1789 days ago

NZ's friendliest regions and towns

Lorna Thornber Reporter from Stuff Travel

Hi there,
Canterbury has been named the fifth most welcoming region in the world in the Booking.com Traveller Review Awards, while Oamaru, Hokitika and Invercargill have been named the most welcoming towns in NZ. They were followed by Cambridge, Picton, Lake Tekapo, Kerikeri, Palmerston North, Paihia and Twizel.
We'd be really keen to hear your thoughts on this based on your own travels around New Zealand. Do you think Canterbury is NZ's most welcoming region? And are these our most welcoming towns?
Where in NZ have you been made to feel particularly welcome on your travels?
As usual, please put 'NFP' in your comment if you don't want it to be included in an article. Cheers.

More messages from your neighbours
36 minutes ago

πŸŽ„ Christmas 2025 Holiday Pay - What You Need to Know πŸŽ„

Stephanie from Sunnynook

πŸŽ„ Christmas 2025 Holiday Pay - What NZ Employers Need to Know πŸŽ„
With Christmas fast approaching, it’s important to make sure your team is paid correctly over the holiday period - especially with holiday legislation changes on the horizon.
πŸ‘‰ Good news: For Christmas 2025, the current Holidays Act rules still apply.

Here’s a simple breakdown πŸ‘‡
βœ… Employees with 12+ months service
β€’ Entitled to 4 weeks paid annual leave
β€’ Pay the higher of:
πŸ‘‰ Ordinary Weekly Pay or Average Weekly Earnings
πŸ“Œ Full-time example
β€’ 8 hrs/day Γ— 5 days = 40 hrs/week
β€’ $1,200 per week = $240 per leave day
πŸ“Œ Part-time example
β€’ 3 hrs/day Γ— 4 days = 12 hrs/week
β€’ $300 per week = $75 per leave day
βœ… Employees with less than 12 months service
β€’ Not yet entitled to annual leave
β€’ If your business closes down over Christmas, they must still be paid holiday pay for the closedown period (usually paid via payroll accruals or 8% of gross earnings under current law)
🎁 Christmas & New Year Public Holidays
β€’ Christmas Day (25 Dec)
β€’ Boxing Day (26 Dec)
β€’ New Year’s Day (1 Jan)
βœ”οΈ If the day is a normal working day, employees are paid for it
βœ”οΈ If they work on a public holiday:
➑️ Time and a half + an alternative paid day off
πŸ”” Important – Changes Coming
The Holidays Act will eventually be replaced by a new Employment Leave Act, moving to hours-based leave accrual and simplified calculations.
⚠️ These changes are not in force yet, so Christmas 2025 still follows current rules.
πŸ’¬ Need help checking your payroll or holiday calculations?
πŸ“§ Email: info@corefigures.co.nz
🌐 Website: corefigures.co.nz...
✨ Feel free to share this with other NZ business owners ✨

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6 days ago

Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️‍πŸ’₯❔

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

What has a head but no brain?

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!

Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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13 hours ago

Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!

Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?

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Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
  • 78.2% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
    78.2% Complete
  • 21.8% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
    21.8% Complete
206 votes