citeva informatii despre new zealand lifestyle pe care le puteti gasi si pe situl nzis:

Migrating to New Zealand needn’t be a journey into the complete unknown nor should it be a major culture shock for you. Of course New Zealand will be different and there will be things that are unfamiliar to you at first. But equally, you will have given yourself the priceless opportunity to start a new life with all the benefits and opportunities which come from that.

Quality of life:     

In many ways it’s not what we have that’s important to our quality of life – it’s what we don’t have! We don’t have high crime rates, our police don’t carry guns and instances of corruption are virtually unheard of. We don’t have abject poverty or hunger and we don’t have the pollution, congestion, health issues and cramped city living that we see elsewhere. One of the things you will find here, and it’s something we take very seriously, is our acceptance of different views and ideas. We are a modern, secular, democratic society with no ingrained class system. Freedom of speech, expression and religious belief is guaranteed in law.

Equal opportunity: We don’t judge people on how they sound, what colour they are, how they vote, where they go to church, where they live or the type of car they drive. Gender equality is something New Zealand has led the world in.

Global citizens:  Being tucked away in a corner of the South Pacific doesn’t mean that New Zealanders don’t care deeply about events affecting the rest of the world. We provide a significant sum in foreign aid, honour our refugee responsibilities and make an enormous contribution to humanitarian efforts. New Zealand was a founding member of the United Nations and has always played an active role in international affairs. You’ll find us at the forefront of debate on the major issues affecting the world community, such as global warming. We’ve shown that we’re ready to stand up for those things we care passionately about even if, as in the case of our anti-nuclear legislation, this comes at a cost

Leisure and lifestyle:

Whether it’s indoors or outdoors, on the beach or at the theatre, on the playing fields or in the garden, New Zealand has an inexhaustible range of things to do, see and enjoy.

The cultural indoors: Drawing on the richness of a thousand years of South Pacific heritage, New Zealand culture is youthful and diverse. Maori and Pacific cultural festivals and performing arts happily coexist with the more formal institutions like The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet. And if your passion is for shopping or for museums, libraries, art galleries, or the theatre, you can truly indulge yourself here.

The great outdoors: Most of us live within half an hour’s drive of the coast, so swimming, boating, diving and fishing are almost national pastimes. We also have 14 national parks and reserves where you can enjoy some of the world’s most breathtaking bush walks. In winter, our 10 commercial ski fields and numerous club fields provide inexpensive yet challenging skiing, heli-skiing and snowboarding. We’ve got more golf courses per capita than anywhere else in the world, and the average green fees are around NZ$30. Our city and regional councils provide extensive, well-kept playgrounds, swimming pools and other recreational facilities. On Saturdays, parks throughout the country host organised team sports like, rugby, netball, soccer, cricket and hockey.While New Zealand didn’t invent bungy jumping, a New Zealander certainly pioneered the concept of throwing people off bridges tied to huge rubber bands. Now Queenstown is the official home of bungy in the world and thousands of tourists and New Zealanders flock there each year for their own unique ‘initiation’.

Housing: 

Compared with what you probably paid for your current home, you’ll find your currency converted to New Zealand dollars will go a very long way in our real estate market. Owning our own home is something that two-thirds of us have chosen to do and is still affordable for most. While suburban houses still account for 85 percent of house sales, inner-city and semi-rural living are becoming increasingly popular options. The following is a look at some of our more common housing styles and the price range they generally fall into. The prices mentioned are indicative and vary by region.

Inner city appartment: An inner city apartment is the residence of choice for professional people wanting to be close to the action and close to work without parking or public transport hassles. Usually, these apartments are either one or two bedrooms with a single bathroom/toilet, combination lounge and dining room and adjacent kitchen. Many feature an outdoor patio or balcony.

Inner city home: Just outside central city areas in some of the older suburbs, these charming one-storey colonial villas, bungalows and cottages are slowly being brought back to their former glory. Couples and young families are choosing to live in the city rather than move to the suburbs and are modernising these homes while retaining their old world charm. Living so close to the city has its rewards but there is a cost.

Townhouse with a view:  Everyone loves a sea view and with one of the world's longest coastlines, it would be fair to say we have a few. Townhouse construction has been rapid over the last decade particularly in the metropolitan areas for people wanting the city and the sea on their doorstep. Most of these newly built or newly refurbished townhouses have a minimum of two double bedrooms, large open plan living and an outdoor area that makes the most of the stimulating environment.

Lifestile block: Small farmlets of up to two acres have become extremely popular for Kiwis wanting to keep the city (and their neighbours) at arm’s length but close enough to enjoy the benefits they offer. Most of these farmlets are only half an hour from a major city or five minutes from a country town. Big enough to make them a working farm or small enough to put down a tennis court and/or swimming pool, lifestyle blocks are just that – a happy medium between a city and rural life.

