All about New Zealand

[lakedaemonian]

Re: All about New Zealand

I agree with this, although organic food is there if you look for it, at least in Nelson. Some groceries carry much more of it than others. Fresh Choice is probably the best large chain in that regard. In Nelson, we also have the weekly Farmer's Market, which is a good source for some stuff. We also have a small organic grocer in town, for the harder-to-get stuff.



True for the North Island, but almost invisible on the South.

In case it's not obvious, the two islands are almost like two different countries -- they are that different.



Once you have Permanent Residency, you are treated like a citizen from the government's perspective. The only thing you can't do is serve in the military.

Actually you can......I've done it myself. Serving on operational deployments requires citizernship. It's easiest for folks from US/UK/Canada/Aus to join. But I know folks from Jordan, Thailand, Philippines, Russia, and heaps from South Africa who have successfully joined.

You're eligible for full coverage in the medical system, full disability benefits, etc, etc. If you're not a Permanent Resident, then you have to pay for private health care and you're not eligible for the other benefits.

The way the medical system works is that emergency care is free. Regular care from a GP, and for drugs is heavily discounted. The downside is potentially long waiting periods for specialist care. However, they also have a parallel private system, where you can pay "full price" and jump to the head of the line. Private care is still much cheaper than care in California, though. And of course you can buy insurance that will cover the private care.

I'm not sure about cooperation with US insurers -- I've never tried it. I would think that if your policy covers international care, that you would be covered for use of the private system here. But insurance companies in the US are so fickle, you probably won't know for sure until you file a claim.



High speed DSL-based Internet is widely available in small towns, including Nelson (up to 3 Mbps). Extremely rural areas often fall back to microwave or satellite. Urban areas like Wellington have extra-high speed service (10 Mbps?). I've also heard rumblings of the government pushing for more high-speed service in rural areas.

I'd say we are clearly behind the curve in terms of broadband speed and cost compared to say South Korea....but taking into account out poor economy of scale and population density I'm quite happy with our braodband speed. I've been able to download HD movie clips quite quickly.

Christchurch is pushing for a fibre network......fat pipe broadband is good!

It's not difficult, except for the mandatory 30 day quarantine period. Many pet-oriented diseases don't exist here, and they want to keep it that way. There are some very nice facilities for that, though. It's also not particularly cheap -- it's definitely worth shopping around.

Christchurch has a few outstanding facilities.....but as you've mentioned, not exactly cheap. When we infrequently put our Rottie in the doggy 4 seasons it's about the same price as putting myself up in a decent hostel......but they look after the dogs like they're going to a fricking spa.....it really is a dog's life.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: All about New Zealand

It means you have to play Rugby

Rugby would be the closest thing NZ has to a recognized national religion.

[GRG55]

Re: All about New Zealand

The least xenophobic countries on earth are those which actually agnonise about whether or not they are racist - UK, Canada, Australia, NZ.

You won't hear the Japanese or Chinese debating amongst themselves and worrying if they are xenophobic. But you CANNOT ever become Japanese by immigrating to Japan - even your grandchildren will not be considered Japanese. Their national identity is racially based,end of story.

Whereas in Australia, you are Aussie once you have an accent.

Does it have to be an Aussie accent? Or will a Canadian one do, eh?

[plinko]

Re: All about New Zealand

OK! I'm interested (as I've also been interested in other countries such as singapore / california (I treat it as a separate country)

Questions:

1) How's the market for engineers in the high-tech sector out there? My biggest problem with other countries such as singapore is that such jobs are easily taken by expats from India and China for very low wages compared to the US.

2) How's the surf?

3) How's the powder (for snowboarding) ?

4) How are universities/colleges ranked out there? Could I use that as a method (albeit more expensive) of going there?\

5) Could a vegetarian survive there?

I'm young, and could easily move right now.

[Starving Steve]

Re: All about New Zealand

It looks like NZ might be a bit too white, English-only, xenophobic, pro-Greenpeace, and anti-nuclear power for my taste. Probably it is into political correctness too. And I don't care for the anti-Americanism, especially in the wake of 9/11.

