Wayne Potgieter

Change of subject... Most of you know that I have started studying again (actually, I am almost done with the degree) I have been doing some work in the Abnormal Psychology field this semester and the PTSD and Depression sections are fascinating. There is so much synergy with my old life in RSA and the extreme levels of stress and Mood Disorders we all accepted as being the normal way of living. It is really good to put things back in to perspective. Sure, the winters are wet and RSA has wildlife and cheap houses and restaurants, but when you put things into a more holistic perspective, we really are quite privileged to call this place home...

At the risk of sounding like an old man - i would totally report that dude. Your Bro's mistake does not warrant such a response.

I just sold a car privately and it was so easy. Once i found a willing buyer, he went online and could see ALL the history of the car including any outstanding financed amounts. He paid me for the car and when he collected it we both filled out an online form on his phone and immediately the vehicle was transferred into his name. Easy Peasy.

Sure, the NZ Economy "suffers" because of size and location. But perhaps a better question is how does the NZ economy compare to another economy? My opinion is that things are far better here than RSA (even with the NZ challenges) Perhaps I am biased. Owning my own business in RSA and having to deal with BBBEE and a struggle to obtain payment from customers along with a workforce that was more concerned with stealing than working has left me a little jaded. Do I think NZ could do better - ABSOLUTELY.

yep. This is a set of concerns my wife had to go through. At the end of the day she came to the realisation that she has to make good choices for the next generation. Not the previous generation. That doesn’t make it any easier. Just yesterday she found out there is a HIGH degree of certainty that both her folks have COVID but there is nothing we can do because of how far away we are. I did not have to deal with any of this. I never thought there would be a silver lining in being the last remaining relative.

My current next door neighbours are from Durban. They brought over a dog and a cat. took them 6 months to find a rental that would allow pets (they had to put the pets in a boarding house until they found a rental and within 1 week of finding said rental and moving in, the cat was run over in the road. Yes, you read that correctly - it took 6 months to find a rental. I cannot imagine how horrible it must have been for the pets to be shipped halfway across the world only to be stuck in a kennel for 6 months. Honestly Travis. It aint worth it and if its a deal breaker for your wife, then you need to question if this is for you. There are lots of compromises along the way and refusing to compromise on this is possibly not a good way to begin.

PEEEEKTCHAS

I did a little look. Domestic use has them for $189 each I reckon I can get 4 of them into a small courier box that is insured and tracked to South Africa for $79.00 That’s roughly $840 for the lot or $210 each. Rough exchange rate right now is R11.05 to the NZD so that’s R9.282.00 for the package. Or R2,329.50 each. I obviously have not tried to get discount from Domestique, this is all going on local web store prices. Not sure how long the package would take but the site claims it would take 3-6 days( seems a little quick to me). I am basing this on NZPOST which is very reliable. Then obviously there may be costs to split it up in RSA and get it to individual buyers. I just used four as a random example to stretch out the courier. Feel free to adjust accordingly. Ben from domestique is a good guy. He responds almost instantly to Facebook messages and is super helpful. I am pretty certain we can get a bit of discount for a bigger purchase. The runn charges with a micro USB charger so you shouldn’t have issues with international plugs. Nz can be a little on the expensive side for electronics because we are so far from everywhere else. I suggest checking Europe as that might be a cheaper option. Edit. Spelling is hard.

This is going to sound cruel but I am glad we did not bring our pets. The adjustment would be too huge. The costs too high and rentals with a pet is a difficult challenge. We rehomed our pets in SA. Mostly to gunners and we stayed in contact and they look really happy. Edit. Not gunners. HUBBERS.

I bought mine from Domestique. If you guys want me to buy a few from them and ship them to you I can arrange if you like? Regards

i bought locally. But I live in New Zealand.

Hi Travis. If no kids, CHC would be a good choice. Proviso being it is a small town compared to most of ZA. For perspective, Benoni has half the population of AUCKLAND. And that's our biggest city. CHC is a good gateway to adventure and still has a reasonably good economy for job seekers. I went there three weeks ago to investigate living there, but was not happy with the schools so that's why we did not make the move. My biggest suggestion and recommendation is to use a registered immigration agent. Especially in these turbulent times. Paying for good advice is invaluable. Most of us moved here before the major immigration changes, so essentially our advice becomes more obsolete over time. I am happy to recommend a few if you like?

I do. The reason I chose the Runn over the footpods is specifically for multiple users. Both Wife and I use the treadmill and more recently my son. So the Runn is a great way that we all share the device and lowers the per person cost. It works great - after a quick calibration to match the treadmill speed it works a treat. I placed the stickers every 50cm on the belt and was up and running (pun intended) in less than 10 minutes. Charge lasts about 10 days with three people using it three times a week for 30-60 minute runs. It picks up cadence and elevation as well. Although I am not too sure about the accuracy of the elevation reading. I highly recommend as a cheap way to get Zwifting quickly.

Ummm - I lived in Rynfield. Something about Benoni must have really sucked for so many of us to be here?

On the maintenance side it is almost non existent. I need to do an annual WOF by law. My annual service costs $105 which includes the WOF. Main thing they check for is tyre wear. With never going to a fuel station, checking your tyre pressure is not top of mind so it is something to remember explicitly to do. Honestly, its not worth changing the batteries at this point on these cars. The lifespan is around 15 years and then the car is essentially toast. Until the battery packs come down in price(which they are) its probably not worth it as you would be bored in 15 years anyway. A battery replacement on a 2015 leaf is around $7k and by the time it will need one in 10 years, i doubt it will even be worth that. I drove a 2020 Tesla the other day and can confirm that the difference in the batteries from my leaf to the tesla is huge. The technology has come a long way since then. We love EV's so much, we replaced our big 3.5L V6 Highlander with a Rav4 Hybrid and it is awesome!

Its a great cheap little car for running around. We used it almost exclusively for a year and a bit and only used the big car for weekends away. I moved to Mercury Energy when we got it as they offer great power incentives for ev's. Costs me about $4 to "fill the tank" and i can do around 120km on that charge. We charged primarily at home using a standard wall plug. In AKL we can also use the Vector public chargers for free , so i can charge it from empty to 80% in less than 30 minutes at a garage. It is insanely quick - having all that torque is amazing and there is not many vehicles that keep up to it on pull off. EDIT - the range is better in winter weirdly, Get around 140km on a single charge. I bought the smallest battery size at 24kw. There is a 30KW version in the old shape, but with only doing low mileages around home, there was really no need to buy the bigger battery. I got into the habit of charging it every second evening and it became second nature really to just plug the car in. I highly highly recommend an EV in NZ as a second runaround. I would not use it as a primary family vehicle as the range is too short for long trips.

I am selling our little runaround Nissan Leaf. With both of us working from home, it is getting almost NO use. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/listing/2708465113?bof=D22iymMk Hubber discount will be available.

Thanks. That's a bit pricey for an 11 year olds bike I don't even think my bike cost that much! Not disputing your price at all - just disputing spending that much on a kid!

Out of curiosity, what do you want for it? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BTW!!!!

I would normally agree with you but an Sworks Epic for an 11 year old is pushing the boundaries a bit.

yeah, even our bad politicians are pretty good compared to some of the other muppets in the wide world.

Too big China. Looking for an XS for the boy - probably also too much bike for him anyway.

Size?

This is exactly why I brought this up - I am caught up in the PR movement but want to balance that with policy and effectiveness. I admit I don't know enough and that is quite scary because I believe a vote is a powerful thing. If I had to summarise my position right now, its Leaning towards ACT with a fondness for Labour. Personally, I think Judith Collins is a dangerous person mired in controversy, but not having a personal history in the country to go on, I am basing this opinion on other peoples reporting and that too is dangerous. Anyone know what David Seymours stance is on the Marijuana vote? Given his time spent in Canada, I would assume he is pro (I found an article from 2018 where he seemed to come across as for the bill) but not much newer material. I guess I am being lazy by asking Intern, but who cares amiright?

On the subject of Labour. I like the empathetic and kind way of governance. I think what the world needs is a little more kindness and seeing it spread from the top down is a good thing. BUT - and there is always a big but - there is also a time for hard action and being of substance. I think Labour will win this election and struggle with managing a post Covid economy. I am a huge supporter of the Euthanasia Bill - this is what actually put Seymour on my map.