I’ve noticed a few AMA’s lately so I thought why not.
I’m a 21 y/o New Zealander that’s been living in Victoria for the past year, ask me anything
[AMA] I’m a New Zealander Living in Australia, Ask Me Anything
ThatKiwiFella on 04/11/2018 - 03:44
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I miss some of the food, New Zealand does some foods better than Aus.
I also think in general, people are friendlier in New Zealand, in my experience anyway. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some awesome Aussies around, but I feel I’ve encountered a few more rude people compared to New Zealand in my time here.
Oh, I miss the scenery, too
Before they have 1 beer
lol wait till you meet Sydney people, even more snobby and uptight.
Been to New Zealand twice in a year for 30+ days and I will directly contest your argument about the people being nicer.
There has been verbal altercations, lots of egotism in the New Zealand culture and frankly their backed by thr Blue Collar workmanship so being larger than most people is normal but also doesn't help the ego of most of the men I've seen and met in N.Z
I've been assaulted, verbally and physically from sitting at Starbucks to walking back to a hotel.
This is the way I describe New Zealand, fly there, enjoy the scenary and you will enjoy it as long as you're happy not talking to most.
New Zealand has the largest deportation rate from Australia too, 95+ percent due to failing the character test due to violence, domestic violence.
Strange how a movie made in 1994 (Once Were Warriors) still reflects new Zealand's culture to this day…
Australia has it's fair share of d#&kheads but I honestly think New Zealand is toxic for it.
I traveled to the South Island, near Dunedin for work about a week, earlier this year.
Since my work was local, I didn't have chance to go around much, but the few people I met - shops, service people etc - seemed genuinely friendly and it made me feel that I was actually welcome there. I don't know if they are happy deep down or just learned to embrace the tourism industry and display that image. Even the people at the airports were nice.
On the other hand, service people in Australian outback are not very friendly. I guess they know I can't get fuel for the next 200km, so they just don't bother… Or it could be the weather. On top of that, major Australian airports are the most dreaded part of my overseas travels. Cold, but not efficient, rude, snobby from door to door. I'm sure there are worse airports, but we seem to promote tourism too, so not sure how the attitude helps.
Edit: I didn't neg you.@billy77: I went to NZ four times in the last year and people were noticeably friendlier than in Oz. Granted I went to touristy places, little towns, cities, not the burbs or shopping centers but definitely in my experience people in NZ were nicer and more flexible than here.
On the topic of rude people, what are your thoughts on this video?
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/family-holiday…These sorta people frankly puts me off visiting the country. What a shame…
Lived in Auckland for a year. Will back this statement 100%
Do kiwi like to eat kiwi? Do you enjoy the local bush tucker in this country?
Only kiwi(fruit).
I've known some kiwi blokes and I dare say they'd disagree with the "only fruit" part…
can you say fish and chips for me?
I've been here a while, I can say it in Aussie - feesh and cheeeeeeeeps.
feesh and cheeeeeeeeps.
Lol. Good name for Aussie themed cheap fish market. Selling cooked meals also. Get your feesh cheeep, and get your feesh and cheeps, all in the 1 spot. Try the feesh with some cheeps, before you buy same to take home bro :)
I get this at work soooo much. And six, when I say six everyone loses their mind
Mate, that sucks.
The worst one I had was “have you heard of the invisible line in the Tasman sea? One side you have fish and the other side you have fush”. I’m pretty light hearted and can take the joke
On the first few days after arriving in NZ, my NZ friend asked for a "pen", I gave her a "pin" while wondering how she could write with a pin.
But that was nothing compared to the shock I got when she said this (imagine the NZ accent): "We sat on the deck".
I love that there's a Kiwi band called Six60.
queestion sir
Thanks for doing the AMA.
I've just got my passport, so planning on going overseas very soon.
New zealand will probably be my 1st place to travel out of Australia.
What good places are there that you, know about, that you would recommend for someone going to New Zealand for a couple of weeks ie. Not the big stuff that would come up in travel brochures over here, more the local knowledge type stuff.
I really like nature, beaches (not overcrowded beaches so much tho) , and feel not much point going to do the normal big city stuff, that can do in any big city.
