Will you be a changed person in New Zealand?

Moorf · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:34 am Post subject:

Wow coastcat - that's a real eye opener for me! Eek

milliemoon · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 6:05 am Post subject:

Hi guys & gals

a drop in our standard of living doesn't worry me at all.

We already have old cars (21 year old VW camper & 12 year old escort), most of the electrical stuff we own like hi-fi,radio etc is decades old,I only have 4 pairs of shoes anyway (unusual for a girlie I know Embarassed

) and you could get the whole of my wardrobe on 6 hangers and one largeish draw.

Infact, we were invited to a wedding recently, and when I told the bride to be that my smartest items of clothing were my work uniform, she thought I was kidding............not Eek

Hubbies not much better Laughing

It's our kids that might struggle. They're not really into designer clothes ( would like them, but can't have them Sad

), love camping for their holidays (just as well) but.......................
go totally mental for the latest gadget,PS2 game etc

Personally, I think a move to somewhere less materialistic would do them the world of good, but somehow I think they might disagree Uhoh

MM

Dave & Sandra · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 8:15 am Post subject:

I don't think I could be less materialistic than I am now - so I voted no. I don't think I've ever owned a designer 'anything' and have no great desire to. I can't see the point of spending a small fortune on something just because it's got somebody else's name on it. I've never understood it and I never will.

To think that people have got huge credit card bills just because they have to keep up with the latest fad seems crazy to me and not only that they have lots of cards which are all maxed out. Confused

ruthyroo · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 39

Having been here a month, my impression is that the kiwis are a pretty practical bunch and their homes / lifestyles really reflect that. Most second hand shops / garage sales are full of really knackered stuff - they seem to use furniture / white goods until they are really done - then sell them on. Cars too are very practical - lots of utes and station wagons. Also, average salaries are so low - we have been shocked to find that our kinda-professional-but-not-up-there-with-merchant-bankers jobs (teaching and planning) put us up in the top 10% earners in NZ - and it's even more pronounced being here in Rotorua, where there are many on low incomes. So there's not a lot of money going around for Habitat interiors / flash cars etc. And we're just fitting in with that while here - living with the swirly 60's carpet and rather lively wallpaper in our rental! So we didn't deliberately set up to be less materialistic (weren't really in the UK) but just going along with the 'when in Rome...don't spend a fortune in Ikea!'.
PS Sorry but teenagers in NZ are exactly as at home - there seems to be a global / western teenage culture which demands all these things - from Macdonalds to Nike to PS2 to hooded tops - they'll grow out of it. My h is a teacher - he reckons that the kids here are generally less stressed, and a bit cheerier than in UK - but basically still stroppy teens!

Woz · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:53 am Post subject:

I voted yes. As already stated by Moorf, our views changed in Scotland.

Every move you make in life should change you in some way, if it doesn't then you have not learnt anything new from the changes in lifestyle or culture so why move?

When Moorf and I moved from London to the wilds of Scotland (5 miles drive to the nearest village that had a shop) changed our outlook on life. People had time for you unlike London. It slowed down our pace of life and let us step out of the must earn more to have more mentality.

Even if we decided to move on from NZ again later I would like to think I had taken the best bits of the culture with me and adapted them into my new life.

John Miller · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 8:04 pm Post subject:

Kiwis also get a minimun of 9 days sick leave per year. A lot of people use this to bring their 'holidays' up to 5 or 6 weeks per year. Wink

mattford · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 1:42 am Post subject:

I'm not materialistic anyway and as I've mentioned before I subscribe to the "one smart pair of shoes and one scruffy pair of shoes and wear them til they fall apart" philosophy! What I think will make a difference to me is getting away from all the overcrowding in London, the congestion, and the over-heated pace of life. I'm looking forward to thinking different thoughts and having more space to play!

Coming from the UK means that I'll have less holiday per year in NZ than I do here (currently 25 days when working full time). The trick is going to be finding the right job over there so that doesn't bother me - Over here it's everything I do outside of work that keeps life interesting.

John Miller · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:25 pm Post subject:

Interesting to see a lot of agreement in the polling. I was thinking about the reasons I feel less need to make lots of money here. One major reason is that the people I tended to compete with and tried to "beat" in the UK in terms of all things materialistic aren't here in New Zealand. Now I just live my life with my family and I like that.

Timbo · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:34 pm Post subject:

Here Here John. I think probably 99% of us would be happy to get that feeling.

Moorf · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:41 pm Post subject:

Materialism is a bad habit of mine that I want to kick - and, being a Taurean, it would be nice if the competitive part of me was channelled into something healthier Razz

rather than work....

Woz · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 1:04 am Post subject:

The UK would be improved no end if people changed from being "must have" type consumers.

That said it wont take long for this to happen soon once intrest rates and oil prices rises really start to bite as this will raise the price of everything in the shops.

We havn't really started to see the effects of the oil prices yet and this will have just as much impact as the rate rises.

Some people in the UK are soon going to learn some VERY hard lessons in the near future and some will lose all their nice things that mean so much to them that they are still paying on credit.

Im just glad I wont be around to see the impact this has on jobs etc. Once demand drops from its current level we will start to see more job losses as shops wont need all the staff they currently have etc.

The pressure on oil price from now on will be up. World oil production is almost at full capacity and due to the US and UK is now very unstable. Also China is demanding more oil by the day as they ramp up their economy.

The stock markets world wide have already started to react and drop below critical threshold levels and they are the fastest reacting part of any economy.

NZ should be hit less because the population does not appear to be as stupid with credit as the UK or US in this respect.

mgoulet · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:12 pm Post subject:

I can't agree with Coastcat more than I do! I have been practicing law here in the US for 8 years now and took my first two week vacation last Christmas. I do know people who take vacations, but the "guilt" culture Coastcat described is certainly true in my job. NZ, here I come!!

negirl · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:43 pm Post subject:

I really don't know how to vote on this one. Will we change? Oh I hope so. I agree with everything coastcat has said. What's a holiday? are they really necessary? not if you live here, you're supposed to drop dead on the job I think. We went back home last Xmas, that was our first vacation in 5 yrs, & believe me we felt guilty. We were letting people down not being out there putting up new equipment for them.

When my husband went out to NZ in May to see the guys we'd be working with, they apologised profusely to him that he may be on call one weekend a month & would that change his mind about going out there. It was all my husband could do to stop himself from kissing them. It's funny that we are going to go out there work half the hrs & yet not be any better or worse off financially. We're sure going to be a lot better off in so many other important ways. Don't even get me started on health insurance or care over here!!!!!

coastcat · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 7:21 pm Post subject:

JCM · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 11:01 pm Post subject:

It's funny how reading a forum about New Zealand I end up learning about other countries. The information about working in the USA has been a revelation to me. I knew Americans worked hard and I knew they had fewer holidays than most other western countries but I can't get over this "guilt" factor associated with taking a holiday. It's not something I've experienced in the UK or New Zealand. I would resent this attitude from an employer. It almost sounds unconstitutional in terms of "the pursuit of happiness".....although it seems U.S. employers would claim that their employees are happiest when they're at work and that holidays are unnecessary. Very Puzzled

Reading today about the sweat-shop conditions that Chinese migrant employers try to impose on Chinese migrant workers in New Zealand, America doesn't sound so bad after all though.