Is it really the differences?
 

There has been much bickering today, me included, and most of this animosity has been caused through the arguing over differences. Uk this / Nz that.

And there is the dichotomy. Part of the reason I never really gelled with New Zealand, was because it was so similar to the UK in so many ways. It was as if I had traveled 18,000km round the planet, and ended up back where I started.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I think that is exactly why so many Brits chose NZ.....they percieve NZ to be UK minus 50+ million others. Hence why a lot of plans go wrong.;)

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I can honesty say that I don't find it anything like the UK. There is a common language yes, but if you look out of the main centres it is a different world.
I often feel that because the language is the same that people feel they dont have to try as hard to become part of the country, and it's easy to settle into your own little world.
If we were all the same wouldn't life be dull.. :)

hākoakoa. peace.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I think it depends on what you are looking for and why you left the UK - these two parameters then determine what you 'find' in NZ.

If you want a small british community to slot yourself into then you can do it extremely easily (certainly in Auckland).... the same way that many south africans do - we joke in that you always know when your in a 'saffa' area due to the high walled gardens and security gates!

My in-laws always make me laugh when they visit as they have the opinion that NZ is "part of the british empire" therefore it should be just like a mini-england out here - they were disappointed and thought it very backward that they couldn't even get their usual brand of tea-bags.

Personally I think you are likely to 'find' more out here if you come with an open mind that you are here to have an adventure and experience a different culture. Having said that I do frequent the local british shops on a regular basis to buy my favorite brand of biccies and breakfast cereals! but I also go to the local asian hypermarkets to buy dumpling cases and asian spices...

NZ is not for everyone - neither is the UK !!

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Climate - temperate, about the same.
Scenery - Apart from the odd volcano, much the same. Scotland, Lake district, coastal areas.
People - same gene pool.
Education system - same content
Driving - from what people have argued, similar.
Food - Similar

Apart from all that - they are both small islands, and you are never really far from the coast. Both have busy parts, both have sparsely populated parts, but both 'feel' like an island.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Two cent's worth

Climate: many places in NZ experience almost twice as many sunshine hours as most of the UK. The average temperature (in the North Island, anyway) is many degrees higher. The NZ winters are not, generally, blighted by just a few hours of daylight.

Scenery: NZ is much more varied and dramatic than this "green and pleasant land". It is recognised as having an extraordinary amount of variety packed into a relatively small area.

People: hmmm, the 15% who claim Maori or Polynesian ancestry might disagree. Also, most immigrants to the UK come from very different places than immigrants to NZ.

Driving: I think the driving in NZ is much worse.

Education: I think better in Britain (big) IF you can afford it

Food: I think generally quite a bit better, more varied and (currently) more affordable in Britain

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Am I on another planet? NZ like the Uk minus 50 million people? NZ and the UK are as similar as the moon and a bar of chocolate. Anyone who comes here thinking it is a british outpost is either looney or deluded. NZ and the Uk similar my arse.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Climate..totally different. You don't get oranges growing on trees in Northampton in either winter or summer.

Educationin NZ? Better IMO than the UK

People..could not be more diffo if they tried

Driving over here utter shite and stupidly expensive, not so in the UK

Food here is crap, way better in the UK

Scenery in NZ very different compared to most of the UK

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Climate - They are both temperate - that is a fact.

Education - IMO ( As a teacher who has worked in both education systems at HOF level and above) Similar, but the UK has a far superior system for dealing with able and gifted pupils.

Driving - utter shite in both countries (from the perspective of a motorcyclist)

Food in Oz is crap, food in NZ is crap, food in UK is crap - compared to the south of Italy and France.

Scenery - you miss the point - If you want mountains - both countries have that - coastal - both countries - flat plains - yes again.

People - would you not say, in all honesty, that the difference between say, an Italian / French / German / African / Indian / Chinese / American etc and a Brit, is greater than the difference between a Kiwi and a Brit? Come on.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

If you want "mountains" of more than a few thousand feet, or thermal zones, or glaciers, or rainforest, or desert, or fiords, or hundreds of miles of sub-tropical beaches, or (as above) orange trees....

then you are going to be **** out of luck in the UK

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

It is like pulling teeth.

