USA vs. NZ: Cultural Differences
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
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Americans living in New Zealand talk about 4 cultural differences between the two countries. Check out this video to see some of the overarching differences and to determine for yourself if you could ever consider living overseas!
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Please comment below with your overseas experiences and please let me know any topic you would like me to cover in my next video!!
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Please watch: "A work-life balance IS possible. What work-life balance in New Zealand vs USA looks like.."
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I felt BAD for taking vacations in the US but here in New Zealand - I got called in to the office and I was QUESTIONED on why I haven't taken a holiday/vacation. I stood there trying to register if I heard them correctly. Mind blowing.
haha so true! very mind blowing and one of the hardest things for me to adjust too.
You got grilled by your boss because your leave is a Health & Safety requirement... they get their arse kicked if you don't take your leave 🤣 but it is something that has been part of life here for a long time
@@SneakyKiwi71 It really is mind blowing
Different values for sure. I have friends & family in the US, and I read a lot, so I know some of the working conditions over there... instant dismissal etc. I couldn't live like that 😖
@@SneakyKiwi71 it's also a budget thing. You don't want someone carrying over to much annual leave into the next year. It makes planning work the next year harder if someone was going to take too much time.
I have 25 days, and often forced to take 1 or 3 days off at the end of the year.
Me being a kiwi it’s really eye opening to see how fortunate we are to live in nz
Yes you are so fortunate!
So true
Yep people don't realise how lucky we are I guess we take it for granted.
@@willjctm1763 yeah it's as close to paradise as we can get on this earth
Absolutely, I'm a kiwi living in Australia and it's such a fast pace lifestyle, definitely realise how kicked back and relaxing home is .
The way my daughters primary explained their homework policy was that we as adults wouldnt accept taking 30 or 60 minutes of paperwork home every day so why should our kids?
Made sense to me.
yes makes sense!
I agree, but in America adults accept a lot more than that I'll tell you. Here you'll get calls and e-mails from work even if you've taken a vacation day - and it's expected that you'll respond to them.
@@Paul-os1fr in NZ a boss that bothers staff outside of work hours or work days (outside of urgent emergencies) is frowned upon.
in america...... basically younger kids will get about 30 minutes of work, depends on how fast they finish it, and then the older kids can get an hour maybe 2, and then in high school we will stay up until ungodly hours of the day because we get out at 3-5pm, our parents expect us to do some work, we procrastinate because we've just been at school for 8+ hours, and then suddenly it's 10pm and you have 2 english assignments, 2 math assignments, probably something about history and a project you probably have to think about that is due next week and now it's 3 in the morning and you have to get up in 4 hours :]
@@semiautomatic.companion 🤯😳
As a Native New Zealander (Maori) we treasure Family (whanau) and relationships without we have a wonderful saying here in New Zealand (He aha te mea Nui o te ao
He Tangata, he Tangata, he Tangata) translated means " What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people. Family friends and neighbours are all one. that is who we are. we look after each other, care for each other and try not to judge each other. that is why I will always call NZ home
Really not judge mental,know all about it for a fact
Man honestly this really warmed my heart, I really do forget how lucky we are to live in New Zealand, thank you for sharing ❤ Glad you love and live in our country x
Thanks so much - glad you enjoyed the video!
In general, she is right, but also keep in mind, when she is talking about pace of life etc, that really applies differently to different parts of the US. I feel like what she said is more true in places like the North East and California, however the South and Mid West, work/life balance is a lot better. I feel like living in Auckland or Wellington would be more stressful (and MUCH more expensive) than living in places like Raleigh or Indianapolis.
@SmokeScreen Don't what?
yes, i love the culture of new zealand 🇳🇿. i loved growing up there
Man one of my goals is to move to New Zealand later in life. Im only 17 so i have plenty of time to change my mind but i have wanted to ever since i was very little. All the values align with my own so much more than the values here in the US
Mario Castro: Kia ora bro, I hope you won't change your mind - at least come over for a visit and find out. The fact that you've wanted to since you's little and you feel the values align with your own - sounds like you would really like it here! And even if you don't it would still be an experience you'd learn alot from (but I reckon you will like it! ).
I'm not a Kiwi but if you want advice do it as early as possible, while you're in your 20's. Things like that get a lot harder as you get older, and if you have kids in the future you don't want to be putting them through that.
You've got time, but time goes by fast and things change fast too. You end up building a life and getting stable wherever you are, and you're like, eh, I don't want to move all this stuff and leave my gf and change jobs, and one day you're 49 like me and wishing you'd left while it was still easy to do so.
If you feel that way, get your education and then just do it bro.
If ever you make it to Te Puke aka the kiwifruit capital of the world, hit us up! Be more than happy to show you around my home town and surrounding districts. Make friends with some Māori you may yet get into some pretty cool places free. Anyway, enjoy your youthful days.
And you would be so welcomed..😂🤣😂🤣
Take a visit first when you can. You either love it you don't. I love it.🙂✌
I’m moving to Wellington from the States in a few years. I’m very excited. Coming back to my fathers country.
