Well, in a way it is, in a way it isn't. It's true that we are relatively safe from violent crime here. But the level of petty crime seems to be proportionally much higher. And no where is safe. Even the "good" neighborhoods have regular break-ins and burglaries.
This post was prompted by this story in the Dominion Post (a Wellington newspaper). An American expat couple living in Wellington left all their belongings in a van outside their house, and it was broken into and everything stolen. Including their $15,000 bicycles. And they didn't have insurance.
The only time in my entire life that I've ever been robbed from was last winter when staying at a rented bach (pronounced 'batch', a small vacation rental) in Ohakune near the Ruapehu skifields. It was pouring rain, so when we returned to the bach from dinner, we ran inside and I forgot to lock the car doors. Later in the night we went to get back in the car to go out for some drinks, and as I got to the driver-side door, it burst open and a young hoodlum jumped out, yelled "booga booga!" and ran off. Luckily we disturbed him, or he probably would have taken all our CDs. As it was, he only got a pair of sunglass (nice ones, though, so it still sucked).
So when you move here, don't be complacent. Lock your doors. Don't leave anything valuable in your car. And for goodness sakes, insure your valuables.
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