This is a post with not a single picture. Sorry! But I thought it might be interesting to note some of the ways things here are different (or not) than at home. So here it is:
MAIL DELIVERY: We do get home delivery here in Nelson. Not sure if that is true everywhere in the country. Mail is delivered about three times a week. Surely that should be enough for us back in Canada. Perhaps if they had tried that initially we would not be in the messy situation we now are. But what I love about mail delivery here is that it is done on a bicycle. Of course that is possible in a small city like Nelson, where traffic is not a big issue, and seriously cold weather is not a concern.
RECYCLING: It's certainly done here. And is very much encouraged. Glass one week and other recyclables the other week. But all in all I think we in Wolfville are ahead on the recycling front, at least in terms of the things that can be recycled. Here styrofoam is not recyclable, nor are plastic bags, egg cartons, or tetrapacks. Perhaps we only think they are recycled at home!
GARBAGE: Here only one type of garbage bag is permissible, and the cost of collection is paid from the cost of these bags ($2.50 each). So this is the method of encouraging people to generate less garbage.
BUYING/SELLING HOMES: Here real estate agents are used only by sellers. As a buyer you are on your own. So you need to do all your homework to make sure the price you are offering is reasonable and the house is in proper repair. And buying a house here seems to me complicated. In only a portion of cases is there an asking price. The more expensive/desirable homes are often sold by auction, or by negotiation, without an advertised price. Often too I have seen sale posters saying "deadline sale". I assume that means bids are taken up to a specific date. I hear often about the high cost of homes in Auckland. But they are not given away in other places either. I reckon to buy even a modest home in Nelson would cost at least $500,000. (All this in no way means I have any interest in buying a house here.)
RADIO: The equivalent to CBC Radio 1 here is Radio NZ National. Not bad. Like at home, no advertising, that I have heard. There is no local programming, so weather, for example, when it is presented, is done for all of New Zealand.
BUYING BY CREDIT/DEBIT: Here the credit/debit machines all operate the same way. Imagine that!! You indicate whether you are using credit or debit, then enter your PIN. Presto. How simple is that! It's called EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) and is used throughout New Zealand. EFTPOS is owned by the NZ banks, but actually originated in the US, in 1981. I had never heard of it.
That's it for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment