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

[Rocket-Boy]

Most of my colleagues are out searching for Springbok jerseys so they can support us in the final!

Honestly that is one of the things I have always loved about NZ and SA rugby, there is always a mutual respect for two great rugby nations.

I guess it doesnt hurt that half of NZ these days is made up of saffas!!

[davetapson]

Rentals - we are due to renew in Feb. 

 

We are going to bring out my aged parents about then for a visit and didn't want to be having to move house at that stage so asked the agent what the owners plans were for renewal.

 

They have offered us another fixed term contract for a year at same rate.  

 

Is this normal - do you extend contracts by a year or go on to a monthly rolling deal?

[patches]

What's the vibe like there after the rugga? Think they may take it even more seriously than we do as they are used to a team that consistently performs well.

 

I think the front page of The Herald summed up the general NZ sentiment over their loss...

 

 

The kiwis take their rugby VERY seriously. It's probably the reason the All Blacks have been a formidable team for so long.

 

From 5yr old youngsters playing matches, barefoot, in mud, rain, and howling wind, on a Saturday morning in a rural farming town with all parents lining the sides of the field cheering them on, to the fact that when an All Black has an indiscretion in their personal life they become fallen heroes and disappoint the nation.

 

It's quite opposite to Rugby League in Aus where players are known for their domestic abuse tendencies and no-one bats an eye, no match suspensions, life goes on. But heaven forbid their cricketers commit the cardinal sin with some 100 grit.

 

Besides Kiwis being born and bred to love rugby and the All Blacks, I think what made it worse is that it was England. They narrowly (and arguably, wrongfully) lost the cricket world cup to the poms in the same year, so losing the rugby too (the thing that NZ is known best for) was even more bitter.

Edited November 3, 2019 by patches

[intern]

Hey at least that made all the Kiwis Springbok fans on Saturday night 

[patches]

Rentals - we are due to renew in Feb. 

 

We are going to bring out my aged parents about then for a visit and didn't want to be having to move house at that stage so asked the agent what the owners plans were for renewal.

 

They have offered us another fixed term contract for a year at same rate.  

 

Is this normal - do you extend contracts by a year or go on to a monthly rolling deal?

 

I think this is normal.

 

I remember earlier this year a friend's lease was due for renewal. He didn't want to commit to another 12 months because he was planning on buying, but he also didn't want to move in the interim (he had lived their for 8yrs) so before the landlord could send through a renewal agreement, he send one but changed the terms to 6 months. Landlord wasn't happy and said the terms were 1yr at the same rate.

 

Some negotiations ensued and during that time my friend bought a house. Not wanting to pay a mortgage and rent he negotiated harder to pay an increased rate (10%) more but to have a month-to-month agreement with 2 months notice.

 

The landlord eventually agreed and realized it was less hassle than finding a new tenant immediately. My friend gave notice 1 month after the agreement, haha!

 

So yeah, it should be negotiable, but you may have to pay more!

[patches]

Honestly that is one of the things I have always loved about NZ and SA rugby, there is always a mutual respect for two great rugby nations.

I guess it doesnt hurt that half of NZ these days is made up of saffas!!

 

Hahaha, I bet the pubs on the North Shore were erupting on Saturday night!

 

I've been in Perth for the past 10 days. So many Saffers there. The streets were flooded with Bok jerseys on Saturday evening and the atmosphere in the pub where we watched was electric. It was awesome in Perthtoria that night!

 

...other observations about Perth...

 

It's hot, dry, and the suburbs remind me of the west rand (the number of bogans per square km didn't help).

 

but Kings Park botannical gardens are awesome, Perth has Mochachos (yummm!) and it tasted the same as the ons in SA, Freemantle is cool, and once again, I realized how much we get reamed for groceries here in NZ.

 

That said, I'm not moving there anytime soon.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Hahaha, I bet the pubs on the North Shore were erupting on Saturday night!

 

I've been in Perth for the past 10 days. So many Saffers there. The streets were flooded with Bok jerseys on Saturday evening and the atmosphere in the pub where we watched was electric. It was awesome in Perthtoria that night!

 

...other observations about Perth...

 

It's hot, dry, and the suburbs remind me of the west rand (the number of bogans per square km didn't help).

 

but Kings Park botannical gardens are awesome, Perth has Mochachos (yummm!) and it tasted the same as the ons in SA, Freemantle is cool, and once again, I realized how much we get reamed for groceries here in NZ.

 

That said, I'm not moving there anytime soon.

Actually, This post interests me.

 

I was recently offered a pretty cool job in Perth. Given that Ill have citizenship in a year, I was wondering what the place was like.

 

How about we get a nice detailed Patches style debrief on Perth?