That grocery store pic: Was I reading those prices right? $4.99 for one item?

[lakedaemonian]

Re: All about New Zealand

OK! I'm interested (as I've also been interested in other countries such as singapore / california (I treat it as a separate country)

Questions:

1) How's the market for engineers in the high-tech sector out there? My biggest problem with other countries such as singapore is that such jobs are easily taken by expats from India and China for very low wages compared to the US.

I guess it depends on the field.....being out of the Semicon industry by over a decade I'm quite out of touch(and I wasn't an engineer...I was in Manufacturing/Distribution). We do have some world leading companies in niches like Tait Electronics....but I'd think it depends on your field...and how much you like working with far smaller firms.

There's always something going on here....but the scale would be quite small....I did have the chance to see a very exciting product being trialed and developed further here which requires exceptional engineering talent to develop that is simply mind-blowing...but alas I am not allowed to discuss it.

2) How's the surf?

Excellent! We've got a fair few breaks in NZ.....so much so that we have Mark Occhilupo and company running all over the place surfing at the moment. We have an OK break right behind my house. Mostly 3-5 foot stuff up and down about 10km strip next to Christchurch...but far better elsewhere.

3) How's the powder (for snowboarding) ?

Can't complain......but realize that the infrastructure to support mass numbers of skiers snowboarders doesn't exist.......good quality and variety....but light on the infrastructure supporting it.

4) How are universities/colleges ranked out there? Could I use that as a method (albeit more expensive) of going there?\

Absolutely......my wife(then girlfriend) spent one year on visitor's visa and an additional year as a student helping us to develoip the 2 years co-habitation required for her to fall under my permanent visa. I'd rate the Universities in NZ as of good reputation and quite good value for locals...bear in mind the cost for overseas students can be far higher school to school and program to program. I've had the chance to study at a "brand name" US uni...I don't see much difference to be quite honest.

5) Could a vegetarian survive there?

I don't see why not. Produce variety is quite strong.....but can be expensive out of season. I loves my fruits and veggies....but couldn't imagine life without some nice fresh NZ seafood and fresh wild venison.

I'm young, and could easily move right now. I may consider flying down to NZ this month if there's a good chance.

Exchange rates are sitting at .65 to the US dollar.

If the Kiwi drops into the high .40's it will be quite value in excchanging USD for Kiwi....just my 0.02c

[Sharky]

Re: All about New Zealand

1) How's the market for engineers in the high-tech sector out there? My biggest problem with other countries such as singapore is that such jobs are easily taken by expats from India and China for very low wages compared to the US.

I'm a software engineer by trade, and my experience here so far has been an interesting mix:

-- People with good skills are in demand
-- Wages are a fair bit lower than California, but probably on a par with the midwest
-- NZ tends to benefit from the trend in other countries to offshore software work, due to the difference in wages
-- Good Internet connectivity and tools like Skype make it very easy to do contract work for overseas companies
-- Most of the jobs are in the big cities (no surprise)
-- Work-from-home contract or semi-contract work is also available (they don't have the huge bias against contractors that has developed over the last decade in the US)

2) How's the surf?

I'm not a surfer, but I've been told it's very good, although not in Nelson -- we have a long, shallow coastal area that's perfect for swimming, kids, etc, but the waves suck.

There are a number of websites dedicated to surfing in NZ. For example:

http://www.surfingnz.co.nz/

3) How's the powder (for snowboarding) ?

Excellent snow here, including some world-class resorts. In addition to good snow, the view from some of them is also outstanding -- such as Treble Cone. Closest snow to Nelson is about an hour away (it's winter here now; I can see snow-capped mountains from my home near the ocean).

4) How are universities/colleges ranked out there? Could I use that as a method (albeit more expensive) of going there?

Not sure about ranking, but they seem very good from what I've heard.

They have an education-oriented immigration program that lets you go to university here:

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/study/

BTW, you can stay for up to six months with nothing more than a tourist visa, which requires no special qualifications. I know people who spend summers in the US or UK, then come to NZ for summer here -- so they avoid winter all together.

5) Could a vegetarian survive there?

Easily. My wife and one of my kids are vegetarian, and they do very well. There's also a large and active natural health community here. Plus lots of high-quality fresh produce. Again, the Saturday market in Nelson is wonderful for that kind of thing. The available fruits, veggies and spices are a little different than in the US, but making the switch wasn't difficult.

[Starving Steve]

Re: All about New Zealand

Without trying to be disrespectful to the fine people of New Zealand, having read all of these posts I can't see how the country is significantly different than any of the other non-US anglosphere countries like the UK, Canada, or Australia. Big welfare, animosity towards the US and particularly US conservatives, stifling taxes, huge government debt, concern for all the boutique feminizing causes of Western white liberals. Once they have major immigration of non-whites they'll be in the same pickle as the rest of the anglosphere in that respect. Then you can say goodbye to your safe streets and unlocked doors. You probably think that's racist. *Shrug*. Go ahead, be non-"xenophobic" and open your doors to the muslim/African/etc world and see where it gets you. Some people won't learn any other way.

So these posts were very useful. My vague impression of NZ was different than what was portrayed. I thought they were more libertarian/conservative. But clearly the New Zealanders would never want a white conservative American like me who believes in the free market, self-reliance, the right to self-defense, a strong military, and a small government. And they apparently have nothing to offer me.

It's actually kind of good news for white American conservatives like me. We have no place to go. This is it for us, this is where we make our stand. Meanwhile our liberal countrymen can leave and go live in NZ, Aus, Canada, etc, leaving this country just a little more conservative with their departure. I guess everyone wins in that case. (I'm not being sarcastic either.) I wish we could take your NZ/Aus/Canadian/UK conservatives and you could take our liberals and then we would no longer be in each others' hair, driving each other nuts.

Don't you believe that the Bush Republicans, the Christian-right, the NRA, and the others on the far right in America need a strong opposition? And don't you see the damage the extreme right has done to America in recent years, especially under the recent Bush Administration?

Hasn't the liberalism of Minnesota rubbed-off on you, at least a bit?

[lakedaemonian]

Re: All about New Zealand

It looks like NZ might be a bit too white,

probably less so than the US...we've got a fair few native Maori, Pacific Islander, Ethnic Indian, Ethnic African, and Ethnic Asian folks to give life a bit of spice

English-only,

English-predominant.....yes

English-only....no

My kids are growing up with a bit of Maori and a whole lotta Mandarin besides English.

Outside of places in the US with extremely strong and singular ethnic influences requiring Spanish/Chinese language skills I'd say the average NZ resident has better foreign language skills on average than the US

xenophobic,

When did a recent incident involving Australia suddenly taint NZ? Merging US/Canada is about as inappropriate as merging NZ/OZ.


pro-Greenpeace,

Where do you get this rubbish?

And what is your definition of pro-Greenpeace?

I personally dislike the attention whore retards in that group...same goes for the Sea Shephard idiots......but if they operate within the bounds of the law.....who cares? And if they break the law...they get punished.


and anti-nuclear power for my taste.

It's a hot button no go area at this stage....who knows what the future may bring in 20-50 years time........I've had a good up close and personal experience with NZ Hydro dams recently for work and it's pretty cool to see so much energy being produced from it....we are incredibly fortunate


Probably it is into political correctness too.

Political correctness is with us everywhere.........and I find it maddening.

The good news is that for some unknown reason I feel incredibly comfortable with being the awkward fart in the room and sharing my opinions without fear of being branded as a social leper........it's quite enlightening.


And I don't care for the anti-Americanism, especially in the wake of 9/11.

The US is a very big, very powerful, and very wealthy nation. If it sneezes...the world catches the flu....if the US gets the flu.....the world gets pnemonia....if the US gets pnemonia.......the world gets a long visit from the grim reaper.