Spots I really love, and would recommend over here, would be; kind of secluded beaches & swimming holes, rainforest and national park up between NSW/QLD, lovely bike-path/walking-path round wollongong that runs about 20km and goes from 1 beachside to the next with lovely views along everywhere, nice little cafe's with amazing views overlooking beach (1 near wollongong, 1 near Byron Bay), Little blowhole in Kiama (everyone knows about the big 1, littler 1 blows higher/stronger) , Coastal walk Kiama-Gerringong (walking accross farmland, and by the seaside all the way), swimming holes where you can swim under waterfalls…
So these are thing I really like in Aus. Would be great to know what nature type things over New Zealand that not everyone knows about.I suppose I’m biased to recommending travelling the South Island.
I feel from what I’ve seen, scenery wise, the South Island kills it.
I definitely recommend those touristy places, at least once, there’s a reason they’re touristy.
Queenstown has mind blowing views everywhere. Franz Josef and the whole west coast is really nice.
If you head more center of the South Island, there’s small towns like Tekapo, Temuka and Benmore, really stunning small towns.
I’m not a big nature guy, I don’t like nature walks a lot so I’m not the best person to ask, but there’s so many bush walks around, you can hardly go anywhere without there being one.
I hope you do go to New Zealand, it’s a good place, not too much of a culture shock and there’s so much to see
I recently came across this video, made me miss home a lot
Wow that video was fantastic.
I haven't been to NZ since 2007 but did both Islands over 3 weeks on honeymoon.
WANAKA! Awesome little town. My pick of places to go.
If I went back I wouldn't miss Wanaka. On the same stretch of a couple of km of road you have:
Shooting range. You didn't need a gun license to shoot a rifle. Doesn't look like it's gotten more restricted
http://www.crossfirewanaka.co.nz/rifle-range/Toy and Transport museum, where you see everything from farm tractors to Antonov aircraft and a Mig 21! When I went they were all kept squashed together and covered in dust. Web page still shows them there.
http://nttmuseumwanaka.co.nz/the-museum-collection/#14801109…Wanaka airport where they hold Wings over Wanaka has a small museum, so a chance you'll see a couple of aerobatic aircraft or some warbirds. (None flying when we went but static displays were good).
http://www.warbirdsandwheels.com/warbirds-museum/Puzzling world, full of mazes which entertained my wife and kept here happy.
https://www.puzzlingworld.co.nz/
OTHER PLACES
I found Franz Joseph much better than Fox Glacier. We had a bad experience with the guides at Fox. Be aware that the glaciers have receded noticeably over the last decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mhtzkXO5SMQueenstown is definitely nice for scenery for sure, so I can second that too. Pay attention if you're coming in by air.
Fiordland and Milford Sound were okay but we weren't lucky with the weather. Apparently it rains most of the time so your odds of seeing it aren't great unless you stay for a while.
What happened to old zealand
Bet you'd also like to know what happened to un-united/divided states of america.
Oldfoundland, too.
Trump got elected and so it divided
Zealand is an island in Denmark.
just like:
York —> New York
South Wales —> New South Wales
Amsterdam —> New Amsterdam
And after we colonise Antarctica:
Penrith → New Penrith
Frankston → New Frankston
Logan → New Logan
In the new state of New New South Wales
New Frankston
Oh man, the horror.
its named after a province of the netherlands called "zeeland"
please dont ever think the danish discovered new zealand.
Is that why there's a place in Puerto Rico named Vietnam?
its a province in the netherlands, if your referring to what it was named after
Why start an AMA, log off 10 minutes later, and never answer a question?
Kiwis need sleep too. Good night, Kiwi
Do you miss burger fuel ?
Used to live in auckland and the one thing I miss is burger fuel.Burger Wisconsin (another chain) is so much better.
Dunedin doesn’t have Burger Fuel :( I’ve driven to Timaru to try it once.
Melbourne does pretty good burgers, I don’t mind Grill’d and 8bit.
