this debate with myself for years, "move to NZ or not". So far can't bring myself to do it and go the whole hog. I found it easier to earn here in the USA then go down to NZ for an extended time, rent a furnished apartment, do what I need to do and then go home.

A friend of mine works on a seasonal basis here in the USA and he is probably going to buy a property back home in NZ very soon. We've talked about me renting it when he is here in the USA so that is an option. My eligibility for that one year work visa runs out in 2 years so I think it is possible I may go down to NZ during motor racing season to work as an instructor. I've talked to various people about it and there is an interest there to have me, so I could probably have a job for a summer.

I think NZ and me will always be linked. It's a part of me for good and bad. Even if I don't end up living there permanently during my working years, I think I will look to own a property there for when I retire and it could be something I could spend half the year there or whatever.

Probably what I miss right now is Cookietime cookies. I miss the quiet and the clear air in the summer. I miss sometimes being there away from much of the world. I miss the big boobed swedish backpacker girls in Queenstown. I miss Burger Fuel and Burger Wisconsin and Phoenix Cola. I miss my favorite race tracks like Ruapuna or Taupo.

[Vichel]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

That is one thing I find is anything imported is expensive and not always the best quality. I remember the first real eye opener I had was when I bought contact lens cleaner which was $27.00. I had been buying the stuff at Wal Mart back home for $3.00...

Yes, that was a shock for us too, here in Oz. My husband and I both wore contacts when we got here and could not believe the price of AOSept. $18+ versus $6 or $7 in Canada. Saline was also at least double the price or more here. Made getting Lasik done well worth it. Although that's a huge rip-off here too as well. $5,000 for both eyes, versus just over $2k in Montreal. Or less in other countries.

[hkgal]

Originally Posted by dca48

it was hard to adjust to the very low standard of living comparing to the US, the low quality of food, clothes, cars, service, gouging, no morals in business, bait and switch in every deal, having Americans in general ridiculed so often and so freely, was all hard. Most folks have false teeth or rotting teeth, as dental care is very expensive ($200 for a regular 6 month cleaning) most folks have pretty bad hygeine. Its rare to encounter a clean nicely groomed male in a clean pressed shirt. Hair dressers are arrogant and treat you like they're doing you a huge favor. Most probalby get paid bettern than corporate managment, no douches, no decent clothing or furniture or shoes. They don't rinse the soap off the dishes so if you eat over at a kiwi's place, it usually tastes like soap. You don't want to invest in a home because most were built to allow leakage and most homes smell like mold. Even expensive ones. Regardless of being the first country to allow women to vote, women are very old fashioned and I've met only a few who actually work full time in a professional position. As a result, men treat women like 2nd class people worse than in the US. So those things were hard to adjust to.

What was easy was very little crime, courteous interaction from strangers, and simplistic world views. People dress very simple and cheaply and it's not unusual to see people walking barefoot in tank tops down the street in the rain. They seem very relaxed and carefree in their appearance, unlike Americans, who are a bit more proper in their grooming.

Well, I can tell you, there was at least one 'douche'!

Us smelly kiwi simpletons with our rotting teeth. It must be tough being an american and having to deal with that!

Good god. What sort of little bubble were you living in there? Women don't work? Tell that to all my professional, intelligent thirty-something working girlfriends. Did you happen to notice that the country was run by a woman for a while there?

And kiwis make fun of everyone, including themselves. They would probably single out Americans for a special ribbing, especially if they have no sense of humour. You'll find you're treated according to your attitude.

I won't argue with the soap thing. I do that. Didn't realise it was an issue!

[dca48]

hkgal said: Did you happen to notice that the country was run by a woman for a while there?

yes, that's another reason it was so surprising to see such a lack of kiwi women in the workplace. I've worked at two IT places and both are medium sized, but only realized the other day that I have not met one kiwi woman that works full time. Sure, there are a handful of immigrant women, most asian and south african, and british.


hkgal said: It must be tough being an american and having to deal with that!

yes, as an american it is very tough dealing with that.

and yes, as wannaroo stated, kiwis take a bit of getting used to. One is apt to mis-receive the attitude. I've adjusted though and now don't give any weight to anything any kiwi says. Life's been better since