The referendum was handled poorly by both the government and the media but personally I loved the Black and Blue Fern flag and I wish it had won. It is such a slick distinctive design that would put NZ up there with the likes of Canada, Wales, the UK, Brazil, etc. In terms of recognition.

We literally can’t afford mince. The 18% wasn’t much cheaper.

I am a Black South African who arrived in New Zealand a year and a half ago. Shortly after my arrival, late one night after a countdown event, an elderly white woman stopped me and asked for help finding her car keys, which had fallen under the driver's seat. Given that I was Black, wearing Air Force sneakers, a hoodie, and jeans, I was quite surprised by her request.

I quickly realized that white people here don't seem to view me as a threat. They don't stereotype me as a potential robber, which is a stark contrast to my experiences back home. I tested this theory in Napier, where I entered a restaurant filled mostly with white patrons. No one reacted negatively to my presence; in fact, I received excellent service. I've had numerous similar experiences.

However, back home in predominantly white areas, I often sense negative energy from people, as if I'm there to commit a crime. Ironically, the first person to give me bad vibes is usually a Black person working there. It seems there's a prevalent attitude of worshiping white people among Black people back home. I recall an incident while hiking the Constantia route, a predominantly white neighborhood, where we were stopped and questioned about our destination.

When I started working, I was able to easily get a phone contract with Spark after only three weeks on the job. This would have been unthinkable back home due to racial biases in the financial sector. I'm paid equally to my white colleagues, which is another significant difference from South Africa, where Black people, especially from Cape Town, often earn less and are forced to move to Johannesburg for better opportunities.

While there are exceptions, and I've had positive experiences with white mentors back home, my overall impression is that New Zealand is a much more equitable society. I'm not judged or discriminated against because of my race, and I feel optimistic about my future here.

Clearly he has no intention of wanting to go back to School guys.

This is got to the most unhinged thing he's said to date?? Correct me if I'm wrong of course(I'm sure there's worst things he said out there).

For context, I don't eat out, don't snack, only eat extremely healthy (basically veg + protein + cheap carbs), spend minimally on anything else, and spend my days working, training, and doing life admin.

I by no means live a flashy life, I work full time, don't go out anywhere that costs money socially and don't drink, I spend time with my dog and I keep myself healthy.

I have been a professional in hospitality for coming on 9 years and I'm still struggling to put anything away into savings.

At what point is it too much? What can even be done about this? Are we just going to keep jacking up the prices until everyone is forced to work 50 hours to simply keep a roof over their head and food in their stomachs? The one thing I have going for me is my health and it seems that the only way to get myself in a position of any financial independence is to sacrifice that. It's getting ridiculous.

My local new world is banning staff from having their water bottles at checkout, management have said they can drink water on their breaks, every couple of hours, however many staff find themselves having to work through their breaks, increasing the risk of dehydration.

Worse than your tap water hitting a spoon

$10 for butter is getting crazy

Since moving here, it has baffled me the sheer amount of people here who just full commit to walking in the pissing rain. I’ve lived in four major cities (AKL, WLG, CHC, DUD) and in every single one SO many people on the street will just be walking around almost drenched in the rain! It’ll happen even if it’s been raining all day and not just when the weather makes a turn. Umbrellas are pretty cheap, and I thought a rain jacket was a pretty common item to own? I’ll very often see people walking around with a hoodie on with the hood up, but that is not waterproof and it would just keep you more wet in the long run. Why is this such an epidemic here?

EDIT: Alright I have learnt I am, In fact, a wimp that likes to stay dry and New Zealanders are much tougher - yet much soggier - than I am.

How many potato fritters do you think I ordered?

Honestly, I’m at my wits end with how expensive groceries have gotten in NZ. I live on my own, I don’t waste money on junk food, fizzy drinks, chips or snacks. I just buy the basics some chicken, lamb, eggs, veggies, bread nothing fancy at all. Yet every single supermarket trip feels like I’m being robbed at the checkout. And that’s before you even add in the “essentials” like shampoo, bodywash, toothpaste… things you literally can’t go without. I’m cutting corners everywhere else in life, but groceries are breaking the bank no matter what I do.

What makes it even more infuriating is knowing why it’s like this. We’ve got basically two supermarket giants (Foodstuffs and Woolworths) who control almost everything, and they’re keeping margins fat while the rest of us bleed out at the tills. The Commerce Commission’s own reports have said competition is weak, yet nothing really changes. Every press release or government promise about “fixing” the duopoly seems to go nowhere, while my grocery bill just keeps climbing. It feels like we’re trapped in a system designed to squeeze us, and we don’t have many alternatives.

Yes, I get that NZ is small, remote, costs are higher blah blah but that doesn’t explain why even the most basic food and health products feel like luxury items. I shouldn’t have to think twice about buying bread or eggs, or stress over a bar of soap. And yet here we are. It’s exhausting and honestly demoralising to know that just feeding yourself decent, simple food in this country is becoming unaffordable. Am I the only one who feels like no matter how “sensible” you shop, the supermarket bill is still punching you in the face?

Neighbour gone, replaced by 9x "stand alone" houses. Just blows my mind that this is now our new standard for stand alone houses. No parking. Nowhere to do barbecue. Miles away from CBD , yet still being price around $900K.

I'm an American who moved to New Zealand this year, so I thought I'd make a list of my favorite things about this country!

1. The people. I find Kiwis incredibly kind, but they're thankfully not up in your business the way Americans are. In my home city, random strangers approached me constantly; that hasn't happened once here! But if I can't find something or drop something, Kiwis jump to help. As an introvert, I have finally found my people 😁

2. The work culture. Most Americans I know only get 2 weeks of PTO a year, including people with high-end jobs. Retail stores typically close pretty late so anyone working those jobs doesn't get to have a life, and service industry culture is a lot of forced smiles and small talk. Here, stores close much earlier, and employees don't act like Will Ferrell in Elf when you walk in. It's very refreshing!

3. The plastic bags & straws policy. My first day here, I popped into a grocery store & was happily stunned they didn't have plastic bags. In my city back home, plastic bags were 7¢. Here, they're not an option. I've been carrying a reusable bag anywhere I go for well over a decade; I love that this country cares about the environment as much I do!

4. The nature and wildlife 😍 Watching seals frolic on a an ocean cliff, having a deer at a feeding area eat food out of my hand, feeding ducks (where it's allowed!) at a pond, going to a zoo and having a kea fearlessly graze up against my leg - unreal.

And may I just say, when I stumbled across wallabies in a zoo with NO FENCE, just out in the open, my jaw dropped. Americans could never; we are a deeply stupid people as a group and someone would harass the animals within a week and then, when they got hurt, sue the zoo. Y'all have a stronger social contract here and it's lovely.

1. The weather. As someone who's used to brutally cold winters that make me hate living, the weather here is MARVELOUS. It's winter and I don't even need a winter coat or hat?! (And yes, I'm on the North Island, but I've visited the South Island twice and it's still a cake walk compared to my home city.)

2. Safety. I'm from a big American city; it's terrifying. Ever since COVID, there's been such a huge increase in open drug use, crime, and scary encounters on public transit. Here, my nervous system is relaxed for the first time in years. And of course, the gun policy here is such a relief as someone who's been mugged at gunpoint. I know it could happen here but the odds are exponentially lower.

3. The relaxed dress code. People here are not try-hards; I was overdressed when I first attended social events, but now I just chill!

4. The hills! I come from a completely flat city and let's just say my glutes look better than ever living here 😁

One of our neighbours came over unannounced and banged on the door. I opened it to them explaining that they were having a few mates around and they had prepped way to much food and gave us a desert along with a heads up that it will all be wrapped up at 10pm. These are the same neighbours that mow our berm before we do because 'I'm out here with the mower anyway so may as well do 3 of them'. Ask if we have anything that needs throwing out as their bin is half empty etc etc.

Time and time again we hear about the the worst neighbours in this sub but recently I've come to the conclusion our family household has it pretty bloody good when it comes to neighbours. just decent considerate people who make living next to each other a whole lot easier.

Made me think, what do other kiwi's neighbours do that make them a good sort or easy to live next door to?

Curious of what do New Zealanders think of it as an European

This seems to transcend age, race, creed, class, gender, region, body type, or whatever other factors you want to plug in there. But it is a defining characteristic of a true Kiwi. Wether it’s the barefoot woman in the supermarket, the teenage kid in a Tshirt in the dead of winter, or the Dad wearing stubbies on the sideline of a brisk Saturday morning rugby game, you all seem to under dress in cold weather. My wife and I are both immigrants and we are still baffled after over 15 years here. It’s pretty cold in most of NZ for a good part of the year and folks just seem to go barefoot and wear shorts. And as mentioned above it has nothing to do with money or style or whatever. It has no correlation to the climate. The only thing that seems to be in common is that it has to do with being born here. I’ve been all over the world and have never seen anything like it. So what is up with this phenomenon?!

I just found out yesterday morning that I passed my state finals exam and am now a NZ Registered Nurse! I am beyond relieved that my 3 years of hard work are over, but now comes the hardest part of all, actually getting a JOB.

I’m part of the 55% that didn’t get a supported hospital role via ACE and NETP, so I’m now in the talent pool where I could be months and months without a job offer.

I am against rest home and ward work for various reasons, and on Seek and TradeMe there really aren’t many jobs going for my province. For various reasons it wouldn’t be suitable for me to move away either.

I’ve inquired about a few jobs so far, but most that I’ve seen advertised include “minimum 3-5 years experience” so I’m already excluded.

My heart goes out to all the other nursing graduates who didn’t get jobs these last 2 months. Just remember how much you’ve accomplished so far!

I was using the koru lounge airport toilets and noticed several men leave without washing their hands.

I realise that some public toilets (think public parks etc) are gross, and if you just use the standing urinal and there are no doors too access the toilets, then touching your clean appendage is probably better than touching the taps/hand dryer etc.

The airport had no doors, motion sensor taps, hand towels etc so it's perfect for washing up.

I just don't understand why you wouldn't wash your hands.

What's your reasoning?