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Comment by lostlogin | Hacker News Reader

You could take the terrible example we live by here in New Zealand. We pretend it doesn’t get cold, have poorly insulated and rather damp houses and just suffer through it. An inside temperature of 18 in midwinter sounds lovely. We also lack good wardrobes, but that might just be me.

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NZ housing stock is truly atrocious. I knew it was bad but didn't appreciate how bad until living in the UK and going through winters sometimes without even needing to use heating (granted in apartments in that situation). Double glazing being near universal compared to pathetic aluminium frames are a major difference and leaky buildings top it off.

Looked at emigrating to NZ shortly after the kids were born - so many friends had.

I was shocked by the housing situation, prices were going crazy sure, that’s to be expected, but the actual quality of the housing was also terrible, and there wasn’t any cultural awareness of how bad they were

Didn’t move in the end, mainly because we wouldn’t have the money for the kids to see grandparents. Still not sure it was the right decision.

I considered NZ as well but the weather looks pretty terrible in NZ (maybe slightly better than the UK), windy and rainy.

House prices weren't too bad but quality wise they weren't great. I can't say they were much worse from London tbh (but it may be more related to how everything is expensive in London, outside of London house quality is way better).

Also taxes are pretty bad.

I'm completely appalled at how they're dealing with COVID so I'm glad I kept away from NZ and AU

Not sure about the weather comparison with the UK - its a lot wetter but the weather is more tropical (ie we get the rain in massive downpours, not drizzle).

House prices are very very high relative to wages and the quality is deeply average. Comparing house prices to London is not very logical, as the wages are nowhere near the same.

Dealing with covid - compare the death rate to pretty much anywhere. That was the point and what we wanted.

Any moves to tighten up building regulation are derided as red tape, nanny state etc. It’s amazing how much we undermine ourselves.

I grew up, and spent most of my life in Canada. I moved to Australia in my 30's. I have to say, I have never had a more uncomfortable winter than my first year here. I was cold all the time. Down to my bones cold. I hated it.

I eventually found a house that had decent insulation, and since then I've never let it get cold in my place. I've got solar, and I keep the heat cranked.

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