People around the world.....and especially in the US......have more of a NEED, rather than just an interest, in keeping informed about US foreign/economic/military policy...probably more so than the average American.

So it's a bit disturbing for many to speak with Americans and grasp their often limited understanding of the bigger picture........it can be quite frightening.

As an Expat American you either learn to live with it and effectively deal with it, or you don't........what does anooy me are the expat Americans who simply give up and start chirping the same tired monologues like little Khmer Rouge cadres instead of engaging in real conversations.

That grocery store pic: Was I reading those prices right? $4.99 for one item?

I paid nearly that much for a single avacado a few years back......that was a terrible winter......I went a couple months without my precious guacamole!

[Sharky]

Re: All about New Zealand

It looks like NZ might be a bit too white, English-only, xenophobic, pro-Greenpeace, and anti-nuclear power for my taste. Probably it is into political correctness too. And I don't care for the anti-Americanism, especially in the wake of 9/11.

Mostly white and English, yes. Xenophobic? No (as explained previously), certainly not compared to most other countries in the world, particularly the US. Pro-Greenpeace? No, just anti-nuclear. They have plenty of cheap hydro power, why bother with expensive nuclear? Keep in mind that they also have a big lumber industry, lots of farmers, a big fishing industry, etc -- not exactly Greenpeace favorites.

That grocery store pic: Was I reading those prices right? $4.99 for one item?

There were several $4.99s in the photo. A couple of them were per pack (bag) or per kilogram (2.2 pounds). I think the strawberries were $4.99 per punnet (plastic container), and the (imported) pineapples were 4.99 each. As lake said, multiply by 0.65 to get USD. Also, that photo is from 2005; prices are somewhat different now, although the exchange rate was about the same back then.

[Aussie]

Re: All about New Zealand

This is an interesting thread . . . thanks Sharky!

[dummass]

Re: All about New Zealand

Aussie,

Why don´t you and the outback oracle get together and start a thread on Australia. Perhaps you can field some questions so that we can do a side by side comparison...

[dummass]

Re: All about New Zealand

Sharky,

Could you describe the climate in terms of someplace on the US west coast. Is it like northern California or more like Seattle? We have been checking the temperatures in Nelson since you started the thread and I understand i´ts winter...do things ice up?

[Sharky]

Re: All about New Zealand

Could you describe the climate in terms of someplace on the US west coast. Is it like northern California or more like Seattle? We have been checking the temperatures in Nelson since you started the thread and I understand i´ts winter...do things ice up?

The climate is unique. We get about 40 inches of rain per year, but it tends to arrive in big bursts, and many storms seem to happen at night. We don't get the week-long storms that seem common on the US west coast.

A few areas near here do get frost in the winter. As with most place, there are a few microclimates around, and we don't get it where I'm located. The roads here aren't icy. However, in Southland (down toward Dunedin and Invercargill), they are very icy and can be quite dangerous in the winter.

Overall, I'd say the weather reminds me of Santa Cruz, California, in terms of humidity and cloud cover, but with more rain, a colder winter, colder nights, and not as hot in the summer. It's nowhere near as wet as Seattle, though, and we certainly get much more sunshine than they do. It's not humid here, we get very little fog, and maybe two or three big thunderstorms per year.

The temperature drops very quickly after dark. I heard that this is the reason why trees grow so well here. Warm nights cause trees to respire, which wastes energy and stunts their growth. Cold nights prevent most respiration and encourage rapid growth.

Oh, when it rains heavily here, it's really something. It's unlike anything I've experienced in the US. An unusual storm a few years ago dropped 3 inches of rain in one hour (right as we were landing at the airport in a turboprop...). Another storm knocked down many acres of nearby trees.

[dummass]

Re: All about New Zealand

Thanks..good morning! I grew up in Santa Cruz so am very familiar with the climate. Are there any marinas for sailboats nearby? How are the water temps? In SC the water is freezing!!