[clodestar]

I've read lots on forum - positives and negatives. We've researched and know cost of living is high, houses variable to say the least. Here we both have to work, earn good salaries and have 3 children to keep. Our biggest cost here is the mortgage added to cost of living in the South-East. We've both always wanted to travel and provide a good quality of life for our children.Also both would like more challenges in terms of work. Husbands salary offer $76K + benefits+ 2-5%bonus rising to $80 within 6 months and should be back to equivalent grading $120K within 2-3 years. We've reasearched company and they are very fair -bonuses paid and salary structure straightforward.We also know people who have already moved from husbands present employer. We should bring $350K maybe slightly more for cars and deposit on a house and are leaving an emergency cushion of £20K here. We don't want more than $100K mortgage. We're hoping to buy 3/4 bedroom house with upto 1/4 acre and broadband availablilty. We live quite modestly here in that we spend at most £75 per week on groceries and don't go out a lot. We're hoping i will be able to not work for the first few months to settle children and then pick up a little supply teaching or something completely different to fit in with OH rota. The idea being no childcare, our youngest is only 18 months. I will need to work for my own sanity but would love more time at home and to actually see my children and not be exhausted when i do see them. Here i work full-time and am junior team leader - so on top of class commitment i have managment role. Is this scenario possible ?

[Moorf]

Hi there,

Where in NZ will you be living, that will make a lot of difference to price and, to some extent, cost of living.

Moorf

[clodestar]

:yes OH job offer Wellington. Hoping to live Kapiti. OH job means he won't be commuting in rush hour as he works on a rota. I'm a primary school teacher.

[willsken]

Sounds to me like you should be fine with those numbers, especially when you go back to work.

[wiki]

That's a budget that would certainly make trying a pretty good option. You'd need to have a good look around Welly to see if your mortgage projections would be realistic, but even if you rented for a while and parked your funds in a decent-return account you'd still be making 5% after tax in interest which would keep your funds at a current level if you did decide to return to the UK.

Good luck

[eternalkiwi]

A 3-4 bedroom house would cost approx. NZD$250-500k in most parts of Kapiti.
Kapiti is one of the most picturesque parts of the North Island though in dryer summer months water can become scarce.
Kapiti was the first part of NZ to have cable, so internet options are very good.
There would also be a good range of primary schools for you to teach at when the time comes.

Shawn