dannigirl

Oi, I am not dull, thank you very much! I have a feeling Snapshot if you were in Dunners (or were we're in Wanganui) we would probably get on.

Dangerous to generalise, but I do get some of the points being spoken about. I am not great at small talk but I can pass time speaking about crap and the weather. I too wanted to make some meaningful relationships, I have some friends here but we are are fairly different people now so most of my new friends/aquaintances are non- kiwis. Give us a chance though, lots of kiwis are open to making new friends. I have been finding here in Dunedin that lots of people think English people are quite posh! So kiwis might think they don't have much in common.

Shopping - I am not much of a shopper, I like it and now realise I could not live somewhere where there were not some access to good shops, more for inspiration and creativity more than anything. Don't necessarily have to buy anything. I do miss the changing seasons and fashion of home interiors. Even if you just then buy a cople of cheap candles from Sainsburys, still brings a small amount of change cheaply. We have some lovely independent stores that have just opened up, very expensive though. I miss Ikea, that's an outing in the UK! Won't particularly miss any shops from here, will miss the Farmers Market!

Snap Shot

I'm really sorry to hear that. How are you both now ? Does this put paid to your holiday plans ?

Snap Shot

Sorry

I hope that if we met, we could have a good gossip and generally take the rise out of each other ! All in the best possible taste of course.

BTW - we might be visiting Dunners next Feb. If you're still around, would you like to meet ? I've got it in mind to meet a fellow ex-pat who moved to Dunners last year and is not likely to move soon. I'm guessing.

barnsleymat

This is true. Only 20 minutes ago my colleagues were telling me that in England we all have afternoon tea. I said they might do down in Buckingham Palace but you'd get beaten up if you started having afternoon tea up north, I'm not even sure what afternoon tea is to be honest. I do think they think all English people live in country houses, ride horses, play rugger and have millions in the bank.

I realised early that there's very little chance of us making any Kiwi friends, they're a friendly bunch but I do find them a bit dull and very naive. When we moved here I always expected it to be for life but I'm slowly realising there's no way I can spend the rest of my life away from civilisation. I do love the place and I'm very happy we made the move but I'll go mad spending the rest of my days here.

Tom1983

Well as mentioned before, the Cantabrians seem to love the Brummie accent

Even the poeple at the wifes work want her to teach them how to speak Brummie

A shotgun is ready in case the unthinkable happens and Christchurch turns into Birmingham

love30stm

Thanks Snapshot, he is fine now he's had every test going and they don't know what happened he's a medical mystery, they think he had some Nasty virus and he felt ill before his race but still went ahead he's had a full medical check and he's in great shape for his age apparently and a athletes heart! I've probably got health issues with all the stress



And no our Holidays still on hopefully, thanks for asking

dannigirl

Sorry love30stm - I did mean to ask after your husband, so stressful for you. Bayou need that holiday now! And...welcome back

dannigirl

Would have loved to, but fingers crossed our house will sell and we will be off probably in October/November time

If we're still here you're on!

Purrball

Because he's either in denial or not thinking it through.

New Zealand is a remote South Pacific nation with a small population. Since trade was liberalised in the 80s and protectionist barriers removed, New Zealand's manufacturing base has declined. So, almost everything apart from basic foodstuffs and some other goods, is imported from other parts of the world at great cost. What's more, because the population is so small, as importers and shippers, you don't get the savings from bulk and scale, nor do you get the range.

Six other factors also play a part in relation to the UK:

1. No common market on the doorstep with subsidies for producing various raw foodstuffs.
2. GST (VAT) at full rate on everything, including food and energy.
3. Small market means less competition. In a range of sectors, from building materials to groceries, there's often a monopoly, a duopoly or a cozy cartel with less incentive to bargain hard with producers and drive down prices.
4. High energy prices
5. The cost of transport within the country split into two islands and a lot going by road.
6. Very little out of season produce.

When I was last in Auckland, the two things that my sister and her friends seemed to miss was Ikea and Lidl/Aldi, not necessarily because their range was high quality, but it would have been decent enough and cheap enough to drive down prices across the board. Same with clothing chains such as Primark, Zara, M&S and so on. Same with Argos.

I think some people can find it easy to trivialise the idea of shopping, thinking that it's some kind of frivolous and decadent pursuit, but when you're trying to feed, clothe and otherwise equip a family and household, and are used to the range of goods at certain prices in the UK, shopping in New Zealand can come as a shock to some.

Without fail, every time a Kiwi friend of mine comes to the UK, one of the most important things they put on their to do list, is clothes shopping... and not always necessarily fancy or spendy stuff, but also basics: underwear, socks, tshirts and so on. They're also usually amazed at how much cheaper supermarket shopping in the UK is as well.

The other thing I noticed while over there and I might be wrong, but I didn't notice any generic painkillers and the like in the supermarkets. 20-something pence for some plain-label ibuprofen in Sainsbury's versus NZ$6-7 for a small branded pack in the chemists. That's just one small example of what I'm getting at.

On the other hand, in many parts of New Zealand, you can pick up bagged produce by the roadside at incredibly cheap prices. Near Tauranga, I'd see roadside stalls selling ten advocados for only NZ$2.

As I understand it, there have been a recent number of pieces on the TV and the press in New Zealand comparing the cost of shopping baskets in the UK and NZ. It's something that people over there seem to be increasingly aware of... so your other half might find it useful to be more aware of the larger picture and context once they've spent some time there.

love30stm

It was at the time! And thanks

Bo-Jangles

Tell me about it, I just got my poor little eyeballs ripped out today. It wasn't until I handed my credit card over that I did a double take when at the till paying $139 for a pair of shoes - it just came to my mind I must be mad.

I can't image myself ever paying seventy quid for a pair of shoes in the UK. Even more galling now you all mentioned it I have just looked online and found that the exact same shoes are 55 quid.

Snap Shot

[QUOTE=Purrball;10853384]Because he's either in denial or not thinking it through. I didn't know he was a returning New Zealander

Snap Shot

I think some people can find it easy to trivialise the idea of shopping, thinking that it's some kind of frivolous and decadent pursuit, but when you're trying to feed, clothe and otherwise equip a family and household, and are used to the range of goods at certain prices in the UK, shopping in New Zealand can come as a shock to some. I agree. I don't understand those who sneer at shopping. I assume they wear clothes, (that mainly came from a shop) eat food, (that mainly came from a shop) drive a car,(that would have been purchased), have a roof over their head.(with relevant costs incurred)


On the other hand, in many parts of New Zealand, you can pick up bagged produce by the roadside at incredibly cheap prices. Near Tauranga, I'd see roadside stalls selling ten advocados for only NZ$2. Sorry, no use to me, I don't like avocadoes. They were cheap in the Wanganui PakNSave today too[/QUOTE]

Bo-Jangles

[/quote]


I know what you mean, even if you did like them honestly what would you do with ten of them. Why buy ten when really one would do for the week? It's all very well having access to cheap / in season fruit and veg but there's only so much you can do with it before you become utterly sick of the sight.

BEVS

Masterchef.