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And they say “if you don’t like it, leave!”. And so now we live in New Zealand.

by efnx 3y ago

rvnx 3y ago
How is it there ? Are earthquake and food (and mosquitoes in the bushes) as bad as the rumours say ? (serious question about the first 2)
- wsc981 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - diggan 3y ago
    > The whole COVID handling of New Zealand, Australia and Canada proved to me I wouldn't want to live in any of those countries. What countries are you now curious to live in, after seeing how they handled COVID?
    - astrange 3y ago
      Japan, Korea and Taiwan had good results for minimal disruption.
      - FireBeyond 3y ago
        All of those countries have societal norms that are vastly different with respect to illness. Japanese people voluntarily, proactively wear masks when sick in public, for example. Notwithstanding some of the later research about the efficacy of masks, there was a lot less those governments HAD to CHANGE to minimize disruption, because their populations were already not generally selfish about their needs versus those around them.
        astrange 3y ago
        Japanese people are not mystically different, their outcomes are a policy difference and you too can have that policy. (And that policy wasn't face masks, it was banning large indoor gatherings but not small or outdoor ones, plus immigration quarantine.)
        FireBeyond 3y ago
        No, they're not, but when you have a population that already is (let's be real) significantly more selfless and conscious of the wider impact of infectious disease (or even the perception thereof), you're going to be able to enact other public policies that are consistent with that goal with a lot less disruption or opposition.
    - wsc981 3y ago
      I felt Thailand, where I live, handled it fine. I didn't feel like we got pressured here into getting the COVID vaccination and life could go on quite as normal for me as an unvaccinated person in our village (in the city it might have been different). Though my girlfriend did get the COVID vaccination eventually, due to her being afraid of not being able to visit venues, restaurants and such. She regrets now that she got the COVID vaccination. We know of many people in our neighborhood who've gotten health issues related to the COVID vaccination (e.g. blood clotting, strokes, Guillain-Barré syndrome, etcetera).
  - seabrookmx 3y ago
    I wasn't aware we (Canada) did anything different than the US. We had some press blow up (trucker rally etc) but we didn't have the draconian mandates the Aussies did, that's for sure.
  - efnx 3y ago
    I felt that NZ handled it great! I lived through a year of American lock down and then a year of Kiwi lockdown (we emigrated from the US while on lockdown - it was nuts). IMO Ardern handled it beautifully, at least compared to the misinformation train wreck happening in the states, but that is of course only my opinion.
- CognitiveLens 3y ago
  Earthquake risk is similar to California, with very low (but not zero) risk in many places, e.g. Auckland. The food is generally excellent in urban areas - cafe culture rules for those who can afford it. Main issue is cost of living - housing and food costs are kind of silly relative to average income. Mosquitos are really not an issue - people up north might have a different experience, but from Auckland on down, no one needs screens.
  - rvnx 3y ago
    Thank you for sharing your experience! Big fan of Kiwis and so curious about the country. I really loved to hear first-hand experience.
- efnx 3y ago
  Earthquakes - so far so good, but I grew up in LA and lived through multiple large-ish quakes (Northridge). One big difference is that many small rural towns only have one road in or out, so a quake could block the road, leaving you stranded, possibly without power. This is the case along the west coast of the South Island. Food - groceries are pricey! It was surprisingly expensive given the lower wages here. CA seems to be catching up though! Mosquitoes - comparable to LA, less than Sonoma County. Smaller too. But here on the South Island we also have sandflies. They vary by region. West Coast has them bad in some remote spots.
  - rvnx 3y ago
    Thank you!
imzadi 3y ago
Must be nice to not be over 40 when the world implodes
- efnx 3y ago
  Well I’m 40 and my partner is 45, but who knows how old we’ll be when/if the shit hits the fan.
  - imzadi 3y ago
    I was just joking, because when I looked into immigrating to New Zealand, they had a point system penalized people for being over 40.
    - efnx 3y ago
      That’s totally true, but the point system is cool in that they give a massive boost to special skills like software development.
wkat4242 3y ago
New Zealand is the most amazing country I've ever visited. Scenery wise, but also super nice people and politically sane (Andern in particular was great, too bad she left) I'd live there too if it wasn't literally on the other side of the planet for me and I don't want to cause hundreds of tons of CO2 every time I want to see my family :'(

