Buhay Overseas

The USA or NZ? Which is better?

Photo of Tara Fontanilla
By Joy Caballero


Yes, which do you think is better, the USA or NZ? What I am going to share with you all is just my personal experience and observations. As you know, different people have different experiences. Please feel free to assess for yourself which is a better place to live after reading my article.


    Tax Regime:


 USA: In the States, there are two levels of income taxes; the federal income tax and the state tax. There are some states which don’t have state tax eg, Texas, Florida, but majority of the 50 states have state tax.

For goods and services, there is the sales tax. Sales tax vary in various states eg Texas is 6.5% while New York is 8.5%. When you buy something in the States, the prices are not yet inclusive of sales tax. It is added when you pay up with the cashier.


 NZ: There is only one income tax in this country. The progressive income tax rate percentages are more or less the same as in the States for its federal income tax. You pay 12.5% GST for goods and services..


  Health Insurance:


 USA: It is imperative that you get health insurance in the States whether you are a US citizen, green card holder or under a work permit. Otherwise, it is utterly expensive to pay from your own pocket. I remembered when I was still in Texas and I was offered a package by my employer which didn’t include health insurance. They said they will just include some money in my package so I will get my own independent health insurance.

I got the shock of my life when I canvassed for family health insurance packages. You bet, I had to pay US$1,000/month for it. Plus I had to pay an additional US$200/month if I had the maternity component added to it. Guess what, I almost fainted. LOL. I decided not to take the offer.

Here’s another experience - I didn’t have health insurance 2 weeks before I returned to NZ. My US-based specialist told me that I should have a scan before I leave. If I didn’t take the transitional health insurance which would cost me about US$800/month, I will pay US$350 for my scan.

I rang my husband to check how much will I pay if I had it done in NZ. You bet, I will only pay NZ$30 if I had it done through a private provider, according to our NZ-based GP.

The difference is so clear, isn’t it? With my last employer which had group health, dental and vision insurance packages, I paid US$120/fortnight for family health insurance and $60/fortnight for family dental insurance. I didn’t avail of the vision insurance.


 NZ: If you are a relatively healthy person, it is not imperative to get health insurance in this country. The government will provide for it even if you are on a work permit from two years or more.

I told my work mates in the States about the public health system here, and how a midwife visits the mother at home on the first 6 weeks to check on the baby and the mother’s well-being after being released from the hospital.

And that there is the Plunket Nurse who checks on the progress of the baby and the well-being of the mother as well. Their eyes just grew really round!!!


  Vacation and Sick Leave:


 USA: In the States, most companies offer 2 weeks of annual leave and 2 weeks of sick leave. There are very few companies who offer 3 weeks of vacation leave. It is discretionary. With my latest employer, we were given about 2 personal days off on top of the annual and sick leave.


 NZ: As you know, you get 3 weeks of annual leave and this will become 4 weeks in 2007.

With my previous employer who was my first NZ employer when I arrived from the States, sick leave was only 1 week which was a surprise to me. But I guess, times are changing.

My workmates in the States couldn't believe that we get a lot of annual leave here in NZ.


  Education:


 USA: It is very expensive to send kids to Catholic schools in the States. When we were in Texas, we sent our son to a Catholic school and we paid US$3,500/year. He was only in Grade 1! Of course, this amount didn’t include uniforms, textbooks, and projects. I did some queries for Catholic high schools and the lowest tuition I canvassed was about US$8k! I sent my 2-year old daughter then to Montessori and the cost was US$200/week for 2 days a week and 2 hours a day. Whoa! Though, the quality of education was really good!

When we moved to Pennsylvania and eventually New York, we sent our kids to public school. That meant, we had to live in very good suburbs which normally have excellent public school systems. My employers provided me with a list of good suburbs, so that was very helpful. I was a homeroom mum in my daughter’s kindergarten class then, when we were in New York. I was very impressed with how the public school was run! The school was so tidy, safe and secure and the teachers were very competent. My son spent his Grade 2 and 3 years on the same school where my daughter was enrolled.


 NZ: I still think NZ has got the cheapest tuition fee for Catholic schools as compared to other countries that I have been to. Even cheaper than the Catholic schools in the Philippines! So far, we are happy with the quality of education that my kids are having at Marist Primary School. Further, I can see that they have a sense of belongingness in school which is very important, most especially when they were still adjusting to everything when they arrived from the States. Thank you, Marist Primary School, for accommodating my kids!


Although the offer with the least amount of conditions will probably be the most attractive to the vendor, Juan and Maria should note that it is advantageous to have the following conditions to be met by prescribed dates:


  Real State:


 USA: The prices of real estate in the States depend on the city that you live. There are very expensive ones eg. Manhattan, San Francisco, nice areas in LA, Chicago, and there are also affordable ones.

In Texas, real estate is generally affordable compared to the other states as I have observed. In Texas, you get a four-bedroom huge mansion-like house with internal double garage in a huge section for US$250,000, and this is located in a very nice suburb as well.


 NZ: I have noticed that Auckland’s real estate prices have really gone up through the years, which is good for homeowners and investors. But I believe people will still be able to acquire their first home because of NZ’s stable economy as compared to the world economy


  Quality of Life:


 USA: Because I was a travelling consultant in the States, there was really no quality of life for me for a number of years. That really burned me out!

It was good to be travelling initially, but when the honeymoon stage was over, I would dread packing my things, week in and week out. I was practically on the road every week.

Sometimes, I would travel for the day, meaning leave early in the morning, meet the client somewhere in Atlanta or Indianapolis, then fly back home on the same day. Very exhausting! There were times when I had to work from home because of blizzards, and you can just imagine how deep the snow was!

There were times when I work from my main office and didn’t have to travel. However, weekdays are just really the normal home-work-home routine as there is no time to drop by shopping malls as the commuting distance is quite far. One-way drive was about 22 kms. to/from work.

As I mentioned earlier, we had to live in a very good suburb as they offer excellent public school systems .


 NZ: Personally, I call NZ – Paradise! Commuting distances between locations are still driveable as compared to the States. You still have time to drop by St. Lukes for late night shopping or have a cuppa at Starbucks on Thursdays and/or Fridays. My work doesn’t entail me to travel a lot so I spend more time with the family. And even if I travel within NZ, it is just an average of 1.5 hours flying time as compared to the States where it would take me 5 hours to reach a destination. The ocean is just a stone’s throw away by Mission Bay. Nice beaches in the northern and eastern parts of town. Skiing is just 3 hours away. And lots more...


  Shopping:


 USA: It has always been noted that shopping is the favourite past time of Filipinos. LOL! I am no exception! And yes, this is what I miss the most in the States. Prices there are very cheap especially when they are on sale or when you are a member of a wholesale club like Sam’s or BJ’s. We had both memberships which allowed us to buy in bulk considering we have two growing kids. Further, if there is an outlet mall near the area, shop there. There is definitely a huge difference in prices when compared to the regular department stores in the States.


 NZ: My husband brought me to St. Lukes when I first arrived in NZ. I was a bit shocked with how expensive the tops and pants were to me at that time. I have gotten used to the prices now. Besides, you don’t shop everyday. Food prices in NZ are still affordable, though I have noticed that prices have risen recently. But I guess that is a global issue.



Settlement

Sari Sari

Business

Fast, Reliable - Worldwide Money Transfer

Image

Newsletter          Subscription

Image

Weather Forecast
Web Page Stat

Image