New Arrivals

It is always nice when you have been chatting to people via e-mail in England and then they pop in the cafe a couple of months later for a pizza and a chat. Such was the case on Monday night when Cath and family came in. Cath had found our website and we answered some questions, and now she is here and like us is another resident of "pommymoa" (papamoa). They visited an estate agent who helped them find rental accommodation, but like all the desperate agents out here, the old dollar signs fill their eyes when they realise you are a newly arrived Pom. Yes they think you have arrived with bucket fulls of cash and will only be to happy to sell you an over priced house with a 10.7% mortgage, they like to strike quick before the jet lag has worn off. They will be your best friend, maybe show you around, offer to take you fishing on their boat, by, what friendly helpful people these Kiwis are you may think. But sign on the dotted line and bye bye new friend, hello huge debt and over priced house. Renting really is the best option when you arrive, there are loads of nice houses to be had. When you have been here a while, found your feet, decided where you really want to live, be it the coast or countryside, seen were the real estate market is going price wise, then you might think about buying. If you have the money to buy outright, great, but do you really want to pay for your house four times over on a 25 year mortgage? Cath is renting and has already noted the price difference between coastal and country living. You can get a house with acres of land 10-15 miles inland for half the money of a coastal bungalow.
It is a grim time for selling houses at the moment. There were around 60 houses sold in the Mount/Papamoa area last month and there are over a 100 real estate agents operating from 12 offices chasing those sales. A lot of the agents are part time, few are very professional some are a joke. They charge around 4% of the house selling price so you will see that some will make money, some dream of making money but with those high charges the growth in private house sellers is increasing each year. There are no worries about buying privately, just get a survey on the house and a solicitor (they cost about $600 for the sale). So if you are arriving and looking to buy, take your time, and buy what you want, not what some slippery estate agent wants to sell you. As a final note, I know four estate agents personally and have dealt with several others, with this point in mind I think I have been very kind with my thoughts on them.

Customer Service?

Just a bit of a follow up to my last post here and then on to the topic in hand. At the gym I go to , I catch a bit of an "infotainmment" program called Sky "News". A bit of digression here first. I am not by any means a fitness freak but there comes a point in your life when you look in the mirror each morning, and you begin to wonder who the old guy is, that is staring back at you. I tried shuffling round a bit and if you catch the light just right you can improve the look of things, but when parts of your body begin to sag, it is time to do something about it. So I have got into the routine of dropping Georgia at school and then calling into the gym for 20 minutes graft on an elliptical trainer. After 4 weeks you will be pleased to hear that my nipples have now removed themselves from under my armpits and are making their way back to their starting position in life. While on the subject of getting older, how come I am losing the hair on my head, but it is growing on my feet! What's the story here, you get old and turn into a Werewolf? Any way in the last post I mentioned about the pharmaceutical companies and by sheer coincidence the next day Sky News invited a doctor on to the show to talk about the asthma drug "Symbicort" which has just been made available on prescription in Australia. The news presenter did not ask one serious question, like are there any side effects, is there any advantage over the current drugs, how much is it costing the Health Service. Instead it just ran like a commercial, with the presenter and doctor agreeing how lucky we all are that such clever doctors like himself have developed this wonderful drug that is now available to everyone. By the way the side effects are:

• Common side effects
  mild irritation in the throat, coughing, hoarseness, thrush (fungal infection in mouth and throat)headache, trembling, rapid heartbeat
• Less common side effects
  sleep difficulties restlessness, nervousness and anxiety dizziness, sickness, muscle cramps
• Rare side effects
  skin rash and bruising, itching, spasm in the airways, depression, behavioural disturbances, facial swelling, high blood sugar levels, chest pain, irregular heartbeats

To get on to the thread of this weeks post. I went into the local newspaper office this week thinking I could get an advertising rate card. Now not a big ask you might say, but the woman behind the desk informed me that they do not give out that kind of information. I must have had a blank expression on my face which the woman must have assumed meant I was stupid, because that is how she treated me. I rephrased the question and got the same answer. I asked how people are supposed to know how much their advert is going to cost them. The reply was that if you have an idea of the type of advert you want, that they can give you a rough idea but not a definite price, I said I knew roughly what I wanted, but I must have used up my quota of time as the woman turned away and restarted her conversation with her colleague. It is a fact of life in NZ that customer service is poor in most places, with untrained staff that really don't care and get shirty if you show signs of frustration. The worst is the retailer Dick Smiths, They have some good buys but you have to know all about the product you want before you go in. I asked once for some information and got the response "I don't know" I asked again in a different way and got the response "what I am saying to you is, I don't know" with an edgy tone, I asked if there was any one in the store that would know? "I don't know" came the reply and off he went. I could go on with more examples but I don't want to bore you. Just expect untrained, unmotivated, unhelpful customer service and you wont be disappointed.

