Cost of Living
New Zealand is a wonderful island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. New Zealand’s nature is its most distinctive feature. The vast of the island is populated with enormous amount of plants, animals, insects and funguses, which cannot be found in any other places. Together with its unique climate, geographical location and the country’s varied topography, New Zealand is one of the most targeted places for tourists from all over the world. Nowadays, it has a modern and prosperous market economy, which is heavily dependent on international trade. Food products is the most profitable point of country’s export. Despite the fact that food products make up almost half of national export, the prices for food are relatively higher if compared to other countries. The discussion of cost of living regarding food products in New Zealand is a central theme of this paper.
The tendency of high cost of living can be faced all over the world. The list of the most expensive countries by cost of living is led by Switzerland, Venezuela and Kuwait with approximate groceries indexes: 115, 106 and 105 (Cost of Lining Index for Country 2015 Mid Year). Huge costs on food are equally likely to occur in both developed countries and countries of the third world, without taking into account the GPD of the country. This is a definitely negative aspect, as habitants of the less developed countries suffer more. For instance, Papua New Guinea, which is a developing country, occupies eights place in the least of the most expensive countries by groceries index (86). Food is extremely expensive in this country, making it difficult for natives to make their living. Such a serious problem has to be taken into account by local governments or authoritative individuals.New Zealand is a very friendly and environmentally attractive country with marvelous landscapes, hospitable natives and amazing animals. However, cost of living in terms of food is extremely costly there. New Zealand occupies twelfth place in the least of countries sorted by groceries index with the figure of 75. Eating is out is particularly expensive (New Zealand Travel Guide).
Restaurant meal with a table service can cost more than forty New Zealand Dollars. However, if one decides to cook his own food, he spends about 75 New Zealand Dollars per week. In addition to that, people are constantly eating in fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s or Burger King, where they can order a single burger for a ranging price from 7 to 15 New Zealand Dollars. As the result, residents of New Zealand have to spend the major part of their income on food. Those, who do not have time or opportunity to cook on their own, have to spend enormous sums on fast food. Moreover, those, who are willing to eat healthy, have to visit expensive restaurants.Despite the accepted rule that capitalism raises standards of living (Pettinger), the followers of healthy lifestyle suffer from the chosen economic system. First, …
