Posts
12898
Joined
8/17/2006
Location
Golden, CO
US
Edited Date/Time
3/18/2013 6:13am
...who's willing to sponsor me to emigrate to your country? Shopping for a place to 'retire' in the next 5-7 years, and Australia/New Zealand is up there on my list of gotta-check-it-outs.
Tell me about your country. Goods...bads....anything in between.
Tell me about your country. Goods...bads....anything in between.
How could you possibly live in such a liberty-hating country?
The Shop
NZ good points, wicked site seeing, plenty of moto tracks, surfing, skiing in winter, etc, not many people so everything is easier to get to, gun control is great, low violent crime rate, but some cities have thier bad parts, but nothing like the big cities of the world, we always score well on ease of doing business, tranparency and lack of corruption, we also are not allowed to sue each other, and there is a compulsary accident insurance scheme which covers all accidents regarless of fault covering all medical expenses, incl life flights etc, and will pay 80% of your income untill you are back at work full time, almost free health care with a private hosptial system if you want to pay for insurance as well (I dont)
Very good at Rugby, and you will need to learn the game if you come here, we like it a lot,
bad points, not many people so work/business oppurtunites can sometimes be limited, cost of living is quite high in some regards, esp with our currency being very high at the moment, not the best time to turn your US peso's into NZ dollers, some drug problems, very long way from the rest of the world,
Gotcha 'bout the Aussie/NZ thing. I wrote the title, but while writing the post I got to thinking about the good stuff I heard about NZ, so thought I'd throw it in there 'cause it's close to Australia.
I used to play semi-pro rugby when I was in college, so I'm familiar with the sport. I enjoyed playing it, but not watching it, strangely enough.
You said the cost of living is quite high. What do you consider 'expensive'? Housing? Food? Energy? What are your income taxes like?
US Peso....now that's some funny shit right there! I'm surprised our US dollar is worth anything.
and the top income tax rate is 33%, it is teired and i think the top rate comes in at around 60K NZ, ($50 K US) company tax is 28%,
we have a sales tax of 15% (GST) and if you import goods over $400 you get charged this sales tax as well,
everything marked in shops is including GST and tipping is not part of our culture, (the plus sales tax plus tip takes a bit to get used to when we go to the US,
Sure they look all cute and cuddly, but they're viscous little creatures.
I'm willing to stamp money on it that you'll still be here in 5 to 7 years.
The world's a big and beautiful place and there are so many great places to live - none are perfect, so you need to chill and let the little things wash over you.
At the end of the day there's no place like home and never usually will be but freinds who have made the move to OZ certainly havn't regretted it
Shit can be expensive down here. But it's a pretty good place to live
Pit Row
I've lived in Taiwan for several years (business related), and that's a serious consideration for me for the move, at this time. That's likely my fall-back if I don't uncover anything better. I'm open-minded, and I'm looking around. Many of the guys who I've worked for and made their money have moved out of the country to a variety of places. And, they enjoy it there. What's keeping me here now is getting my son through college. Otherwise, I'd be making the move sooner.
The American arrogance that this is the best place to live is laughable.
That's fantastic advice. I already experienced places I enjoyed very much, and I'll likely end up there unless I run across something better. I know there's a lot I haven't seen. The girlfriend and I are planning travel over the next 4 years to check the possibilities out.
We're looking for warm, affordable ocean-front living that has great fishing/boating/diving, low crime, a respectful culture, great foods, and good financials (taxes, etc.) for our situation.
This^^^^^^ I moved out of country this past year and while I still make my money in the US the quality of living my family is receiving is far greater than we experienced in the US. My healthcare costs are way lower, food is cheaper, insurance is cheaper. It's all in what you want out of life I guess an about sacrifices.
only 2 hours from auckland as well, and since they have made the bridge 2 lane it never takes that long,
winter we do not get snow, a cold night is maybe 0 degrees, witha frost on the ground in the morning, average high during winter is prob about 12-15 degrees, a really cold day will be 5 degrees, although there is mountains for skiing in both islands,
the lower south island will get snow to sea level occasionaly, but not often,
and you will have to get used to the metric system for everything ,cause that is all we use down here,
Women will divorce you for the same things over there as they will here.
Kids will act like they love you as long as your paying for things here as they will there.
What makes things any different there than here?
In 7 years I'm willing to bet 1(if you need to ask what number 1 is you don't have enough to bet) that you'll still be here acting like dumb only applies to America.
Being intelligent is great until your GF and yourself outsmart yourself.
If you can't afford to live in the nice parts of the Keys work harder. If you live in the nice part of the Keys and still complain, you'll complain anywhere you live.
My vacation home is in the Keys and I must say my dad was right.
I lived in Taiwan for about 18 months. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Yeah, long term living is something different. But, then again, living there for 18 months and liking it better than living here says more than just a visit or vacation.
Do I think that there's some utopia? Nope. Not even close. But, I do know I enjoyed the Taiwanese culture far more than ours. Their family/kinship is fantastic. It's reflected in all aspects of their lives.
Your experience doesn't apply to everyone, especially your arrogance. Not everyone is like you, believe it or not. It's funny how you talk down to me about this, like I'm some know-nothing kid, when in actuality, you don't know squat about me. What you post proves that.
Post a reply to: Ok you fuggin' Aussies....