In comparison to many parts of the world, where mountain ranges are 25,000 feet and above - mountains in NZ and the UK are small.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

One part of the world (with mountains that high)

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Ok - this is going nowhere.

This is all about perspective. You need to look at both countries from the outside.

There was an episode of 'Hitchhikers guide' - went something like this - a vast alien army descended onto planet earth with the intention of wiping out the human race - when they arrived, the whole army was eaten by a rather small dog.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I thought the same actually until I had lived here for a while, I had Aussie friends in London and never had any difficulties with them, assumed Kiwis would be similar. They're not and I should have listened to those Aussie guys, cos they all laughed and thought I was mental coming here, as has every other Aussie I have met since.

If you asked all of those other nationalities; I bet most would have similar difficulties getting on with Kiwis. I talk to all nationalities German, Spanish, Indian, Philipino, African, South African, Serbian, Bosnian, Russian, you name it and the same negative themes come to the fore when discussing the pros and cons of this country and it's people. Other nationalities make the mistake of thinking us Brits are interchangeable with Kiwis also and expect us to just slot right in, they are often surprised to find that we're not very much alike and that we will actually talk to them.

There's an awful lot of sad and lonely expats out here and not all of them are Brits.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

It's this kind of bollocks actually, why so many Brits choose NZ, then they get here and find the every day reality is quite different to the travel brochure pictures.

When the reality is more like being an extra in an episode of Life on Mars, including the the added real life detail of bad clothing, mullets and large moustaches they've every right to be disappointed.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I think that choice of words is very unfortunate. Expats (and I am one) don't have the "right" to much, frankly

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I hear what you are saying - but you must have also heard the truism about warring family members 'They are too alike'. For example, regardless of nationality, many move to NZ for the lifestyle - Kiwis are pretty big on that - or financial reasons - Kiwis are definitely big on that.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

No I don't get it at all, birds of a feather usually flock together. I could for example go on holiday to Bali *some chance sigh* next week, meet some totally random English, Irish, Scots in a bar and likely become lifelong friends with them. I can see the same Kiwis week in and week out for the past five years and never get much past that nonsense; How's it going? 'conversation'.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Possibly the main thing I miss about the UK - fantastic TV. That series was just excellent (well the first two were). Some of DC Hunts one liners were just so un-pc, it was a delight.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I may be in a different position - I have Kiwi family. We get on really well and have shared some fantastic laughs and times - lovely people who I would happily spend the rest of time with. Then there are the others.

I could have written that about the UK.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Exactly what I inferred Genesis....

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

billingham, I understand perfectly what you mean! I just said to my other half last week, that at times I thought I was not thousands of miles from the UK, but in some wet, boring place in the UK. When I've lived overseas before, I've also got a buzz from being there - from the pure differences in climate, the scenery, the differences in culture. I've never got that buzz here in NZ. In fact, when we first arrived here and saw Auckland I thougt if looked very much like Greenock in Scotland! This might not be so strange as both have ports along the front by the river and both look quite industrial for a city. We also went running around trying to find the 'city centre' and were really disappointed that Auckland didn't indeed seem to have an exciting core. However, where things have really moved on in many places in the UK, I feel that NZ has been like this for ever. Another thing I remember from my childhood which I hadn't seen for some time are those grey, hard pavements which are everywhere here.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

or stuck in Groundhog Day but with better coffee :thumbsup:;)

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

FWIW

Climate - different more sunshine hours and I had high levels in UK.

Education - can't comment as use different sectors in both countries.

Driving - similar day to day for me in Wellington. Miss motorways though, never get over 60km here.

Food - supermarket food in UK is better than NZ choice wise. Otherwise if you can pay for it you can get excellent food/meals out in both countries. They really don't excel in cakes though the recipe must have been corrupted on the journey over in the 19th Century.

Scenery - more dramatic and wild here - only parts of Scotland in UK come close. I've driven all over North and South Island NZ and am still blown away by scenery.