[Stretch]

Hahaha, I bet the pubs on the North Shore were erupting on Saturday night!

 

I've been in Perth for the past 10 days. So many Saffers there. The streets were flooded with Bok jerseys on Saturday evening and the atmosphere in the pub where we watched was electric. It was awesome in Perthtoria that night!

 

...other observations about Perth...

 

It's hot, dry, and the suburbs remind me of the west rand (the number of bogans per square km didn't help).

 

but Kings Park botannical gardens are awesome, Perth has Mochachos (yummm!) and it tasted the same as the ons in SA, Freemantle is cool, and once again, I realized how much we get reamed for groceries here in NZ.

 

That said, I'm not moving there anytime soon.

I did business in Perth a few years back. It's not that bad.. But you're right.. Very dry. Fremantle is awesome and Subiaco has a great vibe.. But Perth is super isolated

[patham]

Actually, This post interests me.

 

I was recently offered a pretty cool job in Perth. Given that Ill have citizenship in a year, I was wondering what the place was like.

 

How about we get a nice detailed Patches style debrief on Perth?

 

I spent a couple of weeks there in 2012 interviewing both Perth and Brisbane for live-ability, and also another week in 2013 acclimatising to Aus.

 

Perth in winter = pretty crummy and rainy and cold. Its a winter rain area - so think Cape Town.

 

Summer was ludicrously hot - December was >40 degrees. A dry heat though - so much better than Brissie at 40.

 

Hence, Perth has two crummy seasons per year, Brisbane only one (peak of summer). Advantage Brissie.

 

Perthfontein is a better name. It really was like living back in the early 90's in South Africa. All shops closed at 5:00pm. Late night shopping until 9:00 pm one day per week. All shops closed lunchtime Saturday until Monday. No such thing as deciding to have a spur of the moment barbie!

 

I felt Perth to be tiny. After a week of driving there I felt I hardly needed a GPS, and so I thought that it could feel very constrained after a while. After all there is not much north, south or east. I also noted that most professional people I knew tended to live in only one or two suburbs - which might indicate the bogan-ness of everywhere else. Subiaco is nice- but scarcely affordable.

 

Stuff takes forever to get there. All manufacturing, imports etc. are all East Coast, as is most farming. Friends who lived in Perth and since moved to Brissie always complained that ordering furniture or so in Perth would add at least a month for it to be delivered, and much extra costs to the process, and I think groceries were also more pricey.

 

Kings Park is awesome, the Perth office is right next door.

 

To sum it up this way, typically my company historically paid 5-8% more to staff in Perth to recompense for extra cost of living. I still found it a very easy decision not to go there.

[intern]

Having spent time in Perth and Brissie, Brissie wins every time and Patham is on the money. Or GC or Coolangatta or Surfer's Paradise. In fact, the Aussie East Coast just has so much more than Perth does.

 

That said, I do like Perth as I enjoy dry heat and the desert. The fake grass everywhere is a bit weird though.

[patham]

Having spent time in Perth and Brissie, Brissie wins every time and Patham is on the money. Or GC or Coolangatta or Surfer's Paradise. In fact, the Aussie East Coast just has so much more than Perth does.

 

That said, I do like Perth as I enjoy dry heat and the desert. The fake grass everywhere is a bit weird though.

 

I forgot about the fake grass. I visited my one buddy who had torn up his lawn and astro-turfed it. However, you are not allowed to put fake grass down on the pavement in front of your house - I gather the council insist on natural grass, aka dust.

 

However- horses for courses. My buddy likes it there as he has high quality beach and surf a few blocks from his house - so he has taken up daily morning surfing. Brisbane does not offer that convenience as you have to head to the GC or Sunny Coast for that. 

[patham]

Having spent time in Perth and Brissie, Brissie wins every time and Patham is on the money. Or GC or Coolangatta or Surfer's Paradise. In fact, the Aussie East Coast just has so much more than Perth does.

 

That said, I do like Perth as I enjoy dry heat and the desert. The fake grass everywhere is a bit weird though.

 

One last Perth anecdote.

 

I got the worst hire car ever from Perth airport - a real wreck from a Tier 1 hire car company (Avis). 75 000 km on the clock. The helper guy said no need to check for body damage - every single panel has already been messed up - so the form for body and window damage looked like it was coloured in by a 5 year old. It drove as badly as it looked.

 

And for this I paid full price. Part of the Perth, take it or leave it experience.

[intern]

One last Perth anecdote.

 

I got the worst hire car ever from Perth airport - a real wreck from a Tier 1 hire car company (Avis). 75 000 km on the clock. The helper guy said no need to check for body damage - every single panel has already been messed up - so the form for body and window damage looked like it was coloured in by a 5 year old. It drove as badly as it looked.

 

And for this I paid full price. Part of the Perth, take it or leave it experience.

Memorable, though, like the worst holidays are the ones which always stand out.

 

I got a Polo from Avis years ago (in SA). They tried to rush me for damage to the thing...but I had proof it was already stuffed. No more Avis for me, thanks.

[patches]

Actually, This post interests me.

 

I was recently offered a pretty cool job in Perth. Given that Ill have citizenship in a year, I was wondering what the place was like.

 

How about we get a nice detailed Patches style debrief on Perth?

 

Be careful what you wish for... 

 

hahaha! So here's my list of observations into Pros and Cons. This is based on a 10day trip and being taken around to see as much of the good stuff as possible.

 

* denotes factors that are fairly general across Australia, and not necessarily unique to Perth. 

 

Pros

• Housing. Buying/renting property is a fraction of what we are exposed to in Auckland (thanks to the fizzle-out of the mining boom). $300k will get you a brand new apartment in the city. $500k should get you a house. There are still expensive suburbs and houses, but the value for money is better. And should there be another mining boom, one could stand to score bigtime on selling their cheaply acquired property.
• Food Pricing*. It's no secret that NZ has insane prices on food. Especially fresh produce in the supermarket. Aus is far cheaper, especially on fresh produce (approx 33% by my estimation). Perth has the added benefit of the supermarket chain Spud Shed.
• Location. Perth is significantly closer to SA and Europe than NZ. It makes those trips a lot more attractive and viable.
• Retail*. Perth has most of the big retail chains that Eastern Aus has. Ikea, Uniqlo
• South African Community. Maybe it's the location. Maybe Saffers moving to Australasia got to the closest city they could and said "this'll do". But yeah, going by approximate figures, Perth seems to have the highest percentage of Saffers out of the main Aus cities. But significantly less than Auckland (region), apparently.

 

 

Cons

• Bland. I'm not sure if the sun has just bleached everything, but most suburbs and areas seem dry, dull, and a little bland. One of the other Saffers on our trip said it reminded them of Randfontein. they're probably not far off. Yes there are nice parts of the CBD fancy suburbs, and Kings Park Botanical Gardens is awesome), but compared to Auckland, you'll feel like you're back in the days before colour TV.
• Hot. This may be a pro for some, but the excessive heat is not my idea of fun. 
• Bogans. Perhaps it's the brain-melting heat? Perhaps it's being so remote from other major cities? Maybe it's the mining industry? But from my experience there was a way higher bogan concentration than I have experienced in Sydney or Melbourne.
• Location. What's a plus for international travel, is a minus for domestic or Australasian travel. Perth is isolated from the rest of the Aussie cities.
• South African Community. This can also be a negative... depending on what you want. Maybe that's why I liked Christchurch. Only approx 4100 Saffers in the whole of Canterbury, haha!

Ultimately though, the right decision to move somewhere cannot be made on paper. Perth on paper can make sense. especially financially as housing and food is a lot cheaper than AKL, and salaries are the same/higher (WAY higher if you work FIFO). That said, somewhere could make all the sense in the world statistically, but when one goes there it just doesn't feel right.

 

I personally didn't get that feel-right impression from Perth.

[hayleyearth]

Another bad of NZ- the amount of leasehold properties!

Every house I have been looking at was a leasehold property!

Crazy as the sales prices was +-$1mil anyway! 

(And these aren't fancy places, just simple houses in our street.

[patches]

Another bad of NZ- the amount of leasehold properties!

Every house I have been looking at was a leasehold property!

Crazy as the sales prices was +-$1mil anyway! 

(And these aren't fancy places, just simple houses in our street.

 

Leasehold or Cross-Lease? (there's a HUGE difference)

 

Cross-Lease over $1m in Auckland isn't uncommon.

 

But if it's Leasehold then that is absolutely mental!

 

Much of the residential property down by the Viaduct, Wynyard Quarter and some in Parnell is Leasehold. And even there one can get a REALLY nice apartment overlooking the yachts for under $1m.

 

But the catch with those is the Leasehold land rental. Most owners sell a year or 2 before renewal of the land rental agreements (usually every 15-20yrs) where land rental can go from $8,000pa to $80,000pa. One NEVER owns the land.

 

Cross-Lease on the other hand is not a big issue, because one still owns a specified share of the total land amount and it's the land that appreciates the most in value. The "land rent" between cross-lease title holders is almost negligible as most shareholders just agree on a nominal figure of $1 or something like that per year.

 

The main downsides to Cross-Lease are shared driveways (in most cases) and the fact that exterior addition/alterations have to be approved by the other shareholders.

Edited November 7, 2019 by patches