New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[hayleyearth]

So in the land of daisies and roses, how real is the crime rate?

 

Let me tell you how my take is on the feeling of safety here with how my day has been thus far...

This morning we got woken up by out little one being restless in her cot, not by hearing a dodgy sound outside of the house in our garden or in the street

We moved around in our house from the rooms to the kitchen without having to unlock any doors or separation gates (as I know many houses in SA also now have)

Our little one opened our curtains to windows with a view of trees etc without the obstruction of bars across the windows

We opened the doors to the porch by unlocking one lock and without having to open a security gate and some of the window we opened are left open during the day while no one is home

We got our bicycles out of the garage and left them leaning on the side of the house while we were getting our stuff inside the house without a worry that they wont be there when we go out again

My partner and I cycled our little 15 month old to school this morning passing a beautiful beach and calm waters with boats drifting offshore, then we rode to work (I must add, she just looooves it!)

Our bikes are on a bike stand with all the lights still attached in a car park open to public (we do have a chain on both bikes though, mostly because we don't want them to be bumped over by all the other people using the bike racks these days)

This afternoon we will cycle back to the little ones school, where we will once again leave our bicycles leaning on the front gate while we go in to fetch her

We will cycle back home pass the beautiful beach with a 'not so low hanging sun anymore due to daylight saving' and we will get to a home where we have to turn one key to get inside

We will make our dinner and eat it and most probably walk to the beach again before bedtime routine

My partner will go for his run outside around 8pm and without thought or a worry I know he will return safely

 

 

Crime is never on my mind, if it is, it is because my parents are still in SA

[arabsandals]

Car theft in Aus is the only crime aspect that is worse than SA. In 2018, about 50 000 vehicles were stolen in each country, so when normalised to population, Aus is really shown in a bad light. The link below says about 70% are stolen short term, for joy-rides or to commit another offence and recovered. Car jacking in Aus however is so rare that it would make the news, so maybe a hundred per year, rare enough not to have its own crime category for stats.

 

A much higher proportion of the population owns cars in Australia, therefore more cars and more theft as the market is larger and easier to move units around. Australia has over 19 million cars on the road whereas SA only has 9 million odd.

 

Re crime, I reckon it's largely a function of employment. Australia has a 5% unemployment rate, SA's is officially 29% but I think it's objectively closer to 50%, depending on how you measure it.

[patches]

Car theft in Aus is the only crime aspect that is worse than SA. In 2018, about 50 000 vehicles were stolen in each country, so when normalised to population, Aus is really shown in a bad light. The link below says about 70% are stolen short term, for joy-rides or to commit another offence and recovered. Car jacking in Aus however is so rare that it would make the news, so maybe a hundred per year, rare enough not to have its own crime category for stats.

 

https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/car-insurance/research/car-theft-statistics.html

 

https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/340513/south-africa-crime-stats-2019-everything-you-need-to-know/

 

Funnily enough, in my suburb, burglar bars on houses built in the late 70's and 80's seem to have been in style back then and look pretty common. The newer houses tend not to have. Houses from before that period in older suburbs also don't seem to have barred windows as a common feature.

 

Most houses only have front fences or walls if they are trying to keep their dogs in, and they are a minority. And notwithstanding the car theft mentioned above, its pretty common for garages to be used as storage - or converted into play rooms, and vehicles are parked in the open driveway or out on the street.

 

When I first moved to NZ and bought a car I asked a colleague where I could get anti-smash & grab film put on the windows.

 

He laughed at me and said he had never heard of such a thing.

[Wayne Potgieter]

When I first moved to NZ and bought a car I asked a colleague where I could get anti-smash & grab film put on the windows.

 

He laughed at me and said he had never heard of such a thing.

I did the same thing at the dealership when we ordered the first car.

 

 

Oof. 

 

I also asked for a panic button system. That took 30 minutes to explain.

[GrahamS2]

Car theft in Aus is the only crime aspect that is worse than SA. In 2018, about 50 000 vehicles were stolen in each country, so when normalised to population, Aus is really shown in a bad light. The link below says about 70% are stolen short term, for joy-rides or to commit another offence and recovered. Car jacking in Aus however is so rare that it would make the news, so maybe a hundred per year, rare enough not to have its own crime category for stats.

It's a major problem here, but there's also a lot more registered vehicles (20 million in Aus vs 12 million in SA). 

[patham]

When I first moved to NZ and bought a car I asked a colleague where I could get anti-smash & grab film put on the windows.

 

He laughed at me and said he had never heard of such a thing.

 

Car window film is a huge thing in Aus, and the dealers all pester you to use their special guy. But entirely for window tint and UV protection purposes (ooops, sorry, don't want to rub the lack of sunshine in NZ in your faces), and not for security.

