NZ versus Oz
#1
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NZ versus Oz
Hi just thought i would share this with anyone interested, have been reading the book 'Slipping into Paradise' by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, am just getting all the info i can before i make it to NZ sometime at the end of the year.
Part of me was thinking of going to OZ instead to work as a nurse, due to the higher rates of pay and being less isolated. However after reading a discussion on the dangers of living OZ i am very mutch set on NZ. Masson stated many australians wouldt complain about the spiders snakes, crocs, jelly fish, octopusses, sharks, etc that can kill you, some of witch live in your average suburban back yard. even more scary that some of them was the thought of running into a gympie gympie tree that if your are stung by it if your lucky you get away with having stingers in your skin that sting for months, or if not lucky it will kil you from the pain. One anecdote told in the book from a soldier during WW2 said an officer shot himself in the head because the pain was so bad.
So off to NZ it is for me, would rather live in a country where you are safe to walk barefoot
Part of me was thinking of going to OZ instead to work as a nurse, due to the higher rates of pay and being less isolated. However after reading a discussion on the dangers of living OZ i am very mutch set on NZ. Masson stated many australians wouldt complain about the spiders snakes, crocs, jelly fish, octopusses, sharks, etc that can kill you, some of witch live in your average suburban back yard. even more scary that some of them was the thought of running into a gympie gympie tree that if your are stung by it if your lucky you get away with having stingers in your skin that sting for months, or if not lucky it will kil you from the pain. One anecdote told in the book from a soldier during WW2 said an officer shot himself in the head because the pain was so bad.
So off to NZ it is for me, would rather live in a country where you are safe to walk barefoot
#2
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by davepoole
Hi just thought i would share this with anyone interested, have been reading the book 'Slipping into Paradise' by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, am just getting all the info i can before i make it to NZ sometime at the end of the year.
Part of me was thinking of going to OZ instead to work as a nurse, due to the higher rates of pay and being less isolated. However after reading a discussion on the dangers of living OZ i am very mutch set on NZ. Masson stated many australians wouldt complain about the spiders snakes, crocs, jelly fish, octopusses, sharks, etc that can kill you, some of witch live in your average suburban back yard. even more scary that some of them was the thought of running into a gympie gympie tree that if your are stung by it if your lucky you get away with having stingers in your skin that sting for months, or if not lucky it will kil you from the pain. One anecdote told in the book from a soldier during WW2 said an officer shot himself in the head because the pain was so bad.
So off to NZ it is for me, would rather live in a country where you are safe to walk barefoot
Part of me was thinking of going to OZ instead to work as a nurse, due to the higher rates of pay and being less isolated. However after reading a discussion on the dangers of living OZ i am very mutch set on NZ. Masson stated many australians wouldt complain about the spiders snakes, crocs, jelly fish, octopusses, sharks, etc that can kill you, some of witch live in your average suburban back yard. even more scary that some of them was the thought of running into a gympie gympie tree that if your are stung by it if your lucky you get away with having stingers in your skin that sting for months, or if not lucky it will kil you from the pain. One anecdote told in the book from a soldier during WW2 said an officer shot himself in the head because the pain was so bad.
So off to NZ it is for me, would rather live in a country where you are safe to walk barefoot
#3
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Re: NZ versus Oz
lol no really its a kewl book, talks alot about the spectacular scenery in NZ and also about the history and character of the people.
but im paranoid about snakes and spiders, so much so ive bought a mosquito net already for living in wellington, have a fear that i will be sharing a bed with a kapito or huntsman. Sounds daft but im going to need to get some sleep while over there lol.
have no problems sounding like a wouse or whingin pom, lol
but im paranoid about snakes and spiders, so much so ive bought a mosquito net already for living in wellington, have a fear that i will be sharing a bed with a kapito or huntsman. Sounds daft but im going to need to get some sleep while over there lol.
have no problems sounding like a wouse or whingin pom, lol
#4
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Most people in Aus have their houses sprayed so there are actually less spiders and flies found in the houses than NZ.
