* In the U.S., hot water is usually on the left, cold water on the right. In New Zealand, this can be random, leading to a little surprise.
* Food is cheaper here; so long as it's either produce, dairy, or deli; packaged foods are more expensive. Eating out at a restaurant is a wash; you pay more for it; but you don't have to tip. Eating out with fast food is more expensive. I'm trying to eat better – this may provide motivation.
* I'm a very safe driver. Stop honking at me for A) Going the posted speed limit, B) waiting until I'm confident I won't crash to make a turn. I'm a novice at right-hand cars and left-hand roads. Would you rather I rush?
* I'm just about used to driving on the left now; at least enough now that I no longer worry about most aspects of driving. But I still feel crazy parking with all that mass to the left of me. It makes it very hard to judge when backing out of a parking space.
* This country has some beautiful, beautiful sights in even the most modest of places; I'd have taken more pictures; but the problem is that alot of times, I see these things while driving; and it's hard enough concentrating on the road. Plus, my only camera is a DSLR - complex to operate. I probably should invest in a point-and-shoot. Actually, there's a bunch of things I probably should get. A cheap B&W laser printer. A roadmap of Tauranga. A cellphone, or as they call them here, a *mobile.* Problem is, I can't sign up for anything longer than 6 months, so I have to pay full price for a mobile; which can be as little as $99 NZD for "a phone" or as much as $1000NZD for a "google phone."
* New Zealand television has fewer channels, and roughly the same number of shows I want to watch - which is close to nil. There's no Fox News though, which is awesome.
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3 comments:
Is very much of the packaged food local or is a lot of what you're looking at imported? That would make a big difference. When you live on an island anything that comes from elsewhere is going to be pricey. How are the gasoline prices?
Also have you seen any/heard of any farmers markets?
To be honest, I don't know whether the packaged food is imported.
Gasoline prices are higher than what I'd pay in the States, sure, but I think it's a wash; I think my Corolla gets even better mileage to the gallon than my old Yaris did.
Depending on how much you use it, you can get pay as you go plans with Telecom, Vodafone, and 2degrees. I have Vodafone and love it, but I hear really good things about 2degrees. The pluswith those two is you can use any SIM card phone with them.
Found you off Reddit. I'm a US Citizen living in NZ as well!
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