"Myth New Zealand"

[JandM]

That's an interesting way of looking at it.

[petri]

.. I am in my early 50's and I have never lived in a house without central heating, but well remember my two holidays in England where there was none of it.
And still, so many of the English people on here to me make it sound like the standard of living here is so low, at least in regard to the houses.

Quite a few friends have moved to the UK and the stories about their heating and plumbing experiences are always a thrill. Even brand new houses can provide plenty of excitement

[newarrival]

Bit late, maybe, but... Kanga, I am not saying that the stories about damp and cold houses are made up or that it is not important- we rented for more than five years, have lived in Duedin four of them, in three different houses there, and blieve me, we experienced all sorts of housing! The first rental was 5 years old, vey nice and clean and definitely not damp, but still cold as in winter :-), the second one was an old brick house on the 'wrong' side of the raod, almost no sun in winter.., and friends who helped us with the move immediately knew that it would be freezing cold in winter! But, similar to Sun777, we did not have a lot of options, since most bigger houses in Dunedin are rented out to students, and we were not able to afford more than a certaon amount of rent at that time.

So yes, we know how cold and miserable you can be- my point was just that I sometimes wonder why we seemed to "survive" these situation despite the fact that we lived in a well insulated, central heated house in Germany, and, as I said, I can't remember a time when we did not have central heating!

But for me the experiences regarding the houses in a way belong to the whole "New Zealand" Experience- we are far away from everyone else in the world (well, apart from Australia....), and still behind in certain aspects, but if this was different, it would not be New Zealand and a lot of things wouldn't be the way they are, I suppose..., the things which make the country unique for us and lots of others?!

[zeke]

I would, for example, prefer to live in an "average", or even below "average" house in an awesome location..., rather than a perfect house in an average location, and to be fair on New Zealand it has a high proportion of houses in such awesome locations (even with good sun) compared to the rest of the developed world.

I have to say that for once we are in complete agreement. I'd rather live in a shack someplace whose natural beauty lifted my spirits every day than in a mansion someplace that left me flat. Not everyone feels the same way; I have a friend who is exactly the opposite, and we go round-and-round arguing the matter.

It's easier to install insulation than haul in the Southern Alps.

Zeke

[Mamee & Co]

I have to say that for once we are in complete agreement. I'd rather live in a shack someplace whose natural beauty lifted my spirits every day than in a mansion someplace that left me flat. Not everyone feels the same way; I have a friend who is exactly the opposite, and we go round-and-round arguing the matter.

It's easier to install insulation than haul in the Southern Alps.

Zeke

You echo my feelings entirely. The scenery here lifts my spirit.

As to the rental housing, you keep trying until you find the right one. They do exist out there. For us we were aware of the cold and the lack of heating have researched before we came. We have lived with it before. But rising in the cold in winter to dawn over the South Pacific is an incredible experience. Housing is housing. GB is not full of beautiful double glazed insulated houses, any more than NZ is. Out of 4 houses we have owned varying in age from 100 years plus to brand new, we have had one without DG and CH, one with DG but only a back boiler when we moved in, one that we renovated from scratch in an area with some of the most inhospitable weather in the UK and one brand new. We adapted them to suit ourselves as we required at the time. Rental properties often are found to have all the problems we find in NZ, just many of us have not rented for some time before coming here as Duncan says.

I think we fool ourselves if we believe that the housing stock is perfect in the UK!

[eassae]

I have to say that for once we are in complete agreement. I'd rather live in a shack someplace whose natural beauty lifted my spirits every day than in a mansion someplace that left me flat. Not everyone feels the same way; I have a friend who is exactly the opposite, and we go round-and-round arguing the matter.

It's easier to install insulation than haul in the Southern Alps.

Zeke

True, but I would take the Wind Rivers over the Southern Alps any day.

[M-Squared]

True, but I would take the Wind Rivers over the Southern Alps any day.

Wind Rivers? Where dat den?

[eassae]

Wind Rivers? Where dat den?

Wind Rivers, Wyoming. Bigger mountains more lakes than you can shake a stick at and you can get insulation in your house cheap and easy. You have to watch out for the bears though.

[M-Squared]

Wind Rivers, Wyoming. Bigger mountains more lakes than you can shake a stick at and you can get insulation in your house cheap and easy. You have to watch out for the bears though.

I already have insulation in my house, and it's fabulous! Didn't even have to install it. The 'hills' around Wellington are beautiful and I drive part of the way around the Pauatahanui Inlet every day. Easy to commute to the Coolest Little Capital in the World, and the only bears are in the zoo ... and the stock exchange.

[victoria24]

big, greying gay men are also known as silver bears...