Audio version of the first video on the YouTube channel. Just to store them all here as well as on YouTube.

How to pick the best country? (video)

A video version of my post about choosing the best country and city. I’ll also upload MP3 versions of all YouTube videos here for those who prefer podcast-style content Telegram built-in player allows background listening on phones and will automatically play audio continuously.

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Audio version of the video above.

Ecology

Auckland consistently ranks high in ecological ratings. I never paid much attention to this, thinking of ecology as just a nice bonus to the overall quality of a city.

In reality, it turned out to be much more noticeable than I expected. Here’s a list of differences I’ve noticed since moving to Auckland:

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Nothing special, just a view from one of our sites in Auckland that I captured today. The construction machinery is right behind me, and I'm standing on a pile of excavated earth.

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Illegal and legal immigration (video)

A video showcasing stunning views of NZ nature, accompanied by background talking on immigration and a comparison of various countries' immigration policies and their outcomes.

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The mp3 version of the video above.

Strange price aberrations

In Russia, there was a visible difference in price between New Balance and other sports brands. In NZ, prices for all sports brands like Puma, Adidas, New Balance, Nike, Asics, etc., are about the same. New Balance does not stand out from the line. I have no explanation for that, but looks logical – all the brands are about the same in terms of quality and have both basic (cheaper) and advanced (more expensive) models.

It's the same with Timberland. In Russia, at some point, Timberland became somewhat special, and prices jumped up. In NZ, it’s just yet another brand with the same prices as any other.

Probably, they have different price policies for different countries.

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Pre-Christmas mood

I filmed the pre-Christmas atmosphere in our office. Kiwis, at least those I work with, when celebrating anything, often listen to songs by Eagles, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Black Sabbath, etc. The songs that I also like. I filmed this because this specific performance of this particular song (Deep Purple - Child In Time) is, for me, one of humanity's greatest musical achievements. An eternal masterpiece. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times and know every single second of it.

This music has always been something personal to me, as I had never heard these songs anywhere except on my PC. Until I moved to NZ. They know. They like. They sing. They even play it themselves.

P.S. Our office billiard table is behind the wall to the right. The kitchen, with coffee, food, and drinks (including alcohol), is near to it. However, the culture here is a bit different – nobody gets drunk. One or two shots during a party, and that's it. Everyone goes home by car.

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Immigrants' children

The Russian Duma recently prohibited non-Russian-speaking children from attending Russian schools. It's another mistake that will lead to more trouble in the future. These children will not integrate into society, and instead of gaining new Russian citizens, the country will face even more division than it already has. Yet another insane mistake. Nobody is surprised.

NZ solves it differently. Many immigrants (in NZ, they are legal only, but that doesn't matter in this case) come to NZ with their children. In the picture above are my son's classmates' self-portraits - you will find many non-English names there. Of course, immigrants' children usually don't know their new language well, even if their parents do. It's absolutely fine. These children normally go to the same free schools as any local children. In the schools, teachers assign each non-English-speaking child a so-called "buddy". The buddy is ...

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A video version of one of my posts on why people leave NZ.

mp3 version of the video above