I was in Brisbane in Dec staying with a friend and it really was nothing I thought about.
We used to have loads of flies in our Wellington house by the beach. Great big blow flies, my husband refused to use fly spray and used to wait until they were doppy at night and on the ceiling. He then used to get the vacume cleaner on them. Our best haul was 68. I have also found white tail spiders on my pillow, behind my head in the bath. It's not such a big deal and why you would let it put you off a country surprises me.
KAZ
I was in Brisbane in Dec staying with a friend and it really was nothing I thought about.
We used to have loads of flies in our Wellington house by the beach. Great big blow flies, my husband refused to use fly spray and used to wait until they were doppy at night and on the ceiling. He then used to get the vacume cleaner on them. Our best haul was 68. I have also found white tail spiders on my pillow, behind my head in the bath. It's not such a big deal and why you would let it put you off a country surprises me.
KAZ
#5
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by davepoole
lol no really its a kewl book, talks alot about the spectacular scenery in NZ and also about the history and character of the people.
but im paranoid about snakes and spiders, so much so ive bought a mosquito net already for living in wellington, have a fear that i will be sharing a bed with a kapito or huntsman. Sounds daft but im going to need to get some sleep while over there lol.
have no problems sounding like a wouse or whingin pom, lol
but im paranoid about snakes and spiders, so much so ive bought a mosquito net already for living in wellington, have a fear that i will be sharing a bed with a kapito or huntsman. Sounds daft but im going to need to get some sleep while over there lol.
have no problems sounding like a wouse or whingin pom, lol
We didn't see a single creature in Dunedin.. except for a dead one in the laundry.. thought it was a plastic toy and almost picked it up!! think it was frozen! Chris got his pliers and we had a look.. it had a face and everything!! no idea what it was.
I definately don't think you are OZ material! Stick with NZ!
Last edited by Deb+Chris; May 7th 2005 at 2:37 pm.
#6
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Hey Kaz the flora and fauna are not the most important choice for not going to Australia, there are many other points, I want to see what its like to live in NZ, it looks so amazing, and might go to Aus when im settled in Wellington, for holidays,
but yeah my first post was tongue in cheek, saying that i have a big fear of spiders, and the thought of having funnel webs in the garden or redbacks in the garage is scary,
I work in an AE dept on the south coast of the UK and although we dont have dangerous spiders in the UK we still have people attend with spider bites, snakes in the summer, and the lovely weaver fish in peeps feet. So everywhere has theyre dangerous or painful wildlife, but if it happens in the UK it can happen any where, however OZ has more than its fair share of beasties, and it is us that is encrouching on their terratories, so i prefer to avoid them if i can.
and yeah i am totally not Oz material, i think they would deport me anyway for the whining about the heat the insects etc etc lol, im doing Oz a favour by going to NZ
Hope this makes sense, i really should be asleep working nights, but cant sleep
but yeah my first post was tongue in cheek, saying that i have a big fear of spiders, and the thought of having funnel webs in the garden or redbacks in the garage is scary,
I work in an AE dept on the south coast of the UK and although we dont have dangerous spiders in the UK we still have people attend with spider bites, snakes in the summer, and the lovely weaver fish in peeps feet. So everywhere has theyre dangerous or painful wildlife, but if it happens in the UK it can happen any where, however OZ has more than its fair share of beasties, and it is us that is encrouching on their terratories, so i prefer to avoid them if i can.
and yeah i am totally not Oz material, i think they would deport me anyway for the whining about the heat the insects etc etc lol, im doing Oz a favour by going to NZ
Hope this makes sense, i really should be asleep working nights, but cant sleep
Last edited by davepoole; May 7th 2005 at 2:44 pm.
#7
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Re: NZ versus Oz
[QUOTE=davepoole]Hey Kaz the flora and fauna are not the most important choice for not going to Australia, there are many other points, I want to see what its like to live in NZ, it looks so amazing, and might go to Aus when im settled in Wellington, for holidays,
Hi Dave,
Wellington is a lovely city to live in, I am looking at house sites at the mo, in between hopping back on here.
