LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND - Daily Living in NZ

New Zealand is a well-developed country in the Southern Hemisphere; this means that we enjoy summer at Christmas time. The Western immigrants and local Maori give a unique cultural blend to this nation. There is also an increasing ethnic mix of people from Asia, Pacific Islands, South America and Middle Eastern countries. You can be sure to find some similarities in the ways of living .

Cost of Living For more details, please check the Foodtown website - www.foodtown.co.nz.
Other major supermarkets are: New World, Pak'n Save and Woolworths.

Clothing

New Zealanders wear very casual clothes all year round. In keeping with New Zealand's relaxed lifestyle, dress is informal on most occasions. Light clothing is recommended in the summer, as temperatures are hot and humid. Usually this clothing includes t-shirts, shorts and singlets. As the temperatures drop towards winter, warmer clothing such as sweatshirts, jerseys and jeans are recommended. Wet weather clothes and a warm jacket are also a good idea in winter. The fashion in New Zealand is casual and relaxed with all well-known brands available, such as Levis, Esprit, Nike, Adidas, Quicksilver and many more. Almost all secondary schools have a set school uniform for students although many schools now allow senior school students to wear suitable casual clothing ('mufti'). Any clothes can normally be worn at tertiary institutions and English language schools.

Electricity
Many shops like Dick Smith Electronics have adapter plugs that students and visitors can buy so that they can use their own appliances (hair dryers etc) in New Zealand. Do not try and force your overseas plug into the New Zealand power connection.

Most of New Zealand's electricity is generated from hydro (water) electric power stations although there are also coal and thermal power stations. Electricity is expensive and is used in many homes to heat hot water so this is a reason not to take long showers.

Most homes pay a monthly electricity account of NZ$130 to NZ$250 (in the winter). Take care to turn off all lights, heaters and computers when you are not in your room to save electricity.

Food

New Zealand has a wide range of local and imported food. The country is a major producer of lamb, venison, pork, chicken and beef, and dairy products are abundant and inexpensive. Almost all types of fruit are available in the shops. New Zealanders generally have a balanced diet of vegetables with either meat or fish and potatoes. Dinner is usually considered to be the main meal. There are many types of restaurants, coffee shops, take-away and fast food outlets. They range from exclusive and expensive evening restaurants to casual dining. As well as New Zealand-style food, in bigger cities students will also find every sort of international and ethnic food. These include Chinese, French, Greek, Indian, Thai, and Turkish foods.
	New Zealand cities and towns have excellent public water supplies and tap water is fresh and safe to drink. Some familiar fast food chains available in New Zealand include McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King. Traditional food in New Zealand includes the meat pie, roast dinners, fish and chips, ice cream and pavlova. New Zealand has large supermarkets where you can buy anything from fresh fish to wine and beer. Supermarkets are open every day, some 24 hours. There are also specialist shops selling Asian foods and products although many of these products are now also available in the supermarkets.

Pets

New Zealand is a pet-loving country; a lot of families have cats, dogs or other pets as their family members.

Dogs are the only pets that you are required to register with your local city council.

Television

In New Zealand there are four nationwide TV channels known as TV One, TV2, TV3, and C4. TV One and TV Two are public channels while TV3 and C4 are owned and operated by Canwest TV of Canada.

In addition Sky TV operates many pay-for TV channels including Movies, CNN, Sport, Cartoons, Music and four Asian Language channels. It costs between NZ$40 and NZ$60 per month to have Sky TV depending on what channels are subscribed.

Check what's on TV at:

Check what's on TV at:

TV 1 -www.tvone.co.nz

TV 2 - www.tv2.co.nz

TV 3 - www.tv3.co.nz

TV 4 - www.tv4.co.nz

SKY TV - www.skytv.co.nz

The main national newspaper is the New Zealand Herald, which is published daily. Other newspapers with large circulations include The Dominion in Wellington, and the Christchurch Press. Most cities will also have local newspapers and free community papers. There are several native language newspapers throughout New Zealand

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