Stormer999

Reading through the replies and reasoning, people who have moved from well overpopulated UK areas will judge NZ by its lack of 'manufactured' entertainment resources and instead of enjoying the real value of the country with lack of population open spaces and freedom to roam. The real attraction for myself and wife is the fact that not every corner has a MacDonalds, Marks & Spencers, multi screen Cinema, Wetherspoons etc etc........... now that is third world

Genesis

JD Wetherspoon is a kiwi, did you know that? We aint got any of his pubs here..which is nice.

Stormer999

Don't panic we won't bring any over! In our Wetherspoons parents of young children are limited to 3 alcoholic drinks each as the management are in trouble for continually having to contact Social Services to come and collect young kids off drunken parents!

danjones1

What makes a country third world is not poverty or the condition of the roads. Its more about the mentality of the population.

Good example is Malaysia. First World infrastructure, Third world mentality - and that came from a senior figure there.

One thing that points to this mindset is a short term outlook on things, and NZ has that where most other OECD countries don't. Goes back to the she'll be right attitude.

Having said all that corruption is also a big indicator and NZ is one of the least corrupt countries on Earth, where as places like Greece are very corrupt and therefore I'd consider Greece more third world than NZ.

mcuddy1

Freedom to roam, now that's a misconception.

I am afraid to tell you plenty of Mac's as well.

Shopping although not to bad, choice and competition are very limited, cartels run all the large shopping stores and you are getting well and truly screwed by them. Now accepting this as the status quo without question is backward (or just the Kiwi way)

Stormer999

When I wrote freedom to roam I was loosely referring to the vast amount of open country per head of population that NZ has compared with UK. As for shopping all UK shops source PRC so the choice is not as great as first imagined.

Genesis

Except when it comes to quite a few of the finance companies.

Stormer999

We can't even get the basics right.....our politicians fleece us right from the start!

Justcol

New housing is getting better all the time.
although builders only build what people want and most kiwis have no idea
what a proper warn insulated home is so they are happy to accept the fairly
low standards set out in the recently updated building regulations, as, compared
to what was around before the regs stipulated insulation, was pretty dire.
We come from a country with around 15 times the population of nz and a
tottally different climate so i think its unfair to compare uk housing to nz.
My advice would be if you want a warm home then buy one, dont buy a house
that has no insulation or proper heating then grumble about it being shitty.
I went to a home show today and chatted to a large builders salesman.
I asked about extra insulation in the external walls and roof, double glazing
with argon filled glass panels, insulation in the internal walls, double gibing on
all walls and proper central heating throughout. They said all of those are not
included in their basic prices but are available as extra's, so kiwis know how
to build very warm well insulated homes, its just a case of no one wants to
pay the extra so why should they throw profit away buy building to the higher spec.
For all the grumbling about broadband, i think people should be more reaslistic.
Do you think the uk would have broadband to the standard it has if the
population was only 4 million ? if you think it would your a bloody fool.
I dont like NZ's dependance on agriculture or the prescious ideaological view
they have of the land. The march today in auckland will have been attented
by a majority of people who have never and will never visit the areas that are
being discussed as possible mining sites, but they value ugly scrub bush over
industry, employment and investment in the country yet on the other hand
thay are happy to flog off all the felled trees to china leaving nothing for the
home market which is now forcing up the cost of timber for new build homes
buy an estimated 15%. the same goes for the farming industry, everything is
for export which is why we pay such high prices for meat, veg and milk
Anyway i'm starting to rant so back to the topic, 3rd world NO.
Doing the best it can with the population it has, YES

Stormer999

I have made a terrible mistake (certainly isn't the first and will not be my last!) walked past our cheap drinks place to-day and it's not Wetherspoons but Benjamin Satchwells

Stormer999

Following on from C's post about NZ house build the specs from latest UK builds would interest many Ex Brits that are living in NZ. Gone are the days of two solid walls we now have panelled interior walls where the builder needs to know if you intend to erect shelving etc so he can fit strengthening battens. Timber interior fittings are a thing of the past as real wood is a commodity we no longer have access to so plastic and pressed sheeting is used, even on flooring that has limited support qualities. Gone are the days of Victorian builds or Council House build standards the NZ/UK building regs are closing faster than many think!

MattandJax

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxgQ27RDDWk

teehee!

Stormer999

Magic.......

Bo-Jangles

Like anywhere it depends where you go; after the USA, NZ has more McDonalds per capita than any other country. We've no shortage of multiplex cinemas, Subways, KFCs and other such crapola. We simply replace M&S with a Farmers on every high street.

Stormer999

Yes per capita now multiply by 15 and see how far apart they are compared with what you have now!