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I’ve been looking for my first home for a while, and because I’m buying alone, there aren’t heaps of options within my budget.

I finally found a house I genuinely really like. It ticks a lot of boxes and I could actually see myself living there.

BUT… when I went through it with the agent, she disclosed that there had previously been a fire at the property.

After asking a few more questions, she explained that the previous tenant had a heart attack while smoking a cigarette, which caused the fire, and unfortunately the person died inside the house.

The interior has since been completely redone through insurance, and the exterior is no more than 5 years old. The agent also mentioned that the house has since been blessed.

I’m really torn. I genuinely like the house, but knowing someone died there, particularly in those circumstances, has definitely made me question whether I could actually live there comfortably.

I know logically that it’s a house and the person’s death wasn’t anything sinister or violent, but I also don’t know how I’d feel once I actually owned it and was living there.

Has anyone else come across a house they really liked but then found out something about its history that made you question whether you could live there?

Or have you bought a first home knowing someone had died there (or knowing about some other significant history) and eventually just stopped thinking about it?

Would this be a dealbreaker for you, or would you look at it as something that happened in the past and focus on the house as it is now?

Would genuinely appreciate honest opinions . especially from anyone who has actually bought a property with this kind of history. 🫶

Hey team, I’m organising a photoshoot for some outdoor products and hoping to find a nice spot with an awesome view or outlook, that looks remote (doesn’t have to be) and accessible by 4wd. We’ll have a few products to shoot some lifestyle content, hence requiring a vehicle rather than getting some sherpas to help.

Based in Auckland, hoping for somewhere cool within 2-3hrs drive, and able to stay a night (tents are some of the products). Private land is also an option, happy to sort a fee if necessary.

Edit: note we have a lot of beach content, so looking for something new!

Thanks!

I'm looking into self-contained vehicles, and want to find a way that is as simple and efficient for myself as possible. I want the vehicle to be my everyday vehicle, so no vans.

A towable wet-room. Essentially a bathroom on a trailer. A small room built onto a trailer that meets all the requirements, such as toilet, tanks, sink, waste disposal, etc.

In all essence it would be a caravan without a bed.

Would that constitute being a self-contained vehicle - or would I need to be able to sleep within it to legally 'freedom camp'. Man, the nitty gritty specifications of these laws can be so complicated.

I'm not interested on whether it's a cost efficient solution, or if there are better ones, I just want to know if its even legally worth considering.

Any thoughts? Hopefully there are some SCVehicle users here who can provide some advice.

I’m a young adult, and I’m currently working full-time in pharmacy, earning in the early $30s per hour. I work 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday during normal office hours, which is really good because I always have evenings for my kids and family.
Recently, I received another job offer paying around $4 more per hour. It would be 32 hours over 5 days, but 4 of those days would be closing shifts.
I’m also a uni student, so one advantage is that the later shifts could make it easier for me to attend classes without having to take a whole day off work. However, I only really need to go to uni around once or twice a month, so it’s not a huge issue at the moment.
My current pharmacy is very busy and has a big team. My boss treats me really well and lets me focus mostly on typing and dispensing because that’s what I’m fast and confident at. If I move to the smaller pharmacy, I know I’ll probably need to do more general duties and housekeeping, which I honestly don’t mind. My main concern is whether my typing and dispensing skills might decrease if I’m not doing them as frequently as I am now.
On the other hand, the new pharmacy has offered to upskill me to become a vaccinator and work towards PACT, which I feel could be really valuable for my future.
So I’m a bit stuck between staying somewhere comfortable, familiar and family-friendly, or pushing myself out of my comfort zone for better pay and more opportunities to develop my career.
What would you choose in my situation? Stay in the safe zone or take the opportunity and grow? 🥺 Thank you!

Hello ! My partner and I are MtF (Male to Female) and FtM (Vice Versa) respectively, in college, and considering moving to NZ (Auckland, probably) after getting our degrees here in the U.S. (Alaska). I'm a dual citizen in Australia, so from my research we can move as a domestic partnership pretty easily.

We would primarily move for the adventure and nature and distance from America politically, but it's also important for us to find somewhere culturally open minded and socially safe as a visibly queer couple.

Do you guys have celebrations/parades ? How's it holding hands on the street ? Is the healthcare decent for trans folk ? Do you feel like there's a sense of community and belonging ? Areas to avoid ? Lots of questions.

If there's other cities better than Auckland, let me know too ! We adore music and art, but nature above all else. We're open to any advice and knowledge :]

Thank you !

