Justcol

gotta say I dont agree at all with the first post here.
My ex and myself had "normal" jobs in the uk paying around "average" wages, we lived in a normal 3 bed 70's detached
house surrounded by other, almost identical houses on an estate that was considered a bit posh by other people in the town.
We didn't have any savings apart from enough to pay for an annual holiday for us and the kids to some typical Mediterranean resort.
Six years on, My new wife and I both earn around "average" NZ wages, we have a beautiful period home that we are renovating, I've recently
had the whole rear quarter rebuilt and and modernized and all in all the materials (mostly wood) came to about $1800 which isnt
bad considering the amount of new framing and weatherboard that has gone up
It has a much bigger garden, a pool and plenty of entertainment areas. when I arrived in NZ lots of people stopped to say hello as I was out and about,
I would say hello back and chat about small stuff, then later chat about bigger stuff, then go to their place for BBQ's and ask them round to mine,
then low and behold, I found I had friends and I find that even now six years later they are still friends, and if I chat to other strangers when
I'm out and about I find that I make even more friends. I do this at work and found I made even more and when I visit my friends and meet
their friends, I chat to them too, and they then become friends. Now, some of my friends have V8's and boats and go hunting and because these are
things they are interested in I listen to the stories they tell me which are often pretty funny, they know I like like motorbikes and football
and also know that my boys are both in the uk, so they ask me about these things and ask how my boys are doing, then we talk about things we've done together,
like real conversations and stuff that mates have, then we have a laugh and make plans to go to the pub.
I come across plenty of gang members at work, but in my six years here have only ever seen one gang house and only two gang members
with patches while out and about, and to the best of my knowledge, which considering the number of gang members I know at work is
probably greater than most on here, there are no gang members, or associates or prospects in the town where I live, so thats a plus.
There are zero national insurance dollars being taken from my wages each fortnight to cover the nhs so I dont mind paying my $42 when I make
one of my rare visits to the doctors and I've yet to pay much more than about $6 for a prescription, so theres another thumbs up from me.
I have never paid a school donation, its exactly that, a donation and optional, I opted not to pay
I've never had a dispute with any of my neighbours, even when I've had garden fires that have gotten a little out of hand, or parties
that go on longer than planned or have chopped down trees that were between our gardens, I guess I've just been lucky.
I've got a friend in the uk who's a volunteer fireman in a small Derbyshire town, in fact pretty much the whole watch he works with
are part time volunteers, just like many of the small towns here, so I think its great that we are on a par with the UK on that one.
I also know two nurses who volunteer as emergency ambulance paramedics and I have no concerns over their abilities, they're actually quite good at it !!

So there you go, I just wanted to show the other side of the coin

Builder UK

The problem is nobody told him the massively inflated prices that air NZ charge to leave

Builder UK

NZ is not like the UK, it's also not like the 100% pure, green clean campaign your government keeps sending out to the world.

LauraNotts

I've been here just short of a year and a half, I haven't had the most settled year. I moved house four times, changed towns, struggled to get credit or finance had some hefty dental bills and my Mum was quite seriously ill. So I haven't had it easy.

Despite this I love it here. I have found my colleagues at work to be friendly and supportive, I have started to build real friendships and to see something of the country I have CHOSEN as my home. I can see myself here for the long term. NZ has flaws and living in Christchurch CBD makes me acutely aware of the geological risks we all face but its flaws are ones I can live with. I have the satisfaction of knowing I chose to come and live here, I have the option to go if I want to but so far I've no inclination to do so.

Builder UK

Justcol - you make some valid points, many people do on here, and I have visited Cambridge myself and found it a very pleasant and lovely little town, there was some sort of little street party going on with a few floats and fireworks, it was nice I enjoyed it it was feb/March a few years ago.

I think the problem a lot of people have that look to move, is the harsh acceptance that it is not anything like it is branded, some people unfortunatley make the move and invest a lot before they realise this, NZ is a bloody hard place to live, and I'm very sorry to say, has 0 ambition.

read my previous posts if you have time, I had random guys from christchurch emailing me asking if the construction industry was picking up in the UK as they had been living like prisoners with other guys scraping a living because the christchurch rebuild was not what it was promised.

The housing in NZ, the building regs, the materials, they were atrotious. Wooden tents was a phrase I heard quite commonly over there, I'd never heard of leaky homes until I visited NZ you'd expect housing in (with respect) to be a little cheaper, but we are talking massively over-valued houses with eye watering prices. Materials are overpriced and the market is dominated by only a few meaning they can set the price to whatever they want knowing customers have no alternative.

Research fletchers, gib and elephant, they are/were all owned by the same people.

I hope you insulate between the timber and cladding.

Seriously, it was a massive shock for me, and it is unbelievable how little real information gets through on the forums.

I looked and I could have lived with the gangs, paying for medical care, low wages in comparison to living costs, rugby obsession, tall poppy, high food prices, very high second hand car prices, boredom, poor tv, slow internet........ But the damp, cold, condensation soaked, single glazed housing that takes 50/60 hours a week to struggle to pay for was the big put off for myself.

I have got a friend in west Auckland, Oratia to be precise, he struggles too, but is stuck there as he has a kiwi wife and kid, luckily he moved years ago so has a nice propety and did ok on the exchange rate, but regrets ever setting foot there.

The UK has its problems, some pretty big ones admitted, but the UK doesn't try and lure people onto this island under false pretences, the people here are constantly trying to make life better such as employment, house prices, immigration not just sweeping these problems under the carpet.

I occasionally drop onto this forum, sometimes post, but it is amazing how little of the truth gets through and its funny how the negative is sugarcoated with tales of empty beaches and
Barbecues with people you don't like, have little in common with but have round for tea because that's what happy people do.

Carry on slating the UK if it helps ease the overpriced isolation

Fooferfish

So, why did we all come to nz for ?

What where your reasons for leaving uk ?


I work in A nz prison and see all the dregs of society , have lived in an ex state house to start off with , but my wife and I have risen to the challenge that we came here for and got better paid jobs and better housing , granted not everybody is going to do this or get the opportunity to do this , but we have found nz to have more chance of this than we ever had in the unaffordable place of Poole Dorset where we came from.

garethwm

BuilderUK, many of your concerns are statements of opinion often not supported by the facts. I looked up a few things on the OECD better life index.. For example, NZs clean, green image. NZ has very low air pollution, specifically PM10 levels, which are tiny particles that get into the lungs. The OECD also did a survey of 97 major rivers that run through farmland and they found that the Clutha was the cleanest of those, the Waitaki was the 2nd cleanest and the Waikato was the 4th cleanest. They also found NZs 3 longest rivers had very low levels of nitrates compared to other major rivers of the world. Housing affordability : (all these figures are in US dollars) NZ Median house price is $332k. NZ median disposable household income is $21,773. So houses are 15.25 times the average family income. UK houses $400k. Income $25,773. UK houses are 15.52 times the UK income. So the ave NZ house is no less affordable. Also in terms of income NZ is 21st out of 36 OECD countries, so its not that bad. I could go on ... perhaps your Barbecues with people you dont like comment is the most telling and biggest reason for your opinion?

Snap Shot

Builder UK

just my opinion gareth.

I visited and researched, I am young and skilled, pretty average young man I would imagine, I couldn't make the glove fit.

Nz is not so bad, but I just didn't think the houses are built to justify the price tags, british housing is overpriced (in the south) but the build quality is there, the quality will last.

garethwm

Good on you for coming over and checking nz out before deciding. Thats the way to do it, I think. But do you think 3 months is enough time to come to the definitive 'truth' that NZ is a bloody hard place to live with 0 ambition? Plus all the other conclusions you came to. .. Tall poppy etc. Especially when it seems you travelled during that time.

garethwm

Interesting. Following BuilderUKs comments about housing, instead of mowing the lawns Ive been reading the OECD better life report on NZ OECD Better Life Index . Not everyones idea of a sunny afternoons entertainment, I know, but I note on housing ... 92% of people living in New Zealand say they are happy with their current housing situation, more than the OECD average of 87%.

Builder UK

The 'definitive truth' was reached only a few months ago, after 4 years of looking at nz and weighing up th pros and cons.

A very good friend has lived in Oratia since the mid 90s, I also have family in Hamilton been there since 2002.

When I went over I visited Christchurch, also several building sites including hamilton hospital and a site in tuaranga. I also got offered several jobs, ranging from surveying to bog standard plastering or gib stopping as it's known in nz, jobs from national companies such as fletchers and alpha interiors.

My weekends in NZ were spent as a tourist, but midweek i spent time with project managers, site foremans and surveyors, I looked at housing, job prospects, mortgages, renting, the price of food, cars and general cost of living I'll give you this 'dominoes is cheap in NZ, golf is too'

I spoke with many guys in the construction industry, most were using NZ as a stepping stone to aus (something I didn't look in too), most had praise for chinese and phillipenoe workers for their high skill and low wage also the bonus they got for completing jobs within deadlines thanks to the Asian workforce working for peanuts.

The people I spent time with, in the end, didn't like the fact I was turning around and telling them I could have a better life in the UK, which I did, do and have, tall poppy maybe, I don't know.

I'm 27, I set up an internal and external insulation company 5 years ago, I also specialise in decorative renders and internal plastering and drylining, I buy my products from Germany, Ireland and France stuff NZ won't see for decades, I don't make millions but enough to buy property in the north of England, I know enough to see when visiting a country 'with major insulation property problems' to know it's not worth it.

Iv already told you, the properties in NZ are not worth anywhere near the price they retail at, the materials, the lifespan, the plastic (roughcast imitation) cladding, the houses there are made of wood, plastic and plasterboard.

I know a few people in NZ, and most would admit to start to get that niggling feeling it might just be a bit shit after the honeymoon period.

The views above are my own opinions, they do not reflect every tradesmen in the UK.

They are not 'fact' just my own experiences, I am not an expert on NZ building but know enough.

garethwm

Not sure how long ago since you were here, but most of the houses I see going up are either brick cladding, plaster over concrete or concrete block. Its very rare to see a new wood house these days. Not sure about plastic? Maybe some of those new townhouses? But its more brick with wooden frames, or plaster and concrete. Theyre all also fully insulated by regulation and have been for a number of years.

Builder UK

Like I said gareth, it was just what i witnessed while out there.

To me I just thought and still think the properties in the UK are built to a better standard, need less maintenance and will/have already outlasted properties in NZ, don't get me wrong I wouldn't touch a timber framed house in the UK either.

Purchasing a house is one of the most important things people do, I decided to purchase a quality house in a less desirable place (UK) as appossed to purchasing lower quality within what some see as a better location.

It's great that people are happy, but I'm just giving you my opinion, I couldn't justify investing that amount of money into property that didn't fill me with confidence regarding build quality.

I saw very little exterior rendering/stucco while there, what I did see was very traditional, I know brick facades are in but these are only for show, weatherboard and cladding was what I saw very much of.

Thanks for taking the time out to reply in a respectful way gareth, enjoy the rest of your weekend my friend.

The Weezer

Actually, Auckland and Christchurch are not known for their clean air. In the first year of living in Auckland (10 years ago), I was so surprised by the horrible air quality that I started reading about it. Here are some recent articles:

NZ air pollution similar to large cities overseas - study - National - NZ Herald News

"Commuters in Auckland and Christchurch are exposed to levels of air pollution similar to those found in other large cities around the world, a new study reveals.

The study, led by University of Canterbury geography Professor Simon Kingham, examined the quality of air commuters in the two cities breathed.

"The results show that, compared to other countries, the air that commuters breathe while travelling is cleaner for carbon monoxide, but similar for fine particulates for some of the world's biggest cities," Professor Kingham said."


Auckland air just as polluted as Tokyo's - National - NZ Herald News

"New Zealand's main centres have the worst air in Australasia and Auckland is the most polluted with twice the concentration of damaging airborne particles as Sydney, the World Health Organisation says."

There's lots more, but you get the point.

Anyway, many of New Zealand's waterways are actually quite polluted. NZ doesn't do very well environmentally, especially considering its small population.

As for the populace being contented with the housing situation - I have family who are pleased with how warm and cosy their homes are, and I'm sure they believe it, mostly. Problem is, most of us not from NZ would find their living situations "challenging." My SIL, who lives in Christchurch is a good example. She's remarked on how well insulated and warm her place is, but she lives in the back of a detached wriggly tin garage, in a room with only ceiling insulation. Her windows are single glazed. But she has a heat pump, so to her, as to so many NZers, she has a proper, warm place.

Of course you can upgrade your home, but many don't because it's so expensive. We upgraded our house, but New Zealand has many other challenges for us apart from sub-standard housing. I think people should always keep in mind that New Zealand has a relatively low population. Ask yourself WHY, especially considering the years of marketing and propaganda campaigns.