Welcome to my fourth day of the #7dayculturechallenge - for the rundown of why I started this new challenge check the introduction post here

The Kiwi Dream

The great kiwi dream is to finish school, go to university, travel/OE, have a family and buy a house (usually in that order!). However during my lifetime the kiwi dream has evolved and changed, particularly buying a house, as this is now out of reach of alot of everyday people. The average house price of houses had skyrocketed in the past decade, and wages haven't been able to keep up - leading New Zealand to have the 'working class poor' - those who work full time but still dont have money to save or invest.

Although not all people in New Zealand dream of going to university it is still a path a lot of us take - I tend to think that there is to much study in some areas, and not enough jobs. The alernative seems to be finding a trade, or working as an apprentice.

It is part of New Zealands culture to work hard (in order to help save for a house) - The traditional work hours have been 9 - 5 Monday to Friday. However, with the prices of houses increasing, work hours have seemed to increase with some people working 50+ hours a week to support their family. This work culture is set at a young age, with alot of teenagers getting their first job at around 15/16 - usually a part time job at a supermarket/retail - often around 15 hours a week while still at school. When I moved to Spain the people were amazed that teenagers worked - in Spain in general teenagers don't work - if they want money to do things with their friends their parents provide this for them.

Although the OE isn't something that all kiws do - it is fairly common - often going to London/UK/Europe for a couple of years to work/party before returning home. Some kiwis also move/relocate to Australia for a few years as there is potential to earn alot more money there.

Currently I have finished school, gained a university degree and am on my OE in Spain - next step in the dream is to buy a house and have a family :)

The rules:

• Write a post about an aspect of your culture - e.g. food, arts, dance, economy, money, governement etc
• Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated
• Mention three people who should do this on each day.
• Tag it with #7dayculturechallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post
• Include a picture of something from your culutre related to yoru story if possible
• Post these rules at the bottom of your post
  Note - if you like the idea of this and would like to participate but werent nominated, feel free to join in and just mention that I nominated you :)

If you are still doing a different challenge and are nominated feel free to start this one once you have finished the last one!

Today I nominate:
@mariannewest
@taskmaster4450
@wandrnrose7

Thanks for reading :)