Any negatives to living in Australia or New Zealand?

[Grover]

Well displace would be a foreigner so I figured it was a valid perspective :)  When I watched rugby it seemed very much like there was not much stoppage of play and much less structure as far as who had the ball, where they lined up, etc.  More like soccer or hockey in terms of play, but with the physicality of football (of course without pads, which just looks insane).

well stoppage of play would break up the flow :-)  I promise there are rules.  I don't know what they are, but they exist :-)

 

They are also pretty into sailing in NZ.  Or yachting, whatever you call it.

Pretty much and Auckland thing though.  We do like our water though.

 

I saw John Key at an airport and he waved to me.  (well, to DH).

DD toddled in front of a man in an airport once and fell over.  He scooped her up, gave her a hug and handed her back to me.  Yep, 'twas Mr Key, on his own, catching a plane home. 

 

[eternalsummer]

Anyway, I would say the number one con to living there, and the main reason we came back to the US, is that it is an expensive and long plane ride from here.  We were still attached to family that we had left here (DH's twin sister and my dad, mostly) and being so far away just didn't work at that point in our lives.  It is somewhat different now and once we can make the immigration requirements (moving our business there), we probably will.

[Guest]

Ballantyne?

 

Yeah, don't sit on the desk.  Or the pillows. 

 

 That doesn't sound right. But it was 20 years ago and I haven't thought of that story in forever. His middle name is Wallis, I'm assuming after his mother. Is there a Wallis Department store- or one that used to be called that? For some reason I remember the money was all from her family.......but my memory is rusty two decades later. 

 

 

I just tried and googled him and holy crap, he has a coat of arms and is something in the Grand Priory of New Zealand, whatever that is. Says he's 6th gen New Zealander and I guess someone in the family was PM.....Google is impressive. He has a very common name in NZ apparently, but thanks to his zillion and one degrees he has behind his name (as well as the same email address as when I was his student) I picked him out fast because he always makes sure those degrees are listed! But I can't find anything on the department store thing. 

 

ETA: This would've been in the late 50's or early 60's, because he was a kid in the story. His first degree is from the late 70's. I'm not sure if it was still in existence by the time I met him in the late 90's. He was a young boy during the department store scandal story. 

Edited April 14, 2017 by texasmom33

[eternalsummer]

I didn't mean them as rude?  I don't like US sports particularly.  When I said that Kiwi sports make no sense, I meant that they make no sense to me (as an American).  If you are big into US sports, especially football (which is really very popular here), rugby is just not the same at all.

[Tammi K]

We lived in Australia for 6 wonderful, magnificent years and I would return in a heartbeat. I actually wanted to immigrate permanently but life interfered.  

 

I've lived in Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, and an assortment  of 'ordinary' places in the lower 48 but I have never enjoyed, loved, or felt as 'at home' as I did in Australia. 

 

 

(Funny note-  Very few of my kids know the National Anthem but they can all sing Advance Australia Fair ) 

Edited April 14, 2017 by Tammi K

[Terabith]

Everything is trying to kill you, even the trees and the weather? 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdihHnaOQsk

[Farrar]

Ooh, can I piggyback with a question? A good friend is likely moving to Adelaide. They lived there once before for a couple of years but ended up transferred back to the states. They're excited to go - one of her kids was born there. But... she has no idea what the homeschool scene is like since last time she was there her kids were tiny. Anyone? Or the schools?

 

Parts of Australia seem like they'd get along well with American redneck culture...

[Grover]

 That doesn't sound right. But it was 20 years ago and I haven't thought of that story in forever. His middle name is Wallis, I'm assuming after his mother. Is there a Wallis Department store- or one that used to be called that? For some reason I remember the money was all from her family.......but my memory is rusty two decades later. 

 

 

I just tried and googled him and holy crap, he has a coat of arms and is something in the Grand Priory of New Zealand, whatever that is. Says he's 6th gen New Zealander and I guess someone in the family was PM.....Google is impressive. He has a very common name in NZ apparently, but thanks to his zillion and one degrees he has behind his name (as well as the same email address as when I was his student) I picked him out fast because he always makes sure those degrees are listed! But I can't find anything on the department store thing. 

 

ETA: This would've been in the late 50's or early 60's, because he was a kid in the story. His first degree is from the late 70's. I'm not sure if it was still in existence by the time I met him in the late 90's. He was a young boy during the department store scandal story. 

woolworths?  I went too far upmarket with Ballantyne :-)... I don't know what Maceys is.