Awesome - where in the states are you living?
Kiwiamericans I’m in Arizona at the moment. Just saving up and going through the long process of moving overseas. I truly appreciate your channel.
oh ur moving to a good city mybro cant beat wellington on a sunny asf day
Hope you enjoy your stay here in the future. Cheers Jas.
Know that shes sayinging some things through rose tinted glasses. Yes you get 5 weeks off per year but your not suppose to use around about 3 of them for the christmas break. Primary school age kids do have homework, but it could vary from school to school. Know that wellington is pretty chill, its like the creative center for our country so the work life balance is alot chiller there. Most jobs here dont start at 9am theyll start between 5am to 7am, a 9 to 5 is not that common
I was wondering if you would mention "bring a plate" lol. We forgot to explain to our new colleague from Michigan what 'bring a plate' meant. She turned up with a lovely, clean dinner plate. Bless her lol. Now she doesn't bring a plate, she brings a basket full of goodies.
Yes I have heard similar stories! Thanks for watching.
I did that in Australia 😊. Now I always have something on the plate 😆. I'm originally from UK. New Zealand and Australia very different to UK as well.
lol I'm in America and most of us would understand not to bring a literal clean dinner plate to a gathering. Between you and I there might be something not quite right with your colleague from Michigan.
I'm an American and I couldn't imagine someone thinking that "bring a plate" meant to bring a literal plate. This would be very, very, odd behavior in the US as well! Too funny.
When I lived in the US (many, many years ago now), one of the things that stood out to me was how much you guys love your flag. Here in NZ, we don't make much of a thing about our flag. But in America, the Star-Bangled Banner is EVERYWHERE! It flies above every school (and inside every classroom), it's on just about every building and every second house seems to have one too. Schoolchildren pledge allegiance to it every morning (whereas in NZ, the bell rings and it's down to the first lesson). Your national anthem is basically a hymn to the flag. It's practically a religious icon. In fact, patriotism in general is a sort of national virtue in the US. In NZ, we do have national pride (especially when the All Blacks are playing), but Kiwis don't really make a big deal of it. I will say though that we probably unite more as a nation over things like sports, whereas in the US, because it's so much larger, there are way more rivalries between states and cities. I don't think Americans focus quite as much on international rivalries (especially sporting ones) as we do here. There it's more about Washington vs. New York, Chicago vs. Green Bay, Los Angeles vs. San Francisco, or The North vs. The South and that kind of thing. Whereas here we're all about NZ vs. Australia and suchlike.
Another thing I remember is that you guys teach your own history. I learned a great deal about the War of Independence and Civil War at school in the US. Whereas in NZ, I didn't learn as much about my own country's history (although I did learn some). However, the current government is now requiring schools to teach NZ history, so it should become more prominent in our culture now. Speaking of history, historical sites are everywhere in the US. I remember visiting places like Manassas, Fort McHenry and Gettysburg. In NZ, I guess we do have some historical sites, but there's not the same emphasis on them. You're certainly right about homework. I was in fifth and sixth grade when in America, and I got WAY more homework in one day than I had got in about five years of primary school in NZ! So that was certainly an adjustment! Although it was good in some ways, because it prepared me for the increased workload at secondary school back here.
A third difference that's less relevant nowadays was TV channels. In the New Zealand that I left to live in the US for two years, we had two TV channels. We didn't get a third channel until late 1989, and then after that the floodgates opened somewhat. The US on the other hand had TONS of channels! And every city had its own channels! In NZ, because we're much smaller, our channels are national ones. You do get the odd regional one, but they're pretty rare. I remember how cool it was sometimes to pick up a channel in another city nearby - that wasn't something you could do in NZ (still isn't). Also back then, NZ didn't have FM radio (nowadays of course, FM stations are more common than AM ones). So FM stations in the US (at that time) were a bit of a novelty. A difference then that I think is the same today (based on watching the odd US live stream) is frequency of ads. In the US, it seems like shows break every five minutes, whereas in NZ we have longer periods between ad breaks.
One other difference I've noticed is the contrast in race relations. In the US, even in the 1980s, there was a degree of racial tension that was kind of palpable, and of course you guys have a huge history with the slavery, Jim Crow laws and now the stuff going on currently. In NZ, we have the Treaty of Waitangi and that causes a few issues from time to time, but nevertheless our race relations issues are just not in the same league as the ones in the States. Another thing I absolutely agree with you on is safety. When my parents and I drove around in the US, we always had to lock our car doors. In NZ, that's just not an issue. I also remember once in a mall, a strange woman took me by the hand and started to lead me off at quite a brisk pace. I yelled out, "HEY!" and she said "Oh, sorry" and let me go. Perhaps it was mistaken identity (she thought I was her child?). Or an audacious kidnapping attempt. I'll never know, but I've never forgotten that. Children seem to go missing a LOT in the US. But in NZ, it's a rare thing and a major national news story when it does occur.