I have just realised how bad my spelling is today, I am on my second glass of villa maria sauvignon tho.
Go to bed and get some sleep!
KAZ
Hi Dave,
Wellington is a lovely city to live in, I am looking at house sites at the mo, in between hopping back on here.
I have just realised how bad my spelling is today, I am on my second glass of villa maria sauvignon tho.
Go to bed and get some sleep!
KAZ
#8
Re: NZ versus Oz
[QUOTE=kaz Hen]
I travelled Oz after Uni way back and never saw any dangerous beasties except a box jellyfish which nealy made me soil my wetsuit!
Staying in Townsville on a mates Z bed with open windows we used to get invaded by flying cockroaches the size of bats! Whhoooo! Sends shudders down my spine just remembering!
Originally Posted by davepoole
Hey Kaz the flora and fauna are not the most important choice for not going to Australia, there are many other points, I want to see what its like to live in NZ, it looks so amazing, and might go to Aus when im settled in Wellington, for holidays,
Hi Dave,
Wellington is a lovely city to live in, I am looking at house sites at the mo, in between hopping back on here.
I have just realised how bad my spelling is today, I am on my second glass of villa maria sauvignon tho.
Go to bed and get some sleep!
KAZ
Hi Dave,
Wellington is a lovely city to live in, I am looking at house sites at the mo, in between hopping back on here.
I have just realised how bad my spelling is today, I am on my second glass of villa maria sauvignon tho.
Go to bed and get some sleep!
KAZ
Staying in Townsville on a mates Z bed with open windows we used to get invaded by flying cockroaches the size of bats! Whhoooo! Sends shudders down my spine just remembering!
#9
Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by davepoole
Hi just thought i would share this with anyone interested, have been reading the book 'Slipping into Paradise' by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, am just getting all the info i can before i make it to NZ sometime at the end of the year.
Part of me was thinking of going to OZ instead to work as a nurse, due to the higher rates of pay and being less isolated. However after reading a discussion on the dangers of living OZ i am very mutch set on NZ.
Part of me was thinking of going to OZ instead to work as a nurse, due to the higher rates of pay and being less isolated. However after reading a discussion on the dangers of living OZ i am very mutch set on NZ.
You'll have more chance of coming to grief from the driving on New Zealand roads (based on equally anecdotal evidence).
Sure - go to NZ if you *want* to go there, but don't rule out Australia on the basis of something like this.
Other disadvantages of NZ are the wet/cool weather and the new rules that make new migrants wait 5 years for citizenship.
Jeremy
#10
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by JAJ
You're pretty silly to let scare stories like that put you off. The chances of being injured or killed by Australia's fauna are miniscule compared to the risk of anything else happening to you. Most Australians have never even *seen* a crocodile, shark etc.
You'll have more chance of coming to grief from the driving on New Zealand roads (based on equally anecdotal evidence).
Sure - go to NZ if you *want* to go there, but don't rule out Australia on the basis of something like this.
Other disadvantages of NZ are the wet/cool weather and the new rules that make new migrants wait 5 years for citizenship.
Jeremy
You'll have more chance of coming to grief from the driving on New Zealand roads (based on equally anecdotal evidence).
Sure - go to NZ if you *want* to go there, but don't rule out Australia on the basis of something like this.
Other disadvantages of NZ are the wet/cool weather and the new rules that make new migrants wait 5 years for citizenship.
Jeremy
Ooer Jermey yeah im going to NZ, it would be nice to have seasons, and i like having some wet weather, have mates who are australians and a few uk mates who have lived there and have said the heat can be oppressive, it would be nice to live in a country that has seasons. Yeah would agree that many australians dont even see many beasties. one of the girls i work with is from Tasmania, shes never seen a snake before, in the wild that is
Australia is also an amazing counrty, but for me new zealand has everything im looking for, and hey im 25 so if i dont like it, after a few years i have the option of moving onto somewhere else, hey might even conquer my fears of spiders.
