NZ barbeques

[Rillyrillygoodlooking]

So, what's the usual things served at a barbeque in New Zealand?

Is it sausages and burgers like your average UK one, or is it more fancy?!

We're in NZ, having a house warming bbq and I want to get it right

Where are you moving to in NZ?

Given our experience of moving in winter - bring an unbrella and a jumper or two!

It sounds exciting, a step into the unknown!

So far I have learnt that sweets are called lollies, ice lollies are ice blocks and lolly pops are lolly pops. Also, linen, bedsheets, towels etc have an umbrella term of Manchester (I would love to know where that came from). Flip flops seem to be called Jandals, and small children are referred to as littlies.

Obviously there are far more important things to know, but I thought I would share my knowledge with you.

or, if you prefer, bring an umbrella

Household linen is called 'Manchester' because that's where it was traditionally from. In the days of the Empire when we bought everything from the UK in exchange for our raw materials

I guess I never thought this was odd before.

Definitely pack an umbrella for winter. And some warm clothes. NZ houses aren't generally centrally-heated and are made of wood with no double glazing.

Can't you just have a bun and ketchup. We all love that, must be for the same all over the world. Gordon Ramsey says he loves my buns.

Thanks for telling me that wahine12, I wonder about it everytime I see it!

Rilly - I like to keep my location secret even in the UK but thank you for the language tips.

I shall step confidently into department stores saying to DW 'Lets go to Manchester'.

So what I am picking up from the thread is of unsociable locals, in a cold, wet expensive country and miles from the rest of humanity.

Erm .... why are you going back again?

BeenBeta - wash your mouth out!! NZ may be cold, wet, expensive and far from anywhere but it is the best place on earth. You will love it. Honestly.

It will be a struggle to integrate. It will be difficult. You won't understand what people say. You will do stupid things and make a fool of yourself. There will be lots of things that get on your nerves. When I moved to the UK I had the same problems. It was hell - expensive, miserable, unfriendly locals and just plain wrong in so many ways. You get used to it and you learn. You will also miss home terribly. That's what emigrating is about.

I think NZers are actually a very sociable bunch, the weather can be brilliant and in general is a lot nicer than the UK. It's just that arriving in the middle of winter can be a bit depressing, but then you will have a great summer coming your way in November/December.

Good luck with it all.

Just to add to Rilly's language tips,
crisps = chips
swimming costume = togs
kettle = jug

and it's not cold and wet where I am! No heating on since September and very sunny days, sunblock and sunhats not umbrellas here.

I've made friends here, found it very sociable. But then I've been here 9 years so I'd be a bit worried if I'd met no one in that time

wahine - thank you. You are right of course. I was slightly pulling the collective New Zealander's leg. Lots of NZ forum comments I read from Kiwis (not expats)say how awful life is and yet never mention the good things.

We are looking forward to skiing in winter and beaches in summer and doing lots of travelling in what we already know is a beautiful place. The schools on average are better than the UK and we are told the one DSs are going to is one of the best in NZ. We hope the currency weakens and if it does our cost of living will be lower too.

BeenBeta - I figured as much. Just hope that mouthwash was nice. Looks like you'll do fine....

I'm heading back soon and I would like to see a pound that is worth around 2.5-7 NZD and a dollar around 0.55 USD. The current level is unsustainable for the export sector. NZD eased a bit to 76 US cents but the worries over the Eurozone economies are holding back the pound to 2.07 NZD. The NZ govt reaction is that they are too small to affect the exchange rate, which is partially true, but if they reduced central interest rates it would create less interest in NZ as a high yield currency and promote consumer spending. Sorry, have been following this one rather closely. We're not planning on a house purchase until July at the earliest, but the difference in value is huge. It's also hard when psychologically we have always had 1NZD = 0.5 USD and 3NZD = 1GBP. You feel cheated with any less.

wahine - yes we feel very similar to you about the currency. We are targetng NZD/GBP of 2.85 as that is the average rate of the last 20 years. We have some flexibility but the particular entry visa we are one exposes us to very significant currency risk.

At NZD/GBP of 3.00 or more and if NZ house prices fall it will be very attractive indeed.

We left NZ at 3 NZD/GBP eight years ago and are coming back at 2.05 NZD/GBP. I'm not sure if we are right in the head. On the good side, I have heard that the only people talking up house prices are the real estate agents.... Everyone else is hanging on for dear life.

It depends where you are looking to buy tbh. The area we are looking in has had a mini boom driven by a lack of stock with do ups going for 150-200K over CV.

