Differences between NZ and USA

[quote:fb75710eff="Steve NetWriter"]James,
I loved your site.
I add links on my site to any I think are good.
Usually just one link.
You have the 'honour' of getting three !
One as 'peoples experiences'
Two for the hurricane watch page
Three for the milk page (loved that)

You didn't acknowledge my suggestions on finding a job :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif
Are you going through agencies only ?
Or, are you 'knocking on doors' ?

For stats on ways of finding jobs, check this out:

http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/pdf..._find_work.pdf

Cheers

Steve[/quote:fb75710eff]

Steve,
Sorry about that. Mostly going through the Internet (NZHerald's site) or each individual companies site (Vodafone) and also Temp Agencies. I'll check out the .pdf when I get on a better computer tomorrow :icon_wink:

Glad you enjoyed my site. I also enjoyed yours. It was almost as if I was looking at a parallel website. I've found it's a great way to 1. Keep a record of my thoughts and ideas 2. Help others who may have similiar thoughts or questions. 3. Make people laugh (ok, so maybe that's #1). 4. Milk is evil. 5. Help fight the battle against computer illiteracy. :icon_razz:

The hurricane page JUST went up last week. Figured there are so many of them recently, and I have access to pictures, why not keep a record of it. It's been cool telling Kiwi's what they are, the differences between a tornado and hurricane are, etc.

And my Anti-Milk page. My favorite of all. Really glad you liked that one. Anyone reading this, be forwarned, I may have anti-milk propaganda in my posts (see my next one - Food - M). I put up 5 links when I first started the site, and it's taken off. At one point it was #2 on google for "Milk is bad for you." I've even been quoted on a conspiracy website. That cracked me up (abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread31771/pg2).

Cheers,
James

P.S. Our respective sites are:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/neuralnetwriter/
http://www.jamesthecarman.com

Ok, another update on differences. I must say it has been very fun making these lists, and to know there is an audience out there that likes this stuff as much as I do is very cool. I'll be consolidating this stuff in a few days and I'll put it up on my site. I'll post a link when it's up.

Early nights here. Most shoppes close down earlier than 10pm. On the way home tonight at 8:45pm, the roads looked about as deserted as Orlando at 1AM (still some cars, but not a lot).

Hot water and cold water are from seperate taps in most places. Very strange feeling going from steaming hot to freezing cold in the sink. Once I get a place of my own, I'll Americanize it some, get a "faucet" that combines hot and cold. There are some places with them. Maybe even get in the attic and stuff some newspaper in the walls for insulation (ok, maybe not that far).

The toilet is in a seperate room from the shower/sink. Makes it a little convenient to forget about, umm, washing one's hands.

Ok, I love Kiwi's and all. But the higiene stuff is a little bit on the scary side. If you've ever heard of stereotypes of Irish teeth (I'm of Irish descent, so I feel it's ok to indulge a little), well, let's just say that some in New Zealand are the same way, and a good portion are of Irish descent. Yet going to the dentist is FREE (at least for kids). Healthcare for the most part is nationalized (free). Not all Kiwi's have bad teeth. Most of them have decent teeth. But the percentage that don't have "decent teeth" is much higher than I've seen in the states.

Transportation:
A. Gas Prices - In the US we think we have it bad at $1.90 a gallon. We are spoiled! They pay 1.21 a litre here. A litre is 3.xx gallons. So your looking at around $5.50NZ which is around $4 US a gallon.
B. Turn on red - There may be only one country that this is allowable, and that's the USA (excluding Boston, heard they have a lot of don't turn on red intersections). In the US we drive on the right side, and when turning right, if no one is coming, it's ok to stop and then go (though stopping properly is only done by our older population). For NZ/UK/Aus that would be turning left on a red. Sometimes there are intersections with a "Give Way" option, but that's the exception, not the rule (US Yield = NZ Give Way).

