What we like about New Zealand...

1. Gorgeous variety of landscapes and places to visit! Breathtaking! (see pictures below)
2. Tangelos- the sweetest, juiciest oranges/tangerines you've ever had!
3. Stop signs are almost non-existent. Since we live in a rural area, roads only have yield signs or roundabouts, and the speed limit on almost every road is 100km/h.
4. Short winter months
5. Some of the finest chocolate in the world
6. No rust on cars (Mechanics freak out if they see the smallest spot of rust on a vehicle, and won't pass a "warrent of fitness test" which allows you to drive your car legally!)
7. Accent is pretty intriguing
8. Openness to visitors and immigrants
9. Slow pace of life- it's quite relaxed. Although it can be frustrating at times, we do see many positive sides to this. We find that we are really enjoying our quiet evenings together. Everything in town closes down around 5p.m. and on weekends the shops are usually shut by lunchtime! People are also less interested in having the "biggest" and "best" homes, furniture, cars, kitchen supplies, clothing, etc. There are many homes which we thought were "outdated", but that is simply because families usually squeeze the last drop out of everything they own. Things tend to be rather expensive when you live on an island, so it would cost too much money to try to keep up with the latest fashion crazes.
10. Turquoise ocean and white sand beach are only 30 minutes away! Great for dates and picnics together.