Differences

As far as countries go, New Zealand and America are pretty similar but I have noticed several differences:

Differences

• Peanut Butter - The texture of pb is just the same as the American stuff, but the taste is slightly different. American pb is sweeter and almost rich, whereas the NZ stuff is basically just peanuts (there is some oil and preservatives in there too)
• Turkey - is not a thing here. I think in the whole sliced meat section there was only one of turkey and there was no turkey at a different store. Ham and chicken are the only lunchmeat options usually. Lamb is also significantly more common, if not cheaper than in America. 
• Stores have less options in general. Imagine your average grocery store. Imagine the cereal aisle. It stretches for miles, doesn't it? There are only a couple of shelves of cereal here! It's a similar story with the soap/shampoo aisle.
• Conservation and the environment are such a part of daily life here that you don't have to think about it.
• 70% of NZ's energy comes from renewable sources. Wind farms and geothermal are the main providers.
• Every outlet here has a switch right next to it, which is a really good idea. You can leave things plugged in, but they only draw energy when the switch is flipped. I have been wanting this for ages and I didn't think it existed, but NZ is the land where dreams come true!
• Toilets here have two buttons. One button is for a small flush, one is for a big flush. The button you push depends on how much flushage power you think you need. The toilets are low flow and the way they flush means that I haven't been able to tell if water spins the opposite direction!
• Central heating is quite rare. This one I'm not so stoked about. Luckily, my apartment does have heating, but this is fairly uncommon. It tends to not get super cold here so it's not a big deal, but it's winter right now so it can get quite chilly during the night. The heating that is in my apartment is either heated ceiling or heated floor. It's a bit odd to me, but each room has its own thermostat and mine keeps plenty warm.
• Riding the bus is common means of transportation here. There are no school buses so I see a great deal of school kids on my way to work. There are also business people and families and of course a few people that are quite strange. Maybe this would not be a big difference for other places with public transport, but it is certainly new to me. Also, most people say "Thank you" to the bus driver as they exit the bus, even if they go out the back door. It's quite nice, but I don't think people do that very often in America?
• Billboards - I don't think I have seen a single one since I've been here. I'm so used to them that I don't know if I would notice one, but I can't think of seeing any either in Wellington or Christchurch.  Edit: So the other day I did notice a couple of billboards, but I could probably count the total I've seen on my fingers.

Those are most of the differences I've noticed so far. There are other differences as far as words, accents, clothing, and that sort of thing, but they are harder to describe with words on the internet.

Are there any rumors you've heard (or experienced) about differences in New Zealand? Ask me in the comments!