29 things we hate about living in New Zealand

Almost every blogger writes about the good things in New Zealand. You will not probably see a single bad word in the guidebook either. The country has been investing a lot in a very good promotion and nobody dares to mention the uncomfortable facts.

Before moving out here I heard a lot of stories about New Zealand. 100% of them were good aspects. You may have heard legends about the country, which led you to thinking:  “Wow, living there must be amazing. It is like a paradise, Eden”. Who write all of this “utopic” poems?

Well….

German kids who come here for their gap year. No wonder they describe the country  only in superlatives, taking into account the fact that they only travel in fancy campervans (usually bought for their parents’ money). They are often in their early 20s and even though they come here on “working holiday” visa, they rarely work.

Another type of people admiring New Zealand are also the ones that just travel. Come on… every place in the world would be awesome if we did not have to work there. It is simple as this!

New Zealand is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Nature is simply breathtaking! The variety of landscapes leaves you amazed. However, there are also the things that we personally dislike. And this is what working holiday programme is all about. Understanding the country and its society requires both work and holiday. You will never fully get to know any place without trying to live the way they do. After 9 months of living here, we realised what we like and what is not particularly our thing.

Here is the list!

We DO NOT like

1.  EVERYTHING IS CLOSED AFTER 5 PM

It does not matter if it is a high season or winter time. You will not meet a single person on the street after 5 pm. The ones who are still out there are usually tourists (surprised by the fact that the majority of shops are closed). Fancy a cup of coffee after work at 4 pm? Forget it. The staff will kindly inform you that they are just closing the cafe. The restaurants claim that their opening hours are between 9 am – late… (and late means 8 pm).

2. POOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Sure there is public transport in major cities like Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. The only reason why I consider it as a disadvantage is the fact that you cannot only rely on buses here. There are suburbs where you will never get to by means of public transport. The frequency of buses is also far beyond the expectations. Without the car live gets really diffucult here.

3. NO TRASH BINS IN THE PUBLIC SPOTS

What can I say… it is a real problem. There were countless times when I had to walk with a banana skin all the way back to home as there was not a single trash bin on my way. There are some in Christchurch, but it gets worse in the smaller towns or touristic spots.

4. LIMITED CLOTHES SHOPS

If it comes to the South Island your shopping options limit to: only 1 H&M, 3 Glassons, 3 Cotton On and 2 Factorie (all the shops were unknown to me prior to the arrival, except for H&M). I would say that these are the shops attractive to young people. If you are looking for something fancy, there are also a few shops, but the prices are way higher. Shopping in New Zealand is no fun at all, honestly speaking.

5. CAR PARKS ARE USUALLY PAID

Commuting to work in the city centre is a nightmare (especially in Christchurch with heaps of construction sites going on). Car parks are quite expensive and trust me you will not find a free of charge spot. Invest in a bike or be lucky enough to find a job near your home.

6. TV

I thought Polish TV is terrible if it comes to quality of programmes. To my surprise, New Zealand TV is even worse. There are no documentaries or educative channels. It is all about selling some shitty products or reality shows like “Married at first sight” or “The real housewives of Melbourne”. Because of the TV I was really afraid to go to Australia. I was wondering if women in Melbourne really looked like the ones from the TV show. Thanks God, it is only TV.

7. FREEZING HOUSING

One of the reasons why we decided to come back to Poland is winter time in New Zealand. Since central heating is almost non existent in New Zealand, it means you are really freezing at home. Taking into account that the climate is more or less the same as in Poland and yet you are heating the house with only one “heatpump” located in the living room, makes it really insane. It turns out that less that 5% of the homes in NZ have central heating.  It is said that people either cannot afford or don’t think it is important to have a warm house.

NZ Sustainability Chief Executive Phil Squire said:

“Its not customary for us to have central heating…I think its just that norm that folks don’t expect to spend that kind of money because we are also very used to single room heating. We might out a heat pump in our living room and possible hall and use portable heaters in our bedrooms – but we kind of think of it as quite a luxury item.” (From NZ Herald)

(source: https://www.lostinsilverfern.com/2017/06/22/why-no-central-heating-in-nz/)

It is not only about the cost, though. Problem number 2 – insulation, which sucks here.  Their wooden constructions is way less insulating than the brick that is used in Europe and it obviously can’t keep the heat in. Let alone just single-glazing. I feel the wind at home even right now.

8. THERE ARE NO DISCOS

If you are really fond of dancing, just like me, then here’s the problem. New Zealand is not a country suitable for young people who really like partying. There are some clubs in Auckland (basically just K-street), there are some live sessions in Wellington and there are pubs in Christchurch and Queenstown. It means that you can listen to music in the pub, but there is not a dancefloor that we are used to back home.

I remember my first “party” at Park Cafe in Marahau, Tasman. I was so excited and I really thought that I would finally dance all night long. We arrived at about 11 pm, started to drink some beers. There was also a band and really nice music. To my surprise, they told us to leave at around 1 pm. Sorry, party is over 😦 (*anyway, the place itself is very nice, located just by the entrance to Abel Tasman National Park 🙂

9. BORING WEDDINGS

Same applies here. I really do not understand how it all works here. I attended 5 weddings across New Zealand and they all looked the same. Even though, the food was nice, the decoration outstanding, the guests did not enjoy it. After all the speeches (lasting for hours!), there was very little time to dance. The first song was played at around 10 pm and the ceremony was over by 11/12 pm, which meant 2-3 hours of dancing. What on Earth is going on? How can you tell the guests who are dancing and having fun to go home? I also do not understand why the bride and groom pay so much for a band, which is waiting for many hours to finally play a song. I would not even call it a wedding party, rather a boring coctail party.

10. SAME FOOD EVERYWHERE

OK, I really understand it is a young country. I am also aware of the fact that their cuisine is mainly of British origins (and let’s face it British people were never very good chefs). But… yes, there are a lot of “buts” here… What about the Maori culture, Maori recipes and Maori influences? There is nothing. What a surprise… I really thought I would try food similar to the one from Polynesian islands. Unfortunately, nothing will surprise you. At least, not in the positive way. The food all around New Zealand is exactly the same. All the restaurants offer similar or identical meals. Cafe offer limits to: scones, muffins, sausage rolls, pies, tarts and loads of butter. Oh yeah, Kiwis love the butter. Muffin with butter, scones with butter, butter with butter. As for the restaurants: pizzas, burgers, chips, steaks. Finito. The country famous for its diarying, sheeps and wines should offer lamb above anything else. But the lamb here is of way poorer quality than the one they export. What a pity, hah? Same applies to its cheeses. The prices do kill. Honestly. This is so frustrating.

11.  PAYING AT THE TILL

Once you’ve decided to give the “cabinet” food a go do not be surprised of having to pay at the counter. Usually, you just opt for a product from a cabinet and then you head to the counter straight away to make a payment. That happens at the restaurants as well, which means sometimes there are no waitresses to serve you food or take your payment. It gets annoying when after the meal all the customers decided to go to the counter and pay. Watch out for loooooong queues, especially during high season.

12. NO TIPS

From the FOH’s (front of house/waitress) perspective lack of tips is a huge minus. Imagine, you earn the minimum wage or just above the minimum one and work your ass off doing 12hrs a day during high season and you barely get any tips. If you are extremely helpful, attentive and friendly this little perk would be more than welcome. Unfortunately, Kiwis do not leave tips, you will get them from tourists though.

13. OBSESSION WITH CABINET FOOD

I already mentioned the limited offer of cafes. Kiwis are really obssesed with the “cabinet” food. The restaurant without it cannot survive. It kills creativity, as the chefs who really want to launch a new product, a new meal are rarely successful. Kiwis love the boring food they are used to eat every single day. “May I have a scone? With butter?”. Like mantra.

14. JUNKIE FOOD

It makes me want to laugh when I see all these slogans “100% Pure New Zealand”. Just visit any shop or supermarket and take a look on their products. Full of GMO! Fast food snacks on every single shelf. The fruit and veggies are shining! No wonder, Kiwis rank third in therms of obesity! What a surprise, hah? I am trying to eat healthy, I buy the same products as in Poland and yet I noticed I gained some cellulite and yeah, I put on weight. The only thing that is saving me from becoming obesed is the fact that I walk a lot.

15. VERY EXPENSIVE GROCERIES

Having mentioned the quality of food before,  the price of it is also worth remarking. The first groceries in Auckland shocked us. The prices were very high. We thought when we start earning in New Zealand dollars everything would be affordable and relatively cheaper. And unfortunately, it is still very expensive. Let’s put it this way…

I earn $15.50 per hour and the cost of:

• little box of strawberries: $7 (half an hour of working!)
• avocado: $5 (whereas in Australia it is $0.80)
• grapes: $8/kg
• New Zealand cheapest cheddar cheese: $14/700g
• New Zealand lamb 28$/kg
• yoghurt $7/kg
• bacon $5/250g
• cage eggs $5.50 / free range eggs $8

So usually for the basic groceries I spend about $70 and in comparison to Australia it is way more expensive.