Oh, and we do indeed like our tea. :-) I think it's because of the fact we were a British colony in the past. So we have inherited our fondness for tea from our British forefathers. (It's also why we tend to love things like the monarchy and Coronation Street.) We have our own name for kettles though: electric jugs. So when a New Zealander says, "I'll put the jug on", they mean they're going to put the kettle on (although American kettles are a different shape to our jugs anyway). One of my favourite TV memories from the US was watching Family Feud (back when Richard Dawson used to host it). One night there was a "Beauty Queens" special - Miss USAs against Miss Universes. At the time, the reigning Miss Universe was Lorraine Downes, the only Kiwi to win it. And one of the questions was "Name an appliance you find in the kitchen". Lorraine's answer was of course, "Electric jug". Poor Richard Dawson was utterly perplexed! He had to ask her to explain what that meant. And of course, it wasn't on the board. But in a New Zealand version of the show (we have had one), it would probably be the top answer!
Wow thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience. Love the beauty pageant example! Thanks for watching.
The TEA thing...🤭🤣🤦♂️ My very good friend Fiona, is from Pennsylvania... she moved here 7 years ago... she sooooo mentioned the same thing... TEA TEA TEA... and she often spoke about how laid back we are... which I didn't really understand... cos I thought I was busy...🤣🤣🤣
I absolutely love your content... Tiktok brought me here... KIA ORA 🌿🥰🇳🇿😎
Awesome - thanks for watching!
8 hours work, 8 hours play, 8 hours sleep!!
Samuel Duncan Parnell.
It’s a health and safety issue here in NZ. Work place accidents occur more often if workers are fatigued. Here in NZ business owners, employers and managers can be fined very large fines by the government if it is proven employees are over worked, plus fines if accidents occur due to fatigue or unsafe work practices, ignorance is not a defence. Workers are entitled to a tea break every 2 hours plus a min half hr meal break pr day. We get a minimum four weeks vacation pr year. The longer you work for a company the more weeks you are given - up to 5 to 6 weeks pr year. We can trade two weeks of our yearly vacations for a monetary payout, however, we have to take the other two weeks for a vacation. As well as our vacations, we get public holidays (10 days) bereavement leave (3 days pr death) and sick leave (standard is 7 days but some companies give you more) if you work on a public holiday employers have to pay you time and a half. We have unions here which are voluntary, however non union workers are protected by our strict employment laws too. Family values are highly regarded in NZ, as with charity work and sport. I am shocked at the way employees are treated overseas, we maybe be strict in NZ but everyone deserves respect.
You also get the public holiday in lieu to take at a later date.
5 days sick leave, and they have to let you accrue, I think to a minimum of 20 days, if you don't take it. I believe the current government intends to raise it to 10.
not many companies offer a long term holiday leave ,most is only your four weeks
I worked as a department manager for a very company here in NZ, it got to the point where we had to force some of our employees to take their annual holidays. As employers we had been breaking NZ employment laws by not ensuring our employees were taking their four weeks+ pr year. Some had incurred several years of holidays. We legally could only pay them out for a limited number of time, the rest had to be taken in leave. Workaholics who were not happy at been told to stay home or go to the beach. To add to the situation, some of these workers were long term employees and had earned the right to 5/6 weeks leave.
Add in the 11 public holidays here in NZ, plus sick leave if required, we do quite nicely. Employees have the choice to trade two weeks of their annual holidays in $$, which is good for those who for personal reasons can’t afford to go on holidays.
haha...yeah a long time ago it was established here through studies that having a work/life balance increases productivity & having happy healthy staff is great for everyone
"The whole business shuts down for holidays" yes, I've noticed that the local takeaways shop has a 3 week holiday over January. It depends on the company, some definitely shut down for 2 weeks then give you a choice of when you want to take your other 2 weeks, some go the whole 4 weeks in one block.
Thank you for loving our country as if it were your own. I love watching your videos on tiktok and youtube 😊
Thank you so much 😀 for enjoying this content!
Glad to hear you can relax a bit more in NZ. lol thats probably where most of us get our laid back or "can't be bothered" nature from 😂
I am truly a better person for it!
she'll be right haha
Ahhh crackup🙃
Everything you say is so true! Moved to NZ from North Carolina 2 years ago. My boss is always making sure I take time off to take care of myself. Best move I ever made!!!!
I think morning tea and afternoon tea are just left over terms from the UK where tea was always consumed at those times. In NZ it’s more of just a short break where you can have tea or coffee. A lot of sayings in NZ come from the UK
I use to be a storeperson in a warehouse in the UK in my OE, we had morning tea for 15min the moment we turned up to work, morning tea at 10.30 for 20min, lunch at 12.30 for 1 hour, afternoon tea at 3.30 for 20 min and a toolbox staff meeting for 30min at 5pm at the end of day that every staff treated as a noon tea brake. I'm surprised anything got done.
I know it is so different but I quickly adjusted and enjoy the breaks now...well not the 10am one too much.
@@Jamac007 Kiwis aren't that lazy.
