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

[patham]

1 hour ago, davetapson said:

Having done both, direct flights are (IMHO) the only way for old timers. 

Those Emirates flights are brutal.

Direct is the only way for sissy not-so-old timers like me.  I will rather wait and earn more cash for the direct flights than save a few hundred and suffer extra hours. And those last few additional hours in the metal tube drag on forever…..

However, there is an exception I will make for the ultra long-hauls, I for one will never fly on Project Sunrise! Way too long in that same seat…

[davetapson]

11 hours ago, patham said:

Funnily enough, even though traffic lights in Joburg are never on, or just flash, the quality of driving and navigating these hazards has improved over the years (lots of practice). I never felt there was an accident waiting to happen. Much better than Aus drivers at broken lights.

Yeah - in SA you hardly even notice if the light is on or not, just react appropriately.

In NZ they are clueless when the traffic lights are off.  Everyone stops, Then somebody makes a dash for it - and the three people behind him see his bravery and make a dash for it too.  Then somebody else has a go... 😂

[patches]

On 1/13/2023 at 10:28 PM, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

Awesome man, asking as I may need assistance with looking at potential accommodation. Daunting doing it from afar.

Most properties should be pretty decent. Generally (especially since the introduction of the Healthy Homes Act) things lie in favour of the tenants and their rights. There's a whole FB group of grumpy landlords complaining, hahaha

A few key things that worth looking into are

• Area (generally speaking. Is it dodgy, etc).
• Public Transport
• Insulation (newer homes will have double glazing. All homes should have a heat source)

And worst case, you're there for a year.

That said, unfortunately my sister won't be able to go round and check out places, but if you know the area or have a specific ad you're looking at, feel free to PM me the details and I can find out.

[patches]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:49 PM, davetapson said:

Having done both, direct flights are (IMHO) the only way for old timers. 

Those Emirates flights are brutal.

Easy there, my Mom is only 62 😅

But yeah I've only done the Qantas flights (JHB>SYD>CHC/AKL), which weren't too much more than Emirates and Qatar a few years back. However now, the're more than double the price.

I was soo tempted to book my Mom on Qatar, as the airline itself is great, but the layovers and total travel time (48hrs and even 64hrs in some cases) gnawed at my conscience, so I forked out for Qantas... $3500 return... ouch!

As I plan to fly my Mom out here for half-a-year at a time (until I can get her residency), I'll see how she finds the first few trips, and I may try her out on some slightly longer (but more budget friendly) routes (Singapore, Emirates, etc).

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

7 hours ago, patches said:

Most properties should be pretty decent. Generally (especially since the introduction of the Healthy Homes Act) things lie in favour of the tenants and their rights. There's a whole FB group of grumpy landlords complaining, hahaha

A few key things that worth looking into are

• Area (generally speaking. Is it dodgy, etc).
• Public Transport
• Insulation (newer homes will have double glazing. All homes should have a heat source)

And worst case, you're there for a year.

That said, unfortunately my sister won't be able to go round and check out places, but if you know the area or have a specific ad you're looking at, feel free to PM me the details and I can find out.

Thanks man, will keep your offer in mind.
Waiting on my employer to confirm location, may also be in Auckland.
Location is important for schooling, so the school selected may dictate the home.

[davetapson]

Ha - the old schooling debate.

Saffas are really wound up by this - us included.

Kiwis, not so much.

Bottom line, if you live in a decent area, the schools are likely to be just fine.

I work with a guy who has 5 kids, who have just about all gone to different schools and he has no real feeling for any of those schools - they were all 'fine'.

You will pay a premium to live in a 'desirable' school zone, particularly if the Chinese community find the schools desirable - they will pay over the odds for any pile of junk just to ensure they have an address in the school zone.

It seems more important to choose a school that suits your kids character e.g regimented for kids who need structure (Westlake Boys) more flexible for those who don't (Rangitoto College) smaller for kids who are not mainstream (Rosmini College)

There are private schools (Kristin College) that are allegedly a cut above the rest. We would probably send our kids there if we're had the means, but I'm not sure it would really make a difference.

If you have aspirations, you'd probably want to find an address in Auckland Grammar zone... 🙂

Edit: and it's actually about the teacher, not the school - good school, bad child/teacher fit and it's a misery. And that combination is just a roll of the dice...

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by davetapson
Typos

[davetapson]

20 hours ago, patches said:

 😅 I plan to fly my Mom out here for half-a-year at a time (until I can get her residency), I'll see how she finds the first few trips, and I may try her out on some slightly longer (but more budget friendly) routes (Singapore, Emirates, etc).

It kind of kills the helping the budget thing, but if you turn the transfer into a layover, then the longer flights become more pleasant. And assuming the layover is somewhere pleasant.

When we were looking for flights to SA over Christmas, I found cheap flights via the US(!) which would have given us the advantage to visit my brother - I was told that it would be a step too far, probably correctly so... 🙂

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

On 1/16/2023 at 8:53 PM, davetapson said:

Ha - the old schooling debate.

Saffas are really wound up by this - us included.

Kiwis, not so much.

Bottom line, if you live in a decent area, the schools are likely to be just fine.

I work with a guy who has 5 kids, who have just about all gone to different schools and he has no real feeling for any of those schools - they were all 'fine'.

You will pay a premium to live in a 'desirable' school zone, particularly if the Chinese community find the schools desirable - they will pay over the odds for any pile of junk just to ensure they have an address in the school zone.

It seems more important to choose a school that suits your kids character e.g regimented for kids who need structure (Westlake Boys) more flexible for those who don't (Rangitoto College) smaller for kids who are not mainstream (Rosmini College)

There are private schools (Kristin College) that are allegedly a cut above the rest. We would probably send our kids there if we're had the means, but I'm not sure it would really make a difference.

If you have aspirations, you'd probably want to find an address in Auckland Grammar zone... 🙂

Edit: and it's actually about the teacher, not the school - good school, bad child/teacher fit and it's a misery. And that combination is just a roll of the dice...

 

I can only confirm your good teacher advice.
We experienced this first hand with our son in Grade R last year. First term he was with a good but fairly inexperienced teacher who then left to pursue further studies.
He then had the best teacher ever, a 60+yr old lady who expanded his mind immensely. The speed with which he learnt was amazing to see. The school itself though is also incredible. We really hope to find something similar for him when our NZ journey starts.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Steven Knoetze (sk27)

[hayleyearth]

We are still in SA currently, it's week 5 for us and we are on a big road trip currently. Started at my folks place in Bushmans river mouth (close to Port Alfred) up the less dangerous route through Elliot, Underberg, Howick, Centre Drakensberg, now in the Northern Drakensberg and then Clarens before making the journey back to my folks. (So basically circling Lesotho.)

 

Here's my view:

All small towns have become dumps. 

Even places like Howick we didn't feel comfortable at all parking at Woolworths foods and then the Howick falls.

 

The roads are in pieces. I can't see any parts okay to drive at night anymore. I remembered Underberg not to be bad at all, it's like a township now. We keep on asking ourselves "where do the middle-class people living here (or farmers) buy groceries".

 

Groceries prices ... Wow!!! The same as in NZ with way less options. We miss our fresh salmon and fish we buy weekly at the grocery store and our multi seed breads and and and

 

Load shedding...In Bushmans river they don't get loadshedding because they have the water filtration plant there and on our trip or places we stayed elsewhere we mostly had access to gas stoves or generators. But I can see the areas is places on the businesses and restaurants.

 

The radio news bulletins constantly speak about Eskom, the price hikes, the attempted murder of the CEO etc etc but I never hear something about the roads, it is the infrastructure needed to keep a lot going in the country.

 

This country is now in big trouble.

 

 

[patches]

On 1/17/2023 at 7:53 AM, davetapson said:

Ha - the old schooling debate.

Saffas are really wound up by this - us included.

Kiwis, not so much.

Bottom line, if you live in a decent area, the schools are likely to be just fine.

I work with a guy who has 5 kids, who have just about all gone to different schools and he has no real feeling for any of those schools - they were all 'fine'.

You will pay a premium to live in a 'desirable' school zone, particularly if the Chinese community find the schools desirable - they will pay over the odds for any pile of junk just to ensure they have an address in the school zone.

It seems more important to choose a school that suits your kids character e.g regimented for kids who need structure (Westlake Boys) more flexible for those who don't (Rangitoto College) smaller for kids who are not mainstream (Rosmini College)

There are private schools (Kristin College) that are allegedly a cut above the rest. We would probably send our kids there if we're had the means, but I'm not sure it would really make a difference.

If you have aspirations, you'd probably want to find an address in Auckland Grammar zone... 🙂

Edit: and it's actually about the teacher, not the school - good school, bad child/teacher fit and it's a misery. And that combination is just a roll of the dice...

 

 

18 hours ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

I can only confirm your good teacher advice.
We experienced this first hand with our son in Grade R last year. First term he was with a good but fairly inexperienced teacher who then left to pursue further studies.
He then had the best teacher ever, a 60+yr old lady who expanded his mind immensely. The speed with which he learnt was amazing to see. The school itself though is also incredible. We really hope to find something similar for him when our NZ journey starts.

I worked with a guy who took on $500k extra debt to sell his house and move 2km away (but on the right side) of the highway to send his son to Westlake Boys.

Seems ludicrous! (although we're currently zoned for Westlake, unintentionally, haha)

So yeah, some Kiwis can be really would up when it comes to grammar schools, but like davetapson said, us Saffers are very "school conscious" and I think it goes back to the private school obsession that middle-to-upper Saffers have back in the homeland.

Some can't conceive of sending their kids to a government school, unless it's one of those prestigious ones that breeds elite sportsmen as well as young men with big egos (no offence to anyone who went to KES, haha).

In a similar vein, most middle-to-upper class Saffers wouldn't dare risk treatment in a government hospital. Private healthcare seems like the only way to survive a medical ordeal.

However it's different here. The public offerings are generally excellent, and in many cases on par with, or better than the private offerings in SA. (I can affirm that especially in the healthcare sector).

So like davetapson said, don't stress too much over it. If you pick a decent area, schooling will be fine. Plus it sounds like you have a few years to go before you send the youngster off to highschool, which buys you time to get more familiar with areas and where you want to be.

If you really wanted to be selective, previously you could try judge a school on its decile ranking (1-10, with 10 being the schools in wealthy socio-economic areas), but this year the Ministry of Education did away with the decile system and created an "Equity Index" where I think the lower the score, the less the socio-economic challenges faces by students and families.

https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/equity-index/how-the-equity-index-works/

Here's a snippet of the top handful

But hey, it's just school! I went to very average government schools and I turned out just fine 😅

 

 

[patches]

Also just in... Jacinda has announced she's stepping down as Prime Minister

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130990117/live-jacinda-ardern-announces-she-will-resign-as-prime-minister-by-february-7

[davetapson]

55 minutes ago, patches said:

 

I worked with a guy who took on $500k extra debt to sell his house and move 2km away (but on the right side) of the highway to send his son to Westlake Boys.

Seems ludicrous! (although we're currently zoned for Westlake, unintentionally, haha)

So yeah, some Kiwis can be really would up when it comes to grammar schools, but like davetapson said, us Saffers are very "school conscious" and I think it goes back to the private school obsession that middle-to-upper Saffers have back in the homeland.

Some can't conceive of sending their kids to a government school, unless it's one of those prestigious ones that breeds elite sportsmen as well as young men with big egos (no offence to anyone who went to KES, haha).

In a similar vein, most middle-to-upper class Saffers wouldn't dare risk treatment in a government hospital. Private healthcare seems like the only way to survive a medical ordeal.

However it's different here. The public offerings are generally excellent, and in many cases on par with, or better than the private offerings in SA. (I can affirm that especially in the healthcare sector).

So like davetapson said, don't stress too much over it. If you pick a decent area, schooling will be fine. Plus it sounds like you have a few years to go before you send the youngster off to highschool, which buys you time to get more familiar with areas and where you want to be.

If you really wanted to be selective, previously you could try judge a school on its decile ranking (1-10, with 10 being the schools in wealthy socio-economic areas), but this year the Ministry of Education did away with the decile system and created an "Equity Index" where I think the lower the score, the less the socio-economic challenges faces by students and families.

https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/equity-index/how-the-equity-index-works/

Here's a snippet of the top handful

But hey, it's just school! I went to very average government schools and I turned out just fine 😅

 

 

Interesting.  Our kids moved from Mairangi Bay Primary (38) to Murrays Bay Intermediate (139), within walking distance of each other, and I can't say that I've noticed much of a difference.

Also you never hear much of Takapuna Grammar, but it looks like it could be awesome, if that sort of thing is your cup of tea.

 

51 minutes ago, patches said:

Also just in... Jacinda has announced she's stepping down as Prime Minister

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130990117/live-jacinda-ardern-announces-she-will-resign-as-prime-minister-by-february-7

Heh - last time she was globe-trotting with her entourage, she was show having a meeting with some international body (WHO, UN? Can't remember) and somebody, maybe Barry Soper, commented "yeh, she's organizing her next job, she'll resign before the next election and take this job."

So watch this space...

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

7 hours ago, patches said:

 

I worked with a guy who took on $500k extra debt to sell his house and move 2km away (but on the right side) of the highway to send his son to Westlake Boys.

Seems ludicrous! (although we're currently zoned for Westlake, unintentionally, haha)

So yeah, some Kiwis can be really would up when it comes to grammar schools, but like davetapson said, us Saffers are very "school conscious" and I think it goes back to the private school obsession that middle-to-upper Saffers have back in the homeland.

Some can't conceive of sending their kids to a government school, unless it's one of those prestigious ones that breeds elite sportsmen as well as young men with big egos (no offence to anyone who went to KES, haha).

In a similar vein, most middle-to-upper class Saffers wouldn't dare risk treatment in a government hospital. Private healthcare seems like the only way to survive a medical ordeal.

However it's different here. The public offerings are generally excellent, and in many cases on par with, or better than the private offerings in SA. (I can affirm that especially in the healthcare sector).

So like davetapson said, don't stress too much over it. If you pick a decent area, schooling will be fine. Plus it sounds like you have a few years to go before you send the youngster off to highschool, which buys you time to get more familiar with areas and where you want to be.

If you really wanted to be selective, previously you could try judge a school on its decile ranking (1-10, with 10 being the schools in wealthy socio-economic areas), but this year the Ministry of Education did away with the decile system and created an "Equity Index" where I think the lower the score, the less the socio-economic challenges faces by students and families.

https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/equity-index/how-the-equity-index-works/

Here's a snippet of the top handful

But hey, it's just school! I went to very average government schools and I turned out just fine 😅

 

 

That's what you think............

6 hours ago, davetapson said:

Interesting.  Our kids moved from Mairangi Bay Primary (38) to Murrays Bay Intermediate (139), within walking distance of each other, and I can't say that I've noticed much of a difference.

Also you never hear much of Takapuna Grammar, but it looks like it could be awesome, if that sort of thing is your cup of tea.

 

Heh - last time she was globe-trotting with her entourage, she was show having a meeting with some international body (WHO, UN? Can't remember) and somebody, maybe Barry Soper, commented "yeh, she's organizing her next job, she'll resign before the next election and take this job."

So watch this space...

My money is on WHO..........

[hayleyearth]

13 hours ago, patches said:

 

I worked with a guy who took on $500k extra debt to sell his house and move 2km away (but on the right side) of the highway to send his son to Westlake Boys.

Seems ludicrous! (although we're currently zoned for Westlake, unintentionally, haha)

So yeah, some Kiwis can be really would up when it comes to grammar schools, but like davetapson said, us Saffers are very "school conscious" and I think it goes back to the private school obsession that middle-to-upper Saffers have back in the homeland.

Some can't conceive of sending their kids to a government school, unless it's one of those prestigious ones that breeds elite sportsmen as well as young men with big egos (no offence to anyone who went to KES, haha).

In a similar vein, most middle-to-upper class Saffers wouldn't dare risk treatment in a government hospital. Private healthcare seems like the only way to survive a medical ordeal.

However it's different here. The public offerings are generally excellent, and in many cases on par with, or better than the private offerings in SA. (I can affirm that especially in the healthcare sector).

So like davetapson said, don't stress too much over it. If you pick a decent area, schooling will be fine. Plus it sounds like you have a few years to go before you send the youngster off to highschool, which buys you time to get more familiar with areas and where you want to be.

If you really wanted to be selective, previously you could try judge a school on its decile ranking (1-10, with 10 being the schools in wealthy socio-economic areas), but this year the Ministry of Education did away with the decile system and created an "Equity Index" where I think the lower the score, the less the socio-economic challenges faces by students and families.

https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/equity-index/how-the-equity-index-works/

Here's a snippet of the top handful

But hey, it's just school! I went to very average government schools and I turned out just fine 😅

 

 

My daughter is starting school this year. It's a scary thought as I dislike the way kids are taught in NZ.

We applied to 2 schools "out of zone", one 2km from our house and one 4km from our house. She got into both. The latter is a 349 on the list and the other a 364.

 

I also believe the teacher is what makes it, one teacher might not work for all but if the kid and her/him is in the same brain space then it's going to be a good fit.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

56 minutes ago, hayleyearth said:

My daughter is starting school this year. It's a scary thought as I dislike the way kids are taught in NZ.

We applied to 2 schools "out of zone", one 2km from our house and one 4km from our house. She got into both. The latter is a 349 on the list and the other a 364.

 

I also believe the teacher is what makes it, one teacher might not work for all but if the kid and her/him is in the same brain space then it's going to be a good fit.

If I may ask, what are the dislikes with the way kids are taught?

 

[patches]

12 hours ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

That's what you think............

My money is on WHO..........

or WEF