How is life is New Zealand compared to the United Kingdom?

Question

Now I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK and would like to know how life there is different than over here. Here the weather is awful, Tax is high and work is stressful. How is life over there, I would be intrested in hearing from people that moved from the UK. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I'm a kiwi but lived in the UK for nearly 4 years - just moved back at the end of 2007.  I have a natural bias towards NZ but here are some of the positive differences.  

1.  NZ is not as grey.  I lived in London and I noticed that, during winter (which lasts for about 6 months!) there are very few clear sunny days.  The whole of winter is just grey.  Over here, it rains and gets cold during winter (not as cold as UK though) but you also get nice bright (although chilly) days so that you don't spend the whole time absolutely miserable.  Plus, if you live in the upper north island, winter is very mild.  I live in Auckland and can often go out in the middle of winter with just a light jacket on.  The weather is nowhere near perfect but it's definitely better than the UK!

2.  Lifestyle.  One of the favoured seaside areas in the UK is Brighton.  Brighton beach is rocks.  Huh?  Over here, it is very easy to live close to a sandy beach.  I'm not necessarily talking beachfront, but a short drive away.  And these are beaches where you can swim and play in the sand.  If you decide to go to the lower half of the south island you'd be restricting your beach options a bit but everywhere else is fine.  Top of the south island (Nelson - Golden Bay) is especially fabulous and usually has the most "sunshine hours" every year.

3.  And this relates back to 1 as well I think.  The scenery isn't so depressing.  When you come from NZ and move to the UK, the drabness of everything can get you down (especially when homesick).  The entire country seems to be a succession of high density brick buildings which all look the same.  Over here, we have lots of space and our houses are (mostly) all different from the neighbours.  There aren't huge crowds of people everywhere whenever you try to go anywhere - even in Auckland, which is the biggest city (there are only 1 million people here).

Having said all that, there are some downsides.  Tax is no better here than in the UK, and probably slightly worse (only slightly though).  Maternity leave benefits are woefully inadequate compared to the UK (don't know if that's likely to be an issue for you).  There isn't the same international quality - NZ is very isolated and you don't get all the shows and concerts that you do in the UK.

In summary - I love NZ, I don't want to move back to the UK, but there are aspects of the UK that I miss.  However, they're not enough to tempt me back for more than just a holiday!  I think work can be stressful wherever you are, but with the more relaxed lifestyle here I think you can relax more outside work.  

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I used to live in Cheshire before moving to NZ. New Zealand was an entirely new experience for me, and my assessment would be as follows:

1. The standard of living in New Zealand is mostly different, not so much better, than in the UK. Heating is the pits in NZ, and you do need some at least. Often, houses don't seem to have any, and can be miserably humid and moist and moldy in NZ for a large part of the year. So, in terms of housing, even though the houses in NZ are larger and look nicer than in the UK, I feel I've taken a dive compared to the UK.

2. Salaries in NZ are lower than in the UK, and so are prices. But as soon as you want to buy big ticket items like cars, you feel hard done by, because the NZ$ just doesn't have the buying power of the GBP. I drive a far more humble car here than I used to in the UK.

3. Avoid driving in NZ if you possibly can. Yes, there are barely any traffic jams here, but the aggressive driving around here is driving me mad. Tailgaters and crazy hoons everywhere, nonstop. None of the dignified and courteous road manners you have to have in the UK if you don't want to get punched at the next traffic light.

4. Manners are not always the strong suit in NZ. I have never had to write more written complaints about service personnel behaving like morons than here.

5. Kiwi work mentality is tough as nails. I have an Irish friend here who often cries about his work, and many of my other European friends have decided to go back home, sick of archaic methods and gruff bullies in the workplace.

On the upside, being far away from where bombs detonate in dustbins, as they do in the UK on occasion, and living without the pressures of UK urban ugliness and ubiquitous crime, feels good.

On the whole, I'd say, it's impossible to rate the standard of life - but if you work from home, live near a beach, and have a family, NZ is still my recommendation over all other places.

Answer 3

To be completely honest I think NZ and UK are pretty similar places.

It rains more in the UK but it rains plenty in Auckland.

I have seen days pretty close to 30 degrees this summer in north of England. Don't remember last time I was in 30 degree heat in Auckland.

Work is stressful everywhere and the taxman takes a huge bite in NZ too.

NZ has more beaches if that's your thing. UK has more historic everything.

In the UK you can go to a pub at be friends with the locals within minutes. In NZ you can go to a pub and get a punch in the face from some drunken **** hole just because they do't like the way you look.

In saying all of that a change of scene is always good for the soul. I say move just don't be expecting some tropical paradise.

Answer 4

I don't know but i'm very sure NEW ZEALAND IS WAYYYYY BETTER THAN UK. WE HAVE THE PEOPLE, WE HAVE THE COOL AND CHILLY WEATHER, WE HAVE THE SKILLS, WE HAVE THE BRAINS, WE HAVE THE PRIDE, WE HAVE THE BLONDES, THE BRUNETTES, THE REDS, WE HAVE THE MUSIC, WE HAVE THE MOVES, WE HAVE THE STUFF, WE HAVE THE FOOD, WE HAVE THE ANIMALS, WE HAVE THE DRINKS, THE RESTAURANTS, THE JOBS, THE MONEY, THE CARS, THE HOUSES!.. LOL I LOVE NEW ZEALAND. I WOULD NOT WANT TO LIVE IN THE UK SORRY. NOT TREADE PLACES, NOT ANYTHING. THE WEATHER ROCKS!!!!!!! I ESPECIALLY LOVE WINTER. VERY VERY COLD!!!!! PRETTY SUNNY AND DRY IN THE UK.

Answer 5

Well I haven't moved from overseas, but have lived in NZ my whole life.

It depends where you move to as to what the weather is like, we tend to get a bit of cold weather coming up from the antarctic but in summer we have gorgeous weather. Even in winter the days are pretty nice despite the chill. Tax is kind of high here, depends how much you earn. We are building up to an election so tax cuts may be on the way. Its around 33%

Personally I would say avoid Auckland, the city alone stresses me out. Wellington and Christchurch are nice, Christchurch colder. Then there's the smaller areas where life is a bit calmer, Napier and Nelson are the stand-outs!

Well this is pretty brief but hope I helped somewhat.

Answer 6

well ermm Im a Kiwi BEEN staying in Nz mah whole life  West Side!

First of all the transport on the roads.

2. You guyz have a huge country and NZ small small

3. Crime and stuff

4. Weather In your place if its cold its really cold and if its winter in our place there would atleast be like 14 sunny days?

5.Our work and money Huge shops over there us tiny!

SO there you go

Answer 7

I lived in the UK ( just outside London) for a couple of years and so can compare a little....I agree with Anna C in most things.

I also find the weather better here in NZ....the winters in particular are sunnier and drier in general than in the UK ( where for me it was endless cloudy days interspaced with rain, rain and rain). The actualy temps are not THAT diff, but we have more warmer/sunnier days. I live in the south Island....in Marlborough where its one of the sunniest places in the country....from memory i think in that London has the equilient of 1800hrs of sunshine. In places like marl, nelson and hawkes bay the sunnier places are around 2200hrs per year and Invercargill, not the greatest city in the world weeather wise is about the same as London.

The lifestyle is more relaxed and more geared for living...in general. People are mre open and friendly ( I found I was exluded a lot in the UK whereas here when I move to a new place, people are willing to include you).....while i gravitated towards other kiwis, aussies and south africans as we all could talk about how life compared to life back in the "homelands"....and had similar lifestyles.....the brits i found most friendly were those who had travelled themselves......

NZ is FAR less populated and so people coming will find it feels barren and isolated, but you get used to it. Shops and variety of things is MUCH less here and in some small towns you have to travel to larger centres to shop. In the UK you only have to travel 30mins to get anywhere, here it might be a 2hr drive to go somewhere bigish.

Some people kept saying I cant beleive you moved half way round the world and i would miss my friends and family, but I was constantly texting, e-mailing and phoning...more than i did in NZ!!! AND its only a plane ride back ( albeit a long one, but its not THAT bad)....

People work hard here too, but it depends on where you work, there is  a lot of play as well.

Some people are the same all over the world and so you will find that, but i personally couldnt wait to come back to NZ for life in general.

Answer 8

I can tell you about Ireland and New Zealand. UK had less income per person than Ireland.

UK has Terrorist but NZ hasn't

There are about 50,000 caucasion prisoners, 50,000 Maori, 2,000 Asians and 2,000 Polynesians in NZ jails (NZ Stat.)

In NZ, total crimes (per capita) (most recent) by country and Total crime victims (most recent) by country are ranked the 2nd highest among the OECD countries. (nationmaster.com) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_to...    http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_to...

Articles http://www.bscaa.tk http://bsca.awardspace.com

Ireland has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. From 1997 to 2000, its GDP growth was about 10% per annum. From 2000, Ireland’s national competitiveness declined due to global economic slowdown, but Irish economic growth began to accelerate again in 2003.

