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Is it really the differences?

Is it really the differences?

Old Aug 5th 2011, 9:13 am
  #31  
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

[QUOTE=DC10;9539124]
Originally Posted by billingham
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"
Sorry, I was wrong. That should be over 15,000 feet.
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Old Aug 5th 2011, 9:26 am
  #32  
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Default 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..
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Old Aug 5th 2011, 9:38 am
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

[quote=billingham;9539157]
Originally Posted by DC10
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.
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.
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Old Aug 5th 2011, 9:53 am
  #34  
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

[QUOTE=Bo-Jangles;9539193]
Originally Posted by billingham

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.
London - 650mm / year, Auckland - 1240mm / year, Alice - 280mm /year

Someone please stop me.
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Old Aug 5th 2011, 10:19 am
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

...Sydney 1200mm

Goa 3000mm

It's not so much the rain as how/when it falls
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Old Aug 5th 2011, 1:30 pm
  #36  
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Originally Posted by DC10
...Sydney 1200mm

Goa 3000mm

It's not so much the rain as how/when it falls
and what the temperature is whilst its falling!
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 11:19 am
  #37  
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Default 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
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 12:57 pm
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Default 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
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 12:57 pm
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Originally Posted by Perry Groves
People here are different IMO, humour is very different and the egg shaped ball is more popular than the round one

Incorrect, soccer is th emost popular sport in NZ...just noone wants to admit they are over rugby lol
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 1:08 pm
  #40  
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Originally Posted by bananalana
Incorrect, soccer is th emost popular sport in NZ...just noone wants to admit they are over rugby lol
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.
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 1:44 pm
  #41  
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Back on topic

Climate...the differences between the extremes in NZ seem greater than those in the UK, the drier warmer bits are drier and warmer than in the UK, the days are appreciably longer in winter where we live which is great. Rain tends to come in short sharp bursts although these bursts can last for a week (or so).

Education NZ seems to have landed the idea of the 70s, educate the majority well and ignore those who need the most attention, either as a result of being able or because they have special needs. There are very few places for kids in special schools and more integration than in the UK. Don't want to be too controversial but being married to someone who has worked in that sector in both UK and NZ I can see the problems when integration is taken too far.

People - there are lots of people that relate to expats mainly as they are either second generation immigrants or they have lived and worked overseas. However, there are a minority who seem to have a small town mentality and others who are totally resistant to change or to anything that does not originate in NZ. There are other cultural groups and an indigenous people who are not Europeans but who have adopted some things from those cultures. Plus there has been some cross-fertilisation the other way. That is a significant difference from the UK and requires cultural sensitivity as well as experience in order to deal with many people you will encounter.

Driving (road signs and the left turn rule) all piss poor but you get used to it after a while.

Food - the supermarkets have us over a barrel, GST on food makes everything even less affordable and there is far more seasonality in the market. Fresh fruit and veges in season from out of town outlets can be great value. Plus these taste like real food which is great.
Food in restaurants and fast food outlets seems pretty cheap probably as labour costs are low.

Scenery - lots of it. Not seen it all but what I have seen is more diverse than the UK, although you could argue that the UK is only a 2 to 4 hour flight away from most of what there is in NZ, eg Alps, vulcanism, fjords and that's not much further than getting from Whangarei to Milford Sound.
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 10:33 pm
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Originally Posted by hazeandsteve
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..
Strangely enough I think the chicken tastes 'different' in NZ .....so perhaps "chicken" and "chucken" are in fact different! ?? !!
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 11:35 pm
  #43  
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Interesting...

I think of NZers (the ones that have been there more than 2 generations) as like a rather large, inbred family, with family in-jokes and ways of talking that are hard for outsiders to crack. We don't even know we are doing this - honest.

I'm not kidding. Some Canadians here who have met kiwis find that a. they all look similar (which is true, compared to the ethnic diversity here) and I've had people ask me if I'm related to this person or that person because I look so much like them or my mannerisms are the same. I jsut tell them up front we're all related. Cos honestly, if you have a family history back long enough, we probably are.

I didn't realise this until I left.

I feel for anyone trying to break in there. This is not to say kiwis can't be friendly etc. etc but REALLy to break in...yeah, that's diffficult. Funnily enough, in a previous computer course I was talking here in Van I ran into a woman who was married to a kiwi. She was Afro-Canadian and found it very, very, very difficult to break in, and she and her husband finally left Auckland due to what they percieved as the lack of acceptance of their interracial marriage/her ethnicity. (though actually I wonder if they thought she was American, knowing how anti-American my lot can be). She loved a lot of aspects of NZ - like the emphasis on sharing, egalitarianism, etc, b ut in the end the close-mindedness was too much.

Last edited by ExKiwilass; Aug 7th 2011 at 11:38 pm.
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Old Aug 8th 2011, 3:28 am
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

It does take ages and ages and ages to "break in" - properly - which is why I'm sure there are so many ex-pats who all bunch together instead.

We've 'broken in' to a group of kiwi friends most of whom are not Aucklanders themselves and are away from their immediate families too - this makes for a real sense of camaraderie amongst us all as we all rely on each other. 6 years in and I can easily say that my kiwi friends out-weigh the english ones. However the kiwi friends I have are beer guzzling, night owls who resist the stereo-typical family image and love to party..... I don't think any of them are "typical kiwis' - but I'm not sure what is..
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Old Aug 8th 2011, 3:43 am
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Default Re: Is it really the differences?

Originally Posted by P18PPS
It does take ages and ages and ages to "break in" - properly - which is why I'm sure there are so many ex-pats who all bunch together instead.

We've 'broken in' to a group of kiwi friends most of whom are not Aucklanders themselves and are away from their immediate families too - this makes for a real sense of camaraderie amongst us all as we all rely on each other. 6 years in and I can easily say that my kiwi friends out-weigh the english ones. However the kiwi friends I have are beer guzzling, night owls who resist the stereo-typical family image and love to party..... I don't think any of them are "typical kiwis' - but I'm not sure what is..
Not so sure I would want to break into their little clique groups anyway I'm happy with my friends mostly British
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