Suburban household haven: Featuring anywhere between three and five bedrooms, these large family homes built on reasonably sized, established sections make up a significant proportion of New Zealand housing. They normally have fenced front and back yards so the kids and pets have plenty of space to play safely. Drive-on access and a one car garage complete the home.

Health:

New Zealand’s healthcare system is widely regarded as one of the best of the OECD countries. New Zealand citizens are entitled to a wide range of free and government-subsidised healthcare, including hospital and doctor services, free public hospital treatment and free 24-hour accident and emergency clinics. The government also funds subsidies for visits to the local doctor and prescriptions for young children, people who require frequent healthcare and those on low incomes. Accidents happen. If we injure ourselves at work, at home, in the car, playing sport or doing any other activity, our government-legislated accident compensation scheme (ACC) helps pay for our hospital, doctor, physiotherapist or any specialist treatment. If the injury is serious, payment will also be made to offset the loss of wages. This removes the need for us to seek redress through the courts if we get injured through the actions of others.

Education:

Our government-funded schooling system provides a comprehensive curriculum of academic, sporting and skills-based learning options, in a positive environment. Most schools, even those in inner city areas, have their own playing fields, gymnasiums and swimming pools.

Early chidhood: There are a number of education and care options available to parents with children five years or younger. They can either provide home-based care or enrol their child full-time or part-time in a kindergarten, child care centre (crèche) or playcentre. While the enrolment costs vary, the standard and quality of the supervision doesn’t. These early education centres provide a stimulating learning environment and are regularly audited by the Ministry of Education to ensure high standards are maintained.

Primary and secondary schools: With few exceptions, all children in New Zealand must attend school between the ages of 5 and 16. Government-funded (state) schools provide for the individual learning styles of children and for different philosophies of education. Private schools are required to follow the New Zealand educational curriculum but may keep their own special character (usually based on a philosophical or religious belief) as part of their programme.

Tertiary education: New Zealand’s tertiary (higher) education system includes universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and private training establishments. Each of these institutions provides a high level of tertiary education and internationally recognised degrees and diplomas. All universities receive around 70 percent of their funding from the government. The balance is charged to students by way of course and student association fees.

Cost of living:

 New migrants generally find that New Zealand offers a better balance between cost of living and lifestyle than they had before. Housing in New Zealand is often found to be more reasonable than in many parts of Asia, Europe and North America.  New Zealand produces a wide range of competitively priced consumer goods of a similar style and quality to those found overseas. The items we do need to import such as motor vehicles, electrical and computer equipment and petroleum products are priced similarly to or, in many cases, are cheaper than in other comparable countries. While bargains can be found during frequent retail sales, overall the cost of individual items doesn’t vary markedly between regions. New Zealand also has a goods and services tax (GST) of 12.5 percent. In most instances this is included in the price of goods and services and is not charged separately at the cash register.

Naturally, fresh is best:  We are extremely fortunate in New Zealand to have convenient and inexpensive access to an amazingly wide range of delicious seasonal produce. Most of it is grown locally, and all of it is inexpensive. Greengrocers, butchers, seafood suppliers and supermarkets all supply a plentiful array of the crispest fruit and vegetables, the tenderest cuts of our world famous beef and lamb and the freshest fish, seafood and poultry.

Measures and conversions:

To make your conversion to New Zealand complete, you may need to learn a whole new set of words. Some of them are as simple as how we refer to everyday things. And some of them are a bit trickier like understanding the metric measurement system or fluctuating currencies. We’ve put together an easy to follow guide to make understanding Kiwis a whole lot easier.

Conversion factors:  For Americans, in particular, this is the trickiest of the lot. Understanding kilometres and litres when all you’ve ever known is miles and gallons. To convert from the first unit shown to the second (e.g. miles to kilometres) multiply by the factor. To convert from the second unit shown to the first (e.g. kilometres to miles) divide by the factor. So, if you wanted to know how many kilometres 150 miles was you would go 150 x 1.609 = 241 kilometres. Or if you are looking at a car with 56,000 kilometres on the clock and you want to know what that is in miles, you’d go 56,000 ÷ 1.609 = 34,800 miles. There. Easy!

Kiwi slang & icons:

Kiwi:                     A New Zealander

G'day:                    Hello

Cheers:                 Goodbye/ thanks

Bro/ mate:            Friend

Chick:                  Woman

Bloke:                  Man

Stirrer:                  Trouble maker

Hottie:                  Hot water bottle / good looking person

Jumper:                 Sweater, jersey

Wally:                  A clown, silly person

Togs:                    Swimsuit, bathing costume

Ute:                       Small pick-up truck

Hollywood:         To fake or feign an injury on the sporting field

Shoot through:   To leave suddenly

Flicks:                   Movies, picture theatre

Jandals                                          Silver fern

Pohutukawa                                 Pavlova (Pav)