Ireland has the highest quality of life which measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the index contains material wellbeing, health, political stability and security, family life, community life, climate and geography, job security, political freedom and gender equality.

Ireland income distribution is skewed. The Gini index is marginally more unequal than the EU 15 average. It caused the government fear the risk of poverty gap has widened.

Since 1997, the government of Ireland has favored low taxation policy to encourage foreign investment in Ireland. Many global corporations have invested in Ireland due to its low corporate tax rate of 12.5%. In contrast, corporate tax rate in NZ is more than double of that, it is 33%. This is a big discourage of global investment. New Zealand government should consider reduce the rate in order to attract more investors and also the regulatory issues of Telecom and Air NZ need to be solved.

European countries have much better polices in health care. In Ireland, people whom have medical card are entitled to have free hospital care, GP visits, dental care, optical services, aural services, prescription drugs and medical appliances. Whereas in NZ, people can only have free hospital care, and the rest services are either charged or subsidized partially.

In Ireland all levels of education are free of charge, same as some other EU countries. This has reduced students’ financial burden after graduation. In Ireland, students can choose any school to attend without the restriction in school district.

The Irish have a reputation for drinking both at home and abroad. The drinking of alcohol has become an integral part of Irish social life and is accepted as such by most people. New Zealand’s alcohol consumption was ranked 27th among 197 countries. 33% male and 20% female are weekly heavy drinkers; 32% male and 6.1% female are alcohol abusers. Economic and social cost to New Zealand is huge: alcohol-related crashes cost an estimated $1.2 billion in New Zealand in 1996.

There are various ways that both governments can reduce the alcohol consumption. The government can reduce the ease of access to alcohol, such as alcohol control enforcement, a minimum drinking age and server liability. Using tough measures to tackle drink drinking will show to have high effectiveness in reducing alcohol related harm. Moreover, limiting the hours and days of alcohol sales, government run retail stores and increasing taxation, strict bar practice, advertising content regulations, warning labels on alcohol products, encouragement of alcohol-free activities and alcohol education in schools.

Over the last 10 years, New Zealand has an average saving rate of 4.478%. It is relatively low among the OECD countries. That is why the government introduced the KiwiSaver to stimulate savings. There are various ways to induce saving rates to increase. Kiwi Saver is one of the good ways that the government has implemented to encourage people to save. The government can also reduce purchasing in order to preserve saving. Another way is for the government to affect national saving by influencing private saving.

Answer 9

Hey, don't believe everything you hear.

Belfast still gets some good weather, Nz if you get good weather beware the ozone, this creates premature ageing and that is a medical fact.

Tax is also high here, but the wages are less than in N.Ireland.

No free doctor visits here

No free schooling.

Work can be stressful wherever you go, depends on what line of work you are in.

When it comes to holidaying, forget your cheap deals through Easy Jet, BMI. The only deals you are going to find is to Australia (Gold Coast, Brisbane, Melbourne etc) And these ain't always cheap. You have your pick of Europe, and also cheap to fly to the U.S now.

The cost of food is gone up considerably here, a block of cheese 750g can set you back $15 NZ dollars. NZ butter is cheaper to buy in the UK, meat can be a luxury item now.

On the upside NZ isn't as crowded, and I think that Belfast seems to have gotten very busy over the past few years.

Nightlife is ok here (but no Robinson's , Fibber's etc)

Don't get me wrong I love living in NZ but it would be so much better if I could afford to have the lifestyle I would like to live.

I do know a lot of people that the novelty wore off living here after  a while and they left or want to leave. NZers are now leaving in record numbers for Australia because of the opportunities there and wages are quite a bit higher.

You'd probably be best having a look for yourself, the grass isn't always greener

Answer 10

it depend who you talk to use to work with few englishmen and they say new zealanders lazy in work but that might just be them as given a chance they will whinge. as for coming here as Irish people will love you and want to be friends with you as you got such a cool accent. Depending what field of work you in be a good choice to check out the job opportunities as allot of industries are feeling the pinch at the moment with a down turn in spending so job cuts are a problem at the moment

Answer 11

well i live here and life is really good. it is not tropical and is not "always" how can you say warm. it is quite the the UK but it doesn't rain as much....

I have been the the UK too so i do no a bit.

They have a lot of animals like the UK - except we have mainly sheep

We have a lot of farm land - ( we wouldn't have the farm animals without this!)

We have citys but not many and not as big. BUT we do have every kind of shop that you would need (except topshop and Hamleys!)

i hoped i helped here is a link