People - would you not say, in all honesty, that the difference between say, an Italian / French / German / African / Indian / Chinese / American etc and a Brit, is greater than the difference between a Kiwi and a Brit? Come on.

Yes I agree we are more similar to the Kiwis than the others - the language/original shared culture of Pakeha at least, makes it so.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

It is quite simple, you just have to imagine, for a minute, that you are somewhere else:

UK average yearly sunshine - 1700 hours

NZ average yearly sunshine - 2000 hours

Where I am now average - 3500 hours

Relative to where I am now, UK and NZ are very similar - pretty poor.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I think the scenery is amazing in NZ I remember coming home (UK) from my first visit here and thinking I could never love the hills and moors again as they where so plain. It is breathtaking and the plants and flowers are vibrant.....But
I do think that NZ men are the teeniest tiniest bit chauvinistic and neanderthal I did fall in love with one but we where in the UK at the time and everything is different in the UK. My father in law is amazing (not in a good way) I thought he would need regular medical treatment when NZ had a woman for a PM.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

[QUOTE=billingham;9539058]
UK average yearly sunshine - 1700 hours
QUOTE]

Sunshine and cloud
A sunny spring dayThe average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible.[17][18]

Just like the 25,000 feet mountains found in "many places in the world"

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

The men that you and I married are the ones who deigned to travel and realise that there is a world and life outside of NZ. Mr C seems far less chauvinistic than his friends who havn't left NZ.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

[QUOTE=DC10;9539124]"The counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex and Kent have annual average totals of around 1,750 hours of sunshine per year" -Wikipedia. I have compared where I used to live in the uk, to where I lived in NZ (Auckland) to where I live now.

Still crap though, isn't it, compared to 3500 hours. Nz is crap, compared to 3500 hours - go on - admit it. You can't can you.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Yes, I'll admit that. And (as with the UK) the sunshine situation is much worse the further you go from the equator (Dunedin, Invercargill c. 1500hrs).

Rather tempted to move myself somewhere genuinely sunny. Morocco has some appeal...

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

[QUOTE=DC10;9539124]Sorry, I was wrong. That should be over 15,000 feet.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Bearing in mind that chicken is chicken, and spuds are spuds, are the food parts of this discussion based on pre packed vesta curries, or M&S spag bol?
We;ve widened our food tastes since landing, never, ever, ever ate pumpkin in UK....and that was on the sunny ol' Oil o Woight! (Check Ventnor's sunshine history..

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

[quote=billingham;9539157]Perhaps we should mention the rainfall about now? I'm sure we win every competition on that front!! Yards and yards of it we have.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

[QUOTE=Bo-Jangles;9539193]London - 650mm / year, Auckland - 1240mm / year, Alice - 280mm /year

Someone please stop me.

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

...Sydney 1200mm

Goa 3000mm

It's not so much the rain as how/when it falls

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

:thumbup: and what the temperature is whilst its falling!:eek:

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

People here are different IMO, humour is very different and the egg shaped ball is more popular than the round one

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

I think food in NZ is far superior to the food in Australia. We refuse to buy the sausages here (Oz) because they are so yuck and the fruit and veg are ridiculously expensive and wtf is up with the nashis here - they are odd.

I do think the sense of humour is a little bit diff with Brits and Kiwis but we do get the Brit soh. OH is british and him and I generally laugh at mostly the same stuff.....though prhaps it is because he live din NZ for 12 years and is pretty much a kiwi in the way he is now LOL

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

Incorrect, soccer is th emost popular sport in NZ...just noone wants to admit they are over rugby lol

Re: Is it really the differences?
 

although I'm a "soccer" fan/player/coach have to agree that participation (mainly kids though) is high but I reckon that the fervor, the real passion, for soccer is low in NZ.
Been to some soccer games here and there has not been the passion or crowds to see the All Whites that I have seen at Eden Park and even North Harbour for rugby. Of course that has a lot to do with the "level" of the game that our national team can attain. Soccer will continue to rise as there is commitment to develop the sport here and because of the worldwide participation and money in the game.
Let's see what happens at the World Cup and what that does for the rise or fall of rugby over here.