@@RogerBarraud no but that's my point, I use to work through most my breaks... They use to let me go home early with full pay because I would get all my daily work done by 1pm.
@@RogerBarraud the people I use to work in the UK with will string out their 5 hour jobs into 9 hours...bugger that I had better things to do in the afternoon.
I travel a lot around the world and I Live in New Zealand and one thing I’ve noticed coming back home is that NZ’ers don’t realise how good we have it compared to the many other countries that have it worse.
Exactly. there is a lot Entitled unemployed young people here. I deal with them daily in my job. No matter how hard to help it is never enough. they don't have any ideas of what it is like for other people in other countries who have nothing, and their government don't care. they make me angry. I am a solo mum and I got off my backside and got out there and determined to find a job. so when they screamed at me and telling me I have no idea what it is like 😠. I just replied I am a solo mum and I know very well what it is like. Silence at the other end. This country is not perfect, but more help then some countries who are worse off. so yes people just don't realised how lucky they are in New Zealand🙄
I hope Aotearoa will continue to look after you and your family ...Aroha Nui ♥️
We dont call dinner or tea Supper at all. In Nz, Supper is what you have just before bed like a cuppa and bikkies, like a bedtime snack :D
True - 5 years and I am still getting it mixed up.
Yes if some one said come over for supper it would be tea/coffee and biscuits at about 8.30pm, you might hang out chatting for a couple of hours. If in doubt ask what time would suit the host.
Have you been caught with the “bring a plate” invitation? At a potluck meal everyone brings food to share. So don’t think your host has run out of plates, they have them, even if they’re plastic/cardboard. If you’re from another country/culture get out the recipe book cause it’s supposed to be home made ( not fancy, just home style cooking)
Tea is even in our law, every business has to provide tea facilities for staff :D
Wait what? Is this true?
Yep that’s right and sometimes our job shouts us a monthly barbecue if we did our work deadlines. Geez we’re spoilt 🤦🏾♀️😂 note to self stop complaining about your job! My boss even shouts us coffees now n then from Z gas station. And the odd Maccas ‘ for a job well done troops’ This during the COVID. Our company is actually people orientated just didn’t realise it till now.
If you walked around here in New Zealand carrying a gun you'd provoke a callout of the local Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) before being arrested for carrying an offensive weapon.
I'm in the USA, thinking New Zealand is the place I'd like to live and it just seems weird to not have a gun in the house yet feel safe.
Americans who have just moved to New Zealand must seem like traumatized combat veterans to you all.
NZs' version of a SWAT team
@@Paul-os1fr to be fair she is portraying NZ in a rather flattering light. It’s not quite the way she says it is but it’s close enough.
There’s plenty of people who don’t get the holidays etc that’s she is talking about and kind of carry the NZ economy
@@Paul-os1fr we got hands 👊
In 1958 at Easter 4 of my friends had gone down to Coromandel on the Wednesday to go pig hunting. I couldn’t get away so on Thursday at about 4.00 pm I walked from the Town Hall area down Queen st. To the bus depot. Forget where it was somewhere behind the then Post Office. I walked the whole way in shorts boots and shirt carrying a 303 rifle with a belt of ammo wrapped around it. No one even blinked. At the bus station a cop approached me and asked if i had a license which I produced. He then asked where the bolt was and I pulled it out of my pocket. He walked away and said have a good weekend. In Thames I hitch hiked to the Tapu turnoff and the caught another lift to Corroglen. We bagged two pigs that weekend everybody had great ham for a couple of months. In hinesite I’m amazed that I could do such a thing and that two drivers picked me up. But it just seemed normal in those days
Im an Aussie and it is so crazy to me that you wouldnt take leave at work :o
As someone previously mentioned in the comments, its a health & safety thing (as well as financial) to get people to take their leave.
You would be more productive and happier over the course of a year, having had a few holidays in there...as opposed to working 12 months straight...stuff that.
I was just randomly looking for some NZ videos and you come across as so personable and lovely! :) As a NZer my whole life, I agree especially on the safety part about losing stuff. People are always returning lost things, I even had the bus drivers decide to divert the route to return a friends phone once.
She does indeed "come across as so personable and lovely!" but you neglected to mention that she is gorgeous to boot lol
we are looking forward to move to new zealand in the future. Your videos are so informative and helpful.
Thoroughly enjoyed all the episodes so far. Just loved the way she explains everything in detail. Its so refreshing ❤️🙂
John - so glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for your videos, they're awesome. I'm so happy you and your family are safe in my country
Thanx heaps for all your videos.... appreciate the different cultures and values between each country. It's an eye-opener. Peace
Awesome - thanks for watching!