Dunedin has Velvet Burger, which is good but i don’t really miss. I’ve tried Ferg Burger once, it was pretty good but pretty overhyped I thought. Definitely couldn’t complain at the price though, it was really well priced for being in Queenstown
I think theres a burger fuel in sydney but I heard it's not the same as nz. Another is Wendys. Their $5 meal was my go to at lunch time. I live in a pretty rural area now and havent found a burger anywhere near as good as burger fuel :(
Wendy's and Burger Fuel ftw
North Island only, ftw
I moved here because my girlfriend lived here, feel free to ask more on that.
I work a few casual jobs to pay my way, New Zealanders aren’t entitled to any benefits really, over here unless you become a citizen which takes 10 years or so I believe
5 if you have a high enough paying job.
Tell us more.
unless you become a citizen which takes 10 years or so I believe
Nope. There is no pathway to citizenship just because you are K1w1. You could live and work here for the entire rest of your life and never be able to become a citizen.
The 5 years over 55k was a special one time deal that only applied to people who were already here on the day it was announced.
Do you think New Zealand should invest in a single jet fighter for it's air force?
There'd be so little point. It wouldn't be able to get anywhere, and noone else's fighter jets can get there.
Have you heard of a thing called an aircraft carrier?
It will never happen - especially now that they have a hard-left socialist PM and government
No they don’t. You need to claim Australian citizenship which a prerequisite is living here for 10 years or something.
Any money I’ve made here, I’ve made from working. Thanks, though :)
Kiwis in aus dont get anything. Do your research.
Username repeatedly checking out
You know…. Ozbargain…. has a reply feature…. right… ? …
I think they're saying that your welcome is welcoming..?
Leave him alone he's Well Wasted
Give them time they'll figure it out. Must be from one of the slow states.
How many people have asked you to say fish and chips?
So many. Some people won’t realise we say it differently until I go to say it.
Saying six and ten doesn’t go amiss either. Especially over the phone, you say six or ten and you can definitely hear the other person pause to process it. I find it hilarious
Has Taika Waititi (apologies for atrocious spelling) and Thor: Ragnarok helped improve global acceptance of your linguistic problems?
Where to get Bluebird Chips over here?
I’ve seen them at coles, in the NZ section
The Reject Shop where I live has a couple flavours of them!
Awesome chips, but the best ones are the "interesting" flavours. My recent favs were chakalaka and the peri peri! Pretty sure you can't get those over here :(
Do you Haka dance everyday?
Only if you do it with me
Why leave NZ? Why VIC?
What do you think of the current NZ PM?The move is temporary. My girlfriend lived here and likes it. I’m moving back to NZ next year to complete my studies.
My girlfriend is the reason I came to Melbourne but I quite like Melbourne, it’s a thriving city.
I don’t mind Jacinda, she’s done good things like increase student loan weekly payments and put more money into the mental health system, offering free counselling to everyone up to 25 years of age, I believe.
She can feel free to lower the price of petrol there anytime though
What does Australia/Melbourne do better than NZ, and what does New zealand do better than Oz?
I feel like the quality of life is better here in Australia. Wages are far better, you have more variety of things to do here too. I worked out the average cost to run a car here vs NZ and NZ, despite rego only being about $120 per year, was $1500 more per year on average.
I think in the likes of Melbourne, job opportunities and growth are far better here. Melbourne CBD is very bustling, busy and business orientated where as where I’m from in New Zealand, it’s a lot more laid back.
I think New Zealand is better for relaxing, the people are very laid back. If you were going to retire, I think New Zealand would be a better place.
New Zealand does better chocolate too
You must be using a lot of gas for a car to be cheaper in Vic. I spend about $1000 more than in NZ and I don't even have full insurance. Not needing a WOF is nice though as they were overly safety cautious in NZ. I'd also add that NZ has some neo-liberal hangover issues, the ABC is leagues better than channel 1 and 2, and the rubbish NZ houses do not suit the climate at all.
" the rubbish NZ houses do not suit the climate at all." - You nailed this one bro !!
I averaged it using 1 tank per week and a 65L tank. I calculated it so it’s not dead accurate, there are variables.