Farmers would be the other one, but I'm going to go Woolworths.

[MFG]

You know what they say about rugby: No pads, just balls. [emoji6]

[MFG]

It rains a lot in NZ. That is why everything is so green. They don't show that in the tourist literature.

[Rosie_0801]

Ooh, can I piggyback with a question? A good friend is likely moving to Adelaide. They lived there once before for a couple of years but ended up transferred back to the states. They're excited to go - one of her kids was born there. But... she has no idea what the homeschool scene is like since last time she was there her kids were tiny. Anyone? Or the schools?

 

I think there are a few here from South Australia. Hopefully they'll show up and answer you. :)

 

 

 

Parts of Australia seem like they'd get along well with American redneck culture...

 

'Fraid so. We have our own rednecks and bogans.

[Guest]

woolworths?  I went too far upmarket with Ballantyne :-)... I don't know what Maceys is.

Farmers would be the other one, but I'm going to go Woolworths.

 

I think that might be it! I sure wish I could find out for sure. 

[wintermom]

I love meeting Australians and New Zealanders! I love their sense of adventure and willingness to explore other cultures and countries. I don't recall ever hearing one of them say anything remotely like, "this isn't how we do things."  They are the very best people to travel with when looking around Europe. They are fit, can walk a ton, they don't complain, they are polite. It's a darn shame that Canada isn't closer to Australia and NZ. I think we're pretty similar and you would make better neighbours than the US. ;)

Edited April 14, 2017 by wintermom

[madteaparty]

Well, all the billionaires are taking NZ citizenship and buying up land for doomsday purposes, so how bad can it be?

On the other hand, that may be reason enough to avoid 😂

[eternalsummer]

Well, all the billionaires are taking NZ citizenship and buying up land for doomsday purposes, so how bad can it be?

On the other hand, that may be reason enough to avoid 😂

 

This is exactly our plan, except likely without the billions, alas.

[abba12]

Bummer about costs. It makes sense if a lot of goods need to be imported, especially from western countries

 

The importing is an excuse. This came up in regard to digital music on itunes, and downloaded games on things like steam. We are charged significantly more for the same product that has NO shipping cost whatsoever. 

[displace]

I think that the kindness, generosity, and intellect of the AU and NZ representation on this board alone is enough to outweigh any negatives one could cite.

X 1,000,000!

[displace]

I'm glad I started this thread :).

 

Do you like how I just lump Australia and New Zealand together as one? I couldn't be bothered to even separate them.

 

I don't line dry. Seems like too much work. Though I do understand it's wasteful energy-wise.

 

I don't follow US sports.

[displace]

The importing is an excuse. This came up in regard to digital music on itunes, and downloaded games on things like steam. We are charged significantly more for the same product that has NO shipping cost whatsoever.

Is this a national desire to promote local goods/services or a result of the companies providing them?

[displace]

The weather averages in most places seem to be more mild than where I'm currently at.

[Rosie_0801]

Do you like how I just lump Australia and New Zealand together as one? I couldn't be bothered to even separate them.

 

I don't line dry. Seems like too much work. Though I do understand it's wasteful energy-wise.

 

 

1. Would you have known how to separate us even if wanted to bother? :)

 

2. It's a good excuse to wander outside by yourself.

 

Is this a national desire to promote local goods/services or a result of the companies providing them?

 

 

Large corporations are greedy sods.

[Ausmumof3]

Oh, the cold! I completely forgot.

 

It gets coldish - 40 degrees Fahrenheit? 50? sometimes 30 but not often? in the winter (in Christchurch). But they don't have the kind of indoor heating we do. Some places have it, some don't - some have fireplaces (or pellet fires), some have heat pumps, some have electric heaters. It is not warm all winter. In the US, at least in the Midwest, it gets very cold but because of that every home pretty much has central heating. In NZ they just shiver (as far as I can tell) for a few months. We took a lot of warm baths.

 

We could have maybe afforded space heaters in every room, but *running* them cost an arm and a leg. Just to run the smallest oil heater we could find at night in one room (where all 3 of us slept) was something like $30/month. We had a pellet fire and it was a hassle.

Yes true on Aus too. A lot of overseas visitors complain that they are colder here than in their own colder climate because no one heats the house unless it's really really cold. Air conditioning is more of a must.

 

Power prices definitely impact on the way we live in quite a lot of ways.

