In Memory of Mrs. Virginia Dorothy Ferrell Turner
Living abroad means missing things. I made it home for this one — just barely. In memory of Mrs. Virginia Dorothy Ferrell Turner, 1917-2016.
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Useful Apps for Traveling New Zealand
A short list of apps that actually make a difference when road tripping or getting around in New Zealand. CamperMate alone is worth the download.
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30 Days Off a Year — New Zealand’s Very Civilized Approach to Holidays
New Zealand ranks 8th in the OECD for paid leave — the highest outside continental Europe. Christmas is in summer, the whole country shuts down at once, and since I wrote this they’ve added a brand new public holiday based on the Māori lunar calendar.
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Cruises & Ocean Travel | Living in New Zealand | New Zealand Travel | NZ: Making the Move | NZ: Where to Go and What to Do
Getting from North to South: Crossing the Cook Strait
Getting from the North Island to the South Island means crossing the Cook Strait — by ferry if you have a car, by plane if you don’t. The ferry takes three hours. The strait can get rough. It’s worth it.
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Mail Forwarding for Expats
One of the things I had to figure out when I moved to New Zealand was mail. I still have credit and debt in the US, retirement accounts, etc. that I have to manage from here. This is the electronic age, so most of my bills are now fully online but there are some things…
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Where’s my tax return?
It’s no secret that the US tax system is difficult and confusing – the US has exceptions and exemptions and all kinds of tax breaks that make filing your taxes almost like an Easter egg hunt looking for tax breaks. I have used TurboTax to file my taxes online for years. I like the ease…
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Auckland – Eighth Most Liveable City in the World
In 2016, Auckland ranked in the top ten most liveable cities in the world. New Zealand had three cities in the top 20 friendliest. And Queenstown made Condé Nast’s list of most beautiful cities on the planet. I lived there. I was not surprised by any of this — though I’ll admit I had some thoughts about Queenstown sharing a “friendliest cities” list with Charleston and Savannah.
The Charleston/Savannah line is too good not to tease in the excerpt — it’s funny and very you.
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Apartment Hunting in New Zealand
New Zealand has one of the highest home ownership rates in the developed world — but I’ve never been interested in owning. The flexibility of renting suits me fine. What I wasn’t prepared for was how apartment hunting works here. In Auckland, viewings are group events. You show up at a designated time, along with everyone else who wants the place, and you all wander around together pretending not to size each other up. It’s part open house, part social experiment.
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What to Know About New Zealand Healthcare
Healthcare in New Zealand is government subsidised, ACC covers everyone including tourists, and you can’t sue anyone for an accident. Coming from the US, this took some getting used to.
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Everything is Upside Down: Life in New Zealand
I was ready for driving on the left, the metric system, and the roundabouts. Nobody warned me about the light switches.
