Things New Zealand Does Right
Since moving to NZ, I've been comparing the two countries of NZ and the USA and I have observations.
Roundabouts. Whereas whenever these pop up in the states I you get town council meetings full of "old man yells at cloud" style of public comment, these are plentiful here. Kiwis have some mixed feelings on them at times, but they function well. Traffic moves a lot faster, and yes, there's a learning curve if you weren't raised with them - like, signaling to exit being a thing - but if you just don't take a rage approach to driving, it's all well and good. If you still hate roundabouts, I invite you to go into any American city, on a time deadline, and enter the inevitable section that is one way only streets - without knowing where you need to be. Many a time has the roundabout saved me when I've missed my turn.
Jacaranda trees. Technically from South America, but planted plentifully over here too, they line the streets in a lot of neighborhoods that I've been in. During the blooming season, you drive down the road at the right time and it honestly feels kind of magical. An explosion of purple blue trees with falling petals like something out of a fantasy film. It doesn't hurt that tons of people over here use large floral plants to separate their yard from the sidewalk, usually with large pink, blue, or purple blossoms. It's colorful. I hadn't realized how monochromatic and stylistically bankrupt America has become until I left it. Speaking of which...
Every fucking architectural style under the sun in one neighborhood. America has something like this in some places, but if you want Spanish mission style in Auckland, Wellington, wherever? It's there. French? American colonial, Queen Anne, Cape Cod, Beachhouse, Islamic, Italianate, Greek revival, bungalow, etc.They're all here and all over. The amount of architectural diversity here is mind-boggling at points. One town we visit has an Art Deco theme to it and even if new business takes over, you can still see the original signage posted on a lot of places. One thing that always made me sad about the states was how willing we were to throw out the old stuff for this... cookie cutter style that now dominates all the freeway off-ramps... it removes your sense of history, it removes your sense of being when everything looks the same because you don't belong to anywhere. I know there are places that are still like this in the states, but imagine a whole country with personality.
Long training periods. Okay, I'll level with you, the job market here is smaller and therefore, more difficult no matter how qualified you are. However, when you get a job, unless you are grossly incompetent, you're going to get a fair shake. None of the American 90 days to learn the job or get the fuck out. Kiwis are divided on this one too, but I think that if they had to taste the brutality of the America job space, they'd be like... well, could be worse! Training can be considered to take 6 months to a year even. You are expected to suck at the job right away and then progress over a longer period of time. They also don't fire people at the drop of a hat. They've invested in you and unless you are really doing something bad, they're going to work with you to get you up to snuff.
We're done at 5. If not earlier. There are places open after 5, mostly food related, but lots of businesses are 8-5 and not a minute later. It's frustrating as an American at times, but also, when your boss comes around at 4 on a Friday and says, "That's it, get out of my office." You appreciate it.
Why is it not a problem all the time? Well, lots of places expect you to be an adult, so if you're an office person like me, that means you can do errands during the day. As long as your work is getting done, no one is in your fucking business. Now, teams may vary, but I've yet to meet that character of the American workplace, the office secretary/snitch, over here. The attitude is more... you took time here to grab some things, I'll take time there, and neither of us care because our work is done and there's no point in chasing people. Sure, if you don't show up enough, there's problems, but running out whenever to grab a cup of coffee? No one bats an eye or asks you to take 10 minutes off your paycheck.
Coffee culture. It's a real thing here. They do cherish their coffee and coffee breaks and have developed something kind of unique and hella smart. Can you imagine a full service coffee house in the Home Depot? How about the beauty parlor? It seemed odd to me and when I asked a friend, he laughed and said, "Yeah, like, if I have to go and look at lumber, my wife and kids can have lunch." So instead of your husband being bored while your hair is getting done, or your wife trying to look after two little ones while you get home supplies, there's a restaurant area they can sit in, relax, and have a coffee while they wait. While in the states we would likely see it as "OMG, homeless will be in there, bad kids, etc." The builders meet there in the mornings and loitering is not a problem here.