[Laura Corin]

Home cooking in New Zealand was a bit....traditional. We had an amazing farmstay holiday 15 years ago, but every night it was hearty and excellent lamb or venison stews or pies. They were very good, but I started to yearn for more veggies and a different range of seasoning. They were showing off their excellent farmed meats, but one night we snuck out and ate fish and lots of veg.

[abba12]

Is this a national desire to promote local goods/services or a result of the companies providing them?

 

Greed. In the specific examples given, itunes knows we have no legal alternatives and a physical CD is $20-$40 so we will pay their inflated price. Same with the games, I think a brand new physical computer game is $120 these days, so they can get away with doubling what they charge america without a problem. They cite things like the population is too small so marketing costs more to reach people, or it costs more to deal with copyright. But basically, they can get more from us so they do. 

 

Food prices are more easily justified I guess, transport is an issue, and supermarkets in cities subsidise the little supermarkets in country towns. Even so, our food bill in a week is what some thrifty american families in low COL areas spend in a month. 

 

But the higher prices is less of a burden because we dont have to pay for healthcare, which seems to be a huge chunk of the american family budget.

 

You also need to consider that the ecconomy is based around our social security network which goes well beyond unemployment benefits. Low income families (and thats a broad group, even middle income earners get partial-payments)  receive considerable fortnightly payments for each child they have (family tax benefit A). A stay at home mother even recieves a payment (parenting payment and family tax benefit B) until their youngest reaches a certain age, 6 or 8 depending on situation (and homeschooling parents keep it I believe, or something similar, I know theres an exemption but I haven't needed it yet for myself).  And underemployment is supplemented, my brothers girlfriend who is living with us was working 12-20 hours a week and still recieving about half the rate of unemployment benefit. Immigrants take time before they're eligible for these payments, that's something to seriously consider before moving here, the economy is set up with the idea most low income jobs are being supplemented by this, so an immigrant with a low income job and no supplementation will struggle a lot. Along the same lines, supplementation for young adults is... limited. It's pretty much impossible for a teen to move out alone now, I don't know any who have, they all move into group share houses with friends. Entry level income + limited supplementation of income + insane rent prices = a hard few years for young adults. 

 

Oh and someone mentioned weather. Be careful with averages. We are the country of droughts and flooding rains, the averages can be deceptive. We had a heatwave this year, and where I live we hit 115F with 35% humidity. At those temperatures the heat index calculators kind of break, the one I use spat out a 'feels like' temperature of 137F. And that's with only one, very old, very inefficient air conditioner. Despite our hear, air-con is not considered a necessity the way heating is in the US, a lot of rentals don't have it, or have old units. And as others said, heat is rarely installed for the one month a year it's needed, so, it can get pretty cold too. 

[FaithManor]

"Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes!" Said in my best Harrison Ford voice.

 

 

This is why Australia, along with all the other things trying to kill you, would not be ideal for me LOL. But I really like Australians and the country in general. You guys should really do something bout all them critters trying to kill everybody!!

 

:D

[chocolate-chip chooky]

I've never lived anywhere but right here, in Queensland, Australia, so I can't make any comparisons about costs of living.

 

Yes, we have spiders everywhere.

 

And snakes.

 

But it's not like they chase you down. You just learn to respect them and cohabit. 

 

Weather can be a bit iffy - cyclones (I'm looking at you, Debbie), floods (yes, you, ex-Debbie), bushfires etc.

 

But we're a very, very big land and there's probably a perfect spot for all tastes - desert, rainforest, snowy mountains, beaches, bush, bustling cities etc.

 

I love where I live and I can't imagine being anywhere else. I ADORE our wildlife and feel absolutely blessed to have so much just in our own backyard. The birdsong right now is magic.

 

And, importantly, I feel safe and stable here. 

 

Oh, and I love that folks here don't own guns (excluding law enforcement, sportspeople and possibly farmers in some places). Gun-related crimes are really very rare here and I LOVE that.

 

What I don't like is that it costs an arm and a leg to get things like AoPS or Life of Fred posted here.

[Tanaqui]

I've been told that in NZ, they put beets on their burgers. Beets. On their burgers.

 

Just let that sink in a minute.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

I've been told that in NZ, they put beets on their burgers. Beets. On their burgers.

 

Just let that sink in a minute.

 

Yum!

