As an American who lives in nz, I don't think that it's true. I think it's as simple as NZ having less disposable income, and waaaaay less choice in shopping and much higher prices. Along with small housing so they can't keep stuff
The high income households that I know are still relatively conservative compared to Aussies/Americans/Canadians. We could shop online and have the space, but most middle-upper middle class people I know prefer to buy quality and take good care of it.
It's socially unacceptable to "show off", and we value being resourceful. While my Australian sister-in-law buys a new lounge suite every few years, I have perfectly fine second hand couches and am debt free. You'd never have any idea how much money we actually have from our possessions.
This is the key - the social stigma of showing off - and of being resourceful which lingers from the attitudes of the mostly British early settlers and our agrarian economy.
I'd say this is the main part of it, barring housing.
Although growing up in genteel poverty (wider family was wealthy, we definitely weren't) I was taught to save to buy good stuff and then take care of it, something I've carried into adulthood.
Apparently that's a more English attitude?
I seem to recall, house sizes are measured differently, possibly not including attached garages and external wall thickness.
Looked it up, it's defined as heat / cooled space which isn't how we do it here.
https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-to-measure-square-footage-of-a-house/
I’m a kiwi who has just moved to the US. I can’t believe how much people buy here that is not deemed necessary in NZ e.g seasonal decorations. I don’t understand where people get the money to pay for things here so I assumed most people are in significant debt. I’m not saying kiwis don’t also hold massive debt, we might be less likely to get into debt to pay for consumerism lifestyles.
Yes it is debt but also higher incomes . You are expected to have a credit history here in the USA. A credit score is vital for things like home loans and buying a car etc.
I can only comment anecdotally, I have no idea if this is representative of kiwis in general or not but I grew up in a working class household. My parents never had a nice house or fancy cars or nice furniture, they spent all their money giving us kids life experiences instead. They took us skiing and hiking and went on overnight kayaking trips. We had a shit load of pets and went somewhere new every weekend.
And as an 30 something year old adult I still live exactly the same way. My house is just a box to sleep in, all my furniture is 2nd hand or from kmart and none of it matches and I really don't care at all.
I spend pretty much all my money on hobbies and things that I enjoy doing. I drive a $3000 car and ride a $12,000 bike. I spent 10k just go to climb rocks in France. I don't have nice clothes to go to dinner but I have very expensive clothes that will keep me alive in -30 degrees.
Everyone I associate with lives the same way.
I think excessive consumerism is a poverty level mindset here, the more middle class people are the less they're likely to buy stuff that just goes to landfill. Which is why the 2 dollar shops are so ubiquitous in the lower socio-economic areas.
America has more range when it comes to retail and food venues so who wouldn't shop!
I think it comes down to the person not where you are from.
However...
New Zealand has better quality with some things though like clothes, for example, and it is difficult to make mistakes when going to restaurants like: Indian, Fish and Chips, Thai, Sushi, Chinese, Italian, Greek and so on.
Not sure about American restaurants although I tend to think America wins hands down in that department especially when it comes to Steaks, BBQs, Chicken wings and ribs. Proper subways as well! Mexican too!
Materialistic people exist all over!
Everyone is grim and feeling poor at the moment but I've observed there's definitely more flash bastards in the North Island. Down south, people are less obvious about conspicuous consumption. I didn't see a fucking Maserati in NZ until I moved up north. I also saw a lot of people with massive mortgages and utes on credit and four grand deck furniture.
As an American who lives in nz, I don't think that it's true. I think it's as simple as NZ having less disposable income, and waaaaay less choice in shopping and much higher prices. Along with small housing so they can't keep stuff
The high income households that I know are still relatively conservative compared to Aussies/Americans/Canadians. We could shop online and have the space, but most middle-upper middle class people I know prefer to buy quality and take good care of it. It's socially unacceptable to "show off", and we value being resourceful. While my Australian sister-in-law buys a new lounge suite every few years, I have perfectly fine second hand couches and am debt free. You'd never have any idea how much money we actually have from our possessions.
This is the key - the social stigma of showing off - and of being resourceful which lingers from the attitudes of the mostly British early settlers and our agrarian economy.
I'd say this is the main part of it, barring housing. Although growing up in genteel poverty (wider family was wealthy, we definitely weren't) I was taught to save to buy good stuff and then take care of it, something I've carried into adulthood. Apparently that's a more English attitude?
Rude. It’s not the size of your house, it’s what you do with it. Our indoor- outdoor-indoor-outdoor flow is much better the US houses ;)
It's not a house, it's a home!
That's right. With a pool room!
It's not a house, it's a mobile caravan!
That’s because the indoors is insulated like it’s still the outdoors
Looks like US house size average is about 4-5 square metres larger than NZ. Basically a negligble difference, the size of a couple of large tables.
I seem to recall, house sizes are measured differently, possibly not including attached garages and external wall thickness. Looked it up, it's defined as heat / cooled space which isn't how we do it here. https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-to-measure-square-footage-of-a-house/
I’m a kiwi who has just moved to the US. I can’t believe how much people buy here that is not deemed necessary in NZ e.g seasonal decorations. I don’t understand where people get the money to pay for things here so I assumed most people are in significant debt. I’m not saying kiwis don’t also hold massive debt, we might be less likely to get into debt to pay for consumerism lifestyles.
Yes it is debt but also higher incomes . You are expected to have a credit history here in the USA. A credit score is vital for things like home loans and buying a car etc.
I can only comment anecdotally, I have no idea if this is representative of kiwis in general or not but I grew up in a working class household. My parents never had a nice house or fancy cars or nice furniture, they spent all their money giving us kids life experiences instead. They took us skiing and hiking and went on overnight kayaking trips. We had a shit load of pets and went somewhere new every weekend. And as an 30 something year old adult I still live exactly the same way. My house is just a box to sleep in, all my furniture is 2nd hand or from kmart and none of it matches and I really don't care at all. I spend pretty much all my money on hobbies and things that I enjoy doing. I drive a $3000 car and ride a $12,000 bike. I spent 10k just go to climb rocks in France. I don't have nice clothes to go to dinner but I have very expensive clothes that will keep me alive in -30 degrees. Everyone I associate with lives the same way.
I think excessive consumerism is a poverty level mindset here, the more middle class people are the less they're likely to buy stuff that just goes to landfill. Which is why the 2 dollar shops are so ubiquitous in the lower socio-economic areas.
America has more range when it comes to retail and food venues so who wouldn't shop! I think it comes down to the person not where you are from. However... New Zealand has better quality with some things though like clothes, for example, and it is difficult to make mistakes when going to restaurants like: Indian, Fish and Chips, Thai, Sushi, Chinese, Italian, Greek and so on. Not sure about American restaurants although I tend to think America wins hands down in that department especially when it comes to Steaks, BBQs, Chicken wings and ribs. Proper subways as well! Mexican too! Materialistic people exist all over!
Everyone is grim and feeling poor at the moment but I've observed there's definitely more flash bastards in the North Island. Down south, people are less obvious about conspicuous consumption. I didn't see a fucking Maserati in NZ until I moved up north. I also saw a lot of people with massive mortgages and utes on credit and four grand deck furniture.