16. FOOD WASTE

Nothing disgusts me as much as wasting food. And we are not only talking about leftovers here. All restaurants waste so much food, that you cannot even imagine. After functions or weddings where there are, let’s say, 20 beef steaks, 10 lamb rumps, 50 cakes left… it all goes to the trash bins! The chefs do not even ask you if you want to take it home. They claim it is because of safety rules. Bullshit. If guests were eating exactly the same food and then you would eat it at home, of course the chances of food poisoning are extremely rare. The first time I saw a whole grazing platter (stuffed with Dutch and French cheese, Italian prosciutto, Greek olives, marmelades, bread) being put in the trash bin, I honestly cried. There was also a situation when a German guy and I, we literally SAVED THE CHEESE. During Hi-tech Awards taking place in Christchurch there were at least 15 whole, round blue cheeses left on tables. The supervisor demanded aggresively that all the cheeses have to be chucked out. When we said “No”, she started to scream at us. I gave the German guy the cheeses and he run away with them, wrapped them in paper and he gave them out to our collegues. So, yes! We saved the cheeses 🙂  What on Earth is happening here? There are so many people starving in this world and you are just throwing away the untouched and good food? That is so outrageous! Unfortunately, this is not only happening at workplace. Oridinary Kiwis do the same at home. They usually cook in huge quantities only to mindlessly throw it away.

17. MARMITE

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me introduce you to the most disgusting thing on Earth. Marmite! A delicacy spread made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing. Looks like shit, smells like shit… well, it is actually pretty shitty. It is like eating a gasoline. Yummy, hah?

18. ID WHEN BUYING ALCOHOL

You can even imagine how surprised we were when we wanted to buy alcohol for the first time in New Zealand. We did not have a car at the time, so we walked 40 minutes to Pak’n’Save. We did expensive groceries, carefully chose a bottle of wine and some beers only to find out that they would not sell it to us. They asked for our passports (and of course, you do not take passports with you when you go to the shop, right?) to check our age. We had only our Polish ID and driving licence. The manager refused these documents claiming that only passports validates. AN ABSURD. And if only Tomasz buys one bottle of beer, they always require me to show my passport. We wonder what happenes if a mother with a daughter comes to a shop and tries to buy a wine. Do they also check her daughter’s ID? I highly doubt it.

19. NO STRONG ALCO IN THE SUPERMARKET OR A SMALL STORE

If you are fed up with wine and beers and are fond of something stronger be aware that you can only buy vodka and other booze in liquor shops. It means that you should always plan ahead as these kind of shops are usually closed after 9 pm. It is totally different than in Poland, where 24h/7 liquor shops are located around every corner. And don’t forget your passport 🙂

20. DRINKING PROBLEM

80 percent of New Zealanders are regularly drinking alcohol. Addiction to it is a massive problem in the society as they are usually not only regularly consume alcoholic drinks, but they are also exceeding the amount.  According to new diagnostic criteria  1/10 Kiwis could be considered as “alcoholics”. I always thought Europeans drink a lot, and this is somewhat true, but the way you drink also matters. Kiwis behave like British people or Aussies. They are extremely wild after a beer or 2. Since we were working as FOH on number of events we witnessed ourselves the reaction after consumption of the alcohol. Craziness! I am somehow surprised how many glasses of “bubbles” the women here can drink. Another problem is that they drink not only at weekends, but usually every day after work as well. Yes, you can spot the problem here.

21. NO SHAKING HANDS

Despite Kiwis love all sort of junkie shakes, they do not obey savoir vivre of shaking hands when meeting people. I was introducing myself and tried to shake people’s hands and they were astonished. The akward situation happened to me when I had my first day at work and it was me who came to the boss and introduced myself, not the other way round.

22. IGNORANCE

I must admit that Kiwis are ignorant. I met a lot of intelligent and smart people, shure thing! But… I also met a lot of who has never travelled overseas, the ones who think New Zealand is the centre of the world, the ones that do not know anything about other countries. I had a situation at the cafe in Kaikoura when a waitress asked us where we were from. It happened that we came there with the girl from Estonia and her British boyfriend. The lady responded when she heard “British”, – “Oh, London, right?”, her reaction to Estonia and Poland was “VIKINGS!”. She left us speechless for a couple of minutes. The other thing that annoys us is that everyone asks you “How are you?”, but no ones cares about your answer. Why do you use this question if you really do not know how I feel. Here everyone responds “All good, you?”. Which is often not true at all.

