Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

[QUOTE

Surely some of the more practical negatives posted on here can be worked on.. housing can be improved, locations can be changed - not over night of course and not without effort either but surely things are not impossible?


It can and we have done just that, rather than moan we looked at the issue and problem solved it.

Some people like moaning. We all have choices.

You get one life only apparently and I will always do my best to ensure it is of a reasonable quality and to improve it where ever possible.

Enter proactive view to life and a bit of positive mental attitude for those 'stuck' in NZ or a cold house.

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

The "topic" was welfare. If you want to change the topic to health insurance, please go ahead - you don't need me do you?

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

There arent many with brick EXTERIOR walls!

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Very true, yet there is still poverty. Also, in some states there are free or subsidized breakfasts and lunches at public schools for those in need. The NZ gov't doesn't offer such things, and in fact, the Red Cross had to step in to feed hungry children somewhere on the SI last year. What bothers me too, is that NZ schools do not usually have lunch rooms, so the poor little things can't enjoy a comfortable sit down, hot meal. The schools I've seen are as poorly constructed as the houses, so the kids are usually too cold in winter. The kids leave their cold damp sheds only to spend the day in similar conditions.

NZ has a much smaller population and presumably fewer problems due to urban crowding yet it has a shameful number of children living in poverty and the gov't continues to turn a blind eye to the problem.

Recently too, the gov't was caught out putting families into hostels where they lived for months in *appalling* conditions. These people, infants and children included, were waiting for state housing and were left there to languish among the filth and drug dealings. There was ample evidence that the premises had been inspected and approved by the appropriate people. (NZ Listener, April 5, 2008)

The US gov't also provides subsidized higher education, not just loans, by the way. Too bad NZ doesn't do likewise.

*Some* of the things I mentioned wouldn't keep me from living here, though. The reasons I don't like NZ have been covered in this thread and others. Anyone interested in the negative aspects of living in NZ need only sort the posts by post reply count or views. The 'negative' threads dominate the list of the most popular of all time. (And it will highlight that some of the most bullying and ready to offend posters are usually the ones that profess the greatest satisfaction with NZ (don't mean to imply that means all the happy posters!))

Things I like about NZ:

Native animals and plants, what's left of them.
Native bush, what's left of that.
The beaches and the coasts.
In parts of the country, the lush plant growth in the sub-tropical climate. We have flowers blooming all year long.
It's where my husband and daughter were born.

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

I'll not even bother to reply the last sentance in that comment it is so *wrong* on all levels.........:curse:
All I will say is that I'd bet that the poor take far less advantage of it than you think (as a proportion); the "rich" do use it - most of the claims I have come across are for sports injuries and accidents around the home - where the well off are claiming all over the place. I'll have a word with one of my mates who is an investigator for ACC and see what he knows.
Also I bet you'd take the wheelchair/adapted car were the unthinkable to happen and you *need* ACC ....

......indeed:
But it's worse than that in the US isn't it.........
They have a whole industry of ambulance chasers who are after every cent from the people getting payouts from insurers, etc as a result of there being *nothing* like ACC.
ACC is (overall) one of the few things that I think NZ has got pretty spot on - only disadvantage is that if you are hurt by some negligent tw@t then they don't have to pay quite so much as they would otherwise. The care from ACC is very good, very comprehensive and must cost all of us far far less than the litigous alternatives......

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

I think ACC is a wonderful and novel concept too - it even covers tourists who have accidents - I'm in favour of anything which stops lawyers making a killing on others misfortune.

On the USA I don't think their social/crime level problems and the relative lack of welfare provision are unrelated.....who wants to live in a gated estate?, I'd rather pay a bit of tax and ensure people have a safety net - and you never know you may need welfare yourself one day. What about the children of the 'poor'...what control do they have over whose family they are born into?

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Surely this must be listed in the positive section IMO!!:ohmy:;)

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

have you seen her thighs ............... ?? :rofl:

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

This isn't a political debate, its a thread on positives and negatives. I've not commented on anyone else's positives or negatives because its subjective. Most expats like the ACC thing, I don't. I think and have always thought that people that pay private fees shouldn't have to contribute to a welfare system. Futhermore, ACC is abused, as is the welfare system back in the UK and if you're niave enough to believe otherwise that's up to you. The other aspect of ACC means its prevents you from sueing people, which means that families only get paid what the government deems is a fair enough amount . Again, its what your priority is though. So why not focus on the thread as opposed to commenting on why you're not going to comment. I'm off to find a park in a convenienet wheelchair carpark. They always get the best spots. :p

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

On the USA I don't think their social/crime level problems and the relative lack of welfare provision are unrelated.....who wants to live in a gated estate?, I'd rather pay a bit of tax and ensure people have a safety net - and you never know you may need welfare yourself one day. What about the children of the 'poor'...what control do they have over whose family they are born into?[/QUOTE]

yawn. Why don't you ask someone that cares? Or better yet, in a new thread which is relevant as opposed to off the back of my positive/negative contribution.

