Originally Posted by Black Sheep

I won't spoil it then for you by telling MY 5 1/2-years-in story here.

I will just say though that over the course of reading many posts in this forum over the past few months, I've noticed that many people who say they really enjoy living here also often mention how much they love their logburners. I'm curious: are these 'clean burning' logburners, up to the new required emissions standards? Here in Chch, they've been trying to ban smoggy logburners for more than 5 years now, but have kept having to postpone the ban deadline (was supposed to be 4 years ago but still hasn't come into effect yet). The smog problem in Chch is just terrible, everyone knows this and everyone knows about the impending ban on the older types, yet there are some who continue to use them as if it's somehow 'OK' just because Environment Canterbury hasn't been able to get it passed as 'law' yet - yea right! As if, if it's not law, it's somehow not causing pollution or affecting anyone else's health or right to enjoyment of their own property!

My neighbours are British, maybe they even come on to this forum, maybe they're reading this right now - they've literally forced us out of our home because they burn their logburner day and night (it's on a wetback so heats their water) for 8 months of the year at least, and our health is suffering for it (windows/doors can't keep logburner smoke out, in fact a new study of a month or so ago determined that the air inside a home/building with all windows & doors shut has as much particulate pollution from logburners as the air outside the home/building. We didn't need a study to tell us that though, weve had to live in a smoke-filled-even-with-windows-shut home for years now) We've told these neighbours as nicely as we could that their logburner smoke is bothering us and harmful to our/our children's health - they seem to be burning wet wood as well and it smells like sewage, it's really really bad.... and they've basically given us the two finger salute in response, said to us "it doesn't bother US", and that was that, smoke continued to pour out of their chimney into our house on a daily basis... and they became very unfriendly and then, though we've never done ANYTHING to THEM other than mention their smoke, did a nasty to us that I won't go into . This is an affluent area, and most people have already converted over to clean heat appliances (mostly heat pumps), and on a beautiful mild night only our British neighbours will have their burner going with the smog pouring out over the road very visibly and densely under the street lights, you can see it from half a mile away.

My point? Weve had a hard time in NZ. We have to deal with Kiwi tradespeople and businesses on a more regular basis than many of you folk will ever have to if you're lucky, and that's pretty bad already and has meant serious big time losses of money to us (there will be some who will understand without my having to explain). But ironically it's been expats here who've had the biggest kind of impact on us, the kind for instance that has made it impossible for us to live in our own home and forced us to move. It was a Brit too who installed heat pumps for us some years back in three homes. He did such a bad job, and all three were wrongly sized and we suffered greatly from that, that was $10,000 out the window as not one of the heat pumps warmed those homes even somewhat, and so they had to be supplemented with oil heaters such that our electricity costs actually increased while the warmth of our houses decreased. That guy, British as I said, will tell you how great NZ is. He's totally incompetent but lives in a beautiful huge house (he told us all about it) out in the Chch suburbs, the likes of which he explained to us (before he installed the heatpumps, so while we were still on good speaking terms!) he could never have dreamed of owning back in London. Coz here in NZ, it's MUCH easier to get away with being incompetent... which obviously is going to make life more 'enjoyable' here than 'back home' for certain types who wouldn't be able to hold a job for long anywhere else but here.

So there's the irony - that possibly the 'happiest' of the expats in NZ are the ones that are making my family the unhappiest...

Originally Posted by brussels_sprout

...the big BUT is if you have to pay for a Kiwi mortgage at 9-10% interest rate, the salaries are low, the taxes and health care are very poor indeed.

Originally Posted by southerner

From what I understand most people in Europe, US and UK have these exact same concerns (especially debt worries, and cost of living rising faster than disposable income). I suspect that any relative disadvantages of these factors (NZ vs UK) might have decreased over the last year in particular.

Originally Posted by Joshlin

dislike the kiwi lack of urgency when want to get things done

Originally Posted by Joshlin

raise a drink for us on saturday - next stop citizenship

Cheers

Originally Posted by brussels_sprout

As i have always said, NZ is great if you have NO housing costs or have a good pension from UK, it is also fantastic for kids, the big BUT is if you have to pay for a Kiwi mortgage at 9-10% interest rate, the salaries are low, the taxes and health care are very poor indeed. If you are an average Joe with mortgage or you have to pay a rent with only 1 income , then you will find how hard it is just to exist in NZ ! You will not not have much fun when you can hardly afford to heat the house !

Originally Posted by Joshlin

as you may have guessed we are happy and coping - and we do have a mortgage, are not living off a good pension from the Uk, have both taken a cut in wages and have much less free cash than we were used to - I would say we are more than existing but I do accept that these factors can make life tough - for us it's been about adjusting our shopping style, budgeting and moving away from the want it now - we still manage to throw in beer / wine on the weekly shopping so we are not going without.

Originally Posted by brussels_sprout

Do you go to work too, Joshlin ?

In NZ there is no 0% tax bracket, and also the maximum tax bracket kicks in for most emigrants who work a 40 hour week. For all this tax, you get a health service that must be the worst in the Western world , there are very few motorways, railways or public transport.

There is virtually full employment, everyone is paying these extortionate amounts of tax, but what does the government spend it all on in such an empty country ? The taxes only cover a very very basic pension, the government earns 1000s $$$ of receipts from new immigrants. Because of the full employment, not that many people receive the DPB (Welfare). The NZ government is a tax and spend sort like the Labour party in the 70s and 80s, with massive numbers of quango "consultants", Kiwis are leaving for Oz in increasing numbers every year, but this government just go on spending all the taxpayers' money on themselves. Where is the dynamic nation we expect from a country that we emigrate to ?

Saying that, You do feel as if you have won the lottery when you live in New Zealand, it is just the numbers do not add when you balance the books !

I think i would be a "Happy Clappy" Kiwi also if i was a househusband !

Originally Posted by Joshlin

both hubby and I work - he works avge 42hr week, i am self employed, working p/t to enable me to do the mummy type stuff (help out with school / pre-school / do the afterschool care and school holiday care).
we are in receipt of child care subsidy and working for families tax credit - and we haven't reached top level tax rates yet.

re: health care, I have been massively impressed so far - my son had to have minor surgery - the GP was responsive, the specialist appt came through quickly as did the surgery, I could not fault the care provided or the follow up.

whilst i am not ignorant to the difficulties and I am all for the expression of all experiences including the negative ones I do feel that we are probably average joe and we are doing more than just existing - we have a good life and are happy to be happy clappers