New Zealand. The land of the ALL BLACKS, the Haka, and the Māori culture. Oh, and let's not forget that NZ is also the home of the best fish n' chips I have ever had IN MY LIFE!
We moved to New Zealand after our daughter was born. My husband is not an American citizen and only had a visitor's visa for a 90-day stay to the states. He stayed 89 days, and we flew to NZ on the 90th day.
My first impressions of NZ: small, weird accents, yet clean and tidy. The air was fresh with a hint of sea water. The people spoke fast were (are) a bit hard to understand. The streets were narrow, and stop-lights (as I soon learned) were not a thing in the suburbs of Wellington. Roundabouts were king, and you had to be quick or miss your turn!
Even though NZ is an English speaking country, the language they spoke was different from my own. For example, they don't say trash; they say rubbish. They have no clue what a diaper is because they call them nappies (nappy). There is no such thing as ice tea, and meat pies are the done deal (next to fish n' chips of-course). Dryers are not used. People hang their clothes in the fresh NZ air outside to dry. Going out to eat is a thing for the rich. We poor folk ate with friends and family at home.
Even though NZ is a western country with western amenities; things are expensive there. A 2 bedroom house in a nice neighborhood will run you $270 (on average) a week! Utilities (i.e. electricity) is about $400+ a month. And groceries will run you about $300+ a week depending on the size of your family and how much you eat. Buying a new car is nearly impossible if you are a regular person. Best to get one used. A used car will run you about $4500+, depending on the make and model. And gas is $10+ a gallon (Good luck with getting around).
I think it goes without saying; we were DIRT POOR in NZ. But I enjoyed it because I was with the love of my life and raising our baby girl together. We had a simple home. We purchased used furniture from the goodwill and lived on $800 bucks a week. Sometimes, that $800 didn't go far. So we depended on extended family and friends for help. We were lucky to have people that were willing to care for us there.
My husband worked full time and studied in the evening to earn his NZ teaching license. His sacrifice paid off big time in the long run. I stayed home with our daughter. I cooked, cleaned and chauffeured our little family around Porirua (the city we lived in). Even though we were extremely poor (by NZ standards), we had each other.