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Positive:
- outside temperature in Wellington never below 4° or 5°C even in winter
- wonderful thermal areas, positively adored Rotorua and Taupo area
- great friends among French expatriates (I'm French too:o )
- no traffic jam (traffic problems here make me laugh compared to Paris:sneaky: )
- lots of great films on Sky
- kumaras
- friendly staff in shops
- wonderful attitude of schoolchildren welcoming foreigners
- Wellington: a capital city the size of a small town, easy access to anything


Negative:
- food (cakes?:rofl: )
- additives in everything, from sausages to cheese dip (food again...)
- dirty people (using a deodorant or shower regularly is against some people beliefs; walking bare-footed in town is disgusting)
- double aspect of curriculum in schools: great for children self confidence, but lack of work discipline, no english grammar, no history or geography (my sons are in year 5 and 6)
- houses made of cardboard boxes (planks and corrugated roofs): heating is an issue (we have an electric oil heater in each room, and a gaz appliance in the living, with live gaz burning directly in the heater... I hope it will explode after we leave)
- car drivers obviously not aware that pedestrians wish to cross roads (I live in Mount Victoria: 3 pedestrian crossings only, you have to cross where you can)

To sum it up, let's say that we are not in dreamland, nobody and nowhere is perfect. New Zealand is a place to live, not for ever though (going back soon to dirty, noisy, expensive, rude, crowded but deeply loved France).

Enjoyed 2 years of living here!:thumbsup:

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Positives

lack of traffic
Hanmer
Akaroa
Our best friends live there
informal attitude in banks etc (everything in triplicate here in OZ)
Shop assistants work that bit harder for you (generally)
The teppanyaki place in Kaiapoi
Woodford glen speedway


Negatives

level of education
wages
ACC (makes employers and the like lazy with safety, why put a fence at the top of the cliff when there is an ambulance waiting at the bottom)
housing that does not match weather needs
Being constantly reminded that as white and English you are guilty by descent and should feel slightly ashamed (controversial I know but its how I felt sometimes)
Isolation (in the beginning this was a positive but as my children neared their teens it felt restrictive)
NZ has small country syndrome (global version of short man syndrome)
having to do everything the 'kiwi way', personally I would rather do things the best, most efficient and effective way

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Not at all.
But thanks for the unusually pleasant reply.

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Littletoe (Post 6316791)

On the USA I don't think their social/crime level problems and the relative lack of welfare provision are unrelated.....who wants to live in a gated estate?, I'd rather pay a bit of tax and ensure people have a safety net - and you never know you may need welfare yourself one day. What about the children of the 'poor'...what control do they have over whose family they are born into?

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Quote LITTLETOE:yawn. Why don't you ask someone that cares? Or better yet, in a new thread which is relevant as opposed to off the back of my positive/negative contribution.[/QUOTE]

Point taken about it not being desirable to comment in a totally subjective thread so apologies but I didn't know what ACC was until I heard it mentioned when I got here and so for it to be listed as a negative but unexplained, I think it might be useful for those still in the UK to hear a discussion on it.

WattDabney's point above about ACC making employers lazy about Health and Safety is a good one which hadn't occurred to me as a downside.
Nevertheless I had a friend in the UK disabled in an accident at work and it took years for her compensation to come through via the legal system even though it was a clear cut case.

So maybe it could be refined but ACC still seems preferable to me.

Re: NZ - positives and negatives
 

Ah but you need to look at the OSH system in the round.

In my experience (more limited in NZ than in UK, but back then I was a NEBOSH diploma level person dealing with numerous Civil and Criminal matters, as an OSH expert for the Leagl folks/Court), the NZ version of HSE is far less pro-active on OSH matters, they only really get involved after the event = that is another, and in my opinion far more significant factor, in the "she'll be right" attitude to employee safety than ACC is here - oh yeah and there is of course the fact that kids are far less mollycoddled here, witness the full carpentry kits that most kindys have for your littlies......

And don't forget the whole macho/she'll be right attitude to almost everything - example: recently there was a NZHerald article on building construction standards, a close friend was there on the front page telling us all what the problems are and why NZ co.s adopt the she'll be right approach, and that is *not* in a field where the offenders are protected by ACC.....to me the whole thing is symptomatic of one of NZ's problems - but one that is being addressed with people whilste-blowing and sticking their heads above the parapet. :(

anyway on the other matter - I still don't like the "thought police" arriving on a thread when their views are being challanged mind, but that's just my opinion.........and this thread is all about "opinion", based one would hope on experience rather than prejudice.......:confused:

/end of opinion/