Any negatives to NZ that I haven't thought of?

Hi All,

so, I know this a kinda' negative post, but.....

are there any negatives to moving to NZ?

Asside from the obvious ones, such as:
- leaving family & friends (it's only a day away! They can visit :o),
- the stress of the move & preparing paperwork (worth it in the end :o),
- not getting the same type of sausages, seedless jams, <or other food type here> (if that's it, where do I sign up :o), etc.

I guess most of us can't think of many more, as we're all busting a gut to get there! But bring it on.....

Cheers

Siggy

i should think some people would see the lower wages as a negative..

Katipo spiders and Earthqauke risk is a slight one, if you're paranoid. See swells on East coast look a bit worrying as well, if you live there.

Katipo spiders aren't anything to worry about, you'll probably never encounter one.

White tail spiders, on the other hand, are quite common!

Earthquakes? There are plenty of those (several earthquakes are recorded each DAY!)

The fact that Auckland is built on a volcanic plate, which if errupts, will errupt directly UNDER the city... little more worrying i rekon.

Christchurch under constant threat from flooding from the sea swells.

Wellington waiting for 'the big one' (earthquake) any time soon. Scientists rekon this is 'highly probable' within the next 50 years.

If you want to live safely, away from earthquakes and volcanos, then apparently Northland is the safest place to be...

Only problem there is Northland has sharks in the sea!

Parts of Northland have the same volcanic field as Auckland. Apparently, if there was to be an eruption in Auckland there would be notice by frequent earth tremors. It would be a fairly small eruption which would probably cease when a 'cone' has been formed which probably would be the size of a hill like One Tree Hill or (less likely) the size of Rangitoto. An area the size of 3km could however, be seriously affected by the eruption.

Loads of info about earthquakes and volcanos can be found on http://www.gns.cri.nz/kids/index.html

Must admit that after reading about past tsunamis, I would not choose to live at sea level next to the coast. There is a good warning system in the Pacific for tsunamis but I think I read that some poor folks in NZ have been caught out in the past.

I think the worst thing about NZ is .... sandflies. :icon_mad:

The next worst thing is ... the ants. They are like armies and in a lot of houses you will have to get used to keeping things like jam and drinks in the fridge, biscuits, cakes, sugar etc. kept in tupperware containers.

There seems to be a lot more youngsters driving 'wrecks' that spew out pollution. The driving age here is 15. (Mind you, I was one of those youngsters and I only had two prangs, one a write-off. :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif )

Can't think of anything else. :icon_neutral:

::):

Hmm interesting post Glenda
Thought the Sandflies were only in the wetter areas like west coast sout Island.
Not sure about the ants that sounds properly annoying, is that North and South Island, we're going to C'Church. Won't a good splash of Raid keep them out of the house. My Better Half will skitz if she hears ants get into you cupboards and wotnot. :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif

[quote:c54bd4921a="SteveyC"]Hmm interesting post Glenda
Thought the Sandflies were only in the wetter areas like west coast sout Island.
Not sure about the ants that sounds properly annoying, is that North and South Island, we're going to C'Church. Won't a good splash of Raid keep them out of the house. My Better Half will skitz if she hears ants get into you cupboards and wotnot. :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif[/quote:c54bd4921a]

Perhaps I am speaking too much from memory rather than on-the-spot present day experience ... but this forum can get so quiet ... :icon_rolleyes: ::):

Do believe sandflies are everywhere and are definitely worse on the West Coast of the SI. Been to Christchurch three times but confess I can't recall many sandflies - I know there are some in rural areas and there were definitely some at Akaroa (perhaps I forgot the insect repellant that day!). Apart from three months near Rotorua, we only lived in the Auckland/Northland area. We were badly nibbled by sandflies both times we moved to NZ, but one's personal attraction to the little beggars does seem to wear off over the months as one's system becomes used to it (hope so/touch wood etc.). Mozzies are about too, usually evenings and nights so a little repellant is needed then.

Ants are a nuisance but it depends on how lucky you are whether you will be bothered by them. They were a nuisance in two rentals and a house we lived in. Another house was free of them. They are organised (not like our daft ones) and will follow a trail from one end of the house to another. We were forever putting out borax mixes. Today you can get sprays that send them back to their nest with a nasty 'bug' ::): to spread to their rellies.

::):

Woohhoo bugs for ant rellies!! Sounds cool.

Ants sure are a nightmare. Our last house used to get invaded pretty badly inside and out, but this one doesnt get them inside luckily. There's still thousands of them around the house though, and no matter how much you poison them, they come back again in their thousands!

Well we're doing a good job of putting of people if we're worried about migrant targets gettingreached etc. hehe. Are they just normal ants or like red ants that are gonna bite my kids to bits. There not army ants are they :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif
Can't be doing with ants in my cupboards and food and stuff. I'll have to buy a place in the summer, so I can make sure a house isn't infested.