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Will I like New
Zealand?
It depends on what you are looking for of
course. You can generally expect a more relaxed
lifestyle but may find a drop in living standard.
It could take ten years to get back to where you
are now. See "User Pays"
below.
Youngsters are more adaptable, older people,
ladies especially, have more ties and are likely to
be increasingly homesick or "people-sick" for
families, nieces, nephews and grandchildren
Clean, Green, Crime free, Multicultural?
Well, not entirely but better than the UK.
There is far less litter, the climate is warm
and moist and there are many strange plants so the
land is very green. There have been some pretty bad
environmental disasters in the past, especially the
import by man of rats, cats, rabbits and other
vermin and perhaps worst are possums from
Australia. This means the authorities take great
care about imports and spent millions last year
trying to eradicate a few gypsy moths found in
Auckland. There are still no snakes or really
venomous spiders.
I think that NZ is a few years (decades?) behind
in crime but will catch up. There are some fascist
groups in the South Island but racist attacks are
rare enough to make headline news. Small
communities are generally better, just drunken
driving, here in Auckland there are some gangs,
tagging and talk of Triads in the Asian community.
‘Soft’ drugs are rife, growing Marijuana
is a national pastime and there is a lot of
LSD.
New Zealand generally and especially Auckland is
very multicultural and a great place for mixed
marriages. I teach in a school a little south of
Auckland centre, we have students born in 57
different countries.
This is still a good place to bring up children-
they are relatively safe on the streets and there
are many playgrounds, parks and beaches. The
education system is pretty good if badly
under-funded and subject to political interference.
(So what else is new?) See "User
Pays" below.
One thing that is great is the
friendliness of the people. Even in Auckland people
are not remote, in the shops your are greeted
cheerfully and the goods are packed into bags for
you. You may be used to this, it was very
refreshing for me.
Food.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are good quality and
cheap in season, expensive out of season. (Tomatoes
can cost about $1 each in winter). There tend to be
gluts of fruit in Autumn, brush up your freezing
and preserving skills.)
Beef is very cheap, lamb also, pork and chicken
relatively dear. Seafood is good.
Where to shop.
There are national supermarket chains, unlike
the UK each is a privately owned franchise so
prices and stock tend to vary. The cheap &
cheerful is ‘Pak n Save’ who save money
by not giving bags. Excellent for cheaper branded
goods, lower priced meat but choose carefully.
‘Foodtown’ are more upmarket and tend to
have more but smaller branches.
‘Woolworth’ are a little more expensive
but are very good for fresh food with excellent
meat. Be prepared to be disappointed in variety and
choice. Only the bigger supermarkets have as many
as two brands of baked beans on offer. New Zealand
wines are cheap and good quality.
There are specialist vegetable shops and
butchers, less common but worth finding .
The small corner shops, called Dairies, are
common. More expensive but convenient and open
late.
Clothing.
NZ had a protectionist tariff so clothes are
quite expensive. This is now changing so clothes
will get cheaper. We still desperately miss
Marks
& Spencers!
Property.
There are a lot of rental properties, you should
not have much trouble finding somewhere to live
while you search out the ideal home. The weather is
not Mediterranean as you might expect from our
latitude. The sea all around keeps it cooler in
summer and more humid. It can be cold in winter,
made worse by the type of house they build. Older
properties, the kind you are likely to rent at
first, are wood-frame with no insulation, ill
fitting draughty windows and primitive heating.
(Double glazing and central heating are a distant
dream!) Be prepared to huddle round a wood fire
winter evenings! All properties are rented and, I
think sold, complete with cooker and curtains.
Prices ie for a modest 3 bed house range from
absurdly high in Auckland ($300,000 to buy, $300
weekly rent) to absurdly low in the far south
($30,000).
Driving.
NZ drives on the left. You can drive in NZ on a
UK licence for up to 1 year but permanent residents
are expected to take a test within three months.
Two parts, theory then road test. The age is 15,
many think this too low, especially parents with
young teenagers (I.e. me!) On the North Island with
no snow on most roads there is no salt and cars can
last a long time. There are many Ford Cortinas
still going strong, even some old Anglias. A lot of
new and used cars are imported from Japan, some
from Australia. European cars are less common,
American rare. There were two assembly plants in
NZ, these closed this year as soon as tariffs were
dropped.
Electical goods.
The electricity supply is 240volt- 50
cycle, same as the UK. The plugs are three pin but
different from UK or European. Be prepared to
change most of them. There are conversion plugs you
can buy for $10 to $14 which fit the NZ sockets and
take a UK or European plug. Magic! I have a few and
use them for things with moulded-on plugs.
TV is the same system as Europe and the UK but
some frequencies are different- instead of all
programs on the UHF band some are UHF and some are
broadcast on the VHF bands. If you have a good TV
set than bring it and buy a cheap video out here.
The video will pick up all the programs and feed
them to your TV's AV input.
User
Pays.
Ten years ago there was a change from Welfare
State to User Pays philosophy.
All services are more expensive.
Childcare. Don’t expect much financial
help.
Schools charge fees, mostly around $100 dollars
p.a., this may increase as funding drops, plus
material costs for some courses. All stationary has
to be bought by the student, there is no free
school meals of free school bus. University charges
are rising rapidly and most students work and take
out huge student loans.
Healthcare.
Ten years ago there was an excellent free heath
service but this was expensive and was dropped.
There is still a free hospital service but funding
is dropping and waiting lists rising. Most people
who can afford it have private health insurance.
Doctors visits cost $30 to $50, some prescriptions
are subsidised to about $15.
At present children under 6 are treated free in
most doctors, this may change.
Dentistry can be expensive. Very.
A long course of orthodontic treatment for a
child, with a brace, may cost $6,000 - $10,000
Pension/ superannuation.
Take out a private policy.
Politics.
The electoral system changed to a multiple vote
system a couple of years ago. The resulting mix of
parties has led to a strange coalition whose antics
have been worrying or amusing depending on
viewpoint. When we left the Prime Minister was
Jenny Shiply, she has now been replaced by a Labour
government headed by Helen Clark. they were
promising big changes; by now much of this page may
be out of date.
The head of state is still a Governor General
who answers to the UK Queen. Many people talk about
a republic but most seem to conservative to
change.
Treaty of Waitangi.
This was a peace treaty in the last century
between Maori and English, now being resurrected as
the basis of claims for return of stolen land. Very
touchy- try to avoid debate
Humour.
A pretty dour lot. Avoid religion (they have too
much), sex (they don’t admit it exists), race
(you’re bound to offend one of your audience)
and anything more subtle than a pratt fall.
Conversation.
The five main topics are sport, TV, sport,
getting drunk and sport. Always tell people how
great Godzone (NZ) is and you’ll be OK.
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Immigration
to New Zealand
