kt0157

Better than being searched by the police with metal detectors because you decided to be in the clutches of British Transport Police:

Henry Porter

Is stuff like this going on in NZ?

K.

sky

Well you can't say we didn't warn you , I thought it must be divine the way some of the locals go on about it so had a go at making it and honestly I have never tasted anything so wrong in my life!

sky

Probably is but on a smaller scale

Jack The Lad

Like the saying. Its cool

Amanda

You've got the ending of the joke wrong.

How do you know when a plane load of Brits has landed in Auckland? The GDP of NZ has increased by 50%.

cypherpunk

That isn't the reason, salaries in the UK are still paid out of the commissions, and NZ houses sell just as quickly and for similar multiples of average income. Estate agents operate an informal cartel to keep prices up, and that's easier to maintain in a small population. The Internet will change this but broadband takeup needs to be higher first.

By international standards NZ is not too bad (see here for example), commissions in the UK are among the lowest in the world (makes up for the 3% stamp duty I guess). In the US there are usually two agents per transaction, one for the buyer and one for the seller, which can drive commissions as high as 6-7%. Australian agents are on about 2.5% but then there's the horrific stamp duty to pay as well.

SecretSquirrel

i should jolly well hope so too!!.... i mean... those cheesey photos on the business cards, ads, sides of cars, billboards dont pay for themselves do they?

Jude J

I've really enjoyed reading through this thread
Just want to clarify a couple of things, when sandflies were mentioned, are they the same as mozzies? Just that the only time I thought we saw sandflies was in the south island. We do however, have plenty of mozzies in the summer.
Dog food in the same fridge as normal meat...not sure about other towns but in Foodtown etc where I live it is completely seperate, so maybe there were a few complaints and the supermarkets sorted it out.
After 4 years I think the only negative for me is the distance to my family. And bacon. Suprised that one hasn't already come up, sausages are nasty wherever you get them, do you actually know whats in a sausage? But last time I went to UK I realised how different the bacon is here.

kwprwn

have yet to encounter sand flies, but been nobbled by a few mozzies....

the bacon is very salty here, different to uk but ok

sausages, i prefer them from a butcher rather than the ones from the supermarket..sizzlers yeuch,

no negatives except for distance to family in uk...newcomer to emigrating so only a 7 month stretch for me so far

cypherpunk

Sandflies are a different insect. They're called blackflies in other countries. They're a bit bigger and slower than mosquitoes but their bite can be just as nasty and you can't hear them coming.

mazi

Bungalow living

mazi

Not many houses have baths (thay have showers though)

Gill and Rob

Yes I agree bungalow living, but 4-5 bedrooms, large rooms, detatched with large garden. What would you pay for that in the UK. As OH says even the poor live in 4 bedroom detached bungalows.

Rob

SecretSquirrel

most large gardens in nz have a new house built on them now (but not a bungaloid because there isnt room)

cottageinthesky

Think that may have changed with newer houses/renovations - in Wellington, would probably only be smaller starter homes/units/apartments that would have showers only.