Immigrate to Australia/New Zealand -Off Topic Post

[Herbwoman39]

As bad as things are in the US, Hubby and I are tentatively exploring the possibility of packing up our business and moving down either to Australia (Sydney or Melbourne) or New Zealand in about 2-3 years.

I would love to hear from all of you Aussies and New Zealanders about the pros and cons of living down under. I'd also love to hear about the best places to live, economy, politics, government, taxes and general cost of living stuff there.

[LoveLion]

Come to Canada! Its much closer! (if you dont mind a cold winter or two)

[Long Duck Dong]

lol thats asking for trouble.....lol

the aussie cheat at sports ( aka nzer's can't play for shit ), the nz all blacks ( nz rugby team ) is made of mainly of non zealanders lol.....the black caps ( nz cricket ) can't bowl for shit, and their batting is worse.....

in all seriousness tho, business opportunities are limited in nz and most nz'ers in their right minds, go to aussie...i know the prices and taxes are ( in some cases ) higher in aussie.... cos the tax dept doesn't try and screw you around

the tax system in nz, is not set up to make starting or running a small business, a easy thing.... you need to declare your monthly income as a projection ( in advance ).... and if you under estimate, you get penalised, and if you over estimate, you get penalised....

housing,....well the housing market is peaking so prices are thru the roof.... in auckland a standard 3 bedroom house in the *burbs* is about $650 a week on average
in the smaller centers such as where i live...its about $300-350 for the same

we have marriage / civil union ( same sex and m/f ) and sexual discrimination is frowned upon heavily

we have civil unrest.... the maori of new zealand are pushing for compensation over land rights etc.... and while most maori are steering clear of the fighting.... the bill is in excess of $500 million, and the tax payer is having to foot the bill... its cost the country in excess of 10 billion dollars and its climbin by the day

racism is a big issue in new zealand, the call is for one nation, one people but seperate justice / health / social / teaching etc for europeans and maori....
the goverment has said enuf is enuf and all tribal claims / settlements will be stopped around 2010 cos its been going on for 60 years now...but the unrest comes from things like extra funding ( $10,000 ) to become a teacher if you can speak maori....maori schools, extra funding for maori health care, discounts for maori at a few gyms in auckland etc.....
to address a person you have to be careful... to say something like the larger number of the prison population is maori, is classed as racist....to offer the stats as proof is classed as racial discrimination......
lets just say its a dangerous area to tread in nz

government, we have mixed member proportional..... its the worst system in the world and was dropped by other countries, when it was found it didn't work... it is widely felt that 133 politicians is 100 too many.... and that a $300,000 a year ( plus perks ) salary is grossly out of proportion for the work ( bitching and back stabbing ) that they do


major parties are labour
labour party policy (http://labour.org.nz/policy/index.html)

national
national party policy (http://www.national.org.nz/campaign2005/policies.aspx)

smaller parties include the ACT party, the greens, the maori party, christian party etc...

best places in nz are classed as the south island, people are friendly, less crime...and no bloody life....lol about 1/4 of nz population is in the south island

main provider of phone services is telescum ( telecom ) and telstra clear...
in the cell phone market... we have telescum and vodafone....
i say telescum for a reason..... their business ethics, treatment of their customers and customer services is rated as one of the worst in the world
I pay $50 a month for a 7.2 mg adsl line.... i am quaranteed downloads over about 2 mg a second.... i actually get 700 kb if i am lucky....the average speed is closer to 300 kb a second
telescum have been taken to court and fined millions on a number of occasions.... they pay the 10 million dollar fines.... out of the 500 million they make a year and the customer gets hit with the bill
phone lines are between $22-$40 a month, unlimited free local calls

the nz health system is backsliding faster than a case of diahoerria down ya leg, seriously underfunded, its mainly free for public health care, but more and more people are opting to go private ( user pays ), as the waiting lists are far shorter and the health care is top notch....

average wage is around $700-800 a week in auckland... rest of nz drops from there.... minimum wage is being boosted to $10.25 a hour


the pros of nz, we are a very open minded people with spirituality, and alternative meds......we have big LGBT events in auckland, we have TG mayors and goverment officals as well as LBG and they are out and open about their sexuality......

all i can say about nz, is try before you buy..... we are only beautiful on the surface

[Herbwoman39]

Come to Canada! Its much closer! (if you dont mind a cold winter or two)

Oh sweetie, you have NO idea... I LOATHE snow with a passion that borders on holy. I shiver if I see snow on TV and have, on numerous occasions, referred to it as 'evil, vile, nasty white stuff',

LOL! Trust me, if it wasn't cold, dark and snowy up your way we'd seriously consider it.

[Herbwoman39]

And that's one vote against NZ.