Thanks for speaking so kindly of us kiwis , its heart warming that what we consider just every day life , to you guys such a big thing. To all you americans thinking of coming over to our country, the best piece of advice I , as a kiwi can offer you is this ,life is about enjoying EVERYTHING . Here we value our down time and that means after work 4,5pm on wards and our weekends from friday evening around 5ish pm til sunday night , is about family, friends , going out , going camping , going fishing or just being lazy and having fun with the kids. Our measure of success , and I mean true success is our ability to enjoy life , as we say , we work to live not live to work . Dont get weirded out if you come here and the first night you get invited over for tea ( dinner to you guys ) this sort of thing is just what we do , never be afraid to just stop someone on the street and ask them something , anything, kiwis will always help , because thats what we do , your a guest in our land and the best part of New Zealand is US. ENJOY YOUR TIME HERE.
Really well said - thanks James!
Happy for you and your family that you like it here, yes we are very laid back over here. I live about a one and a half hour's from you i live in Masterton in the Wairarapa i have family in Wadestown Wellington and Wainuiomata and Nelson and London.
the major centres (AKL, WLG, CHCH and DN) and some smaller cities have a decent coffee culture too.
I can vouch for Auckland and Wellington on that count.
Yes they all do - coffee in NZ is amazing!
hey I didn't even realise that I follow you over here in youtube and on tik tok . I love your content its great to see our whenua from another's eye .
Thanks so much for watching!
Another great vid 👍🏻 thanks 😊
Glad you enjoyed it
I found people in america dont call in, always met at a park or cafe. Only had a few people who came over for dinner. But always happy for me to baby sit the kids. My daughter had a blast when their kids came over
Calling dinner tea is a English/welsh thing. Older Australians call dinner tea as well. Also in Australia we say thanks by saying Tar, also said by older Australians. If you hear it in New Zealand it probably got transported over there, along with the saying no worries which got transported around the planet. I noticed you used it as well. I noticed that New Zealanders and Australians are laid back.
If Americans usually only visit for a short time did it bug you when NZer’s would stay for hours? Were you like, omg when is this person leaving lol
No not at all! I loved it actually and we were able to develop deep friendships so much quicker as well.
@@Kiwiamericans Great to hear that. Welcome! :-)
Haha I was thinking the exact same thing 😂
I was thinking the same thing because sometimes we Kiwis feels it’s rude to leave to soon lol.
The introverted Māori in me is crrraaaacccking up at your comment 🤣🤣🤣 That's so me when visitors "pop in" and 3hrs later I'm getting hohā like, "Fcuk man, are youse going soon!?" 😩😂
I love this country and I appreciate everything this country has given me I love America as well as most of my friends are from there in different states. I would love to go there one day im glad that you like it here. Thank you for this video and God bless
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!!
I mean, if you're planning on staying here, and you love it here, you're already more than halfway to being a Kiwi imo
A new subscriber here and really enjoying her neutral take on the cultural differences in a couple of videos I've seen so far. "Tea Time" cracked me up, just as she introduced the topic I'd just popped on the kettle for a cuppa tea.
Welcome aboard!
Heart warming to hear what you have to say about our home Aotearoa . Kia Ora Aunty
My understanding is by law everyone’s entitled to 4 weeks holiday per year once you’ve been with a company for one year you can choose to cash in your holidays in with some companies. There is also sick leave which up to a certain amount of days you can take with pay if you’re sick.
Binge watching your vids makes me home sick 🇳🇿🖤 Keep up the great vids 🎉🙌🏾
Dennys is open 24/7 down the road for me haha also most Maccas are open 24/7 too. Also there is gas stations open all the time. ;)
Thank you for all your great videos. Are you planning to stay in New Zealand permanently and retire there, or do you have plans to go back to the US? I'm currently living in the US and I will start my BSN/MSN program in in September. I hope to go and live in New Zealand after finishing and gaining some experience as a nurse and nurse practitioner. I know nurse practitioners (nurses in general) are in the long-term shortage list and have chances of getting permanent residency in NZ. However, I'll be 45 yo by the time I finish everything, and I don't know if I'll still qualify to apply to work in NZ at 45. Could you talk about age and the chances of getting a job or residency/citizenship in NZ? Again, thank you for all the amazing info. Very helpful.
Hello from Milwaukee! Have always thought about moving to NZ, this video has been really helpful
Awesome! Thank you! You are in Milwaukee?? Awesome - nice to meet you.
Check the website see if you can apply under the skilled visa. If you’re from Milwaukee you will love the New Zealand environment.
Nz now has a really tougher criteria for moving here got changed seems we are only after skilled, and you have to be in a certain age group, and have a job, it'll be a big change,,
I'm new to your channel but do like hearing your perspective on the 2 countries.
Just wondering by in large which country do u think is better. Glad u and your family like nz btw. 🍻
Kia Ora to you whaea and your beautiful whanau. I really appreciate that you took the time to embrace our culture and also understand why we do these things. Because Aotearoa is such a small country its really "trippy" to see that AMericans have taken ineterst in this corner of the world i feel grateful to you for even talking about NZ on your channel. Thankyou for all the love I hope your night goes sweet as
Kingston - thanks for your kind words!
This was very interesting, thank you. I am a kiwi and every time ive found someone's wallet or a ton of money, it was always returned to the rightful owner. Likewise i lost a lot of cash and a fellow kiwi hunted me down and returned it. Just puts a smile on your face and gives faith in humanity, a?