[bookbard]

Well, yeah if you are looking for negatives for Australia, food may be unfamiliar. As someone said earlier, Mexican isn't a big thing here. There'd be a few proper places around but you'd have to look. And yes the hamburgers are different, we don't put pickles on them. It would be meat and salad (which would include beetroot). In the shops, the food and food brands would also be different. An American friend who visited said our bread was much less sweet. Whenever I read the thread on "what's for dinner", most of the dinners aren't what we'd have for dinner. For example, I've never eaten okra in Australia (I assume you can get it here, but I wouldn't know where). 

 

And of course there'd be lots of little customs and language differences that would be unfamiliar to you. 

[Tanaqui]

You're up early, aren't you? Won't catch me up at practically dawn on a Saturday!

[Farrar]

I don't get the spider and snake thing. I mean, I grew up in North Carolina. There are spiders and snakes. Everywhere.

[bookbard]

It's 7am on a Saturday ... I have heaps to do for family thing today . . . should get off computer and do them . . .

[Tanaqui]

We all should get off the computer and do things. Don't feel guilty :) You're still up a heck of a lot earlier than I will be tomorrow. You and chocolate-chip chooky both!

[Farrar]

The Mexican thing is funny. I think we Americans forget how Mexican influenced our everyday food has become. It was the thing I came to miss the most when I lived in Asia, just because there was *nothing* like it. At one point, I started buying tortilla chips in Hong Kong and making salsa and no one would touch it. It was way weird to them. Weirder than "western food" restaurants for sure.

 

I also once bought okra in Hong Kong at a specialty market. It was labeled, "Exotic African Food." I'm guessing anywhere you could find it in Australia would be similar.

 

But... I'll be you can get rambutans! Right? Oh my gosh. For ages, they weren't even sold in the US. They were illegal to import and they can't be grown here. Now I see them sometimes - dried up and nasty. But... they were everywhere in Mexico when we visited so I'm hopeful about the global spread of food.

 

Putting beet on a burger is shocking and wrong on every level.

[Lawyer&Mom]

The Mexican thing is funny. I think we Americans forget how Mexican influenced our everyday food has become. It was the thing I came to miss the most when I lived in Asia, just because there was *nothing* like it. At one point, I started buying tortilla chips in Hong Kong and making salsa and no one would touch it. It was way weird to them. Weirder than "western food" restaurants for sure.

 

I also once bought okra in Hong Kong at a specialty market. It was labeled, "Exotic African Food." I'm guessing anywhere you could find it in Australia would be similar.

 

But... I'll be you can get rambutans! Right? Oh my gosh. For ages, they weren't even sold in the US. They were illegal to import and they can't be grown here. Now I see them sometimes - dried up and nasty. But... they were everywhere in Mexico when we visited so I'm hopeful about the global spread of food.

 

Putting beet on a burger is shocking and wrong on every level.

I ordered a burrito in Hong Kong once. Flour tortilla, cheddar cheese, Lima beans and stewed tomatoes.... Yuck!

[MFG]

I've been told that in NZ, they put beets on their burgers. Beets. On their burgers.

 

Just let that sink in a minute.

The beetroot is to complement the fried egg.

[Rosie_0801]

 For example, I've never eaten okra in Australia (I assume you can get it here, but I wouldn't know where). 

 

I used to be able to get it fresh at a Filipino green grocer. Now I can only get tinned from Arabic grocers. Tinned is not the best...

 

 

 

You know, we put beetroot AND tinned pineapple on hamburgers.

[Farrar]

I ordered a burrito in Hong Kong once. Flour tortilla, cheddar cheese, Lima beans and stewed tomatoes.... Yuck!

:lol: That sounds a bit like a pizza I got in China once... it had, among other things, green beans and carrots.

 

Australians don't ruin pizza... do they? Do they? :ohmy:

[Rosie_0801]

:lol: That sounds a bit like a pizza I got in China once... it had, among other things, green beans and carrots.

 

Australians don't ruin pizza... do they? Do they? :ohmy:

 

There is good pizza and bad pizza. *shrug*

[Farrar]

There is good pizza and bad pizza. *shrug*

 

There's good and bad pizza the world over. But if you're putting beets on the pizza, that is definitely in the bad category. Or green beans for that matter.

[Rosie_0801]

Oh. I would never put *tinned* beetroot on pizza. Don't worry. :D

[LMD]

Beetroot on burgers is the best.

 

Egg on pizza is called an 'aussie', in the same way that pineapple on pizza is called 'hawaiian'

 

This, I hope won't be too political, but we have so many layers of bureaucracy to do simple things. So many. Not just the layers of government, but departments and authorities and every loophole is closed. You need express permission for anything. For example, I own some land. Legally, I could clear it and do intensive farming and destroy all the native flora and fauna. If I don't do that, I am not legally permitted to even pick up fallen timber/branches. I need to do hundreds of pages (and dollars) of permits and reports before I can do anything else <- that ain't hyperbole.

And no, the land isn't in a conservation zone, green zone...

And there's my vent for today!

Edited April 14, 2017 by LMD

[eternalsummer]

Putting beetroot on burgers is in the pros column, people. 

 

 

I thought of more negatives.

 

We drink too much, as a people.

 

We don't treat our indigenous population very well, and in the cities at least, it's quite segregated. 

 

 

But honestly, yes, the pros outweigh the cons. Although rising temperature will possibly shift that over the coming years. As a pp said, safe and secure. We still have something of a genuine safety net. Our schools are generally OK, so far as schools go, we don't take ourselves too seriously. We're multicultural, multi faith, but we don't hate atheists the way you guys do :) We let one be our PM, even! We have an old, old culture to teach us, if we care to listen, especially on environmental matters. 

 

And we're really good at puncturing pomposity. Especially that of politicians. We have a great capacity to mock our overlords. Maybe it's the convict in us.

 

 

I don't know about Australian race relations, but the Maori in NZ are treated much better than Native Americans are here (or at least that was my impression).  We had an entire class at teacher's college on Maori language, culture, and customs.  We had to learn how to say where we were from (quite specifically) in Maori and sing religious songs (they are quite Christian) and etc.  It was very different than the treatment here in the US.

[Guest]

The Mexican thing is funny. I think we Americans forget how Mexican influenced our everyday food has become. It was the thing I came to miss the most when I lived in Asia, just because there was *nothing* like it. At one point, I started buying tortilla chips in Hong Kong and making salsa and no one would touch it. It was way weird to them. Weirder than "western food" restaurants for sure.

 

I also once bought okra in Hong Kong at a specialty market. It was labeled, "Exotic African Food." I'm guessing anywhere you could find it in Australia would be similar.

 

But... I'll be you can get rambutans! Right? Oh my gosh. For ages, they weren't even sold in the US. They were illegal to import and they can't be grown here. Now I see them sometimes - dried up and nasty. But... they were everywhere in Mexico when we visited so I'm hopeful about the global spread of food.

 

Putting beet on a burger is shocking and wrong on every level.

 

I would rather live without caffeine than Mexican food. I'm pretty sure I could eat Mexican food everyday and be a really happy camper. And weigh a thousand pounds. :) 

[eternalsummer]

On the other hand, the Asian minorities are not as well treated as the Maori minority, and Asian immigrants (esp. kids) are not included formally in the way that the Maori are.  I (and another student, a Canadian) asked why we needed to adapt our teaching to Maori ways of learning and not to Chinese or Korean ways of learning, given that at least in the South Island the population levels are similar, and was told that the Chinese had their own country they could rely on for cultural legitimacy, but the Maori only have NZ so we had to make a NZ education accessible to them.  I thought this was a bit weird since the Chinese kids were as permanently here as the Maori were, and had on the whole a much harder time following along in class because of language and cultural barriers.  The NZ students did not question it.

Edited April 14, 2017 by ananemone

[Rosie_0801]

I don't know about Australian race relations, but the Maori in NZ are treated much better than Native Americans are here (or at least that was my impression).  We had an entire class at teacher's college on Maori language, culture, and customs.  We had to learn how to say where we were from (quite specifically) in Maori and sing religious songs (they are quite Christian) and etc.  It was very different than the treatment here in the US.

 

I do and they are rather more like race relations in the US than NZ.  :glare:

[Kalmia]

I love Australia, and it was difficult, but did come up with one negative. Of course, it is luckily, rare.

 

On a tour of the rainforest on the mainland near the Whitsunday Islands in Australia, we saw a plant that, if you touch it, can incapacitate, even kill you, from pain.

 

http://io9.gizmodo.com/if-you-touch-this-plant-it-will-make-you-vomit-in-pure-1693770289

[eternalsummer]

I do and they are rather more like race relations in the US than NZ.  :glare:

 

Ah, that is unfortunate :(

[Guest]

I would rather live without caffeine than Mexican food. I'm pretty sure I could eat Mexican food everyday and be a really happy camper. And weigh a thousand pounds. :)

Ditto. I'd wither up and die without Mexican food.

[Rosie_0801]

There is a Mexican restaurant in Melbourne. They serve cactus! That was just too exciting for words. :lol: