Things that are outrageously expensive in New Zealand
All the prices are in NZ Dollars. At the current conversion rate, you can knock 30% off the price to find the cost in US Dollars. The good news is that about a week ago, the Kiwi Dollar was flying high, at about $.81USD. So, thanks to the fluctuations in the world currency market, Debi, who is paid in USD, got a 13% raise this past week.
Booze--A 750 ml bottle of Smirnoff Vodka sells for about $30. A six-pack of premium/microbrewed beer is about $14, though you can buy Steinlager, Tui, or CD (the local equivalents of Bud or Michelob) for about $20 for a 12 or 15 pack. Thankfully, reasonably good wines sell for less than they do in the US, about $12 a bottle--a $12NZ wine is about the same quality as a $12US bottle, and all the grocery stores have terrific selections of NZ wine.
Gas--A litre of gas is currently $1.569 (yes, they do the nine-tenths thing here too). I haven't bothered to figure out how much that comes to in USD/gallon, but I know it's a lot. It costs me about $110 to fill my new car from empty.
Chicken--Legs, thighs, breasts … no matter what the cut, it seems to be $14/kilo in the supermarket. A 5lb whole chicken runs about $14. Fortunately, unlike in the US there are lots of butcher shops, some chains and some independent, meaning that there are bargains to be found. One of the local chains, the Mad Butcher, has boneless, skinless chicken breast for $10/kilo--which comes to about $3.20US per pound. However, the meat is not as closely trimmed as we would expect in the US, so there would be more waste per pound, driving the actual price up. (The same is true of most cuts of meat here; for example, pork chops have all the fat and skin on them, like you would expect to find on a whole fresh ham.)
Levi's jeans--$99 for a pair at the local department store chain, Farmers, which is kind of the NZ equivalent of Macy's. On top of that, they are not the same quality denim that we get in the US, but a lighter weight. Clothing in general is more expensive, though as with anything there are bargains to be found.
Banking--You pay for everything here. My account allows me to use the ATM for free, and to pay bills on-line for free. However, if I need to talk to a teller--bam--$6! If I need to set up a new payee for my bills, I get charged. If I need paper statements--bam--$6 per month. There are also no fee-free credit cards in NZ. All the banks charge $60 or more per year to carry the card, and interest rates are about 2 to 3 times what we would pay in the US. Lower interest cards carry higher annual fees, and vice-versa. Fortunately, we can use our ATM cards (or EFTPOS as they call them here) everywhere for purchases--except in the parking meters, which only take cash, Visa/MC, or TEXT MESSAGING!
Cell Phones--$.89/minute on the pre-paid plan. I don't know anyone who has a monthly plan, because those run into the HUNDREDS of dollars. Everyone has a cell phone, but most people are using them to text (which is about $.05 per message or $10 per month for unlimited). Because the monthly plans are so expensive and no one signs up for them, we also have to buy our own cell phones--no $99 Razrs here! $99 got us a cell phone most people would give their grandparents in the US; but of course, that's pretty much what everyone here uses, too. Why have an expensive cell phone when all it'll be used for is texting?
The cost of living here in NZ is generally a hot topic on the migrants forums I visit. Overall, I'd agree that it can be more expensive here. The economies of scale that are found in the US don't exist here. Best Buy probably sells more, well, *anything* in the Boston-metro region than all of the electronics stores sell in all of NZ.
The high prices on these items are offset by the fact that some things are cheaper, or come at a higher level of quality for the same price. Fish, for instance, is generally $20/kilo for local cod, monkfish, salmon, snapper, or gurnet . $20 buys us a feast of lamb chops (which Evan refers to as 'lamb handles' … some of you may remember the 'chicken handle' story). A huge cabbage costs $2, I can buy golden kiwi fruit for as little as $.38/kilo (the usual going rate is $2/kilo), local apples for $2/kilo, onions or potatoes for less than $1/kilo, and on and on.
Right now electronics are also generally cheaper, too. For example, a 32' Sony Bravia HDTV can be had for about $1300. Dell NZ's $1000 computer costs $1000 at Dell US. For $80 I bought a DVD player that would have cost about $100 in the US. But, with the falling Kiwi Dollar, I expect that this will probably change before too long.
Overall, if quality of life is measured in material goods, then the quality of life here is well below the US. (Of course, that's investing a lot of value in cheap plastic crap from China via Wal-Mart.) But here, I can look out my window and see flowers today--in the middle of winter! I can walk down the street in just about any direction and find a park. The views here are usually reserved for vacation in the US.
So, how is it that without all of the cheap plastic crap from China, people are still happy?
Booze--A 750 ml bottle of Smirnoff Vodka sells for about $30. A six-pack of premium/microbrewed beer is about $14, though you can buy Steinlager, Tui, or CD (the local equivalents of Bud or Michelob) for about $20 for a 12 or 15 pack. Thankfully, reasonably good wines sell for less than they do in the US, about $12 a bottle--a $12NZ wine is about the same quality as a $12US bottle, and all the grocery stores have terrific selections of NZ wine.
Gas--A litre of gas is currently $1.569 (yes, they do the nine-tenths thing here too). I haven't bothered to figure out how much that comes to in USD/gallon, but I know it's a lot. It costs me about $110 to fill my new car from empty.
Chicken--Legs, thighs, breasts … no matter what the cut, it seems to be $14/kilo in the supermarket. A 5lb whole chicken runs about $14. Fortunately, unlike in the US there are lots of butcher shops, some chains and some independent, meaning that there are bargains to be found. One of the local chains, the Mad Butcher, has boneless, skinless chicken breast for $10/kilo--which comes to about $3.20US per pound. However, the meat is not as closely trimmed as we would expect in the US, so there would be more waste per pound, driving the actual price up. (The same is true of most cuts of meat here; for example, pork chops have all the fat and skin on them, like you would expect to find on a whole fresh ham.)
Levi's jeans--$99 for a pair at the local department store chain, Farmers, which is kind of the NZ equivalent of Macy's. On top of that, they are not the same quality denim that we get in the US, but a lighter weight. Clothing in general is more expensive, though as with anything there are bargains to be found.
Banking--You pay for everything here. My account allows me to use the ATM for free, and to pay bills on-line for free. However, if I need to talk to a teller--bam--$6! If I need to set up a new payee for my bills, I get charged. If I need paper statements--bam--$6 per month. There are also no fee-free credit cards in NZ. All the banks charge $60 or more per year to carry the card, and interest rates are about 2 to 3 times what we would pay in the US. Lower interest cards carry higher annual fees, and vice-versa. Fortunately, we can use our ATM cards (or EFTPOS as they call them here) everywhere for purchases--except in the parking meters, which only take cash, Visa/MC, or TEXT MESSAGING!
Cell Phones--$.89/minute on the pre-paid plan. I don't know anyone who has a monthly plan, because those run into the HUNDREDS of dollars. Everyone has a cell phone, but most people are using them to text (which is about $.05 per message or $10 per month for unlimited). Because the monthly plans are so expensive and no one signs up for them, we also have to buy our own cell phones--no $99 Razrs here! $99 got us a cell phone most people would give their grandparents in the US; but of course, that's pretty much what everyone here uses, too. Why have an expensive cell phone when all it'll be used for is texting?
The cost of living here in NZ is generally a hot topic on the migrants forums I visit. Overall, I'd agree that it can be more expensive here. The economies of scale that are found in the US don't exist here. Best Buy probably sells more, well, *anything* in the Boston-metro region than all of the electronics stores sell in all of NZ.
The high prices on these items are offset by the fact that some things are cheaper, or come at a higher level of quality for the same price. Fish, for instance, is generally $20/kilo for local cod, monkfish, salmon, snapper, or gurnet . $20 buys us a feast of lamb chops (which Evan refers to as 'lamb handles' … some of you may remember the 'chicken handle' story). A huge cabbage costs $2, I can buy golden kiwi fruit for as little as $.38/kilo (the usual going rate is $2/kilo), local apples for $2/kilo, onions or potatoes for less than $1/kilo, and on and on.
Right now electronics are also generally cheaper, too. For example, a 32' Sony Bravia HDTV can be had for about $1300. Dell NZ's $1000 computer costs $1000 at Dell US. For $80 I bought a DVD player that would have cost about $100 in the US. But, with the falling Kiwi Dollar, I expect that this will probably change before too long.
Overall, if quality of life is measured in material goods, then the quality of life here is well below the US. (Of course, that's investing a lot of value in cheap plastic crap from China via Wal-Mart.) But here, I can look out my window and see flowers today--in the middle of winter! I can walk down the street in just about any direction and find a park. The views here are usually reserved for vacation in the US.
So, how is it that without all of the cheap plastic crap from China, people are still happy?
posted by Jon A at
6:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home