Yeah housing in NZ is terrible. Expensive, old, cold. Housing here is so much better although a lot of properties in NZ come with decent back yards where I’ve noticed here, a lot of properties have no extra land except maybe a nature strip out front. Backyards are great for kids growing up
Can you explain this, I had a workmate move over to NZ and he showed a couple of houses they were looking at west of Christchurch, they were really nice and had nice big 1000sqm lands. Are they normally not insulated or something?
@snackerjoe: Newer houses after the double glazing requirements came in around 2009? are a bit better and Christchurch has a lot of newer houses now. The older houses are under-insulated and built like colanders.
@gnarkill: Ah ok I understand now, thanks. Yeah the houses my workmate were after were new ones, they were around the Melton area.
Ardern can do that because she inherited a successful, conservative-led economy. When all the money's gone in a few years it will be a different story (ala K Rudd in 2007)
She is a terrible, virtue-signalling PM
What do you think about the large number of New Zealand citizens Australia has deported/holds in immigration detention for being criminals or of bad character?
Makes sense, they're basically our Mexico ain't it? We probably got it better than the US.
(I'm kidding, i'm kidding!)
N.Z just introduced a law that enables them to give anyone entering N.Z a $5,000 on the spot fine and criminal proceedings, if you fail to hand over your phone and unlock pin so they can search, and copy your data.
Not even the U.S has that law, and they're building an effing wall.
I think that if you read into it, you’ll find they can only do that if they have suspicion about your stay in New Zealand.
For example if you are planning on being in New Zealand for a month and come with $50 and no family to support you, they’d be asking questions about why you’re travelling to NZ and how you’re supposed to be supporting yourself.
It’s more to intercept criminal activity, maybe a bit of an intense way to go about it though
Yeah it's an atrocious law. It'll be abused too. The US doesn't have that but under the ESTA they can decline for any reason, aka not giving access to a phone search. While living in Canada a number of Australians I knew were required to provide phones to be given access to the US. Typically young, attractive females who had their photos etc searched for evidence of criminal activity.
How do you think the two countries compare in terms of embracing their indigenous culture?
I've been to New Zealand, it's an amazing place and it seemed like the country was very proud of the Maori culture however, that may have just been tourist goggles.
I have always wondered the same. It certainly appeared that the indigenous population in NZ was much better off than here and not just in the touristy spots/jobs.
Quite different circumstances - especially early in the piece - Aboriginals were treated like animals, whereas the Maori traded, bartered and were treated OK, to start off with.
The Maori had more of a society to begin with and fought for their society and culture far more from what I understand.
@HighAndDry: Downvotes aside, this is true:
https://www.quora.com/Why-were-the-New-Zealand-Maori-seeming… (apologies for Quora link, it's a good summary though)
Most telling, the Maori’s shared a common language and political structure right up until the arrival of the British.
Aka: more of a society
In New Zealand, the British could see a enemy who was relatively ‘civilised’, with neat gardens, homes and power structures that they could understand and relate to.
Again - more society.
Fighting an enemy like this to the death would be like Bedouin tribesmen invading Switzerland in a ground war.
Better armed/more of a military threat.
When the locals were encountered, they were relatively few in number (per square mile), and their groups could be turned against one another relatively easily
Aborigines less of a society.
Where necessary, all of the battles occurred on land, where the European’s superior weaponry and horses gave the local people no chance (whereas the Maoris technologies would have made them a a more formidable opponent).
And worse at fighting in general.
It's easy to judge, but at the time, everything was decided by force of arms. You think Aboriginal and Maori tribes didn't fight for resources, rights, and land between themselves? Europeans were just a bigger, badder "tribe" that arrived one day, and better at it.
@trilby: Yeah pretty much - the Maoris were in a better position to begin with, and they took advantage of their position much better. It sounds bad for Aborigines, but at the end of the day, they were just bad at this stuff.
The same stuff happened when the Mongols rampaged over Eastern Europe (we don't feel sorry for them still), or when the Ottomans rampaged through the Middle East (does anyone care about the displaced Christians?), or when the Saxons invaded the British Isles - no sympathy for the natives there either.
@trilby: Yep getting a sailboat helped 'em go for Hāngi BBQs over on the Chatham Islands
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepa…
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What are the things you've missed most about New Zealand since living in Australia?