[RossW]

Car window film is a huge thing in Aus, and the dealers all pester you to use their special guy. But entirely for window tint and UV protection purposes (ooops, sorry, don't want to rub the lack of sunshine in NZ in your faces), and not for security.

And it certainly helps keep the interior cool in the peak of the Brisbane summer.

[patches]

Car window film is a huge thing in Aus, and the dealers all pester you to use their special guy. But entirely for window tint and UV protection purposes (ooops, sorry, don't want to rub the lack of sunshine in NZ in your faces), and not for security.

 

hahahaha!

 

We have sunshine... sometimes!

 

What we don't have is mind melting heat. I think there's a reason that Queensland, Western Australia, and the Norther territory have high populations of low IQ bogans. Too many years in the sun fried their brains!

 

You guys be careful out there. Wear hats. Tinfoil ones if possible! We don't want you turning full-bogan!

 

On a serious note though, many Aussies admit that they get worse sunburn in NZ than in Aus, even htough Aus is hotter. Reason being the UV factor down here is really high. So even though it doesn't peak much above 30, there's a bite to those beams!

[GrahamS2]

And it certainly helps keep the interior cool in the peak of the Brisbane summer.

Yeah the decent film blocks a huge percentage of UV and IR. Really helps.

The dealer wanted $650 to do mine, but I found a local chap who did a really good job for $300, with top end film too. Just goes to show.

Edited October 9, 2019 by GrahamS2

[Slowbee]

Thanks for the reply guys.

 

And apologies if the question was facetious  - was not meant to be.

 

It would be naive to think crime elsewhere does not exist. But it is more a case of making an informed choice.

[patches]

Thanks for the reply guys.

 

And apologies if the question was facetious  - was not meant to be.

 

It would be naive to think crime elsewhere does not exist. But it is more a case of making an informed choice.

 

Oh no, I didn't take it as facetious at all.

 

It takes some adjustment living here. The Saffer in me always expected the worst and kept my guard up.

 

In the end though one adjusts and realizes that life is just different, especially from a safety perspective. And that's not only crime. Road safety, construction safety, all round.

 

It really is a different lifestyle. Trading some luxuries that money can buy, for some that it can't.

[Slowbee]

Now. Lets talk about the lack of sunshine ....

[Wayne Potgieter]

Now. Lets talk about the lack of sunshine ....

I am sitting at my kids school at 7pm while they play on the playground. It’s still sunny.

 

Winter is ***.

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Wayne Potgieter

[rad006]

I'm sure my story will just add to your NZ happiness.

 

We were woken up by loud noises and shouting @ 4am.

 

Turns out police gave chase to a stolen car which ended up in our Cul de sac, the thief managed to get away through a gap between the houses into the greenbelt. The cops had no urge to call in reinforcements or a dog unit to search for the perp.

 

So here I am, lying in bed, thinking of darn, what if this thief is sitting in my garden camping somewhere and the police just do not care... Didn't help that I was leaving an hour later to go to gym... kept thinking what if this thief taps on my window with his gun, whilst I am reversing down my driveway.....

 

Aaaa how I miss NZ.....

[hayleyearth]

I am sitting at my kids school at 7pm while they play on the playground. It’s still sunny.

 

Winter is ***.

 

 

IMG_3554.JPG

 

Today was an absolute stunner!!

Even lots of people swimming in the sea water when we cycled past @17:15!

Perfect weather is say, not to hot either but hope enough for short sleeves and slops

[patches]

Now. Lets talk about the lack of sunshine ....

 

 

I am sitting at my kids school at 7pm while they play on the playground. It’s still sunny.

 

Winter is ***.

 

 

IMG_3554.JPG

 

Daylight savings is awesome. On the South Island in peak summer you'll get daylight until 9:30/10pm.

 

As for the amount of sunny days, that's largely dependent on location.

 

Auckland is probably similar to CT in winter, with a dash of Durban in Jan/Feb (hot and sticky).

 

Wellington is notorious for having 4 seasons in a day. But they say when the sun is shining it is nigh unbeatable.

 

Nelson and Abel Tasman probably have the best all round weather.

 

The West Coast has massive annual rainfall figures. sunny days are few and far between there, but over to the east (on the other side of the Southern Alps), the weather in Canterbury and Central Otago is great. Christchurch in particular is protected by the Port Hills so sees little annual rainfall of about 600mm (nearly half of JHB), but it's evenly spread at about 50mm per month.

 

Some cracker cloudless-sunny days in Christchurch, and despite what people think, I didn't think winter felt any colder there than it did in JHB.

 

So basic summary:

• Auckland - yin & yang (summer & winter)
• Wellington - daily gamble
• Nelson - Happy Days!
• West Coast - you WILL get rained on
• Christchurch - decent all round