Food:
A. Advertising for some American foods can be dated, or changed to fit in with the culture. Rice Crispies (some similiar name, may be changed to Rice Crispers) have Snap, Crackle, and Pop, but their depictions are from like 1988. And I happened to be thinking I hadn't seen any raisin bran when I was at the supermarket. Perfect timing, I see this purple box with bran flakes and raisins from Kellog's. The name, Sultana Brand.
B. Beer - I was never much of a beer drinker in the states. Since coming here I've grown to admire beer more. Lot's of micro-breweries. From what I've seen/heard Kiwi's have some of the best in the world (behind Germany). I have a new personal record (feel free to laugh as it is quite pedestrian), 3 beers in 5 days (each on seperate days).
C. Convenience stores (like 7-11's) are called Dairy's. There are no 7-11's.
D. Drinking age is 18, as is smoking age.
E. Everything is smaller of course. (see G)
F. Fish - Lots of it. Lot's of sushi too, thanks to the fairly decent sized Asian population.
G. Gatorade - I'd like to take this time for a moment of silence......Gatorade how I miss you. They do have Powerade here, but they are all SMALL!!! I can't stand paying $3.20 for a 16-20 oz Powerade. There are no 64 ounce sports drinks. Water is awesome too though, and that is available in large quantity. But still, I miss my Gatorade. Note: Coke's distribution channels and buying power seem to be why Gatorade dissappeared (which is now owned by Pepsi).
H. Health Food - Not a ton, but there is a decent amount available. There are some health food stores, and my flatmate thinks their evil, so I haven't been able to get to one yet (he worships coffee, milk, caffiene, tea, and caffiene). Oh, and if food is fat free or low fat, that's evil to him as well....And pies, as much as I love them, aren't healthy. 14-22 grams of fat per pie.
I. Jam and Seeds, not Peanut Butter and Jelly. Seeds, seeds, and more seeds. Jam has seeds in it. I can't find any without it. Jelly is no where to be found. I had a burger, and both sides of the bun had sesame seeds. I don't have anything against seeds in general, but let's just say they don't exactly digest well when consumed in such large quantities. Think of corn. Nuff said.
J. Along with Jelly/Jam - Peanut Butter. It took me some time, but I found some that's somewhat close to North American penut butter. My first attempt left me shreading the bread apart as the PB was so, don't know how to put it, unspreadable. (needless to say they never heard the song "Peanut Butter Jelly and a Baseball Bat." Mostly a SE USA song from Miami.
K. Ketchup - Not usually included with your fries (aka chips). You have to pay extra for it. Also called tomato sauce. And it's sweeter, not as salty. Takes some getting used to (I'm still not there yet). It's also not as thick as ketchup.
L. Rice Milk - The best stuff ever. It tastes awesome, above and beyond milk, and is way more healthier. Rice Dream is the best of it, and the best flavor they have is "Vanilla Enriched". Mmmmm. They started selling it here about 6 months ago, and according to the grocery store I talked to, it didn't sell at first. But now they are selling out.
M. Milk is HUGE here. I though America had it bad. The biggest corporation in NZ is a milk company. I do have a personal vandetta against all milk products. Feel free to read for a laugh - www.jamesthecarman.com/milk.htm (and no, I am not involved in a conspiricy to bomb a milk factory). And to be honest, every time I try and smell if milk is bad, it always smells bad. All the bacteria and such. But enough about my anti-milk ideas being pushed on you.
N. Napkins (aka Serviettes) - They are not readily available. I don't know how they do without it, I guess just wipe their hands off on their clothes. At most restaurantes, 'IF' they give you one, it's only one. In the US were accustomed to getting 4-6, unless it's Subway. Sometimes they'll be stingy and give you 2, unless you ask for more. But here, you may get a dirty look if you ask for more ;)
O. Vegamite - This yeast spread. I haven't tried it yet, and don't think I will. I'll probably sleep in some place without insulation first. Oh wait, I've been there and done that. I yawned last night and I saw smoke in front of me. Yikes! (and I don't smoke, it was just that cold).
P. Pies (see first post). Mmmmmmmm, pies.

[size=10:902c523558](note: I tried my best to be a bit creative and have the Letter's correspond with the topic. I.E. B is for Beer ;)) [/size:902c523558]

Courtesies/Dress:
A. When someone sneezes in the states someone often chimes "bless you" to be polite. Why the term "bless you?" It comes from an old thought that when we sneeze demons were coming out and we needed to be blessed. So yes, it makes about as much sense as having coffee with no caffiene for kiwi's. I don't mind the fact that no one chimes in after a sneeze.
B. Dress is very casual. People vary rarely tuck their shirts in. I got a huge laugh when I impersonated Forrest Gump "My momma told me to tuck my shirt in every day. But I'm not in 'Flowduh' anymo"....Also I took a step back at church and counted how many people had on jeans. Roughly 75-85%.
C. Tipping after meals isn't done. Tipping a driver/guide isn't done either. The only place where it may be done is like maybe the 3 most expensive restaurants in Auckland.
D. The toilets are massively powerful. It's illegal to have these John's in the states. No "courtesy" flush to make sure you don't clog it up (sorry for the bathroom humor). But they must pump 5 gallons through in 4 seconds if you hold it down that long. High water pressure, and the drainage system soaks it right up. No worries about over flowing. I haven't seen a plunger yet.