And they say “if you don’t like it, leave!”. And so now we live in New Zealand.

by efnx 3y ago

And they say “if you don’t like it, leave!”. And so now we live in New Zealand.

rvnx 3y ago

How is it there ? Are earthquake and food (and mosquitoes in the bushes) as bad as the rumours say ? (serious question about the first 2)

wsc981 3y ago
[flagged]
- diggan 3y ago
  > The whole COVID handling of New Zealand, Australia and Canada proved to me I wouldn't want to live in any of those countries. What countries are you now curious to live in, after seeing how they handled COVID?
  - astrange 3y ago
    Japan, Korea and Taiwan had good results for minimal disruption.
    - FireBeyond 3y ago
      All of those countries have societal norms that are vastly different with respect to illness. Japanese people voluntarily, proactively wear masks when sick in public, for example. Notwithstanding some of the later research about the efficacy of masks, there was a lot less those governments HAD to CHANGE to minimize disruption, because their populations were already not generally selfish about their needs versus those around them.
      - astrange 3y ago
        Japanese people are not mystically different, their outcomes are a policy difference and you too can have that policy. (And that policy wasn't face masks, it was banning large indoor gatherings but not small or outdoor ones, plus immigration quarantine.)
        FireBeyond 3y ago
        No, they're not, but when you have a population that already is (let's be real) significantly more selfless and conscious of the wider impact of infectious disease (or even the perception thereof), you're going to be able to enact other public policies that are consistent with that goal with a lot less disruption or opposition.
  - wsc981 3y ago
    I felt Thailand, where I live, handled it fine. I didn't feel like we got pressured here into getting the COVID vaccination and life could go on quite as normal for me as an unvaccinated person in our village (in the city it might have been different). Though my girlfriend did get the COVID vaccination eventually, due to her being afraid of not being able to visit venues, restaurants and such. She regrets now that she got the COVID vaccination. We know of many people in our neighborhood who've gotten health issues related to the COVID vaccination (e.g. blood clotting, strokes, Guillain-Barré syndrome, etcetera).
- seabrookmx 3y ago
  I wasn't aware we (Canada) did anything different than the US. We had some press blow up (trucker rally etc) but we didn't have the draconian mandates the Aussies did, that's for sure.
- efnx 3y ago
  I felt that NZ handled it great! I lived through a year of American lock down and then a year of Kiwi lockdown (we emigrated from the US while on lockdown - it was nuts). IMO Ardern handled it beautifully, at least compared to the misinformation train wreck happening in the states, but that is of course only my opinion.
CognitiveLens 3y ago
Earthquake risk is similar to California, with very low (but not zero) risk in many places, e.g. Auckland. The food is generally excellent in urban areas - cafe culture rules for those who can afford it. Main issue is cost of living - housing and food costs are kind of silly relative to average income. Mosquitos are really not an issue - people up north might have a different experience, but from Auckland on down, no one needs screens.
- rvnx 3y ago
  Thank you for sharing your experience! Big fan of Kiwis and so curious about the country. I really loved to hear first-hand experience.
efnx 3y ago
Earthquakes - so far so good, but I grew up in LA and lived through multiple large-ish quakes (Northridge). One big difference is that many small rural towns only have one road in or out, so a quake could block the road, leaving you stranded, possibly without power. This is the case along the west coast of the South Island. Food - groceries are pricey! It was surprisingly expensive given the lower wages here. CA seems to be catching up though! Mosquitoes - comparable to LA, less than Sonoma County. Smaller too. But here on the South Island we also have sandflies. They vary by region. West Coast has them bad in some remote spots.
- rvnx 3y ago
  Thank you!

imzadi 3y ago

Must be nice to not be over 40 when the world implodes

efnx 3y ago
Well I’m 40 and my partner is 45, but who knows how old we’ll be when/if the shit hits the fan.
- imzadi 3y ago
  I was just joking, because when I looked into immigrating to New Zealand, they had a point system penalized people for being over 40.
  - efnx 3y ago
    That’s totally true, but the point system is cool in that they give a massive boost to special skills like software development.

wkat4242 3y ago

New Zealand is the most amazing country I've ever visited. Scenery wise, but also super nice people and politically sane (Andern in particular was great, too bad she left) I'd live there too if it wasn't literally on the other side of the planet for me and I don't want to cause hundreds of tons of CO2 every time I want to see my family :'(