Pros and Cons of living in NZ?

seachto7

Hi all,

First of all, sincere best wishes to all those affected by the quake in NZ. I was in Christchurch last week, so am considering myself lucky that fate saved me from a horrible scenario.

On a lighter note, I see that there is not much on NZ on this forum? I am wondering what NZ is like as a country to live in. I'm curious.

Culturally it seems similar to Aus. The climate seems to me , to be far more agreeable and not as extreme as Aus, especially the heat.

I read plenty of things about Aussies on here (good and bad), but what are the kiwis really like? Is it a liberal society? Insular? Is there much racism?

I would imagine the quality of life to be quite good there. I was only in the South Island, but the North Island, I would imagine has more going on?

Anyone here any positive or negative experiences of living in NZ?

One con would be the distance! It's a long flight alright...

Ozeire

Big Con : It's not AUSTRALIA..... before anyone killes me i'm only joking

Never been to the country but i'm sure that as the years go by we'll make it over there at some stage .

For what i've been told it's greener than Oz with spectacular scenery but then again Oz has amazing scenery as well.

i'd love to know the differences as well.

esharknz

I keep on reading in the media that the wages are far lower (e.g. I know of a fair few kiwis who went to Australia and nearly doubled their money overnight). I'm not entirely sure of the taxation there, as I've not actually lived there myself (yet), so can't say for sure what you would come out with.

The housing can be fairly bad, due to poor insulation (e.g my asthma that I had in NZ has pretty much cleared up since moving into a new build house here in Wicklow).

On other notes, the country is quite close knit, particularly with the recent disasters that have occurred, and really pull together in hard times. I must say that while being devastated at the news this morning, I'm really proud to be a kiwi at present with the way things are being handled, and the random acts of kindness I'm reading about in the NZ media.

My husband always comments on how friendly people are in NZ too. He did say the Australians were friendly also.

Temperatures tend to be a bit more comfortable in summer, although winter can be fairly cold in places (particularly if you live in a poorly insulated house!).

Would you have any idea where you'd plan to base yourself in NZ, if you were to move?

shedweller

Lived there for a few years. Wages were awful and i couldn't afford the "lifestyle" they go on about so much.
There is a huge difference between the rich and the poor. Until i went there i had never seen such a concentration of high end european cars! Alongside that was clapped out bangers!
Left it in the end as i was broke. But some people do very well indeed.
They are friendly people and have a "can do" attitude that we should all learn from. Their healthcare system is great.
The older housing stock is due a replacement but it is here in Ireland too....:pac:

brendansmith

Cons
Yeah wages are pretty low and the tax is 15% ie 150% that of OZ.
The heat can be quite hot and sticky in summer and in winter the buildings keep the rain off you head but let moisture in through poor window seals and there is a problem with leaky houses also.

Pros
Im happy here.

seachto7

I was only in the South Island, but it was so lush and green. I notice once you get into the bush in certain parts of Aus, it gets very barren and dry very quickly.

The weather was also a lot more agreeable to an Irishman! High 20s, cooled down at night, so it was bearable and you could sleep!!

I would imagine the North Island is different. I'm into my music, so a good music scene would be a must, so I reckon Auckland or Wellington would be the better choice, but I don't know what the scene is really like in NZ.

There are so many kiwis working in Aus, it must be for a reason, and I'm guessing that reason is probably to do with $$$ and work opportunities. But surely there must be some opportunity in the cities in NZ?

I'm more interested in what the social life is like in NZ though, what the people are really like, what society is like. I read enough about the bad things and good things about Australia...

A single man like myself should prob be heading for the cities in order to give myself a chance of meeting a nice antipodean woman!!:cool::o

I notice down under, a lot of folk seem to get married earlier than in Ireland, and settle down, so what chance for a 30 something like me in the land of the long white cloud...

esharknz

seachto7 wrote: »

I notice down under, a lot of folk seem to get married earlier than in Ireland, and settle down, so what chance for a 30 something like me in the land of the long white cloud...

A great chance I'd say. Firstly, men over the age of 25 tend to disappear overseas, never to return, leaving a pool of lovely kiwi ladies looking for a husband.

Personally, I moved to Ireland because I LOVE irishmen, and have married a very fine one! I think a lot of kiwi girls are the same

seachto7

:):) well, that's a good sign then! I'll have to get me to NZ!! Funnily enough, on the flight back to Aus from ChCh, the air hostesses were telling me how much they liked the Irish accent. Pity they were both married...!

I don't have a strong one, but sometimes folk didn't know what I was saying. I think we tend to speak very fast...

Is there much of a difference between the north and south island?

pclancy

All above comments are pretty spot on. as Shedweller said there is a big gap between those with very little and the rich with their boats and bmws. You can get lucky and get a well paid job in something like construction, IT or healthcare but other jobs or some trades pay totally crap and you'll be not doing much of the high outdoor life at all unless its on the cheap Kiwis are very good at doing a lot with nothing so you'll see families from all walks of life enjoying themselves outdoors at beaches, bachs and on boats, the amount of stuff to do is massive and there's plenty of space for everyone.

I've found most kiwis quite liberated and laid back about life. They know NZ is a cool place and enjoy their lives here, often i've met some that have never left NZ or even been to the other island! I had a chat with a bloke the other night that did nothing but surf the east coast for 10 years before deciding to get a job in his 30s They're not insular as such but it can be hard make friends with kiwis as they've already got their own circle of mates and don't actively seek out expats to hang out with (sure why would they?) but they're always inquisitive and friendly when they meet a foreigner.

The main pros for me then are the people, scenery, wildlife, tons of national parks and forests, lack of traffic and crime, awesome pies, range of beers and wines, cheap cars/petrol/insurance, big mix of multinational people, maori and pacifica culture, good music scene and the fact i can ski in the morning and be in a white sand beach snorkelling that evening!

Cons are the cost of food, clothes, dairy, remoteness and cost of flights to anywhere else in the world. The houses can be very poor quality and heating in the winter can be hard especially down south. Wellingtons weather can be frustrating as you have glorious blue skie days during the week and a weekend of 120k/m gales and rain but its so gorgous on a good day that the bad days just fade into memory....

Racism does exist as in any country but its not obvious. I've only seen it in a few redneck places i've played gigs in the small town countryside, most of society seems pretty integrated. Theres tons of cultures living together without much hassle. Some gang related stuff could be racist orientated but you dont ever see it in the cities or most areas.

esharknz

seachto7 wrote: »

:):) well, that's a good sign then! I'll have to get me to NZ!! Funnily enough, on the flight back to Aus from ChCh, the air hostesses were telling me how much they liked the Irish accent. Pity they were both married...!

I don't have a strong one, but sometimes folk didn't know what I was saying. I think we tend to speak very fast...

Is there much of a difference between the north and south island?

We are a complete sucker for the irish accent!!! Good luck over there! I hope you find someone who makes you as happy as my wonderful husband makes me.

The south island is considered far prettier than the north island, and more of the place to go if you are into adventure sports, skiing etc, although you can do those in the north as well. Population wise, about 1 million live in the south and the remaining 3 million in the north.

seachto7

esharknz. I am not decided on going yet, but am seriously looking into it. I may not even be eligible for a visa!:(:(
But I always like to do as much research as possible...:)

pclancy: Is there much original music knocking around in the cities over there? I'd say it must be hard for bands to tour there what with flight costs etc.
I also surf a little too, so always take the sea into account as well. I hear there's good surf up around Piha.

pclancy

Yeah NZ has a big origonal music scene, lots of rock, metal, reggae, soul, ska you name it really! The normal bands wouild probaly just travel by road i guess.

Tefral

Im delighted you have started this thread OP, im very interested in going there to work. Im a Quantity Surveyor, only 25 and I see its on their Critical Shortage list. The wages are more than what id be on here too.

seachto7

yeah, I must admit, I was bowled over by the beauty of the place when I was there. I know it's different being in a place on holiday and living there.
But anyone I knew who had been in Aus and NZ, always raved about NZ, so I thought I'd start a thread on it..

But I never read much on life in NZ. I like the idea of being outdoors. I like what Australia has to offer, but, for me anyways, there's only so much of 40 degrees I can take. I was in Sydney a few weeks back and found it very tough going. I know Syd was going through a heatwave but it was still tough. I just found the weather in NZ to be easier on me. This is something I would take into account.
I also liked the lush countryside, that appealed. The idea that I won't get eaten in the sea by a shark, or bitten in the bush. I know the odds of this are small anyways, but it's another factor.

From what I have read and seen of Auckland, it looks cool...

But at the end of the day, if the worst comes to it here, I may not even get a visa for NZ, or be able to find a suitable job.....

doriansmith

I've been in NZ a few months now. Spent the first 3 months travelling the whole country & now living in Wellington. As people above have said, the main bad points are the low wages (I'm not working yet but I know I'll probably be earning a lot less than home) and the remoteness of the country - it's a hell of a long way from home.