Pork hock chops look surprisingly like chicken hearts at this Fresh’n’ save in Rosedale. The whole store is now weird after change in management. Almost no prices listed for their grocery items and the person at the counter quite often asks “what is this?” before adding the item to your bill.

The last couple days I've been thinking about upgrading my gpu and this afternoon I ended up locking in what gpu to get. However, when I added the item to my cart I noticed the item pricing displayed in the trolley was different from the listed price. I ended up refreshing the page and the item had increased in price of almost 200 dollars despite me having refreshed the page an hour earlier... Like I expected the pricing to be updated sometime either when the stock ran out or around midnight but it seems like that assumption was wrong.

Anyhow I've been feeling pretty gutted about this. Anyone got advice on avoiding a crappy situation like this for next time?

I have a bald spot like the picture with some discolouration that i am certain is tinea capitis - i have had this problem before. But after calling my GP they wont book me in until November, or late october with another doctor. I am getting really upset and worried about it spreading. It is on top of my head so it's really obvious and embarrassing. My hairdresser told me about it a month ago and it is only getting worse.

Is there anyone in New Zealand besides a GP who can prescribe antifungals?

Edit i am already using an antifungal shampoo (selenium sulphide 2%) and have talked to pharmacists

has anyone got the link to bruno mars presale yet?

I've been trying over and over, different devices, different browsers.

It's just a constant loop of captures I'm supposed to click. We don't even have fire hydrants in NZ, why is that a test?

Hey people! I am going to visit Wellington for the Waitangi weekend. But there are no hotels available to book. I refuse to believe the whole city is already fully booked! Is this normal? Is there no way I can book the accommodation? Or can I expect booking to be open later in the year?

(Aside from giant mural of laser kiwi ofc)

I’m not sure what I am allowed to do to this extremely ugly wall that our living room looks onto.

Appreciate insight from landscapers and DIYers.

Surely I can at least paint it? Can I attach a trelise etc?

Is this something I can go ahead and do or do I need permission?

The building I think houses rubbish bins or similar (maintenance block).

EDIT: Thanks for the great boundary and legal comments everyone. It seems like I can look into this myself without consulting my lawyer

Has anyone ever had random "Globug" sms's?

I have separate SIM cards for recovery of online accounts for my business, which I basically never need but I keep topped up with $10 once a year to preserve the number. The seperate numbers means that if someone were to clone the simcard or something (or otherwise steal the number) I wouldn't lose all the accounts.

Anyway, I turned on this old phone and noticed that one of the numbers had a message to topup a Globug, I guessed correctly by the name that this is prepaid power and got worried. Is there some kind of scam associated with these messages?

Waiting to hear back from the police. Could it be that someone has been in my house and used one of my old phones? Would this be more of a hacking thing, or possibly an account associated with a recycled number (the number should be over a year old). Sim card stuff is for account recovery. I am really worried it is going to ruin or damage my business.

Do NZ builders understand the difference between SED and Acceptable Solutions?

I mentioned that I was designing something as the structural engineer, and the builder told me that engineers don't design — architects do.

Their example was that portal frames are specified by the architect, not designed by the engineer. Given they had being working for 5+ years as a builder, I was quite surprised.

Is this a common misunderstanding among NZ builders, or have I just encountered an outlier?

Hey Kiwi Parents! Sorry Dads for missing you out!

First time school Mum and lunchboxes are stressful!
Worried she’s bored, worried she won’t eat.
Please share what ya kiddies enjoy!

when you’re on bail or whatever and being brought in for sentencing, do the police escort you? and then what’s the process before they give the sentence? i’m not being sentenced but i’m going to a sentencing. and if you’re sentenced to time do they take you straight to jail?

Asian male late 20s .
When I was younger it was fine but as I just get older maybe it’s a societal pressure or judgement I’m not sure but yes I’ve made some taboo mistakes and a lot of awkward mistakes such as the ones that stays in your memory where you think you’re such a weirdo yourself.
Whoever answers can relate to what I’m saying that’s a plus. Either way it does seem like I’m answering for myself but I still need some things that I cannot answer myself and that is holding eye contact makes me shake in my lips my nose makes my eyes close my nose clenches, I mean it’s really weird and unusual for me but it’s just getting worse as I get older.
Is anybody aware of why this happens why I get insecure or socially anxious? When they hold high contact I cannot hold a conversation I don’t know what to say but this is only certain people.

Usually it’s people who look more intimidating or more mature or someone that I feel like is cooler than me or better than me in certain ways.

I grew up being judged a lot. One thing for sure is I wasn’t like this when I was doing MMA when I was younger but that’s because I was younger. Can anybody relate to this? Possibly Tall poppy also? Because when I imagine myself in a different country I can’t imagine myself being socially anxious.