With Brisbane having an average temp of 29.2c during the summer months. i think i would soon get bored of that much heat, yeah sure its great if your out surfing, or by the beach but when im stuck in a busy emergency dept i think i would be expelling karma at a vastly increased rate.
So im not complaining about australia, or saying NZ is better, im saying NZ is the choice for me, my original post was merely to promote some kind of discussion about peoples experience of the australian fauna and flora, which i think the post has done,
Hope your not offended by this jeremy mate, cos was wondering why you put '*want* to go to NZ' in such a way with the asterix for the want.
anyway have fun im off to get back to work, hope no one has nightmares about the gympie gympie :scared:
dave
#11
Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by davepoole
Ooer Jermey yeah im going to NZ, it would be nice to have seasons, and i like having some wet weather, have mates who are australians and a few uk mates who have lived there and have said the heat can be oppressive, it would be nice to live in a country that has seasons. Yeah would agree that many australians dont even see many beasties. one of the girls i work with is from Tasmania, shes never seen a snake before, in the wild that is
Australia is also an amazing counrty, but for me new zealand has everything im looking for, and hey im 25 so if i dont like it, after a few years i have the option of moving onto somewhere else, hey might even conquer my fears of spiders.
With Brisbane having an average temp of 29.2c during the summer months. i think i would soon get bored of that much heat, yeah sure its great if your out surfing, or by the beach but when im stuck in a busy emergency dept i think i would be expelling karma at a vastly increased rate.
Australia is also an amazing counrty, but for me new zealand has everything im looking for, and hey im 25 so if i dont like it, after a few years i have the option of moving onto somewhere else, hey might even conquer my fears of spiders.
With Brisbane having an average temp of 29.2c during the summer months. i think i would soon get bored of that much heat, yeah sure its great if your out surfing, or by the beach but when im stuck in a busy emergency dept i think i would be expelling karma at a vastly increased rate.
I would think most hospitals in Brisbane are air-conditioned.
So im not complaining about australia, or saying NZ is better, im saying NZ is the choice for me, my original post was merely to promote some kind of discussion about peoples experience of the australian fauna and flora, which i think the post has done,
Hope your not offended by this jeremy mate, cos was wondering why you put '*want* to go to NZ' in such a way with the asterix for the want.
Jeremy
#12
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by JAJ
There's more to Australia than Brisbane. You could go to Melbourne, Adelaide or even Tasmania and get cooler weather and more seasonality.
I would think most hospitals in Brisbane are air-conditioned.
That's not the impression you gave in your first post.
Because many people migrate to NZ, take a holiday in Australia, and wish they had gone there instead.
Jeremy
I would think most hospitals in Brisbane are air-conditioned.
That's not the impression you gave in your first post.
Because many people migrate to NZ, take a holiday in Australia, and wish they had gone there instead.
Jeremy
jermey
this post was a clarification, im not complaining about OZ, im complaining that it is a country that would make me feel uneasy about venturing off into the bush or walking barefoot in the garden,
to put it another way, it me not Australia that im complaining about, it is I that would feel uncomfortable living there. there are millions if not billions in the world that love australia, and there are many who believe there are more dangerous places.
People are very touchy about there native or chosen country, not sure if thats a bad thing, us brits seem to take every opportunity to say how crap things are in the UK.
Another reason for going to NZ is the chilled people, ive known a few personally and find em to be the nicest people ive met. So Jeremy I will take New Zealand for now and once ive experienced it for a year or two i will possibly broaden my blinkered view. So i will carry on with my silly views, such a comment coming from a moderator is interesting, i would say you shouldnt be so rude about people making their own personal opinions.
You as a moderator hold a position of authority on the forum and with such responsibility there should be some wisdom. I agree people should discuss posts but not make judgements about others opinions in such a way as you have.