Sports:

1 Gold medal per 1 million residents. Not bad. Probably the best ratio in the world.

The New Zealand national teams all have something to do with "Black, silver ferns, etc"
Rugby - All Blacks
Mens Basketball - Tall Blacks
Women's Basketball - Tall Ferns
Women's Field Hockey - Black Sticks
American Football - Iron Black's (A USA Football league has been here for 22 years).
And some other's here and there. But the NZ Swimmers didn't have a name. They didn't win anything anyway. How does "Black Driftwood" sound?

They are very seriously considering changing the flag from the current one that looks just like Aussie's (Union Jack top left, and 4 stars in a diamond shape). The alternative is the All Black's flag (yes, rugby is big enough to change the flag) which is a silver fern with a black background (ok, so maybe it's all the sports teams that have that symbol, but the biggest of the sports is rugby. Sorry for the "Hollywoodization" of the flag controversy)

[img:902c523558]http://www.world-gazetteer.com/fl/fl_nz.gif[/img:902c523558]
[img:902c523558]http://www.lovetoparty.co.nz/images/fern%20flag.JPG[/img:902c523558]

That is just a great list :icon_biggrin:
It's even more funny/interesting reading about an American's views on NZ, where both are different to the UK.

OK, now stop writing, and go and get that job :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif

I feel sorry for Taffy :icon_sad:
Talking about setting up another forum on this one :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif
Anyway, aren't there enough Americans on here !
I'd suggest you just associate your website with this forum.
Kinda like I have.

PS
Can I have a link on your website James ?
Just something simple like "The largest New Zealand Emigration resource in the world !!!!!!! :icon_lol:

My New Zealand links page got so big recently that Open Office couldn't cope with it all in one table ! I had to split it.
Yes, I know I should be using CSS - I am elsewhere - just too busy to change it all :icon_sad:

Thanks Steve, I'm glad someone appreciates this site!

[quote:d592e0630d="Taffy"]DrumminJ, Jamesthecarman and eoi 25,

Whats wrong with this site?! Are we not good enough for you?[/quote:d592e0630d]

Taffy - no need to feel offended. This site is very helpful. I don't want to start a set of forums - just a place that has info from an american's perspective. For example, how long can you stay on a visitor's visa? If you did a search, you'd see all of Steve's posts quoting 6 months (extendable to 9). For us, it's only 3.

How does a NZ CV compare to an american resume?

What US electronics will work in NZ?

There are no good answers to these questions anywhere on the web (that I've found). I just want to put together a resource that helps answer these questions, and saves some of the time and hassle I've gone through trying to get them answered.

That's all.

:icon_lol:

J

Hi J,
I think the problem with the lack of USA information to NZ is the fact that very few Americans actually want to go to NZ. According to the official stats on nationalities that move to NZ, USA plays a very small part. People from UK and China make up the vast majority of immigrants, so hence these forums have a majority of people from the UK.

Its probably a good thing that you will create a few USA specific things, as anything directly USA related tends to get a bit lost in amongst these forums.

Maybe I should create some sections on this forum for 'Specific USA to New Zealand Questions' and 'Specific UK to New Zealand Questions'.

I might also develop some pages for the main website with more specific info for different nationalities. If anyone would care to help with that, then that would be a great help!

Taffy, I think that is exactly why there is very little information. I am not set on hosting it myself - I don't have a web host, was just going to have a friend host it on his domain. I've started on the content. Need to work on it a bit more. I think if you'd just be kind enough to link to it, that'd be wonderful. It doesn't seem necessary for you to get bogged down in putting together info that's specific to each country.

Besides, any content I put together won't live up to the standards already set forth on this website. I'm not worthy!!

J

Taffy,

Please dont take it that way and I have referred people from the yahoo aus/nz board to your site as the yahoo site is too focussed on aussie.

But it is difficult to find answers to specific us issues eg the electricity and shipping etc. Much of the more generic info is great and applies to the us too.
But the differences between the us and uk also lead to different perspectives eg driving...cost of gas and the narrowness of motorway lanes vs freeway lanes...much more precision parking in nz and uk than us.

So your idea about specific questions for the us I think is a good one.

:icon_lol:

Ok ok! I'd better set this one straight! I was only joking! I'm not going to sulk because someone creates a website. All help is good help (if its right of course), otherwise I would have banned Steve by now! He puts loads of links to his site throughout this forum, but its good info so there's no problem.

Just when you lot started talking about how little US info there was, you pointed out a bit of a flaw in what this site offers (and what I will subsequently work on to resolve). And J, i'll be happy to link to your new site!

You could even link to this site in return :icon_biggrin:

Oh, and if you want a nice hosting account, you might like to try the services of your friendly site admins company :icon_lol:

I run an IT company, providing web design, IT services, hosting and domain registrations. So, you could get yourself a nice hosting account from $19 US a year!

Just thought I'd slip that one in :icon_lol: