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Thread: Canada to NZ 2018 - 6 Months In. What we learned.

  1. #21
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    Might be a stupid question- but what, exactly, would be an 'exotic' car?

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by newarrival View Post
    Might be a stupid question- but what, exactly, would be an 'exotic' car?
    My friend would be referring to Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, the price tag of say $300K+. As we drove around Auckland and in expensive places like St Helliers, North Shore, etc. he noticed the houses overall aren't as grand as the Vancouver houses of similar 'class' - age being the big factor as in Vancouver, it's viable to knock down houses and build new while in NZ, the vast stock of old houses have become persistent.

    Don't take my comments as being a complete bear against NZ. There as aspects that NZ has that Canada doesn't have (and probably will not address). Such as NZ's Treaty of Waitangi and how our country treats Maori. In Canada to this day the 1st Nations are never regarded as a productive part of society and generally the public views them as being dependent on gov't assistance. Having a friend that use to do account for one of the local bands in central BC, he says that the vast majority of 1st Nations are out to get as much from the gov't as they can. Some years ago when PM Harper made it law that 1st Nations chief leaders must disclose their financial assets and it would be open to public, it made an out-roar as some chiefs in BC were not all that honest. One particularly represented a clan of I think 21 members but had an income of $900K+ for that year (and it was 100% tax free and the other clan members had no knowing of it). Then Trudeau came in as PM and RESCINDED that law so now it's back to business for these band leaders. Such as during the oil pipeline discussions, oil corp delegates would have to pay a "honorarium visitation fee" to these band leaders just to make a visit. In the tune of $10,000 just to meet at their home to talk about oil pipelines through their land. and you have like 100s of these bands that have to be approached - no wonder Trudeau couldn't get the pipeline deal done. I think what the Maori have done in NZ has been exceptional, especially Ngai Tahu.

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by jawnbc View Post
    I'm just kicking back and watching the "Canuck-off" *passes popcorn* #takeoffeh
    Me too, yikes!

    It is interesting to see people compare North America to New Zealand...but I think you'll find that if you surveyed people from around the world, the scales tip in different categories in different ways. I think the price of food in NZ is comparable to Europe (but it's definitely cheaper in N.A.), cellular service in New Zealand amounts to theft compared to European prices (but is somehow costs less than North America), and Auckland housing is expensive compared to...yes, I think we can all agree on that!

  4. #24
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    Super_BQ

    will apologize as I was quite brash earlier.

    You are correct. Almost all shopping and spending in Vancouver you will get more bang for your buck. better variety, quality, selection & price. One definitely needs to adjust their expectations when coming to New Zealand. Its a small, remote, sparsely populated island of laid back people with a "she'll be right" attitude - and everything that comes with that, good and bad.

    We are a couple of early 30's educated professionals, and we find that working down here, we are getting a lot more buck for our bang. The labour market in Vancouver is very competitive, and salaries are pretty weak considering the cost of living. hundreds of applicants for every decent job around. My partner and I are in different fields, but we find there is tremendous opportunities down here work-wise. Cruising around the auckland expat social scene, this seems to be quite a common theme we have heard from other young brits, canadians, and europeans.

    Our cost of living has gone up a bit, but our salaries have leaped, which makes our balance sheet much, much healthier.

  5. #25
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    dragstrut, can I ask, what was your main motivation for moving to NZ? Was it purely economic, or was there some other motivating factor? I am genuinely curious as I fully expect my salary to go down when we (eventually, finally) make the move, but I also expect our overall quality of life to go way up. For me, that means a much lower population density (we will most certainly not be living in Auckland), a small house with green space around it, not being around traffic and noise, ready access to nature, clean air, etc.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by diallta View Post
    Me too, yikes!

    It is interesting to see people compare North America to New Zealand...but I think you'll find that if you surveyed people from around the world, the scales tip in different categories in different ways. I think the price of food in NZ is comparable to Europe (but it's definitely cheaper in N.A.), cellular service in New Zealand amounts to theft compared to European prices (but is somehow costs less than North America), and Auckland housing is expensive compared to...yes, I think we can all agree on that!
    I can't quite agree to the part about the cellular services- at least, when you go and buy a German SIM card as a visitor, it is 1.far more complicated than in NZ, and 2.I pay around the same amount as I do here (for a pre- pay) for a service that is by far not as good! One example- whatsapp call.., I tried that while standing in the train station In Hamburg.., reception terrible, constant breaks in the connection, whereas her I have no problems walking around with my mobile talking to my son in England......

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by dragstrut View Post
    Super_BQ

    will apologize as I was quite brash earlier.

    You are correct. Almost all shopping and spending in Vancouver you will get more bang for your buck. better variety, quality, selection & price. One definitely needs to adjust their expectations when coming to New Zealand. Its a small, remote, sparsely populated island of laid back people with a "she'll be right" attitude - and everything that comes with that, good and bad.

    We are a couple of early 30's educated professionals, and we find that working down here, we are getting a lot more buck for our bang. The labour market in Vancouver is very competitive, and salaries are pretty weak considering the cost of living. hundreds of applicants for every decent job around. My partner and I are in different fields, but we find there is tremendous opportunities down here work-wise. Cruising around the auckland expat social scene, this seems to be quite a common theme we have heard from other young brits, canadians, and europeans.

    Our cost of living has gone up a bit, but our salaries have leaped, which makes our balance sheet much, much healthier.
    No hard feelings We have all experiences and each person has different preferences. It's great you're making things work in Auckland. I've known many that couldn't (high housing price being the issue).

    I can relate about the job market in Vancouver. My cousin (from NZ) has been living in Burnaby for the past 2 years (working as an accountant with no specialty field) and she says her pay on face dollar is less than what she would earn in NZ. It's really competitive and the work load is high. But what she loves is the travel and ease of visiting places (typically in NZ young graduates do their 'Overseas Experience' and then look to come back home). She has lived in the UK for a brief moment and does prefer Vancouver than London.

    Would it be fair to say those coming from Europe would fit in more easy in NZ than those from N America adjusting to NZ lifestyle? In my early years living in NZ, there was quite an adjustment but i've become use to the differences and understandings. I realise there's no reason for driving large vehicles and SUVs and full size pickup trucks. Where I came from, everyone drove trucks and the key reason being affordable and able to drive through the snow in winter months. But in the summer, it's just wasteful to be driving such large vehicles when you're only buying a few bags of groceries or commuting into downtown and back. But the trend is changing... more and more LARGE SUVs crowd the roads of NZ ; I cringe each time trying to drop the kids off at school when the streets in NZ are not designed for so many large vehicles.

    One thing I do marvel is NZ's medical care. A split between private and public care which is a great way to control the long waiting lists in the public care (as those that can afford private insurance or willing to pay in private care can do so). This is something Canada doesn't have and is against the law. Hospital procedures must be booked out at public (gov't operated) hospitals. A specialist wanting to break out and do more procedures can not do so.

    As far as cellphone use in NZ, i've never found that to be a problem and there's a LOT of competition in NZ (perhaps too many for the size of the population). Back in BC, we used a PayGo prepaid plan with Rogers and they're very expensive - like 80c/min and no plans like we have in NZ where you can only pay $9/month that gets you 500MB data, 50mins voice, unlimited TXT and the data and voice minutes roll over each month.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Super_BQ View Post
    No hard feelings We have all experiences and each person has different preferences. It's great you're making things work in Auckland. I've known many that couldn't (high housing price being the issue).

    I can relate about the job market in Vancouver. My cousin (from NZ) has been living in Burnaby for the past 2 years (working as an accountant with no specialty field) and she says her pay on face dollar is less than what she would earn in NZ. It's really competitive and the work load is high. But what she loves is the travel and ease of visiting places (typically in NZ young graduates do their 'Overseas Experience' and then look to come back home). She has lived in the UK for a brief moment and does prefer Vancouver than London.

    Would it be fair to say those coming from Europe would fit in more easy in NZ than those from N America adjusting to NZ lifestyle? In my early years living in NZ, there was quite an adjustment but i've become use to the differences and understandings. I realise there's no reason for driving large vehicles and SUVs and full size pickup trucks. Where I came from, everyone drove trucks and the key reason being affordable and able to drive through the snow in winter months. But in the summer, it's just wasteful to be driving such large vehicles when you're only buying a few bags of groceries or commuting into downtown and back. But the trend is changing... more and more LARGE SUVs crowd the roads of NZ ; I cringe each time trying to drop the kids off at school when the streets in NZ are not designed for so many large vehicles.

    One thing I do marvel is NZ's medical care. A split between private and public care which is a great way to control the long waiting lists in the public care (as those that can afford private insurance or willing to pay in private care can do so). This is something Canada doesn't have and is against the law. Hospital procedures must be booked out at public (gov't operated) hospitals. A specialist wanting to break out and do more procedures can not do so.

    As far as cellphone use in NZ, i've never found that to be a problem and there's a LOT of competition in NZ (perhaps too many for the size of the population). Back in BC, we used a PayGo prepaid plan with Rogers and they're very expensive - like 80c/min and no plans like we have in NZ where you can only pay $9/month that gets you 500MB data, 50mins voice, unlimited TXT and the data and voice minutes roll over each month.
    The trend for oversized cars seems to be worldwide- while I can see the need for a 4x4 when someone lives in the country and/ or goes hunting or offroading or similar, when I go back for visits there are the same 4x4s and all sorts of trucks driving through Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.., and there is definitely no need for that, not even in winter! Car park buildings had to be modified over the years to accommodate those big cars, too!
    I admit that I am someone who enjoys a bigger car just for the way you are sitting higher up on the road- we used to drive a VW van due to having four children, and it is one of my absolute favourite cars :-). The issue with more big cars is that if you are in a small one and get into an accident, your chances are much lower.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by newarrival View Post
    I can't quite agree to the part about the cellular services- at least, when you go and buy a German SIM card as a visitor, it is 1.far more complicated than in NZ, and 2.I pay around the same amount as I do here (for a pre- pay) for a service that is by far not as good! One example- whatsapp call.., I tried that while standing in the train station In Hamburg.., reception terrible, constant breaks in the connection, whereas her I have no problems walking around with my mobile talking to my son in England......
    Unfortunately everything is more complicated in Germany, and usually for no good reason.

    The quality of cellular service can vary greatly in Germany, Telekom is easily the best network, but there are lower-tier networks that cost a lot less and have quality that is similarly lower. If you were on an E-Netz SIM card then I'm not too surprised that your call quality was poor. And, yes, it's somewhat more complicated than in the UK, where (before the EU-wide network integration, anyway) I did once walk into an EE shop, did not provide any identification, paid in cash, and walked out with an activated SIM card two minutes later. But, refer to my earlier statement about things being more complicated here.

    But, the point is, in either country, Germany, or the UK, or anywhere in Europe, really...you can walk into a shop, spend $10 NZD and walk out with a working SIM card that can be used indefinitely that isn't on a contract. I've yet to see any remotely comparable deal in NZ, the closest to which I've seen is the travel cards from Spark or Vodafone, but they're at least $20 or $30, respectively, and can't be topped up at those prices.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by newarrival View Post
    One example- whatsapp call.., I tried that while standing in the train station In Hamburg.., reception terrible, constant breaks in the connection, whereas her I have no problems walking around with my mobile talking to my son in England......
    Being from Germany myself, I do remember there are providers who block any voice over data connection, without telling you, they will just silence the conversation and then drop. I'm doing the same here in Auckland and never had any issues, neither Vodafone nor Spark have dropped any Skype or WhatsApp calls so far. I can speak to family and friends on my commute, even in the water view tunnel

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