[wanderingrichard]

you might try looking thru the information at www.escapeartist.com for other places to ex pat to.

it makes me regret i didn't settle in dubrovnik 10 years ago like i almost did.

[12voltman59]

I can understand Herbwoman's thoughts on going elsewhere---I too have wondered where else to go--I really do think that America is a falling star and the best days of this country are behind it---

I just don't know where else I would like to go----Canada for many of its social reasons doesn't seem too bad but I am not a fan of winter weather myself---

I like Ireland but don't really know if that is a viable option either----

I would like some place generally warm--but most warm weather locations usually seem to have pretty rotten governments and socio-economic systems and situations---

Good luck in your quest to find a suitable place for possible future relocation Herb that best suits you.

[Bi-Lad]

I'd avoid Aus whilst the current PM is in power ...

[ambi53mm]

Oh sweetie, you have NO idea... I LOATHE snow with a passion that borders on holy. I shiver if I see snow on TV and have, on numerous occasions, referred to it as 'evil, vile, nasty white stuff',
LOL! Trust me, if it wasn't cold, dark and snowy up your way we'd seriously consider it.

A Northern migration wouldn't be bad if you can find the right location Herbwoman. Having lived the majority of my life in snow states,I've become spoiled with the Florida weather and, have no desire to live my winters waiting on summer to return. Ever consider Tallahassee LOL?

Ambi :)

[someotherguy]

What comprises "as bad as things are"?

[Herbwoman39]

What comprises "as bad as things are"?

While I am a social liberal I am a financial conservative politically speaking. So let me run down the list of "as bad as things are".

1) There is the illegal immigrant issue wherein taxpayers are footing the medical care bill and paying for their law breakers to sit in jail.

2) Death Tax: Not a big fan of having to give up half of my husband's estate when he dies.

3) Proposed social security reform. Raising the exemption to 19,000 and over the years continuing to raise the exemption until only those who have or make more money are footing the bill.

4) The new health care program. It's costing the higher end bracket billions.

5) The drive to repeal the tax cuts.

Basically I'm getting sick of paying for other people's crap. I would like to not be penalized for having my own business and earning more money than the general populace at large. Unfortunately if Dems win the White House, I'm deeply concerned that there is going to be a drive to take more money from the well-off and give it to poorer people.

I have nothing against charity and giving someone a helping hand but I want it to be MY choice and not the government putting a gun to my head and telling me I WILL do it it else.

[tatooedpunk]

I live in Scotland,
but i would move to Aus or NZ in a heartbeat,
I want somewhere safe (i mean economic as well as crime )
for my wee man to grow up in

[dans94]

So, being a social liberal is not important to you. In fact, I don't think you can be both, unless you're just talking about the Federal Government spending billions to fill their and their friends pockets. I believe a social liberal feels obligated to help the less fortunate and promote social liberty.

just my 2 cents

It doesn't matter anyway. We have no say in our government.

Dan


While I am a social liberal I am a financial conservative politically speaking. So let me run down the list of "as bad as things are".

1) There is the illegal immigrant issue wherein taxpayers are footing the medical care bill and paying for their law breakers to sit in jail.

2) Death Tax: Not a big fan of having to give up half of my husband's estate when he dies.

3) Proposed social security reform. Raising the exemption to 19,000 and over the years continuing to raise the exemption until only those who have or make more money are footing the bill.

4) The new health care program. It's costing the higher end bracket billions.

5) The drive to repeal the tax cuts.

Basically I'm getting sick of paying for other people's crap. I would like to not be penalized for having my own business and earning more money than the general populace at large. Unfortunately if Dems win the White House, I'm deeply concerned that there is going to be a drive to take more money from the well-off and give it to poorer people.

I have nothing against charity and giving someone a helping hand but I want it to be MY choice and not the government putting a gun to my head and telling me I WILL do it it else.

[Herbwoman39]

So, being a social liberal is not important to you. In fact, I don't think you can be both, unless you're just talking about the Federal Government spending billions to fill their and their friends pockets. I believe a social liberal feels obligated to help the less fortunate and promote social liberty.

just my 2 cents

It doesn't matter anyway. We have no say in our government.

Dan

Let me define that better. By "social liberal" I mean that I lobby for GLBT rights and equality for law abiding people who are trying to make a difference in their own lives.

I have been one of the less fortunate. I was in the welfare system for 5 years before I finally managed to pull myself up by my boot straps. I took the opportunity to begin to get a better education, trained as a Certified Nursing Assistant and started earning a living wage so that I no longer had to depend on government handouts. If I can do it, ANYBODY can. The problem is, so many people don't WANT to. They want to sit on their asses, watch TV and have the government take care of them. THOSE are the people I am not willing to support.

Please know I am not offended by your comments. The situation just ticks me off to no end.