[Mildred]

We all know our reasons for wishing to go to NZ but to all those who successfully managed to leave the UK for a new life in New Zealand - what do you miss about this country apart from family?

[eric_amanda]

Only been here just over 5 weeks, however the only thing we are missing is cheap grocery bills.

I used to spend on average £80 per week in the UK, Here I am spending $250 +

We are finding we have a reasonable choice of things its just the cost that gets you down, particularly since we have taken a pay cut to be here.

Can't wait to buy a house so I can start growing my own with the children.

[Timbo]

But that is only about £90 at todays exchange rate. That doesnt sound like a bad deal.

[Moorf]

That's only 92£ ... 12 quid difference!

But - are you getting good quality food for that cost?

[eric_amanda]

When you work it out in comparison to what Eric earned in UK, compared to what he earns here it is a lot.

It not always best to work things out just accoring to the current exchange rate, as we have learned.

Salaries here are considerably lower as we all know and Eric is earning half of what he was in the UK. Yes we know lifestyle is better, but everyone we have met here has a problem with the cost of groceries.

[Moorf]

I see your point.... larger % of take home etc... will be very interesting to do our first shop - we are on a relatively tight budget for our 6 month trip...

Is the quality of the food good? Is there a particular chain of supermarket you would recommend?

Cheers
Moorf

[Timbo]

Point taken. Thanks.

[eric_amanda]

Quality and tast of food is far better than the UK, even budget brands here tast very good, which is good when you have young ones to feed.

If you are stocking up on basics I am using Pak n Save, I am told this is best. Having only been here 5 weeks I am sure we still have a lot of learning to do. I do like some things from Woolworths which is apparently NZ equivalent of Sainburys, so I have tended to use it more as a corner shop and the few things I like.

What we are also missing which we gave away are kitchen cupboard essentials. Those things you rarely buy but you use all of the time like spices, cooking oils, baking ingredients. I think it will take quite a long time to replenish our cupboards of these things.

[Moorf]

ARGH, I know what you mean - gave a huge basket of spices, oils etc away yesterday - broke my heart!

I dread to think what it would cost to replace :no

Thanks for shop info.. what is cost of eating out like? Similar to UK?

[Diny]

Oh to be in Pak n Save - my own personal mecca of the southern hemisphere. I love that shop.

Diny

[ruthyroo]

Can contribute on eating out as we've done an awful lot of it since arriving! These aren't Aukland prices btw would expect them to be a bit higher.

Standard nice cafe breakfast - full brekkie $14, eggs benedict $13.
Coffee & cake - about $7 per person, $2.50 for flat white coffee, $4.50 for a massive wedge of carrot cake
Standard nice cafe lunch - such as salad, gourmet burgers, etc usually about $14 for main course, $6-7 a glass of wine, usually our bill for two is about $40.
Posh-ish dinner for two, 2/3 courses with a bottle of wine $100-$110. Much cheaper if you BYO - corkage about $3-5.
Take away Thai food for two (two starters, two mains plus rice) $49. Sadly a bit crap though!
All you can eat type buffets (smorgsabord they are called, and very popular) - up to $30 per head plus drinks.

Fast food places generally cheaper than the indie cafes / restaurants, but much the same as they are the world over...

BTW portions are generally massive - any low carbers out there beware, this is potatoes / bread with everything cuisine!!

[ruthyroo]

Meant to add that yes the eating out prices are cheaper than the UK :clap but sadly once your GBP run out and you sart earning the NZ$ it doesn't seem nearly as cheap :no As with the shopping bills it becomes a bigger proportion of your income if you've had a big wage drop coming to NZ

[veronica]

ruthyroo, don't know where you are living but if you are ever in Chch there is a good Thai restaurant in Riccarton Rd called the Thai Orchid.

[Moorf]

Ah Veronica.. my hero!

[Radders]

Having spent years away from the uk before, I know hwta I will miss when over there.
Proper Bacon and sausages!
The British curry house
Spurs on a saturday - some would say this is a blessing

But I gain an awful lot more!

[Radders]

There's also plenty I'm looking forward to:

Burgen bread, all flavours
Tamorillo chutney
Fijoas
Speights
Fish and chips from my old fish and chip shop in grey lynn
Breakfast in Vulcan Lane Auckland
Tequila Sunrises in the Crow Bar Auckland
Flat White Coffee
Otago Pinot Noir (that's not £15 a bottle but only $20!)
Kapiti cheeses
Raglans surf
Any tramp in NZ
Cheap CD's
Excellent roads for cycle touring
The list just goes on and on and on!!!

[Annierobrigado]

may i ask if there are a lot of crafts or cross stitch stores in nz? wellington, chch or otago?

cheers

annie

[Carol]

I miss Chinese take-aways that dont consist only of broccoli and cauliflower.
I miss Indian Curries - a whole street of them in South Shields near where we used to live.
English ham.
English bacon.
English chocolate (no it is NOT anything like proper Cadburys)
English biscuits.
English sweets and crisps.



But....oh...the meat!!!! fantastic! And the fresh fruit and veg are amazing...so is the fish!
pros and cons.....

Big Macs are the same the world over - just a third of the price in NZ!

[Diny]

Yay Hay Carol !!!!!!!!!!

At last somebody else on the forum who has addressed the shameful quality of NZ (so called) Cadbury's chocolate. :laugh

Isn't it dreadful? I think we should send some NZ cadbury choc to the actual Cadbury World factory here in UK. I wonder whether they'd be happy about their name being put to such c**p.

