Apr 9

Apr 9 Episode 1: Where is it more expensive?

One statement I hear ALL THE TIME regarding life in New Zealand is how expensive everything is. I thought it might be useful to show you some real world purchases I’ve made and ask you to guess where is it more expensive. You might be shocked at some of the answers!

In this first episode, I’m covering:

Lululemon Swifty Tech Long Sleeve Crew
Massages
Zara High Waist Skinny Jeans with Snakeskin Print
A manicure (both regular polish and SNS dip)

What are your guesses before we get started?

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So first up, a Lululemon Swifty Tech long sleeve crew. I asked my husband to bring back one of these shirts on his last trip to the U.S. as it is beginning to get colder here, and yoga wear is my mom uniform for school drop offs.

If only I had done my research first! In the United States, this shirt costs $78 + tax. In Austin, that means the shirt costs US$84.44. In New Zealand, the shirt costs NZ$89, which includes tax. However, when you take into account the exchange rate, the exact same shirt in New Zealand costs US$60.52.

Advantage: New Zealand

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A trip to a luxurious day spa is something that I’ve always enjoyed as a special treat for things like my birthday or a Mother’s Day gift. Near us in Auckland, I’ve discovered Spring Spa, and in Austin I liked to visit Milk & Honey. For the sake of this comparison, I looked at their signature massages for 60 minutes. (For the record, 60 minutes is never long enough!) At Spring, this massage will cost you NZ$105, but no tipping is required. This is about US$71.40. At Milk & Honey, this will cost you US$115 + tip, or about US$138. Y’all, that is ALMOST TWICE THE PRICE.

Advantage: New Zealand

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Next up is a pair of Zara snakeskin jeans that I’m kind of in love with. In the United States, they cost US$39.90 + tax, or US$43.19. In New Zealand, they cost NZ$69.90. With the exchange rate, that is about US$47.53. The delta isn’t as dramatic as with Lululemon, so I’ll suck up the $4 difference.

Advantage: United States

I’m a bit manicure obsessed. I’ve found that if my nails are done, I won’t pick at my cuticles or bite my nails. I try to rotate between regular polish (when I have time to go in every week. Let’s be real - a regular polish manicure lasts about 6 days!) and something a little more long lasting. Currently I’m loving the SNS dip manicures simply because they last 3-4 weeks on me. Life has been so crazy lately that I I’m LOVING the longevity. So where is a manicure more expensive?

Regular polish in New Zealand tends to run about NZ$25. This includes all of the usual: nail shape, cuticle trimming, massage, and polish of your choice. A bonus in New Zealand is that tipping is not expected, and in fact rarely happens. That means the total cost in is about US$17.

In the United States, I paid US$18 for a regular manicure, but I was expected to tip on top of that, so usually around US$22 was my total bill.

Advantage: New Zealand

SNS dip nails are becoming more and more prevalent in New Zealand. The local nail salon I go to charges NZ$55, or about US$37.40. Again, no tipping is expected so this is my total cost.

In the United States, an SNS dip manicure is around US$40, but a tip is expected, so the total cost would be around US$48.

Advantage: New Zealand

Are your surprised by any of these results? What are some other products or services you’re interested in learning more about? Leave a comment below!