What on earth is it like to live in New Zealand

[ApplesandOat]

Honestly been looking at videos etc on YouTube about New Zealand but I've decided to go on here and ask people who might have actually spent some time there.

Tell me all about it!

One of my best friends moved there as a teen and she says it’s windy as hell and 20 years behind everyone else. She’s on the South Island though so a different experience to the North. She’s desperate to move back to England but we won’t let her perfectly lovely NZ born partner in long term 🤦🏼‍♀️.

Like the 1950’s

There was a thread on this yesterday. I'll see if I can find it.

I can't find it but if you search there are many, many threads asking the same thing.

In Auckland it rains a lot (tropical type rain), houses are quite cold as they aren’t built properly and don’t have central heating etc. Public transport is very poor so everyone drives. The cities are more like big town size here. Food in the supermarkets is very expensive and you don’t get the same year round choices as here, you have to eat seasonal. However, going out isn’t too bad prices or accommodation.

There are some lovely bits and it’s great to travel, people very friendly & chatty.

It’s very far away from UK so if you are thinking of living out there it’s not ideal in terms of existing family & friend relationships.

Life is quite slow. You get used to enjoying birds and trees and the sky as it's very beautiful. It's true that the houses are cold, but heating is much much cheaper than in the UK as NZ has hydrolakes and wind and geothermal power. Food is delicious in nz. Very good cafes and restaurants. Working in NZ is better, people are nicer, there's less competition and, snotty behaviour. If you're in the public sector you'll probably earn more than in the UK. There are good.sporting amenities pools, turf, fields etc.. prior to covid the health system was ok but since then it's been harder to get GP appointments. Wellington is a great little city, so much fun... but you can feel a bit claustrophobic if you don't get out regularly
Auckland much more spread out and not as much soul but great beaches and warm seas in summer.

It is truly stunning.

It ia a long way from anywhere significant; if you want a simple quiet relaxed life full of nature and good down to earth people, its the place for you.

It is very expensive to live day to day, and salaries aren't the best.

In a world going to pot (my opinion), it is one of the best places to be, and I suspect will become increasingly popular in the future.

NZ born-raised friend, who has mostly worked in project management, says he didn't want to live there bec there are 5 main cities, so a very limited jobs/ career growth market in many industries. Just a shortage of career opportunities.

If you like nature and are motivated to do adventure sports, even in cold or wet weather - mountain biking, trail running, hiking etc, it’s paradise. It can be quite lonely with small children as parks are nice but often empty and pubs/restaurants are often not very family friendly, especially for women with children. Cafes are great but these close by 3pm. There is a lot of family violence and it’s tough to be a single mother here so never have children with a kiwi guy unless you are 💯 sure he won’t turn on you because without family support you are absolutely screwed over here and you won’t be able to take them out of the country unless he agrees. Life is expensive so you have to enjoy simple things. NZ people are surface friendly but deeper down extremely guarded against anyone they perceive as ‘foreign’. UK immigrants are admired because they are from the ‘motherland’ but even you will struggle to make deeper connections. It’s an island mentality. Immigrants from other places will be boxed accordingly, treated with suspicion and easy contempt, and they eventually realise it’s just easier to seek out other immigrants for genuine or deeper connections. All of that said, it feels safe here, and if you can make a decent living so you can afford to double insulate and reglaze your crappy over priced 1950s bungalow, and occasionally a meal out or god forbid a quick breather across the ditch to Oz in the middle of winter, then it’s as good a place as any.

Most magical place, I love living here.
live in a great part of Auckland, it’s beaches, theatre, restaurants, harbour, volcanos… it’s gorgeous. Weekends in the coromandel or waiheke and sometimes north.
the South Island is like living in a painting, it’s unreal.

Couldn’t do England or Ireland again.daughter is there atm and has vowed never to do another winter in Ireland ever again :)

NZ people are surface friendly but deeper down extremely guarded against anyone they perceive as ‘foreign’. UK immigrants are admired because they are from the ‘motherland’ but even you will struggle to make deeper connections.

@GraduationDay

As a Kiwi 🤣🤣🤣 at “the motherland”. I assure you nobody under the age of 70 has ever thought of the UK as “the motherland” or admired someone just because they came from there.

Maybe the deeper connections elude you because of your absolutely prattish attitude. I adore my “foreign” English, Swedish, Irish, Russian, French, Japanese, American and Spanish friends, all of whom would fall about laughing at your attitude.