23. ACCENT

It is not that we dislike the accent, it was just very surprising at first.  Knowing some basics about kiwi pronunciation will help you understand anyone you meet on the island.

The letter “e” is usually elongated when pronounced or can be pronounced like the letter “i” in American English; “yes” can sound like “yeees,” (or yeeez) and “again” can sound like “ageen.”, “dead” sounds like “deed”, “pen” sounds like “pin”.

I remember the situation when a Kiwi guy asked me for “pin”, I asked “The pin to what?”…

“I just want to write a postcard! Give me the pin!”. OK, I see now.

Additionally, the letter “i” can be pronounced like the “u” in “cup,” as is the case with the kiwi pronunciation of “fish and chips” as “fush and chups”.

Number 7 is “seevn” and Wednesday is “WINDzday”.

Sweet as, bro!”

translation: Sweet as = great/excellent.

The first time I heard this I was shocked “Sweet ass?!” That is gross. Hahaha

24. LAZINESS

Sorry guys, yes you are lazy. I cannot really believe how it  all works here. I worked with people from all around the world and I cannot say a bad word about cooperation with them. If it comes to Kiwis, however, there’s a different story. There were countless times when they were just staring at you, while you were doing all the hard work. They were far more often going on breaks or just standing at one place doing literally NOTHING. There were many times when I had to ask them to help me, even though, it was part of their job. It is said that Kiwis take sick leaves far more often than immigrants. And yet, I found out that Kiwis living in Australia are considered to be hard-working. Imagine Ozzies, haha!

(*I also worked with very hardworking Kiwis, but they are in minority from my experience)

25. IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND A FULL-TIME JOB

Before coming here we thought all the restaurants and cafes need staff for at least 40 hrs a week. And yeah, they do. When you get your contract, you will be probably surprised that there are 20 hrs guaranteed, instead of promised “full”. It does not really matter if the weather is nice and there are heaps of customers flooding the restaurant. In this case you will be probably working 60 hrs a week. But what if the cyclone comes and there are very few customers? Well, you will be probably sent home after 4 hours, without any explanation. “GO HOME!”. That’s it. So pray for the good weather, as you cannot count on the employer’s good belief. Forget it.

26. MISTREATMENT AT WORK

Unfortunately, I could write a whole book only about mistreatment at workplace. It is not only that owners treat you as cheap labor, very often other immigrants treat you this way. You can read about our bad memories here https://memoriescollectorsblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/30/new-zealand-working-holiday-visa-job-seeking-process/ oh, and I forgot to write about 2-months of bullying at the restaurant in Kaiteriteri.

27. ANTARCTIC WIND

Talking about the wind. Yes, it gets very very cold in New Zealand. As long as it is sunny, it may seem pleasantly warm. Walk under the shade and you will start freezing. The antarctic wind is just like ice. The temperatures are kinda understandable now in the late autumn, but I remember very cold nights during high season in summer too! I used to wake up in the freezing cabin (it was maybe 6 degrees inside!). Those who hate the wind, will have problems to get acclimatize here.

28. SANDFLIES

These little monsters tear at your skin, using saw-like barbs to widen tiny wounds, and suck the blood. The bites cause nasty swelling, itching, hives, and a general desire to scream. It is veeeeeeeery painful and the scars are visible even after months after the bites. Goodbye beautiful summer body!

29. CIGARETTES BAN BY 2025

New Zealand government intends to ban smoking cigarettes by 2025. It will be very difficult to buy tobacco in any form. Only those with medical prescription will be able to obtain cigarettes. The addicted will have to commute to bigger towns in order to get them. How did that happen? Whose idea was that? Māori Affairs Select Committee found out that even though, the majority of society is quitting smoking, among  Māori and Pacific people the rates of consuming tobacco were increasing. What is more,  Māori women have among the highest lung cancer rates in the world. These were the main reasons of total tobacco ban by 2025. My only question is… where is the liberty, hah? I am not a smoker, but I understand people’s need and I cannot imagine that it will work out. And I feel sorry for the ones that simply enjoy smoking. This is their choice. 

I am really curious about the things you do not really like here in New Zealand. Let me know 🙂

PS. The post about the things I really, really love soon!