Hurry, see New Zealand before it's gone forever

The High Street in New Zealand towns and cities is refreshingly different to anything the UK has to offer. Sure there are chains, but they tend to be NZ chains and there is a surprising lack of international outlets.

Many Kiwis bemoan this situation, coveting "European" clothing for their children and wishing they could have a New Look or Fat Face on every corner. But immigrants and expats just love it, for the most part. It means they have moved somewhere different.

And New Zealand does excellent and reasonably priced restaurant and cafe food. There is a wide choice, in the main centres at least; though there is a fashion for rocket salads and hearty soups with grainy bread. You can always find something original -- particularly given the heavy Asian influence.

But then there is McDonald's. It cannot be avoided, and I would be the first to defend the occasional meaty snack from such a burger vendor. There are times when nothing but "a cow's lips burger will do," as an insulting friend once put it.

Surely though, there are enough of them already. There doesn't need to be anymore. So now The Herald reports that McDonald's plans NZ$100 million expansion in New Zealand, another 30 sites, it makes me think NZ will surely, in time, become just another state of the US in the same way Britain has already gone.

It's a shame. Poms come here, partly, to get away from the homogenised high street and US cultural influence. They want a distinct Kiwi culture and a vibrant, independent, community.

McDonald's doesn't really fit the profile.

Comments

[Jane]

hmm- actually, I suspect there's more to this debate- maccie D's is just the tip of the ice berg, there's some americanisms going on anyway.