Will you be a changed person in New Zealand?

Raeven · Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 12:43 am Post subject:

For 14 years, I worked for local government. Our vacation and paid holiday leave was extremely generous in comparison to the private sector. We received 2 weeks of paid leave plus 13 paid holidays for the first 4 years; 3 weeks of paid leave plus holidays for the next 5 years; then 4 weeks of paid leave plus holidays for the duration. This was in addition to 12 days' paid sick leave per year. Although it sounds great, actually taking the leave was always problematic. If you put in for leave a year in advance, you were told they couldn't plan out that far and therefore they couldn't approve your leave. If you put in for leave a few weeks in advance, you were told you hadn't given them enough time to cover your position and therefore they couldn't approve it. If you asked to take more than a week off at a time, there was an unspoken, tight-lipped disapproval, together with much muttering about how much trouble you were putting them to to figure out how to cover. A very dear friend of mine with whom I worked, aged 39, postponed getting a mammogram for 3 months because she was repeatedly told that coverage for her position couldn't be found -- even though she had discovered a lump in her breast. She's now in the midst of fighting a very aggressive breast cancer with chemotherapy and radiation, and we're all hoping against hope that she got treatment soon enough to beat the cancer.

When my husband took a position with Home Depot here, he was shocked to learn he would receive only 1 week's paid vacation for the first several years he works for them. With his daughter living in Australia and other family members of ours scattered around the globe, we just shook our heads as we despaired of spending any time with them. We save up his precious week off to take with his daughter at some strategic point during her month-long annual visit with us, but of course we can't go to Australia during the year to see her more often -- no time off for Steve!

While far from sweat shop conditions here in the US, the reasonableness of the holiday scheme throughout New Zealand coupled with a much more humane attitude toward taking those holidays is a major incentive to Steve and me in our migratory quest. We can't wait -- and we're both taking a couple of months off before anyone goes back to work in NZ!!

Rae

Lisa.C · I Like It Here Joined: 03 Jul 2004 Posts: 75

Good for you Raeven, kids grow up so quickly and we can never get their childhoods back, our relationship with our kids and being with them as much as possible is very important to us too and no amount of money is worth missing out on them.

Lisa

richsadams · Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:42 am Post subject: Change

Hi All

What an interesting thread...as with JCM I'm learning a lot about other countries myself!

To be fair, the "guilty time off" culture in the U.S. is a more recent phenomenon...as in the last 15 years or so. It came about mostly during the "me decade" of the 80's when wealth, status and keeping up with your neighbour became more than a past-time. The Reagan administration was completely focused on the welfare of the big corporations. Deregulation was king, corporate mergers were at a record high and huge companies were basically allowed to do as they pleased. Taxes were cut too, all in the guise of a supply-side economy (read; trickle down theory or as the first President George Bush called it "voodoo economics"). One of the side effects was the "greed is good" concept and that meant work, work, work! Anyone NOT working was often thought to be disloyal to the company. The stock market roared for a time, but it was not sustainable and the country went into a recession. We are painfully aware that it is not working once again, but old habits die hard. I once had a supervisor that took a two week vacation - gasp Eek

- but insisted on calling in to find out what was happening in his department every single day. What vacation? Not completely the norm, but not unusual either. But I do remember a day when vacations and time to regroup and refresh were actually encouraged. It’s a shame that things have come to this point in the U.S. It’s short-term gain but very long-term counter productive. Hopefully the pendulum will swing the other way one day.

For us, leaving a couple of well-paying positions, a large house, nice cars, guilty vacations and a comfortable - albeit stressed - way of life was a big decision. Now that we're in NZ we see that most Kiwis are indeed more laid back, but not overly so. Unfortunately the trend seems to be moving more toward a faster paced life with more stress, not less.

We've found our lifestyle to be a lot slower than in the states for a couple of reasons. One, we have less money to spend. Two, as others have pointed out, there is less to spend money on as most Kiwis don’t have big incomes. That doesn't mean there's less to do however. Our time-off activities are more relaxed, sight seeing, finding out what's around the corner kind of adventures. There are no Disneyland’s or Magic Mountains or anything of that nature. However there is plenty of mom-and-pop tourist type of fun and other attractions. It’s really refreshing to go somewhere without a conglomerate feel to it. The good news is entertainment costs a lot less than any amusement park. There are a lot of cool things to do in many areas. Rotorua is a tourist Mecca with lots of individual fun things to do. When was the last time you actually milked a cow or watched a sheep being sheered? Laughing

The entire country is full of things to do. You can go jet boating, bungee jumping, tramping (hiking) to incredible water falls or just relax on a sunny ocean beach cool

(without someone laying their towel down next to yours!). Places like Queenstown are built for fun. Christchurch has plenty of all-day activities to keep you busy. Of course Auckland has the Sky Tower, aquariums and a terrific museum (seems almost all towns have a museum or two). The local Maori culture gives you plenty of other things to see and experience.

Then everyone seems to have some sort of garden to be proud of. Wink

I would caution anyone that's come to enjoy a fast-paced life with all of the bells, whistles and toys that come with it. Even if you have the means to continue your lifestyle here (and it will be more expensive), you probably won't like it. It's not in keeping with the local culture and quite frankly, it would be hard to do because your sources (or resources) for such a lifestyle are much harder to come by. There's a bit of the hustle and bustle in Auckland and Wellington, but get away from that and you're thrown in with gum boot wearing farmers, small shop keepers and many people struggling to make ends meet. Being "moneyed" here - showing off that is - is not only frowned upon, it just isn't any fun. This is a country of great equality (for the most part) and "tall poppies" just don't fit in.

So for us things have absolutely slowed down...but not to the point that we're bored or unfulfilled. It's just a different lifestyle that we can truly appreciate. We don't feel a need to keep up with anyone and neither do most of the Kiwis. Clapping

Most folks get along, actually know their neighbours and are by all accounts fairly happy. They are curious about people from the U.S., the U.K. and other places, but want to ensure that their country and culture remain intact. Can't blame 'em and we really celebrate that attitude.

Again, it's not for everyone because you will indeed have to change in a number of ways. If you're prepared to assimilate and enjoy what's here..."good on 'ya" as they say! Mr. Green

negirl · Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:55 pm Post subject:

JCM · Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:12 pm Post subject: Re: Change

John Miller · Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:01 pm Post subject: Re: Change

BTW, neither of the two people who have so far voted for "money mad" has owned up. Any volunteers? Uhoh