The only way I can describe NZ choc is that it's like you get on those really cheapo sweets you get here that have a 'chocolate flavour' coating.

OK - I know to alot of you this is not a huge problem, but believe me, if you are a 41 year old hormonal mother of 2 small kids who's husband works away for a month at a time - it is a problem.

ANYBODY OUT THERE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FIGHT ME ON THIS ONE ?????? GIVE ME CHOCOLATE AND NOBODY GETS HURT.

Diny

[Carol]

pssst Diny...I have a source of English choccie....... I'll send you some if you are desperate! :laugh :laugh


Seriously - I wonder what on EARTH they do to it to make it taste so bad!!!
:laugh


Have you tried Whittakers with the bits of Orange in it? Not too bad!!
On a scale of one to ten - I'd give it a 7

[veronica]

Walkers crisps and Tescos.....perhaps if we all email Tescos they will open up over here.

[Carol]

may i ask if there are a lot of crafts or cross stitch stores in nz? wellington, chch or otago?

cheers

annie

Hi Annie.
There is a very good needlework store in Wellington called Nancy's (On Tinakori Road I think).

Spotlight is...basic.
What sort of crafts are you lookingfor other than cross stitch?

Carol

[Carol]

Walkers crisps and Tescos.....perhaps if we all email Tescos they will open up over here.


I know a source of Walkers crisps too!!!
:nice1 :nice1 :nice1


For a small fee I'll tell you Veronica!
:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh


Carol

[Diny]

Carol

I'm still in UK until Christmas/New Year. Believe me I intent to dedicate at least one suitcase to Cadbury's, Walkers and Bisto.

I haven't tried the orange chocolate but husband is a big fan of the Peanut Slab! Nope - it just doesn't float my boat !!!!

Diny

[evelynne_r]

Hiya

This is a really difficult question for me - I've been away from the UK for over two years now, so I've forgotten what I miss. I'm thinking of heading back for a few weeks ot see the relatives and tie up a few loose ends in a couple of months, so no doubt I'll go into a UK supermarket and see loads of stuff I've forgotten about!

I can totally relate to the decent curries and Chinese takeaways though! My colleagues talk about curries as being either Kiwi hot or hot hot.

Oh yeah, I also miss Scotch pies, sliced sausage and Irn Bru. I have discovered a Scottish butcher in Auckland though which sells haggis and sliced sausage. Haven't tried any from there yet.

Regarding the chocolate issue - yep, NZ chocolate is not good. I read once that in Australia they have to put something into the chocolate to prevent it melting in the summer temperatures and that's what causes it to taste so awful. Whether that's true or not I'm not sure.

Cheers,

Evelynne

[Diny]

Evelynne

The theory you heard regarding the chocolate additive could well be correct - I think I've heard that one before.

However - don't they understand ...... shops have fridges. Put the chocolate in the fridge. Lets face it, once we've bought it, it doesn't have time to melt. I estimate that the fridge to mouth time span is about .... well .... until you take the wrapper off.

You see - no need to add anti melting agents!

Diny

[Carol]

See!! A perfect solution!!
:laugh

[Diny]

Well ......... it's not rocket science is it? :roll:

[Carol]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

[Radders]

My wife always goes on about the pies over there.

[Annierobrigado]

Hi Annie.
There is a very good needlework store in Wellington called Nancy's (On Tinakori Road I think).

Spotlight is...basic.
What sort of crafts are you lookingfor other than cross stitch?

Carol

hello carol

i'm basically a cross stitch person, but i can do also crochet or hook rug or quilting. there are craft stores here in manila that i always visit just to see what's new or something, and i'd miss doing that if there were none in nz.

i know m&m's and nestle are american chocolates, but cadburys are quite expensive here, so we kinda grew up on the us ones. i dont know if the cadbury i tasted was from uk, but it tasted good (no wonder you'd kill for a bar, literally :laugh ). so i would miss the m&m's if they arent available. although i'd try anything new (except for caramels and toffees. i'd exchange them for anything with hazelnuts or rice crisps or just plain milk choco. k? :nice1 )

no chinese takeout in nz? why?

annie

[jesselyn]

At last somebody else on the forum who has addressed the shameful quality of NZ (so called) Cadbury's chocolate. :laugh

Isn't it dreadful? I think we should send some NZ cadbury choc to the actual Cadbury World factory here in UK. I wonder whether they'd be happy about their name being put to such c**p.

The only way I can describe NZ choc is that it's like you get on those really cheapo sweets you get here that have a 'chocolate flavour' coating.


:eek :( :no :wah

[Diny]

Annie

I'll swap my nutty crispy chocolate for your toffees - deal?

Diny

[Annierobrigado]

ooh ooh diny, yes please!

how do i get to your place? ;)

:yes

annie

[Dave & Sandra]

Is it me??

I'm sitting here in my new house in Feilding eating a bar of Cadbury's fruit and nut and it tastes the same to me - anyway it doesn't taste awful. Maybe it's the jet-lag :laugh Or maybe I've lost the use of my taste buds after chewing so much Nicorette chewing gum on the flights :eek

Sandra

[Moorf]

Hey Sandra!!!!

Wondered where u had got to..... fill me in!! How did your "cancelled" flight go? Did you do lunch with Dave or did you, like us, fall asleep!!

Moorf ;)
x

[Dave & Sandra]

See my huge post. About the immigration man from hell. :laugh

Sandra x Have sent you a PM