One of the major pros for me is the people. They're the friendliest & nicest people I've ever met. I've spent time in Oz too & while I loved it I think the people in NZ are a lot nicer. The scenery's better too, places like Queenstown, Tongariro National Park, Milford Sound etc are stunning, and there's so much to do outdoors here. From what I've been told by people working here there's a good work/life balance in jobs here & employers are very conscious of employee welfare.

Wellington's a great city too. It's small but really vibrant & there's lots going on here. I love it here so far.

jank

NZ = BEST PALCE EVER*


*You need to have a good wage!

NZ would be the best place to live in the WORLD if it were not for one thing, the really low wages/weak NZD. To get the best out of it you need to have a good job with good income. For a couple, 100k between ye and you should be OK. When I lived there I was on a pretty good wages for their standard anyway even though I took a paycut, when I got transfered to Sydney my wages increased overnight by over 50%. This tells you why so many Kiwis leave for OZ. I find that my money goes way further here, even though my rent is at least double what I was paying in Christchurch.

Australia is great and all but I still see myself in 5 years time moving back to NZ and settling there long term. Being in Oz is good in that I can experience this place as well but also earn good money and save as much as possible for a house in NZ.

If you have a nice cash euro or AUD lump sum then you can buy a fairly good place with a minimum of a mortgage and lead a good easy life. Starting out though as a mid 20ish year old saving for a mortgage well that will be very tough as the NZD buys you feck all and things there are quite expensive relatively!

It is not for everyone but if you like Nature and the outdoors you will never want to leave.

jank

pclancy wrote: »

All above comments are pretty spot on. as Shedweller said there is a big gap between those with very little and the rich with their boats and bmws. You can get lucky and get a well paid job in something like construction, IT or healthcare but other jobs or some trades pay totally crap and you'll be not doing much of the high outdoor life at all unless its on the cheap Kiwis are very good at doing a lot with nothing so you'll see families from all walks of life enjoying themselves outdoors at beaches, bachs and on boats, the amount of stuff to do is massive and there's plenty of space for everyone.

I've found most kiwis quite liberated and laid back about life. They know NZ is a cool place and enjoy their lives here, often i've met some that have never left NZ or even been to the other island! I had a chat with a bloke the other night that did nothing but surf the east coast for 10 years before deciding to get a job in his 30s They're not insular as such but it can be hard make friends with kiwis as they've already got their own circle of mates and don't actively seek out expats to hang out with (sure why would they?) but they're always inquisitive and friendly when they meet a foreigner.

The main pros for me then are the people, scenery, wildlife, tons of national parks and forests, lack of traffic and crime, awesome pies, range of beers and wines, cheap cars/petrol/insurance, big mix of multinational people, maori and pacifica culture, good music scene and the fact i can ski in the morning and be in a white sand beach snorkelling that evening!

Cons are the cost of food, clothes, dairy, remoteness and cost of flights to anywhere else in the world. The houses can be very poor quality and heating in the winter can be hard especially down south. Wellingtons weather can be frustrating as you have glorious blue skie days during the week and a weekend of 120k/m gales and rain but its so gorgous on a good day that the bad days just fade into memory....

Racism does exist as in any country but its not obvious. I've only seen it in a few redneck places i've played gigs in the small town countryside, most of society seems pretty integrated. Theres tons of cultures living together without much hassle. Some gang related stuff could be racist orientated but you dont ever see it in the cities or most areas.

This too!
Agree with all of it

Tefral

Anyone have any more thoughts to add to this?

deaddonkey

Pros: Gisborne and the East Coast is the best place in the world.
Welly is awesome.
The positivity of people is awesome, they give anything a shot
it's chill
there's some good microbreweries
the weather is tolerable (except in welly, and the west coast gets rain all the time)
the fishing's really good
the people are friendly

Cons:
Wages are ****, groceries are stupidly expensive
drunk rural kiwis are the worst drunks

I left a week ago, I'd give my left nut to be back in gizzy

kiwipower

I AM SO HOMESICK RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Never thought the day would come when I would miss wet old windy wanganui (ok maybe not wanganui) but I miss being a kiwi in NZ!

I miss crusing down the highway in an old banger with the window down sun coming in!

I miss being able to see for kilometres and kilometres!

I miss having to dodge landslides on SH2 going to Gizzy!

I miss the social club in Gizzy Hospital!

I miss the pies!

I miss the beer and wine!

I miss the Kaimoana! (seafood)

I miss the culture!

I miss not having to drive the latest car, wear the latest clothes etc!

I miss seeing hard woman doing things girls over here would never dream of!