I only hope new zealanders are not so judgmental and patronising.
Im sure this will incite some negative reply (self fulfilling prophecy? maybe)
but i will still post it as i strongly believe in freedom of speech, with responsibility.
Last edited by davepoole; May 7th 2005 at 10:30 pm.
#13
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Don't suppose this would be a good time to say that we crossed Canada off our list because I'm terrified of bears would it..... I think Dave, that you did say that your post was tongue in cheek and that is how I read it...scared witless of spiders myself as well and it is the things that scare us sometimes that lead us to the conclusions that we come to as individuals, however irrational that may seem to others it makes perfect sense to the individual concerned...
I crossed Australia off our list for many reasons - weather and wildlife being two of them - but they were my own personal reasons and no reflection on the country or those residing therein....
We are hoping to be invited to NZ and some of our reasons for choosing NZ as our emigration destination are the lifestyle and the varied seasons, but the lack of things that could kill you - silly as it may seem and yes we could get run over by a bus tomorrow etc - was one of our personal reasons for choosing NZ....
I wish you luck in your move to NZ and hope that you thoroughly enjoy the experience....keep us posted.....
I crossed Australia off our list for many reasons - weather and wildlife being two of them - but they were my own personal reasons and no reflection on the country or those residing therein....
We are hoping to be invited to NZ and some of our reasons for choosing NZ as our emigration destination are the lifestyle and the varied seasons, but the lack of things that could kill you - silly as it may seem and yes we could get run over by a bus tomorrow etc - was one of our personal reasons for choosing NZ....
I wish you luck in your move to NZ and hope that you thoroughly enjoy the experience....keep us posted.....
Last edited by enilorac; May 7th 2005 at 10:58 pm.
#14
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Re: NZ versus Oz
Originally Posted by enilorac
Don't suppose this would be a good time to say that we crossed Canada off our list because I'm terrified of bears would it..... I think Dave, that you did say that your post was tongue in cheek and that is how I read it...scared witless of spiders myself as well and it is the things that scare us sometimes that lead us to the conclusions that we come to as individuals, however irrational that may seem to others it makes perfect sense to the individual concerned...
I crossed Australia off our list for many reasons - weather and wildlife being two of them - but they were my own personal reasons and no reflection on the country or those residing therein....
We are hoping to be invited to NZ and some of our reasons for choosing NZ as our emigration destination are the lifestyle and the varied seasons, but the lack of things that could kill you - silly as it may seem and yes we could get run over by a bus tomorrow etc - was on of our personal reasons for choosing NZ....
I wish you luck in your move to NZ and hope that you thoroughly enjoy the experience....keep us posted.....
I crossed Australia off our list for many reasons - weather and wildlife being two of them - but they were my own personal reasons and no reflection on the country or those residing therein....
We are hoping to be invited to NZ and some of our reasons for choosing NZ as our emigration destination are the lifestyle and the varied seasons, but the lack of things that could kill you - silly as it may seem and yes we could get run over by a bus tomorrow etc - was on of our personal reasons for choosing NZ....
I wish you luck in your move to NZ and hope that you thoroughly enjoy the experience....keep us posted.....
you said it far more clearly than i could, brain is beginning to melt, working far too many shifts to pay my way to NZ, just waiting for the resus call to come over the tannoy to wake me up a bit.
thanks for the post, and i wish you well too, will keep you posted
#15
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Re: NZ versus Oz
As a regularly reader of this site I have to say that the NZ forum is by far the most viscious discussion area. Certainly makes you wonder why there is so much frustration and hatred on the NZ forum as opposed to the posters on Oz, Canada or US. Makes me wonder if it is related to experiences in NZ being that much tougher / disillusioning than people expected. Look at the OZ forum do you see the same visciousness there, no you usually read of people enjoying there experience. Does make you wonder - and yes I know this is just a forum and only a handful of peoples comments on life in NZ but likewise so are the others and you just don't seem the same level of disillusionment in them as you do on the NZ forum.