Pom_Chch

Yep, I agree with that. Moaning about something only makes you feel worse about it and makes the feelings fester. I mentioned that on a thread recently but naturally I got my head bitten off!

Catchafire

I got a parking ticket today. Explained to the warden as I got out of my ute, "This is a ute and I entitled to park in a loading bay" before heading off to the the pub.

2 hours later and b%$^$%d had given me a ticket! That would never had happened back in the UK. Must have been because I am a POM.

God I hate this country.

Bo-Jangles

I can only therefore assume that the experience of being married into 'the fold' versus being an out and out immigrant must be very different.

The fact that my experience of living here is different to yours is obviously of my own doing and I clearly need to change my attitude.


Whatever!

Caz8NZ

well i'm agreeing with all of the previous posters in terms of the good the bad and the ugly.

Love30stm - i get your point - i stopped looking at this site for a while and particularly some of the very negative posts because it was making me feel more and more negative and focussing on that rather than on the positives that i have here.

Everyone has had good and bad experiences here. I don't think anyone who is living in New Zealand can honestly look at it purely through rose tinted glasses. Its good to give balanced arguments and opinions citing good and bad things about life living here - that's what the forum is all about.

But its a shame that when people do try and post positive things just as an upbeat and happy thing about things that are good about life, there are people who do post negative things - but for no real reason other than it seems to say - well its alright for you - but its not for me. Whats the point in that?

I was having a conversation with a friend today - he's been here much longer than me - we work in the same place. He was saying much the same thing to me as many people do on here - kiwis are unfriendly, its hard to earn a decent living and have a good standard of living etc etc. I then came back to him to say yes I agree in some respects (not really made any friends through work) but to tell him about kiwi friends i have made through the local pub, and my hobby. That yes, its been slow, but gradually i'm getting friendlier and friendlier with them. The same for the standard of living - he reckoned you needed to be earning about $30k more a year than what I earn to have a decent/breaking even standard of living. The figure he quoted I would have a very comfortable standard of living with savings and holidays abroad - he earns a decent amount and says he hasn't managed to save anything in the years he's been here. It is tough - but I don't see how its so tough for him - you just have to adapt. He did leave saying that I was right, (well of course! ha ha!) and that a positive attitude does help and make a difference.

What am I trying to say - i think that this forum is great for balanced advice but the personal sniping and snitching is not very nice and not very necessary. If you have negative things to say - say them, but say them for a reason not just to try and rain on someones happiness.

peace out.

chippy64

What I have noticed is that there seems to be a number of 'just joined' that have been living in NZ for a while, some for several years. They have therefore not asked for or given advice/support until they have decided to leave for pastures new (or familiar).
It's easier for us to understand when we have been with them and their ups and downs. I find it a lot harder, when it's someone who has just joined and then tells us how awful NZ is after living here for several years.

waikatoguy

I'm going to type into this here forum what I was thinking when I read this. I'm not sure how it's going to come out. I was wondering. How many Brit Expats would be living in Auckland? 80,000 perhaps? Don't know, but it must be close to that. It seems to me that's roughly the size of a small city. Surely there must be some Brit Expat social clubs or what-have-you around the place. If there isn't one, how about starting one or something? No one needs to be unfriended, even if you are finding the kiwis hard work. If we are hard to befriend, then surely there must be thousands of Brit Expats in the same boat. Organise something, have a regular gettogether for drinks, have a potluck dinner at each others houses. Or am I being too simplistic??? Or do you have enough friends, and it's just that you wish you had more kiwi ones?

Bo-Jangles

Same goes for those that just joined and still in the UK coming here full of the Big.I.Am attitude and telling those that are here that their day-to-day life issues and opinions are all their own fault / all in their head / badly planned or researched. One such prolific poster racks up 200+ posts in the space of the past two months has the temerity recently to berate some much older poster (with similar post count) to get out and enjoy the scenery / get a life / yada, yada, yada.

Still, I have been here long enough to sagely note that the higher up on their horses they are, the farther they have to fall.

Bo-Jangles

People are not necessarily talking about being 'unfriended' as you put it, we've no shortage of friends of British or other Nationalities and some mixed relationships Poms with Kiwis etc. My experience those occasions where Kiwi other halves and extended families are involved are very, very different to Expat only occasions and not necessarily in a good way. So don't shoot me.

waikatoguy

It's the facebook era.

TommyLuck

That'll be for me, I reckon.

Would rather turn up ready to take all the bs on, than meekly surrender to unhappiness and negativity.

Bo-Jangles

Furthermore, its often not helpful and becomes something of a self fulfilling prophecy, if your initial circle of friends are all Brits or otherwise, it can be very hard to invite Kiwis into that situation - any other nationality is fine, so you can read into that what you will.

We might end up with one lone Kiwi spouse among a load of Brits and other naionalities and that is invariably awkward on many levels and people aren't generally themselves.

Bo-Jangles

It wasn't actually but if the cap fits....

Snap Shot

I married into the covern, er, I mean fold, by marrying a kiwi. My experience of marrying into a kiwi family has been vastly different (and not in a good way) to PomChCh.

Snap Shot

Do you never get bored of being a troll ?

TommyLuck

To be fair, it probably does, hence the assumption