Expensive, beautiful. Lunatic drivers (worse than UK)

I went on a 6 week tour of New Zealand, whilst it was beautiful there is no way I could live there. It was like stepping back in time but not in a good way. There are so few people on South Island that there was just no atmosphere. Going to a bar or restaurant had to be done early as most closed at 8 as they were empty. I’d have loved to talk more to the locals but there just weren’t any! I also felt like I was on the bottom of the earth… very far away from life. I’m sure that would suit some but it’s not for me.

What makes you think I’m not a ‘Kiwi’? The thing is, us kiwis love foreigners who behave themselves and only compliment us and our country. But anyone who we think is ‘foreign’ (a slight accent, skin that tans just a little too evenly etc), who dares even for a moment to tell us a little bit of their truth, is immediately held in contempt and judged simply ungrateful or a ‘prat’ as you say. So ‘foreigners’ learn very quickly to keep their opinions to themselves and shower their kiwi friends with only praise and gratitude. It’s not just NZ though. It’s part of being an immigrant and really expected to some extent in most countries of immigrants. It’s just that sometimes, in NZ it’s a bit more intense because we are an island and don’t have ‘borderlands’ where people often learn to negotiate cultural differences and differing opinions with a bit more maturity.

I grew up in NZ. The education system was fantastic and I had a great time there. No competition for school or uni places!

I don’t get why people think it’s backward. When I moved back to the UK I felt like I’d gone back in time! British banking was antiquated amongst other things. NZ is great at implementing change and trying out new things and has a lot less bureaucracy.

they don’t particularly admire the British and have a singular dislike for whinging poms and I can’t say I blame them - brits who have changed country are exceptionally good at moaning which doesn’t endear you to the natives of the country you’ve moved to.

it definitely does have problems like any other country in the world. And the weather isn’t brilliant.

Kiwis moan less than British people tend to. They are also more businesslike. On the other hand, Shakespeare is regarded as cruel and unusual torture and reading books is niche.

There's also lots of fresh air and not much going on except sports.

I know four people who emigrated to NZ from the UK, only one came back so clearly has some great positives.
The people who have stayed have children who are very sporty, there seem to be great opportunities for children in that respect.

There's some truth in this. My experience of people here is that they can be very friendly but you need an 'in' for you to get to know them. I found striking up friendships in the UK much easier.

As others have said, like anywhere, its a mixed bag, which really suits some people and not others.

I think the problem is that in the UK, NZ is often presented as this clean, green paradise with all of the good bits of the UK and none of the bad. This simply isn't true. Its a completely different country with its own culture, benefits and issues. Also North and South Island can feel like 2 different countries. I enjoyed expat life and have lots of family there but I would never make the move permanently myself and would reccomend anyone considering the move lives there for at least a year before finalising their decision.

I think I'd love that. I sometimes wish the UK population could be magically halved - everywhere is so overcrowded and busy.

But anyone who we think is ‘foreign’ (a slight accent, skin that tans just a little too evenly etc), who dares even for a moment to tell us a little bit of their truth, is immediately held in contempt and judged simply ungrateful or a ‘prat’ as you say.

Can you please not use the word “we” to normalise your horrifying racism and xenophobia. Thanks.

I called you a prat because of your ludicrous claim that New Zealanders simper over people from “the motherland”, a concept that is outdated by a century or more.

It's beautiful but omg it's in the arse end of nowhere. Definitely felt like going back to the '50's and not in a good way. If you're not mad outdoorsy then forget it.

I am most definitely not mad outdoorsy and i studied Shakespeare at post grad level there. Saw lots of great Shakespearean productions in Wellington too.

wellington had a fantastic library and I spent many happy hours there. Some great independent book shops too. And lots of great art!

But anyone who we think is ‘foreign’ (a slight accent, skin that tans just a little too evenly etc), who dares even for a moment to tell us a little bit of their truth, is immediately held in contempt and judged simply ungrateful or a ‘prat’ as you say.

I actually can’t get over how offensive this thinking is and I’m shocked you are so confident as to glibly claim all New Zealanders are like this. I know nobody who thinks this way. Of my close friends, just under half “have an accent” as you put it, or “tanned skin” or shock horror, both.

At my young daughter’s birthday party, two people (including her) were born in New Zealand; the others were Swedish, Greek Australian, Thai, Chinese and Samoan. You must live in an extremely small and close-minded town if you think your attitude is anything like normal.