Feeling healthy?

Marrisa made a point on her blog about an encounter with the NZ Health Service and this week I thought I would mention our experience of it. I am pleased to say that I have only visited the doctor once in the last 20 years of my life (and that was a waste of time), Joyce however has used the Health Service here on two occasions. Both times the service was efficient and hospital appointments were made and the waiting times did not seem too long (about 3 months). There were a couple of Americans who used to come into the cafe for a chat, and they had need of health care and felt that the NZ Health Service was appalling and soon returned to the USA to get the kind of help they wanted. So I guess it is really a case of what you are used to, as to how you rate the service here. What I can say is that the cost of going to the dentist here is something that I find hard to get my head round (think a weeks wages for a filling). At a bit of a tangent here, Georgia has been doing a bit about family history at school. My Dad looked into our family tree as a hobby and traced direct descendants back to 1702. The interesting thing I noticed was the age when they died, apart from two, they all lived to about 73/74. So, David Thomas Corby lived to 74 in the 1700's, my Dad died at 73 in 2003. So what price modern medicine? no one has lived any longer despite the so called "advances " in modern medicine (which did nothing to help or save my Dad). When you read the history of the pharmaceutical industry and medical colleges (financed by Oil tycoons) you realise that money talks and talks very loudly, a cure for diseases just aren't looked for (there is no money if you cure an illness) only "treatments". (If you have cancer or know someone who does, GOOGLE vitamin B17, and make up your own mind). To get back to some NZ relevance, there is a strong awareness here about traditional and alternative medicine, and we have the Maori and Chinese influence to thank for that, Joyce has put together an ointment from a Pacific Island remedy, and it cures all sorts of skin ailments (just ask if you want the "recipe").
What I can say is that living in NZ, you do find yourself less exposed to the Propaganda and brainwashing put out by the mainstream media, that science will save us so don't worry about personal responsibility, just keep eating the same old "crap". Your mind seems to wake up here and you become more aware, you find yourself researching information, to ask questions and to find the answers. I never seemed to have the time to do this in the UK and was one of the masses that believed the next wonder drug was just round the corner. My eyes are now open, just avoid any food that has been processed, drink plenty of water, do a bit of exercise, then you can leave the drugs in the chemist. (of course Sods law says I will now drop dead of some nasty disease).

And no blood was spilt

It is a pretty rare occasion when we go out for a night of merriment, but our friend Norman has bought a new book of curry recipes and I am only too willing to be a Guinea Pig for his new works of art. So on Saturday Georgia was sleeping over, on her friend's yacht and we went to Normans for a curry delight. After the meal was over we were sitting putting the world to rights when a couple of Norman's friends popped in and asked if we wanted to go to the local pub and watch a band that they knew the members of. It seemed like a good idea, so off we went. The pub was pretty busy, which is unusual, but probably meant that other pubs were unusually quiet, which is the way it seems to go in NZ. We nudged our way to the front part of the pub where the band were playing. They were fronted by a 16 year old lad who was very confident and were playing music that had the place bouncing around. This brings me round to the point of this post, when I say the place was bouncing, I am describing a lot of very drunk people, some with a pint in each hand, falling around, trying to pick up other peoples girlfriends, clattering into each other and spilling beer. When a very drunk guy jumped up to do a very strange version of a very strange dance routine, I looked for the nearest exit as I was convinced it was going to end in broken glass and tears, but do you know what happened! the dancers made room for him, let him do his stuff, then led him back to his seat with a smile. I know for a fact that in the pubs I used to go to in the UK, there would have been blood and lots of it. At the end of the night people were shaking each others hands and staggering off home. No one was getting a kicking outside or being sick in the flower beds. As a stranger in this pub I was welcomed and never felt uneasy for a moment. This is an amazing country.

Return of friends

I really do think time passes so much more quickly in NZ and can hardly believe that it has been 9 weeks since our good friends Norman and Linda left to visit the UK. They came back at the weekend and we had a good chat over coffee and lunch. I was interested to hear how they felt and what changes they had noticed. They used to live in the same area as we did, so it was interesting to hear about the changes to Durham City with new building work down by the river. It was meetings with friends that I was keen to hear about. A lot of expats I talk to say that if only they could bring their friends out here life would be perfect. I say "bollocks", if you came out here to start a new life, then that includes making new friends. Norman's experience with his friends in the UK kind of backs up my thoughts. The thing is, emigrating completely changes your life, and friends and relatives back in the UK have no grasp of the experience that you have been through, of the new cultures and the things you have seen and done. For those friends nothing has really changed in their lives, and why would it. They will tell you about their new car or how the local team is doing and for me this all seems insignificant trivia now. But what I have experienced when talking on the phone to relatives, is that they are not really interested in what we are doing or how we are living, I listen to their news and just before they hang up you might get a "so are you alright then". I think the point I am trying to make here is, do not let the thought of moving away from friends stop you from starting a great new life. Your friend's lives will carry on as usual, you may here from them for a few months after you move out here, and then you are forgotten. Don't worry about it, because there are new friends to be made and a great life to be had, if you really want it.

Museums

It is school holiday time at the moment and the kids are off for two weeks. On Tuesday Georgia had her good friend Evan with her and we all went into town for sushi and coffee and cakes as a kind of pre-birthday treat for her, Now it was pretty cold with a strong wind which reached gale force about lunchtime, this made for an uncomfortable walk around. Now NZ is big on things to do outside but when the weather is bad it is quite hard to amuse yourself if you want a day out. In the UK we would have found a museum or Stately Home or such like but round here they are few and far between. We do have a working historic village, where buildings have been collected from around the area and it is nicely done, but will not keep you amused for long. There is an art gallery that is nearly complete and a museum is planned which is causing much debate about where to put it and what to put in it. We did however try out a small aircraft museum located on the fringe of the airport and I have to say it was really rather good. It is run by restoration enthusiasts and has static and working aircraft. You could sit in the cockpit of a Korean war Sabre jet fighter or a Hawker Hunter, take the controls in a restored 1953 Dehavilland airliner or fly a Huey. There was a Spitfire, jeep, field gun, motorbikes and bi-planes. The kids loved it and it was well worth its entrance fee.

Tauranga is changing all the time, new roads are being built which no one complains about, but when it comes to things of a cultural nature there is a hardened element that sees it all as a waste of money. One letter writer to the local paper suggested that if it was costing so much money to store the local artifacts that were being planned to be displayed, then a large bonfire would be in order and then the rate payers would not be lumbered with the cost. Unfortunately he is not alone in that opinion. I am of the opinion that art and history are of great interest and I would rather have the opportunity to enjoy displays of both and if the trade off was less spending on the roading, then so be it.

Tax

It is the time for filling in Tax returns. I have had the return for ages, but keep putting off filling it in, I can honestly think of better ways of spending my time. But there does come a point where Adrenalin starts to flow as the deadline for sending it off approaches and the thought of fines plays on the mind. I probably need that rush of Adrenalin to motivate me. Fortunately it has not been too much of an ordeal as the information I needed was actually at hand this time (I am usually tearing the house apart looking for vital bits of paper at this time). I have developed a system which I heartily recommend to everyone. It involves having a cardboard box at the end of the settee, and when you get something that you think you might need at some time in the future, like an official looking letter or something that you can't be bothered to read because "Lost" is about to start on the TV, you simply toss it in the box, and when you find that you do need it, there it is. Simple and effective eh!
The bad news as far as tax is concerned, is that you pay tax on every penny you earn (even your paper round is taxed). If you earn $38,000 or below you pay 19.5% above that and it goes up to 33% with a top rate of 60%. We have to pay "provisional tax" where once we calculate what we owe, we have to add 5% divide it by 3 then pay it in 3 installments, the first being 7th July then another in November and again in March. As a new business you end up paying tax twice in the year but it evens itself out when you deduct the provisional tax you payed from the tax owed for that year. All clear and understood? good.
On a different note I understand there has been a bit of rain about in the UK for a while now, well it does rain here too. Last weekend we had all of June's rainfall , the sun then came out, the temperature has been pleasant but a storm is lashing us as I type.