The suburban wasteland?

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Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#41
south island is beautiful...only if youve got wheels lol

many people hire campervan to go round and see it. Its often easier and cheaper than staying at accomodations.

In the US I think they have trailer parks and some people live in them year round as its cheaper than buying or renting a house.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#42
it usd to be common way to get around nz if you didnt have a car was hitch hiking, but that can also be quite dangerous. People were happy to offer rides because nz was mostly small towns and close knit communities and didnt want people to get stranded. But nowadays its not a great idea. However taxis and ubers are expensive.
 

Thusiserve

Active member
Nov 8, 2022
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#43
nz was not built for car culture...our land is often hilly, windy. we dont manufacture our own cars anymore, fuel is expensive, we drive on the left, but we dont have good public transportation to offset it.

suburbs are very dependant on cars in nz we can only import them and road condtions are not that great as infrastructure is expensive

only a few cities are big enough to have suburbs but dependeant on growing population. The suburbs of the north shore of Auckland were totally dependent on. the harbour bridge, before that was built you had to get across by ferry.

so we very reliant on roads and motorways which soon become congested as everyone has to havea car otherwise you are sunk.

in the olden days the best way people got around was on the water. You had a boat or waka and sailed up the river or round the harbour.

In Queenstown it is unaffordable for workers to live there so actually they live in the next town and commute over.
I see. That is very interesting. From the little i understand about NZ, it is a unique place with unique culture. But so very beautiful and special! Please enlighten me on what a "waka" is.
 

Thusiserve

Active member
Nov 8, 2022
182
143
43
#44
it usd to be common way to get around nz if you didnt have a car was hitch hiking, but that can also be quite dangerous. People were happy to offer rides because nz was mostly small towns and close knit communities and didnt want people to get stranded. But nowadays its not a great idea. However taxis and ubers are expensive.
I grew up in a coastal town, and we used to hitchhike to the beach all the time as kids. Many years ago. It's a shame we can't feel safe the way we used to.
 

Dude653

Senior Member
Mar 19, 2011
12,668
1,098
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#45

Reminds me of a song from one of my favorite punk bands. The Dead Kennedys


Cold concrete apartments
Rise up from wet black asphalt
Below them a few carcasses
Of the long-gone age of privacy
It takes a scary kind of illness
To design a place like this for pay
Downtown's an endless generic mall
Of video games and fast food chains
One by one, the little houses are bricked up and condemned
A subtle hint to move before the rats move in
This could be anywhere
Could be anywhere
Everywhere
Those new kids at school seem cool
But dad says not to talk to them
Stick to your old friends, they're not our kind
So now there's lots of fights
So many people I know
Come of age tense and bitter-eyed
Can't create so they just destroy
Come on, let's set someone's dog on fire
Empty plastic culture slum, suburbia is a war zone now
Sprouting the kinds of gangs we thought we'd left behind
This could be anywhere
Could be anywhere
Everywhere
Could be anywhere
Could be everywhere
Could be anywhere
Kids at school are taking sides
Along color and uniform lines
My dad's gone and bought a gun
He says he's fed up with the crime in this town
This could be anywhere
This could be everywhere
This could be anywhere
This could be everywhere
This could be anywhere (anywhere)
This could be everywhere (everywhere)
This could be anywhere (anywhere)
This could be everywhere
I hope I'm gone before it explodes
I linger late at night waiting for the bus
No amount of neon jazz could hide the oozing vibes of death
My dad's a vigilante now, he's bringing home these weird-ass friends
Like the guy who fires blanks at his TV when Kojak's on
Or the guy who shows off his sub-machine gun
To his sixteen year old daughter's friends
Whose sense of pride and hope is being in the police reserve
This could be anywhere
Could be everywhere
Could be anywhere
Everywhere
This could be anywhere
This could be everywhere
This could be anywhere
This could be everywhere
Everywhere
 

HealthAndHappiness

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2022
10,275
4,315
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
#46
Is surbubia a great place to live...? Really?
I had a rethink about this because while its touted as ideal for families I dont think in reailty it ever lives up to its hype...unless you lived in a wealthy, crime free suburb maybe? But is there such a mythical place?


Eg latchkey kids phenomenon,
Housewives with no transport, stuck at home all day with kids
dogs
noisy, even violent neighbours
subtle racism or intolerance of anybody 'different'
huge costs for basic amenities like electricity, running water, roads with no potholes...pedestrian crossings, footpaths
lack of top soil to grow a garden or complete lack of it
far away from everything, cant just walk to shops, or impossible to get to without a car
high road toll
ongoing house maintainence that never ends
lawnmowing ugh
boredom! nothing to do except watch tv
lack of churches or community spaces
Have you looked into the possibility of moving? I wouldn't recommend any large city. The smaller the better, but there are many varieties of neighborhoods. The hardest is to find a home or rental with good neighbors. That can be a nightmare.
 

Thusiserve

Active member
Nov 8, 2022
182
143
43
#47
And you can't say enough about having good Neighbors!!
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#48
Have you looked into the possibility of moving? I wouldn't recommend any large city. The smaller the better, but there are many varieties of neighborhoods. The hardest is to find a home or rental with good neighbors. That can be a nightmare.
no, why? i like where I am..
 

Dude653

Senior Member
Mar 19, 2011
12,668
1,098
113
#49
I'm currently listening to the new Neil deGrasse Tyson book on audio and apparently almost every school shooting happens in the suburbs as opposed to in the inner City
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#50
I see. That is very interesting. From the little i understand about NZ, it is a unique place with unique culture. But so very beautiful and special! Please enlighten me on what a "waka" is.
a waka is a like a wooden carved canoe, or rowboat. Its made out a tree trunk.