Kmart is open till midnight (at least the one near me) and most McDonalds are open 24 hours, as are most dennys resturants in New Zealand.
And you can always get a pie at the servo.😁
@@harrycurrie9664 Just remember to always blow on it.
2 or 3 coffee's what... you need to catch up... I have that just before morning smoko... errr morning tea... ;-)
Wow thanks for the info on the differences of our countries. Well I now know where I'm never gonna move to. Great video cheers
Any time!
It's fascinating to listen to your observations as an American...I never thought about the tea thing....we're a weird bunch. Alot of visitors comment about NZers going to the supermarket barefoot and yeah I've seen that heaps since I started looking...I thought it was hilarious that I'd never noticed before
Glad you enjoyed the video :)
You're born without shoe's, so what's funny seems logical to walk around bare footed USA, no shoe's no top, no service
NZ no shoe's, no top no worries
im 64 and have always lived in new zealand however i have relatives in usa and the thing they notice when visiting is the atmosphere, they tell us that they dont have to be constantly aware of who is walking behind them, that complete strangers smile and say hello and i think the thing that shocks them the most is that I live in Christchurch, and i live in a bungalow and my bedroom window is open 24/7 even when not at home and in the middle of the night. Admittedly if its really cold, like maybe two or three nights in the middle of winter i close it, otherwise its open so my cats can come in and out as they please.
Hiiiii😁 i remember seeing u on tik tok lolz. So now i subscribed. Love ur vids btw❤
Thanks for subbing and watching!
Awesome.. thanks for watching
I currently live in Wellington and was living in Peru, spot on comments
Thanks for watching!
Good post, I agree with all your points. I love that we can bank unused leave days to be able to take an overseas trip every couple of years.
Saturdays are for taking kids to their sport in the morning and for adults to play sport in the afternoon and with time one evening for practice or social activity.
Tea breaks or smoko as an integral part of the work day, although I used to drink tea in the UK, but turned to coffee on arrival in NZ. In my township of around 20k people we have 18 coffee shops, I don't know how they all survive.
Initially moving to Christchurch, a city of around 400k people it felt as safe as living in a town of 20k people in the UK, obviously there are areas that you would take extra precautions or would just avoid if alone at night, (common sense), but generally it's pretty safe. To give some perspective a gang affiliate was stabbed in Rangiora a couple of weeks ago and it was sufficiently serious to make the national news.
I think one other difference that you missed, that Americans would find shocking would be around the ACC system, and paying people while they are unable to work, and funding medical services to help them get back to work.
Ian - thanks for sharing and totally agree about the coffee thing - how do all these shopes survive? Yes the ACC thing would shock Americans but I also think they would write it off as nice that you can do that with such a small population.Thanks for watching.
@@Kiwiamericans ACC scheme removes the right to sue over accidents as you might in US....which I think is a moneymaker for the lawyers more than the injured. It's a "no fault" system here.
I’m a kiwi and I really enjoy your videos. I hope you’re at home here in Aotearoa.
Litigation. In New Zealand you pretty much can't sue, and when you can claim compensation it certainly isn't multi-million dollar payouts.
That's why we have ACC...
Would like to know who was it in your family that brought up the idea in the beginning of even considering NZ and how that progressed or motivated you or your family? Just curious ? We are a family of 5 here in NYS and it was me who brought up the thought to my husband during the pandemic that got us to really think about what we want and are getting out of our current quality of life
Kiaora our American whanau (family). I follow your vlogs good to see you & your whanau have fitted into kiwi life slowly but surely. In our Native tongue we will call you Tangata Whenua (People of the land) your family are now part of us to live & share this beautiful country we call Aotearoa, Niu Tirini (NZ). Which means the land of the long white cloud, NZ. I hope our country is taking good care of you & your whanau. You've now been officially adopted as true Kiwis.
I will be looking forward to your cooking shows❤️
Awesome! What would you like to see!
Much respect to you I also follow you on tiktok ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for watching!
Where do you guys live in NZ?
I'm in Maungaraki, Lower Hutt (Wellington area, Lower end of the North Island).
Awesome we are in Harbour view - so essentially neighbors :)
Crazy I live in petone, the good ol' Hutt eh hahaha
oh i love this.. so fascinating
Glad you enjoyed it!
Your vidoes are heart warming, I enjoy watching them and can relate to many of your new experiences, having imigrated to New Zealand 27 years ago. Coming from apartheid South Africa I was particularly cautious not to be racially offensive, as some of the humour in SA was around racism and between races, once you were friends, humour was a great antidote for tention. Imagine my shock when this paleface was greeted with the 'n' word by a grinning Maori fellow. I have since learned that it can also be a token of acceptance and friendship, but that would be in male only company. In closer circles I hear it quite often as races mix, tease and laugh, but just don't say it first.
New Zealand is a very tollerant and friendly melting pot of nationalities races and cultures, especially pre covid. Sometimes there were as many nationalities as there were people sitting around a bar table. I love New Zealand Aotearoa.
