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Please list positive aspects of NZ

18K views 73 replies 29 participants last post by  xabiaxica 
#1 ·
Have just been reading various threads and are dismayed to find so many negative comments and feelings on living in NZ
Has anybody got anything good to say please ?
 
#38 ·
Wow, how have I only just discovered this thread?!?!?!

I am a HUGE NZ fan, and won't pretend otherwise. My family and I have travelled a lot and lived in various countries between 1 and 10 years at a time. Originally from the UK, we only ever had to spend 3 weeks back there to know it wasn't "home" anymore...I personally find the UK too busy, too unhealthy, too focussed on money and material possessions, and too unsafe. I know that other people love it...fair enough.

NZ is NOT the place to live if you want lots of money in your back pocket, flash toys, fancy holidays etc UNLESS you already have that money when you come over. You will not be here and make millions. It is the place to live when you want people who are family-first, when children are meant to be children and not AS materialistic, when the focus is on home, health and relaxation, and where you are not tied up by miles of political red tape. I won't deny that to many Kiwi's and long-term residents of NZ these issues are evident. However, I don't find them to be on the same scale as other countries I have lived, or on the same scale as my home country of the UK. My neighbour is British, but has lived out here since 1973. She feels that there are huge issues here, but when I explain to her the relevance of how the country is back in the UK, how it is STILL better here than in UK, and that EVERY country is changing over time, she actually thinks she has the better deal.

What do I struggle with living here??? The ONLY thing is that it is so far from anywhere. I have travelled lots, have no desire to return to England or anywhere else, but somehow the fact that we are SO far (in terms of travel time and cost etc) actually freaks me out a little bit!!! Maybe it's the fact that travel is expensive and we have little spare cash each week (nearly 3 kids under 6...fair enough) and so I have a slight feeling of being trapped, but that is MY issue due to MY circumstances. It is NOTHING to do with the country.

Like any country, there are things others hate that you will love, and vice versa. It's an individual choice.
 
#39 ·
NZ is NOT the place to live if you want lots of money in your back pocket, flash toys, fancy holidays etc UNLESS you already have that money when you come over. You will not be here and make millions. It is the place to live when you want people who are family-first, when children are meant to be children and not AS materialistic, when the focus is on home, health and relaxation, and where you are not tied up by miles of political red tape. I won't deny that to many Kiwi's and long-term residents of NZ these issues are evident.
Agree with you there. I do however feel that, say compared to Australia, that NZ business is significantly more extortive its its drive to make profit, because its so hard to make any, and because its lack of 'good, 'non-distortive' regulation. Workers talk about not getting paid, etc. Service is seldom good. Its better for small business who do need to compete, or rely on close relationships.

What do I struggle with living here??? The ONLY thing is that it is so far from anywhere. I have travelled lots, have no desire to return to England or anywhere else, but somehow the fact that we are SO far (in terms of travel time and cost etc) actually freaks me out a little bit!!! Maybe it's the fact that travel is expensive and we have little spare cash each week (nearly 3 kids under 6...fair enough) and so I have a slight feeling of being trapped, but that is MY issue due to MY circumstances. It is NOTHING to do with the country.
Actually, I think NZ is favourable in this regard. Low inncomes mean low-priced discount airlines. Sadly, Brunei Airlines is ending flights, but Jetstar, Air Asia X are offering reasonable flights to Asia, Aust and beyond.
NZ is a great place to be a writer. I go to my local park, and I have it all to myself. A great place for loners and yep, parents with kids. Looking forward, I think NZ will have a very attractive economic future in 10 years time. Just give them a chance to discover oil. It will make a hell of a difference to this population of just 4mil. Yep, the money will eventually flow.
 
#40 ·
a positive Wellington wiildlife post . . .

I lived almost 10 years on Wellington's south coast at Island Bay then Owhiro Bay, suffering many an Antarctic blast of cold southerlies, but also enjoyed many good days on the edge of Cook Strait, swimming, kayaking, beachcombing


on land I could walk or mountainbike along the coast to the Red Rocks seal colony



Often when kayaking I'd have the company of little blue penguins which nest along the coastline, curious little things sometimes one would follow me a for a while, staying 2-3m away from the kayak


every year on their migratory route south orcas head along the coastline and often right into Wellington harbour- just googled and they were there again this year Orca spotted in Owhiro Bay

and from the southern side of Cook Strait


16/03/2011 Students buzzing after orca drops by


dolphins are regularly seen along the coast and within the harbour; my #1 dolphin experience was when kayaking across the harbour entrance and seeing a huge pod feeding, stopped paddling and let the current carry me in among them, totally surrounded, only sounds the splashing and snorting from their blowholes.

and this from the news yesterday, a rare visitor to the coastline north of Wellington

Happy feet? Penguin steps ashore far from home
An Emperor penguin walks along Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand after it got lost while hunting for food. The young Antarctic Emperor penguin has taken a rare wrong turn and ended up stranded on a New Zealand beach
 
#41 ·
Nice set of pictures Song Si, how many of them are yours?

NZ is NOT the place to live if you want lots of money in your back pocket, flash toys, fancy holidays etc UNLESS you already have that money when you come over. You will not be here and make millions. It is the place to live when you want people who are family-first, when children are meant to be children and not AS materialistic, when the focus is on home, health and relaxation, and where you are not tied up by miles of political red tape.
You say that as if no one in New Zealand has any money, but there's plenty that do very well for themselves and I know a few that have made millions.

As for it being the go to place for 'family first it is no more family first than any other developed country so I don't know why NZ is considered to be special in that regard. If you'd lived in Australia you'd know why, you'd also appreciate why so many Kiwis don't raise their children in New Zealand.

But if it's facts you're after you should know that New Zealand has the third highest rate in the of children living in single parent households, around 1 in 4 children, in industrialised countries

Almost 25% of families are single parents Auckland Single Parents Trust

One child in four in single-parent home | Stuff.co.nz

"Of 27 industrialised countries, New Zealand ranked third in the Doing Better for Families study, with 23.7 per cent of children living in a one-parent household, compared with the 14.9 per cent average across all countries. The United States ranked first with 25.9 per cent and Ireland was second with 24.3 per cent.

Children's Commissioner John Angus said Kiwi children were four times more likely to be living under the poverty line if they were being raised by a single parent.

New Zealand's child poverty rate, at 12.2 per cent, is nearly on a par with the OECD average. Child poverty includes going hungry and living in poor housing that can lead to poor health.

At the end of March, 113,000 people were receiving a domestic purposes benefit, of whom 88 per cent were women.

The OECD said New Zealand could do more to support sole parents into fulltime work through the provision of quality childcare. Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, herself a single mother, said the Government was focusing on this.

"No parent wants their child to spend a life in poverty, but the fact is that children whose parents are working have more opportunities and better health and education than those from benefit-dependent households."

And as for having plenty of quality, family time that's a fallacy for the many people in New Zealand who have to work longer hours, or two jobs to keep their heads above water.

You should have read about the Time Use survey:

Women unpaid for most of their work - Life & Style - NZ Herald News

People watching TV more, volunteering less | Stuff.co.nz

It looks like the top five activities for New Zealanders are sleep, work, watching television, eating and drinking, and socialising. No mention of family time, sport or any other leisure activities such as enjoying the great outdoors or playing with the kids.
 
#47 · (Edited)
You say that as if no one in New Zealand has any money, but there's plenty that do very well for themselves and I know a few that have made millions.

As for it being the go to place for 'family first it is no more family first than any other developed country so I don't know why NZ is considered to be special in that regard. If you'd lived in Australia you'd know why, you'd also appreciate why so many Kiwis don't raise their children in New Zealand.

But if it's facts you're after you should know that New Zealand has the third highest rate in the of children living in single parent households, around 1 in 4 children, in industrialised countries

It looks like the top five activities for New Zealanders are sleep, work, watching television, eating and drinking, and socialising. No mention of family time, sport or any other leisure activities such as enjoying the great outdoors or playing with the kids.
Darla, you never fail to amaze me with the way that you twist things. Part of me is tempted not to respond to such below-the-belt comments, but as some of your comments are offensive, I have no choice.

Firstly, at what point does me pointing out that the cost of living is expensive and people shouldn't be coming here to save money, or for a cheaper way of life, mean that "no one in New Zealand has any money"? There are plenty of people in EVERY country who will find a niche and "make a million", so please don't think I am suggesting otherwise. What I am doing is painting a clear, realistic picture that it is not cheaper to live for MOST people, but they often (not always) off-set this for a better quality of living (don't pick that statement apart...this is subjective to many people).

Secondly, I and many others, have found NZ to be far more family-focussed than the UK, where emphasis in many sectors is about work work work work...and more work. I am one of many (NOT all, but many) who have found that this is a great place for raising young children, where work places support family values. Again, not everybody will feel this way, but you cannot dismiss that for a lot of people this is the case.

Thirdly, what on earth you think such a statement about single-parent families in New Zealand highlights, I have no idea. You imply that being a single-parent is NOT a good way of raising a family, a spectacularly offensive implication. I see absolutely no relevance to "family first" in this "fact". I will also re-iterate that percentages are a very wobbly stat when it comes to such a low population. Stats on the UK are based on 76 million, whereas in NZ they are based on over 4 million...not the same grounds for comparison.

Fourthly, as someone who has supposedly lived in NZ, I find it so hard to understand how you reach the conclusion that "the top five activities for New Zealanders are sleep, work, watching television, eating and drinking, and socialising" and no sport. So much "socialising" is based around sport and activity if you choose it to be e.g. touch leagues, netball leagues, walking, water-based sports...you name it, it is here in abundance. There is certainly far more on offer here than the areas I lived in the UK. Every country in the world has the other activities you mention, so don't imply that NZ is unique in such normal "activities" of working, sleeping and watching TV.

Finally, as you have rightly pointed out in the past, people often wander off topic, and don't bring their points back to the question posed at the start of the thread. So, this post is about listing "positive aspects of NZ". I fail to see anything "positive" in your post. So, let's keep this positive as requested, shall we?
 
#45 ·
meanwhile, my Positively Nice Day Out thread on this forum has had over 100 views, and not one negative comment (or one positive one either for that matter!)

Found a few pics on my Facebook page, started FB after moving here so again not many from NZ. Three here from Island Bay which sort of 'overlap' in the 3rd gloomy one - you can see the pier in it also visible in the sunny day pic, also the small lighthouse which is not a lighthouse at all, but someone's quirky little seaside home.
There were plenty of rough/gloomy days, put on warm clothes and walk the beachfront, I had friends who lived almost on the waterfront - just the road between them and the sea, windows plastered in seaspray when there was a southerly wind.
Island Bay/Owhiro Bay remain my favourite place in Wellington, 7km to city centre, but self-sufficient enough if you don't want city life every day; wonderful little 3-screen cinema opened about 2006, walking distance from home.
 

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#46 ·
Thanks, Song-Si for making my day brighter. That's not to say that the rest of the day has been dull - far from it. It started with my wonderful ferry journey to work, then went on to a reasonably priced pizza in a lovely restaurant about 1 minute away from Downtown Central Auckland. And this evening it's off to help at the theatre where we've made so many new friends since we've been here.

Life is good here.
 
#52 ·
Ray of sunshine

I see our resident "Ray of Aussie Sunshine" has been on again. Its natural that someone who lives there feels everyone who chooses another country is missing out or just plain dumb.

When much younger and I was trying to persuade my dad to try something new he would relate this Alsop Fable

A FOX, caught in a trap, escaped by tearing off his brushy tail.

After that, the other animals mocked him, making him feel so ashamed that his life was a burden to him. He therefore worked out a plan to make all the other foxes the same as him, so that in their common loss he might better conceal his own deprivation.

He called a meeting of foxes. A good many came to it, and he gave a speech, advising them all to cut off their tails. He said that they would not only look much better without them, but that they would get rid of the weight of the brush, which was a very great inconvenience.

But one of them interrupted his speech.

"If you had not lost your own tail, my friend," that fox said, "you would not be giving us this advice."



I suppose we are guilty of this, even NZ forum members
 
#53 ·
I think it's a valid point.

The reason why I left New Zealand was to get a better work life balance, I work part time and am now able to spend more time playing and having fun.

This morning I jogged and walked for almost hour at Kirra Beach. In a while I'm taking the children to Movie World (they have annual tickets) because they're are on vacation and it's a lovely day. Meanwhile I'll get a massage in town, drop by the social club to see who's hanging out wants to shout me lunch. Pick up the dry cleaning, collect the offspring, home to get changed and then out to a 25th wedding anniversary party at a club in Surfers.

Sometime today I also have to squeeze in a load of paperwork. Good job I can multitask hey?!
 
#58 ·
I think it's a valid point.

The reason why I left New Zealand was to get a better work life balance, I work part time and am now able to spend more time playing and having fun.

This morning I jogged and walked for almost hour at Kirra Beach. In a while I'm taking the children to Movie World (they have annual tickets) because they're are on vacation and it's a lovely day. Meanwhile I'll get a massage in town, drop by the social club to see who's hanging out wants to shout me lunch. Pick up the dry cleaning, collect the offspring, home to get changed and then out to a 25th wedding anniversary party at a club in Surfers.

Sometime today I also have to squeeze in a load of paperwork. Good job I can multitask hey?!
I've highlighted the key words out of that post, just because it's the case for you doesn't mean it's the case for everyone.
 
#54 ·
while they dropped from firth to sixth, just making the top 10 at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards is good for Air New Zealand

Voted by over 18.8 million airline passengers from 100 different nationalities, the World Airline Awards™ are the most prestigious and respected quality recognition of front-line product and service standards across the world airline industry. With 200 airlines featured, the awards reflect customer satisfaction levels across 38 different items of airline front-line product and service.

THE WORLD'S BEST AIRLINES : 2011

1 Qatar Airways
2 Singapore Airlines
3 Asiana Airlines
4 Cathay Pacific Airways
5 Thai Airways International
6 Etihad Airways
7 Air New Zealand
8 Qantas Airways
9 Turkish Airlines
10 Emirates

Other award winners included Asiana Airlines who were voted as World's Best Cabin Staff, AirAsia retaining their crown as the World's Best Low-Cost Airline, Dragonair as Best Regional Airline.

and:

Air New Zealand was named the World's Best Premium Economy Class Airline for customer Product and Service Quality at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held in the French Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show. The runners-up in this Best Premium Economy Class Airline category are Turkish Airlines taking 2nd place in the category, ahead of Qantas Airways in 3rd position.
 
#55 ·
while they dropped from firth to sixth, just making the top 10 at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards is good for Air New Zealand

Voted by over 18.8 million airline passengers from 100 different nationalities, the World Airline Awards™ are the most prestigious and respected quality recognition of front-line product and service standards across the world airline industry. With 200 airlines featured, the awards reflect customer satisfaction levels across 38 different items of airline front-line product and service.

THE WORLD'S BEST AIRLINES : 2011

1 Qatar Airways
2 Singapore Airlines
3 Asiana Airlines
4 Cathay Pacific Airways
5 Thai Airways International
6 Etihad Airways
7 Air New Zealand
8 Qantas Airways
9 Turkish Airlines
10 Emirates

Other award winners included Asiana Airlines who were voted as World's Best Cabin Staff, AirAsia retaining their crown as the World's Best Low-Cost Airline, Dragonair as Best Regional Airline.
Auckland airport comes in at number 8 in the world
 
#56 ·
Flew Air NZ long haul last year & boy was I impressed.
Although have to admit my favourite for airline food which verges on restaurant quality at times is Emirates.
I was a loyal Qantas customer for 30+ years until they lost my support because of lousy meals on last few flights that resembled cardboard.
 
#59 ·
yes that's a very personal reason relating to an individual employee/employer.

One reason I stayed in Wellington was that the three main employers I had there over ten years did allow for good work/life balance and supported and encouraged me in my sporting efforts with flexible hours for my training, regular meetings with dietician and sports physios. Colleagues would often come and watch me compete on weekends - a good team!

My last employer (4yrs) had a strong social and sports club, recognising these as important parts of employee wellbeing and job satisfaction. As I worked in HR these were strong selling points when discussing opportunities for prospective staff members.
 
#60 ·
Agreed.

I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say that I've got a massively better work/life balance here in New Zealand than I ever had previously in the UK or Middle East.

Yes I put in the hours sometimes, sometimes I travel in my own time to save early morning flights but on the flipside if it's quiet I'll ****** off for the afternoon to play bowls or whatever else takes my fancy. My mobile phone is off when I'm not in the office and that's not frowned upon like it can be elsewhere.
 
#65 ·
Comparatively low crime rate : Police don't even wear guns.
Comparatively low unemployment rate : around 5.5% currently and expected to fall compared to a lot of Europe and the US around the 9% mark I think.
Good, clean environment, nuclear free.
Good food (we have some of the most fertile land in the world)
Moderate climate, fairly constant year long, not too hot or too cold.
Isolation from world problems.
Heaps of space, you can go to some surf beaches in the middle of summer and not see anyone for miles.
The people are some of the happiest in the world (top 4) according to surveys.
Good education (one of the highest literacy rates in the world)
 
#66 ·
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