But in most parts of NZ it is a 'buyers market'. I've been told a way to judge the market is the proportion of priced properties to auctions.

You can also get a lot of data from qv.co.nz- recent sales, last sales price. Or ask an agent for a list of comparable sales.

But also beware the plaster homes.....

I'd be overjoyed with a rate of 2.5 but it's been down for over a year now and we just need to get on with our lives. Our last landlord unexpectedly gave us notice by email last NYE which really upset us and i need some stability.

we will also be in NZ in july/august

dont worry beenbeta, am convinced its going to be awesome

we also dont know where we will be staying. or how we will be earning a living.

Is it family drawing you back there or just 'stick a pin in a map' choosing another life experience kind of thing like us?

pin sticking exercise.

well sort of, i mean, we are already expats living in the middle east (deepest darkest though, not shiney pretty dubai, can you tell im bitter) and we have been in various middle eastern countries for like 7 years now and DH and i reckoned it was time for a change.

so logically of course NZ

Well given the circumstances I can see the logic in that and why you wouldnt come back to the UK. Like us, I guess a combination of language, taxes, schooling and lifestyle made it an obvious choice.

We also wanted to travel with our children (now age 8 and 10) before they hit teenage years and didnt want to be with us so much.

we have lived all over the place and one of the things i liked about NZ was that it felt manageable in size for travel with kids. no where is too far in the car and there is loads of places to go / see etc.

of course, the same can be said of the UK, but the big difference for us is that the islands are very unpopulated in comparison and one of the biggest stresses (for me) in the uk was the feeling of never being on your own, of always being crowded. (of course i accept this is not the case if you are living in say the scottish wilds!).

and yes! to the language thing. i am so very looking forward to being able to communicate with everyone. i suspect i will be chatting to anyone until the novelty wears off!

We're in Auckland and I love it. Loads to do in easy travelling distance. Good range of food. Beaches everywhere. Yesterday I took DD to the beach in the morning and we went to a comedy gig in the city in the evening (15 min drive, parking was $5). Today we've been to the pacific market in Otara then had lunch at the Buddhist temple. Tomorrow our street is having a joint barbecue.

If we had the choice we'd live on the North Shore as houses are more reasonable and you can be walking distance to a beach. You will find a bigger selection of jobs in Auckland too. But we're city folk, not everyone is.

Thought I would add my tuppence worth here, as I have just stumbled across this thread! I have been in NZ for 7 years and I love it (although DH wants us to think about emigrating AGAIN, but that is a different thread!) Things I love about NZ:
Space, so much space to do and see beautiful countryside and beaches that are unspoilt and empty! (Sister in law when she visited asked 'where are all the people?!'
We have lived in towns and had a lifestyle block in the country too, with chooks, goats etc both are good. I think if you love nature and the outdoors, beaches then you will love NZ.
People ARE friendly, but you have to make the effort- I have some great friends here and I love the Kiwi sense of humour. Don't make the mistake of hanging around with Brits all the time, but get out in your community, do things (volunteering is great in NZ, and a good way to meet people)
There is a real community spirit and people want to 'muck in' to help/for a good cause etc, so try to get involved if you can, even if it is just school fundraisers, junior rugby sausage sizzles, whatever, you will soon meet people.
My main advice would be don't moan about how great the UK is!! Whingeing POM syndrome doesn't go down well, so try to keep the homesickness to the Skype calls back home and enjoy- there is so much to see and do!
Also- yes the houses can be cold in winter, but there are now new regulations for all new builds to have double glazing and good insulation, so having built a new house with these features (and facing the sun all day) I can tell you we hardly used our log fire at all last winter.

Beenbeta re taxes,cost of living and schooling: food and items like furniture etc ARE more expensive here when compared to Europe (I imagine this is economies of scale with a population of 4 million?) and GST (VAT) has just gone up, so food shopping IS expensive. Petrol is very cheap, but cars are more expensive (generally speaking) than in Europe (I don't think they manufacture them anywhere in NZ, so that's probably why) Also, my UK friends living in NZ took their son out of state school here and put him in a private school as they thought the state curriculum was really not great in comparison to the UK (they said they had done a comparison and he was 2 years behind the UK) Something to think about. From my perspective the schooling has less pressure to perform with tests and homework than in Europe, and more emphasis on the collective group, so they encourage a lot of social participation, presenting to the class and community involvement, as well as cultural involvement as NZ is bi-cultural (Pakeha/Maori), and I really like this, but not everyone from the UK does (perhaps because they don't see NZ as their 'home'?)