I note you havnt been to the 20th Battle monument in Wellington,
is this an Easter Picnic event for your ex pats in NZ,
bring a plate?
Greg from Auckland, i use to live in Hamilton,
ps, AUT shuts down for a month over Xmas,
Im saving a lot of annual leave thanks to Covid,
hows your annual leave balance?
Wow! My friend came over for dinner the other day and she stayed for three days 🤣🤣
Wait, what?! You guys don't have electric kettles?! How do you make coffees?!
I'm in Wellington too 😁 I'll make sure to say hello if I see ya.
Yes please - say hello! They make drip coffee in the USA - so no need to for hot water. Thanks for watching.
@@Kiwiamericans with a jug/kettle you can boil up some water for instant noodles at 2.AM no need to go out
Can be expensive and stressful in Auckland.
10:15 Durn tootin' there are.. I could give you some pointers on some places if you liked.
Of course - please do!!!!
Great video glad you like it here
The work/life balance thing......I don't know if the New Zealand description is entirely accurate. I find it's very dependant on the exact sector you work in. Retail and hospitality for example are very "open all hours" kind of businesses and most people in those sectors will be working when others are not eg late nights, weekends and public holidays
I really enjoyed this and I'm kiwi thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching
wait what!? if you dont have jugs (electric kettles) how do you make coffee or boil water at home?, what do you usually offer guests if not a hot drink?
Apparently they use the microwave for that. I guess if you’re just making a single cup of tea or coffee for yourself it might even save on power.
Sounds like a place I would love. Seriously thinking about moving there from the U.S. just starting to do some research on work , cost of living and all. I like mountain biking and hiking so looking at Queenstown ,Wanaka but housing looks a little pricey there!
Yes it is pricey.. there is great mountain biking and hiking everywhere in NZ... queenstown will be more expensive
Your looking at two of the most expensive areas of NZ to buy housing in. There are many areas you can live for far cheaper and still enjoy your sports. For example, if your into skiing ⛷ there are around 39 ski resorts, but tourist only get sold the most expensive options. Kiwis prefer to go to the others - way less crowded, more adventurous and fun. My husband was a ski patroller in his day and has never been to Queenstown or Wanaka in his life, even though he is a born and breed South Islander. I on the other hand am a cyclist/hiker and I have done most of the lesser known tracks but I have never walked the tracks promoted,for tourists either, l hate crowds. We have close to 600 hiking and walking tracks in NZ. I worked in Aussie for a while, did 8 yrs at Melbourne airport. One morning we had at least 40+ customers waiting to be served; and I was helping a British couple. When they realised I was a Kiwi they got excited. They told me their next stop was NZ and could I give them and tips on where to go for the best photos. I kid you not, before l could reply, every customer waiting in line spoke in unison “Around every corner”. And that’s the truth, most videos on NZ are only showing you the tourist routes and locations. We have soooo much more.
Go to, immigration NZ,,there are certain thing's you need to know,,Age is one,,if you've reached a certain age,,no go,,the government,said,we aren't a retirement village,,medical,,if you have a medical history,that needs, continuance, treatment,,no go,
And you certainly need a job,or skill we need,,if you pass all those above,,then you've got the cost of,moving,hear its pretty high,,
So if ya serious,,us a NZ government'immigration adviser,,
Tea time is also known as "smoko". ie in the old days workers stopped for a cigarette.
Too good haha also grew up saying whats for tea lol
I loved growing up and going into Milwaukee, loved the ethnic diversity of the neighborhoods ..
I liked going to the different neighborhood restaurants and bars .. Are there "pockets" or neighborhoods like that in Wellington?
I would feel safe anywhere in Milwaukee 30 years ago, but not any more - That is true for most cities in the US it seems (sadly) ..
Wellington is pretty small so you don't really get neighbourhoods of different ethnicities. It's culturally diverse, but everyone kind of mixes in together.
If that’s what you enjoy, the different restaurants, and cafe lifestyle, and the nightlife, then I think we’re going to have trouble getting you out of our country..😂🤣😂🤣 you are going to love it, it’s getting to the point where Americans will arrive to NZ and be greeted by an American accent. I have a friend who is Californian, travelled all the way to NZ where he met his future wife, who had moved here from Orange County 😂🤣😂🤣
Wow heaps of tea there definitely ☕️🍵
Thankyou for your nice review of our NZ
Thank you too for watching.
You reminded me to make a cup of tea! 😀 🍵 😋
Your welcome!
When you have a visitor..first thing is put the kettle on....even offer workmen/people a cup of tea/coffee while they are doing their job.
Yes - I have that detail down pat now! Thanks for watching.
Yeah that's from the English culture Having TEA.