I miss my mummy, my daddy, my bro and sisters,

I really really miss the nephews!

I even miss working hard!

kiwipower

I never really thought home was that far away untill the christchurch quake. Still cant really imagine the extent of the damage and distruction. I still cant put together the words to say how I feel about it or how much my thoughts are with the people in Christchurch and the people in the rest of NZ who are now thinking would their house/town survive if the next big quake struck near them.

Rosy Posy

shedweller wrote: »

.
There is a huge difference between the rich and the poor.

One of the things I like about it here is that it is much more of an egalitarian society than in Ireland- at home most of my friends tend to be of the same age and social class, where as here its more common to have friends with a diverse range of ages and income levels.

Rosy Posy

One 'con' is that it can be very quiet, especially in the winter. There is no real pub culture like at home. Kiwi's tend to socialise mostly at each other's houses, the pub tends to be a fairly insular, man-zone, for serious drinkers. There are some vineyards around that are more open/family friendly but its not the same as going down to the local for a couple of pints and crisps and coke for the kids. In saying that, I'm sure its different in Wellington or Auckland.

brendansmith

Rosy Posy wrote: »

One 'con' is that it can be very quiet, especially in the winter. There is no real pub culture like at home. Kiwi's tend to socialise mostly at each other's houses, the pub tends to be a fairly insular, man-zone, for serious drinkers. There are some vineyards around that are more open/family friendly but its not the same as going down to the local for a couple of pints and crisps and coke for the kids. In saying that, I'm sure its different in Wellington or Auckland.

Are you in CHCH?

pclancy

I'd agree with Rosy Posy, i've found it really hard to make friends down at any of my local pubs because the regulars tend to be a bit too regular, as in they're there every day and pissed up most of the week. Friday nights are cool with the work crowd being out but i've never really gelled with any of my local pubs and do miss that a lot from home. I'm talking about suburbs like Newtown, Hataitai and Kilbernie here at Wellington, going into town to Courtney place is pretty different as they're more city type pubs that often have a mixed traveller/local crowd.

kiwipower

Yeah,
NZ has never really had a pub culture, they are generally left for teeny boppers in the town I came from. Even then as teenagers we tended to gather at the houses of older friends or spend the evenings driving around in cars.
In Wangavagas we called it an "Ave mish" driving up and down the main street, heading out to the beach to do burnouts etc, and getting CONSTANTLY pulled over by the cops and breath tested! My sister set the record in my old car once breathalised stopped 6times breathalised 4times in one night!
I think maybe the sports clubs or the RSAs maybe a little better but dont quote me (or dish me, as its over ten years since I was more than a tourist in my homeland)
Most Kiwis just find the pubs to expensive to drink in!

pclancy

Yeah totally. I'd love to be a teenager here, great beach life and parties all over the place, must be class! Sad to be turning 30 Need to find myself a circle of partying kiwi friends! Allthough I think my next social experiment will be the Irish Society for a beer and a look see.

Crumble Froo

seachto7 wrote: »

Hi all,

First of all, sincere best wishes to all those affected by the quake in NZ. I was in Christchurch last week, so am considering myself lucky that fate saved me from a horrible scenario.

thanks, am living in Christchurch myself and am currently flat hunting having been made homeless for a second time due to that shaky bastard underneath us. What were you doing round here anyway?

You say you've been to NZ, the south island, so I'd be interested to know in what capacity you were here, travelling, working etc. Did you meet many locals, or just check out the land/attractions?

I ask, cos my mates spent a few months here, travelling around and seeing the country and spent the last weekend staying with me, and asking her what she thought of kiwis and the country and she replied that she'd not really met too many and had met mostly other backpackers/travellers and didn't really seem to have too much of a grip on the personality and culture of NZ, or the people.

I started reading other replies here, but I think I'll put my own thoughts down first, and then comment on what others have to say on it, given that we all have widely varying experiences on this side of the world.... So all comments here on are my own opinion, very much. I've been here for 3 and a bit years now btw. Think I first got here March 2007, travelled forwards and back for a bit and have been living here since December 2007. Just turned 23 now too, on the offchance that age could make things more or less relevant.

Culturally it seems similar to Aus. The climate seems to me , to be far more agreeable and not as extreme as Aus, especially the heat.

Nahhhhh. It's not even just a rivalry thing. Talk to most kiwis that've lived over there (and that is quite a substantial amount) and they'll tell you that the Aussies "aren't like us". I find the 'typical' aussie sense of humour a lot different to the kiwis. The kiwis, I find are a lot more like the Irish. Pretty easy going, tiny country, love their drinks, generally a friendly, down to earth lot. Love their DIY/improvisations and aren't at all into the whole talking yourself up thing. Tall poppy syndrome i think.

