It's been 2 and a half months since I moved to Auckland. To be honest, before I came here, I knew next to nothing about NZ, except for the fact that it's the Lord of the Rings country. I only hear what people have been telling me; that the scenery is gorgeous, there are more sheep than people, that their national bird, fruit and people are called the same thing - Kiwi, that it's a boring country and that everyone is jumping ship and moving to Australia.
Well to set the record straight; yes the scenery is amazing. It makes amateur photographers (like me) look good. Every other photo is a postcard-perfect shot of the natural landscape of NZ. The Kiwis claim that God made NZ last, that's why he had the time and practice to make it so perfect. And yes, there definitely are more sheep and cows than people. The hills are dotted with cattle! The population (talking about humans now) of NZ is 4 million. That's less than the population in Singapore plus we have only about 1/1000th of the land. There is so much space in this country. We were just laughing about it the other day when we were on one of our roadtrips and came across this huge expanse of land that went on for miles and miles. In Singapore, some developer would have already snapped up the land and started contructing high-rise condos or office buildings (whichever will return a larger profit). People here take their space for granted.
I wonder why people are abandoning NZ and moving to Aus. Having lived in both countries, I would pick NZ over Aus any day. There are a ton of things to do here if you're into sports and nature. The people are warm and friendly. The waiters and shop assistants seem to genuinely want to know how your day has been. It's easy to strike up a conversation with a stranger on the street.
Just in case you think that I just found paradise on earth, well close, but not quite. NZ might as well be on another planet considering how far it is from everywhere else. 10 hours from Singapore and a gazillion hours from Europe and the rest of the world. Also they're quite behind on the technology front. They still rent VHS here at their video rental stores! How funny right?! Plus wireless internet is like such a new thing here! Ha! Cute! It is generally more expensive living here in NZ and crime rates here are pretty high but I guess coming from Singapore, almost everywhere else is high as compared to Singapore. Just the other day, a girlfriend of mine got robbed in broad daylight and my neighbour's car got broken into.
Well to set the record straight; yes the scenery is amazing. It makes amateur photographers (like me) look good. Every other photo is a postcard-perfect shot of the natural landscape of NZ. The Kiwis claim that God made NZ last, that's why he had the time and practice to make it so perfect. And yes, there definitely are more sheep and cows than people. The hills are dotted with cattle! The population (talking about humans now) of NZ is 4 million. That's less than the population in Singapore plus we have only about 1/1000th of the land. There is so much space in this country. We were just laughing about it the other day when we were on one of our roadtrips and came across this huge expanse of land that went on for miles and miles. In Singapore, some developer would have already snapped up the land and started contructing high-rise condos or office buildings (whichever will return a larger profit). People here take their space for granted.
I wonder why people are abandoning NZ and moving to Aus. Having lived in both countries, I would pick NZ over Aus any day. There are a ton of things to do here if you're into sports and nature. The people are warm and friendly. The waiters and shop assistants seem to genuinely want to know how your day has been. It's easy to strike up a conversation with a stranger on the street.
Just in case you think that I just found paradise on earth, well close, but not quite. NZ might as well be on another planet considering how far it is from everywhere else. 10 hours from Singapore and a gazillion hours from Europe and the rest of the world. Also they're quite behind on the technology front. They still rent VHS here at their video rental stores! How funny right?! Plus wireless internet is like such a new thing here! Ha! Cute! It is generally more expensive living here in NZ and crime rates here are pretty high but I guess coming from Singapore, almost everywhere else is high as compared to Singapore. Just the other day, a girlfriend of mine got robbed in broad daylight and my neighbour's car got broken into.
Sitting in front of the fireplace with the fire going, typing out this entry. It has been, generally, a good 2 and a half months, minus being homesick and out of a job. Winter isn't all that bad here. It's cold but tolerable. Not Stockholm-freeze-your-n*ts-off kinda cold. Plus summer here is glorious and I just can't wait to go sailing!
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