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Squilliam on 31 December 2009
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TheRealMafoo said:
Squilliam said:

You should ask Binary Solo as well. Hes older and hes probably seen more of the country than me, I haven't traveled that far south yet as im in the North Island which is an uberly creative name I might add.

Ok some general things I know about the place.

  • Hot/dry in summer, cold and snows in winter.
    Perfect! 
  • Its a beautiful city in that its got a lot of gardens, and its flat.
    I like everything you said but flat, but flat is not bad, just not ideal. 
  • Its quite close to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
    Perfect! 
  • Property taxes aren't too high and the city is generally well run as far as I know.
    In 1993, Christchurch was selected as the "Best Run City in the World" 
  • Population consists mainly of Europeans and you get a lot of people with Scottish ancestry down there.
    Cool. 
  • Its quite a friendly city, its friendlier than up north and the further north you go the less friendly the people are. Though im not saying that anywhere is unfriendly.
    I live in what's considered the friendliest state in the US, so that's important to me (one of the reasons for picking NZ in general)
  • Some traffic issues but nothing like in the U.S.A.
    Cool 
  • Tends to get a little smog in winter due to the use of coal for heating although its being phased out.
    I have heard this. To control it, they have outlawed burning of wood at times of the year, along with other requirements. I used to live in Albuquerque, NM, and they did a lot of the same things, for the same reasons. 

Oh yeah the country is generally left wing compared to what you're used to, though the type of democracy we have is more participative and you can have your say if you're passionate about an issue enough.

I like that the country has such a small population. It means every person has a far greater role in how things work. I also like that they are number 1 in the world with respect to no government corruption. They are one of the most capitalistic places in the world (more so then the US), and when it comes to personal freedoms, I am very left wing ;) it sounds like the perfect place to live.

 

 

Some other things.

Its quite a sports mad place, they have a very strong cricket and rugby team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_New_Zealand

Generally there are probably four main 'issues' with my country:

1. We have a current account deficit in that the country spends a little more than it makes though recent moves for retirement savings have been made.

2. The country and its people tend to have a 'small country' type mentality in how we view world politics and events. We're like the little boy in the room jumping up and down for attention.

3. Theres a little bitterness and racism underlying the nation. This is related to the treaty of waitangi and how it is meant to be interpretted in the modern age. (oversimplification). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_waitangi

4. The quality of the politicians themselves are lower than in your country, Australia etc but I do believe their productivity in actually getting things done is higher. The problem here is that we can have some stupid small gafs in the legislation passed by parliament or they can generally make some stupid and unthought out decisions, though their interference level with day to day lives is pretty low. However I never hear about corruption and what little that appears is quickly dealt to. Recently we had a very big outpouring of anger for politicians taking their wives along for a political conference and we made them pay the money back. This was a few thousand dollars worth...

In general the country is liberal in terms of the freedoms of expression the people and the way we conduct our lives. To start a business essentially all you have to do is get your trademark registered although this is not strictly neccessary and/or register yourself for the 12.5% sales tax, but this isn't compulsary until you sell more than 50K of goods for most sectors.

Compared to your country both of the major political parties with the exception of Act are to the left of your political spectrum. The Act party themselves fashion themselves as a liberal party closer to your sense of the word however IMO they are badly run and their leader is an ugly bastard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_in_New_Zealand

Our economy is generally based on three F's, Fishing, Forestry and Farming. However we have been making great strides in the service industries like computing and film production and with the cheaper labour costs here and our ability to speak english a few companies have started offshoring some of their operations here, for example 6-800 people were hired in New Zealand for post production on Avatar. When the news media wants to prove a point they tend to say 'we're becoming a third world nation' which is quite funny really. "World Bank in 2005 praised New Zealand as being the most business-friendly country in the world, before Singapore." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_New_Zealand

Generally the people are able to distinguish between the American government and the American people. Whilst you you'd find ignorance everywhere, we are generally well versed on the world. For the most part people with American descent are quite popular here because of the curiosity about the country you're from and because you come from a different english speaking part of the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Demographics

Thats a bit longer but its my thoughts on my own country.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Tease.