Yeah, go ahead and sit down. Fuck your hostile architecture, New Zealand isn't here for it. Lay out a towel and take in some sun, as long as you're not in some high traffic place or the road, or someone's private yard, just like.... loiter a little bit. The social contract is that you can sit and relax as long as you keep to yourself. The amount of times I have been walking around my city by myself and passed a group of young men just laughing and joking on the sidewalk, and felt myself tense up at the incoming comments - and nothing happened. One time a couple of young Maori men were roughhousing and I had to walk by them, and they stopped and waited for me and told me to have a nice day. Like... what?
Hugs and Kisses. This one might be person specific, but one of my first intros into New Zealand was a Maori welcoming ceremony where I was hugged and kissed. It really made me realize just how... physically apart we are in the states? I realized how scared I was of touching people - lest I be sued or someone assume I was a pervert. It was nice to have such a welcoming ceremony that felt like an actual embrace. For the record, my husband is a touch guy, I am always being hugged at home, but this is a different kind of thing.
Think about other people. The US is a heavily individualized society, that is well documented. It's a me me me world over there. Now I know that people cry about the socialized world over here, but it really means just thinking beyond yourself. Zippering in traffic, do your recycling, letting people out in the parking lot, checking that no children are in your random photos. (Seriously, I'm in touristville and I haven't seen a selfie yet.) If you don't want it, but it still works? Donate it, don't throw it. Don't play your music aloud on the bus, keep your voice down in public, etc. etc. Keep other people in your vision and they'll keep you. People honk their horns to acknowledge over here, not to castigate or yell. I didn't know that recycling worked until I saw people actually coming together to do it - it's our selfishness in the states that keeps us from a lot of good things - like ambulance rides only costing $125 because god forbid we do national healthcare.
Taxes. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. One rate, tied to how much you earn. They do them and send you a bill or a refund and generally it's so small, tax season ain't no thang but a chicken wing. Also, there's no married tax thing, which shocked me. My husband and I each have taxes based on what we make, not our combined income. Marriage doesn't have a financial incentive here, so a lot of people are partners instead of married, and there's no stigma around it.
Healthcare. You will see copious think-pieces from kiwis and non-kiwis alike about how bad the healthcare system is. Let's be real fucking clear here from someone who has now lived under both. The US system is only superior to any other system if you have the money to pay for it, if you do not, it is a wasteland of debt and bad treatment. I have had medical treatment in the UK, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, etc. I am so sick of this fucking lie that yeah, the US has private healthcare, but its' so much better! No waits, all the treatments, all the specialists! LIES. No waits? Bullshit. All the treatments and specialists? Yeah, if you have the right insurance, and the copay, and the money for the stuff they say they'll cover, but never do and you still have to pay after 6 months of phone calls and fighting it, and getting referrals, and then it bankrupts you. Trust me kids, nothing will make you sadder than knowing someone who beat cancer and then killed themself because they couldn't afford the bills because insurance bled them dry. The system here is slower, it has some issues because we are an island and sometimes people need to go to Australia for some treatments, but it does work. Finding doctors here can be hard because a lot of people who go into medicine are doing so because they want to make money and so the notion of living well, but not extremely rich here, does not appeal. That's not a flaw with the system here, it's a flaw with the systems that tie healthcare employment to private financial gain. I know at least two people in the states who went into the medical field solely to be rich, they could give a fuck about patient care. As far as I know, they are doctors, but I wouldn't be in their care, because I know they don't care if the patients die so long as they get paid.
Suing. The legal system works over here, but not everything needs to be legal. Suing is just not a common thing. They have tribunals for everything, a lot cheaper than lawyers, and you can usually work stuff out. Financially, you are incentivized not to be a sue-happy asshole, as appeals and going up in the levels of court is where things get expensive. Fix your shit on level one? Cheapest. Feel the need to keep suing your neighbor over dumb shit? Hope it's worth the cost. Now, here's the kicker. They have this thing called the ACC. It covers you if you're an accident victim. Healthcare isn't free here, our taxes pay for the ACC and we pay nominal fees for doctors visits, etc. Think... $5 for an entire prescription and $60 to see a doctor, but that's it. Doc orders bloodwork during that visit? Covered in the $60. So, we pay, but the government is negotiating for lower costs, that's what national healthcare is. Back to my point though, because healthcare is so cheap and there's the ACC, personal injury law is not a huge thing here. No one is faking whiplash at a fender bender. People are not suing because their kid got hurt on someone else's property. I'm sure it may happen sometimes, but it's not the de facto response you see in the states. It's amazing how much lawyers have become a sick cottage industry in the states that we churn out so many lawyers and they keep encouraging us to sue to keep themselves employed because we have no social safety net, so suing is the only way to get made whole, or even to get ahead.
Online. You can do everything online. I told them I bought a car and uploaded my license. Bing bang boom, all sent to me in the mail, no fuss. Car insurance isn't mandatory, but it's a good idea. Your license plate never changes either, which was new to me, but hey, no tags or new plates to get - ever. All your stuff is listed on a piece of paper on your windshield so the cops can see it as they talk to you. I never thought I'd not have to think about how fast I move to my glovebox so the cops don't think I have a gun?
Speaking of guns - there are guns, but not a lot. Yeah, owning guns is legal here, you need to get a license and it'll be registered with the police that you have one. Fuck around and it'll be revoked and no more guns for you. Huh. Common sense gun laws. I have to be honest, the amount of tension that has already left a lot of scenarios because I can say, "Huh, no gun probably," is so fast. I was in school during Columbine, and I've been through active shooters. My last workplace meeting in the states was not a tornado drill, or fire drill. It was how to tie a tourniquet to keep my coworker alive. Now when I hear a popping noise over here, I don't even worry. People throw hissy fits in my office, and we just sit there and let them calm down. Even the majority of any gang violence over here, yes there are gangs, is not committed with guns. Guns get extra charges, so the gang guys don't bring guns to their crimes a lot of the time. Let me emphasize, I live near to a very, very gang infested area, and I do not feel threatened walking around alone. We kind of just say "hello" to each other and go on our way. Fuck, a man in a full gang face tattoo called me Miss and stepped aside so I could use the sidewalk one time. I mean... if I have to choose the various problems I could have, I'll take that guy over the gun violence any day.
Pasifika Peoples and Culture. Racism still exists here and everywhere, honestly, so yeah, these people take some shit here. However, Pasifika people have been so welcoming and kind to us immigrants. Lots of the pakeha here complain about these people and their "island time," but here's the thing, it applies to us too! Pasifika people don't expect you to adhere to American or European times/values, you can relax with them. Chill with them, vibe. There's still a divide here between the pakeha culture (Euro descended) and Maori culture (Native peoples) and a lot of Maori culture is sometimes looked down upon. I'm a fan of the relaxed nature though. Look, the work is getting done, so if we want to sit and talk and gossip and play music? Why the fuck not? Here's something really cool too, Maori culture is actually open practice to an extent, they want you to interact with it. As a white immigrant, I am allowed to learn and do the Haka as long as I adhere to the rules of it, and I can wear Maori jewelry and there are even clothing patterns that are considered acceptable for common use among Maori tribes and pakeha both. Which is good, because I can support local Maori owned business and still wear brilliant clothes and jewelry without worry. It's a stark departure from the US, where doing anything belonging to a culture that I did not have a blood tie to would instantly be considered mean, rude, and colonizing. As long as I act in a kind and respectful manner, I can engage with this group and learn from them in a manner that extends beyond reading a textbook or simply viewing. Learning Te Reo Maori is encouraged and mixed into the English language quite a bit.