Mōrena koutou,

In the process of buying our first home and we've just had it confirmed that the house itself has been rewired but the mains cable is original (1949). Two questions about this.

1) Is that relatively normal, or is it unusual and concerning that the mains cable is original (amd something worth asking the vendor to rectify before settlement)?

2) I've already set up our house insurance policy to start on settlement date, and have found this out since then. Do I need to check in with the insurance company to see if this changes anything?

Sincerely,

Two very overwhelmed people.

Hi, I'll be visiting South island in middle of October and we're driving up towards Milford Sound. I read online that snow chains may be legally required, but the dates on when it is required is a bit unclear. Was wondering if we could get some advice on where we might be able to rent a chain, or whether its even necessary. Thanks in advance.

We'll be visiting sometime in the week of 12 October.

Hi everyone, i have applied for a temporary role with the Electoral Commission and they have asked me to attend a group interview.

I have never done a group interview before, so I’m not sure what to expect. What kind of questions do they ask? Will we be interviewed as a group, or individually? Is there any test or activity involved?

If anyone has done this before, I would really appreciate any advice or information about what happens.

I am only applying for a temporary role as I would really like to be part of the election process and experience something that happens every three years.

Hi everyone😀,

I’m currently a first-year university student in China. After completing my first year, I managed to get a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa, and I’ll be arriving in NZ soon.

Since I haven’t arrived yet, I’ve had quite a bit of time to think about what I might do afterwards if I decide that I’d like to stay in New Zealand long-term.

I came across the 2-year New Zealand Diploma in Engineering (Level 6), and it seems like a potentially good option. From what I understand, the diploma can lead to a Post Study Work Visa, and some engineering technician roles are on the Green List, which may provide a pathway to residence if I can find a suitable job and meet all the requirements.

At the moment, I’m particularly looking at Ara Institute of Canterbury’s New Zealand Diploma in Engineering (Civil), which seems to line up with the Engineering Technician pathway.

On paper, it looks pretty attractive: only two years of study, relatively affordable tuition compared with a full engineering degree, and potentially a pathway into a Green List occupation.

But I’m not sure how realistic this actually is in the real world.

I’ve heard that the job market in NZ has been pretty rough recently, so I’m wondering how the situation looks from the perspective of people actually working in the industry. If I graduated with this diploma, would it be reasonably realistic to get an entry-level civil engineering technician/CAD-related job? And how much do employers actually value this qualification compared with a bachelor’s degree?

I’m also curious about Ara specifically — is the civil engineering diploma reasonably well regarded by employers, and do graduates generally have a decent chance of finding work?

Basically, I’m trying to figure out whether this is genuinely a decent way to build a career in NZ, or whether it just looks good on paper because of the immigration pathway.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who works in civil engineering, has studied this diploma, or has experience hiring graduates.

Thanks!😊😊😊

How is old NZ currency valued, and is it worth more than face value?

There's a few old NZ currency for sale on Trademe but no bids that I can see. All auctions for currency is above face value.

My father has some old NZ $1 notes, which are in pristine condition (like barely circulated).

The notes are not just random, has about 10 notes with consecutive numbers.

How or where can this be valued?

I have thought about getting one of those massage guns, hes previously DVT so thats a no go - apparently the massage gun can cause more issues. Having DVT also rules out a lot of things, he used to do tramping but cant any more, even with the use of compression socks he cant, same with flying.

He works during the weekdays, comes home and is either on his phone or his laptop playing whatever boomer games he plays. During the weekend, he has a couple of trap lines that are ~20 min driving distance from us in public areas and he takes the dog down, so thats a couple of trips that the dog enjoys.

I just have no idea what to get this guy. He has the tools that he needs and the gear that he needs for the trap lines. I thought of maybe getting something for the dog when he goes out but then that just feels like im getting something for the dog and not for him.

He doesn't care about reading, tried a couple magazines and books and they just sat there collecting dust. He doesn't care about booze, cant anyway cause of the drugs. He doesn't care about coffee, he prefers his instant coffee. Its like everything that the "typical kiwi guy" cares about, doesn't give a flying fuck about so literally everything fathers day ad related means nothing.

I did think about a phone gimbal so when he takes photos and videos hes a bit more stable, but then thats just another thing hes carrying - he has his backpack and the dog, but when he goes to traps he needs to put the gimbal down, deal with the trap, pick the gimbal up, and move to the next trap, so that doesn't really work out at all.

Does anyone have come recommendations?