We call dinner TEA sometimes from the reference of TEA it's a bit weird ish we say that but we DO
The only thing open 24/7 here is Mcdonald's and petrol stations 😂😂👌 also, I wish people would only stay for 3 hours at my house... Sometimes they come for lunch and still here to watch me cook dinner 😂😂 sometimes kiwis are TOO interested in hanging around 😂😂😅
What amazed me was when i was in america i went to Panera bread Westborough MA (rich white town)and a huge group of teenagers put all their cell phones all over the tables and went and got food. None of them worried about having a cell phone stolen
Wow - interesting...thanks for sharing
I have been watching a lot of your Tik Toks (my username is youraverageautistic on Tik Tok) and your UA-cam videos and I am realising how lucky I am to be a Kiwi. Thank you for helping me realise and appreciate my country more and also learn what things we do need to work on! It is always good to know what needs to be worked on, even if it is hard to hear. Thank you.
Totally agree! Thanks for watching across all my channels!
@@Kiwiamericans Happy to do that. I enjoy the videos and trying to learn from them is great!
After 23 years of shiftwork I decided to get a "normal" job and it took me ages to get used to having mealbreaks. And tea breaks? What the heck? And weekends? Quality sleep? No way! Hanging out at dinner parties? I was working during all social hours! So I feel a bit foreign in my own country. But most people do have a work/life balance here. I chose a tougher job path in my youth. Also I can't imagine not returning someone's lost property.
Oh wow - thanks for sharing. Obviously I cannot represent everyone's experience but thanks for sharing yours !
How did you find Easter and Christmas Day in NZ? Where everything is closed.??
I really love that about NZ!
Whatever lady! We have 24 hour Maccas! Love a summer holiday though
Thank you so much for this...I'm currently trying to figure out if our family should move to NZ. I did my Master's degree there and had problems with being there, but now that we have kids our priorities have changed.
Thanks for watching! Tell e more about what problems you had when you were here?
@@Kiwiamericans The very low quality of the housing (we were in Dunedin), the limited choice/expensive consumer goods, and one big thing is that my husband is very outgoing and extroverted, and people seemed to not feel comfortable with that. (Unless they were drunk, at which time they were either our best friend or wanted to fight :D :D ) We also met a lot of people who wanted to tell us their very dark stories, haha...it was like once you scratched the surface there was a lot of crazy personal drama going on in people's lives. Maybe it's just like that anywhere, but because we were foreigners, and kind and open/sympathetic, people felt they could tell us about it without repercussions. I've also heard from others that there is prejudice against foreigners, especially in getting hired (won't hire you without Kiwi experience, but how to get Kiwi experience without being hired...) and being at work, but that doesn't seem to be your experience, which heartens me.
@@Kiwiamericans I'm also concerned because my husband is 55, and I worry that he will encounter age discrimination when trying to find a job.
When you reach a certain age,your chances of getting in are not so great
@@morrisanderson818 It's true, but I have NZ qualifications that give us a leg up. But we decided against it in the end!
What do you think of Guy Fawkes Night?
Wow I really appreciate someone being able to articulate how’s it been moving to the USA compared to NZ. I’m a kiwi born and raised and my hubby is the American. We lived there for the first 4 years of our marriage then moved to NC in 2016, so I’m really learning more about American culture. Some stuff I like, but the politics makes me want to race back to NZ to live! Haha
Awesome video. I do wonder what time is a common start/end time for work and school in the US? Also what about how Jacinda wants us to have a 4-day work week 😂😂😂
Well in my experience you don't really start school or work later than 8am. That is why the 9am start time was awesome!
The 4 day work week would be amazing!!!
My school started at 8 and ended at 3:30!
@OceanBlue kiwis are living the dream thanks to our long line of left wing socialist pigs....so what will you be doing with your months paid leave this year?
@OceanBlue Another National supporter loser,get a life .
I lived in a safe location when I lived in america but your sooo right about child safety. I can allow my teenager to walk to the supermarket and I'm not worried about her been kidnapped.
Yes exactly! Thanks for watching Wanda.
We lived in Minnesota for one year with our 1 -2 year old, not being able to take your eye off her was exhausting. Signs everywhere about missing kids even on our milk bottles. I don’t wish to be political but many of those networks have been exposed these last 4 years.
The American people are often no different to us and good people.
So great right!
All those people who are saying they JUST realised how good they have it here in NZ, is actually mind blowing.
Ok - I am glad I am not the only one but if you have not been anywhere else you don't always know.
I'm not sure what the reasoning is, but you don't have to leave NZ to know how great it is (besides the housing crisis, stagnant wages and the cost of living).
Hope you still enjoying being here, this is a link that may explain about our meal breaks.
www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2018/0013/latest/LMS8187.html This will give you an idea on why and when meal breaks are taken.
What you say here is true of much of life outside of the USA. There is just a very strong cheerleading culture in the USA that pressures you to think that there is no other way to live. Imagine working for 50 weeks and feeling bad about taking two off for your health, family and personal development!
Yes exactly! Where are u living?
Im a contractor so i pretty much clock in 7am from bed and clock out when i get back home and in bed 6pm
Welcome to our country (you and your family included hope you enjoy.
Thanks Shannon! Thanks for watching my channel.
Love your channel 👉❤🇳🇿❤👈