The climate is a LOT more agreeable than oz, in Christchurch at least (I should point out I've been here the whole time, though hitchhike around the country a bit,so my outlook is largely from here), though our NorWesters are pure ****ing evil. That said, they're always the best winds for surf too, which is an awesome escape from the hot.

Importantly, just about none of our bugs, creepy crawlies, spiders or jellyfish try to kill you and it's rarely too hot to walk barefoot on the ground, though often hot enough that no shoes is freshly divine.

I read plenty of things about Aussies on here (good and bad), but what are the kiwis really like? Is it a liberal society? Insular? Is there much racism?

Kiwis, as a group, I like.
Liberal society - dude, this is the place that was first to give women the vote, a higher atheist count and marijuana smoking count per person than anywhere else in the world (that that last stat includes jamaica), gay couples, as far as I know, have all the rights that straight ones do too. It's a pretty liberal society. Got the more right-wing government party in at the moment, but that's about something like 8 years of the Labour Party.

Insular - well, Christchurch is small, everyone more or less knows everyone, 2 degrees of separation and all that. I have moments of shouting at newspaper's 'World" section, of which maybe 3-4 pages are gone on world news, which often includes the latest idiot celebrity to be racist/drunk/married/whatever, but as long as I have internet access, I'm not too worried there.

I would imagine the quality of life to be quite good there. I was only in the South Island, but the North Island, I would imagine has more going on?

Depends what you're into really.

damn, have to go, will finish this later...

Anyone here any positive or negative experiences of living in NZ?

One con would be the distance! It's a long flight alright...[/QUOTE]

PhiliousPhogg

It's got some pretty good prospects, sustainability wise, when you consider it's an agricultural producing country, has lots of fresh water, and according to wikipedia gets 70% of it's electricity from renewable sources (govt targets increasing it to 90%). Although only 30% of it's overall energy consumption is renewable - there's a big reliance on road & air transport between cities, railways are used very little.

Myself I think the people are amazingly happy, co-operative, give service with a smile & a bit of banter etc, which all goes a long way for me. It's not for everyone though, one con might be that it's just a slower and more casual pace all in all compared to city life in Aussie & Europe.

superman28

I loved NZ when I went travelling around for 5 weeks.

The people are really nice and friendly, if you like the great outdoors you will never be in a better place.. I love the Pies, cider, fresh fruit you can buy along the roads in the summer.. the summer is perfect weather IMO not to hot, clear blue skys, the freshest air in the world. Ski in the winter, surf in the summer..

Nice towns, Wellington, Christchurch, Lovely little towns all around and Queenstown would be amazing if your in your twenties and like adventure activities.. and for some reason people always right off the north island.. but this is a mistake,, its just as nice up there..

I am In Oz now and it doesnt compare.. (Apart from the wages)..

If you could land a decent job in IT/Finance/Tourism you would have the best time.. But I think the other posters may be right the streets are not paved with gold as they are in Oz.. (And I think they are in Australia in my experience)

My advice is,, if you can get a job, go...

watna

These are just in my experience

Cons are:

Quality of housing - can be very cold and damp and in general the more affordable houses are not very nice (there's no central heating in NZ - a lot of houses have no heating at all)
Ease of getting good value goods/services - it can be hard to get things at a decent price. I don't really buy clothes in NZ as the selection is quite bad and the sizing isn't great either. Everything is made very big, imo. I buy things online from the UK a lot. It's only 9 pounds for delivery to NZ though which is good.
It's a long way from home - all my spare cash goes on savings for trips home
Wages are quite low - some things are cheaper relative to wages in Ireland but some things are more expensive as well.
Houses come unfurnished so it can take a while to get settled and be comfortable
Earthquakes

Pros are:

Easy access to lots of good value, good quality wine (big pro for me)
Good opportunities - I've done well at work here and have been given lots of opportunity to progress and for development
Trade me - NZ are so good for buying things second hand. It's environmental and pretty funky. I've started collecting Crown Lynn (NZ china makers) and it's loads of fun trawling around for things to add to my collection.
Weather - I'm putting this in pro because while the winters are a bit nasty, especially in Wellington the summers are much nicer than Ireland
The People - while my OH is a kiwi so I had a group of friend when I got here I've made some friends for life from work, in my previous and current job. I'm getting married next year and a lot of kiwi work mates are coming to Dublin for it.

I'm sure I'll think of more soon! Feel free to ask any questions