[Bluefox]

All

No doubt this is a topic that is discussed long and hard - but one that is always relevant.

My OH and I live in the UK, I have been made an offer from a company based in Wellington.

The point is that the offer is someway off my current package and would mean upto 35% decrease in base salary.

So, all you folk from the UK who have moved out to NZ - I would love to hear your comments around the costs of everyday product in comparison to the UK. I currently live in the Midlands.

Specifically, I'm interested in costs of Fuel and Energy, Food, Leisure (Cinema, Theater, Eating Out), Clothing (esp. Children's), Car and House prices - anything else thats important to you.

The HR bod looking after my application keeps telling me as an accountant I can not expect to earn close to what I earn in the UK partially because of the Cost of Living, partially strong £ in reference to the $ and differences in the recruitment market.

Thanks in advance.

John

[Caroline and Dave]

Hi John,
I have put this on both of your posts in case anyone misses one. This may help you
http://www.emigratenz.org/cost-of-living-in-new-zealand.HTML

Dave and Caroline

[Hannah]

My personal experience, the salaries are lower and the costs as a whole are the same as the UK. My salary is 1/3 lower here. Things like petrol, rates and ... wait for it... parking tickets...are cheaper. Electric/gas and phone/internet seems to be the same. Food (esp fruit and veg) and school fees and medical bills are dearer. This is my experience in New Plymouth - may be different in other parts of NZ???

We're definitely worse off in terms of the money left over each week to 'save'. We are pretty stingy really and don't spend out on any luxuries so manage to save a bit, but nowhere near what we saved in UK. Note, we have no mortgage - if we did, I think we'd be outta here by now!!!!

But hey, I knew that NZ was no cheap deal when I came here and while I can afford to pay my bills and stick a bit of cash in a savings account for a rainy day then I'm happy. This place offers things to me and my family that I can't put a price on. Education, outdoor opportunities, culture, for example.

If I was struggling to pay the bills each week I think those things that I can't put a price on may not be so enjoyable though.

What beats me though is how a parking ticket can cost $12 and an overnight trip up the mountain with a walking club guide to learn 'snowcraft' and survival skills can cost only $20 per person (including staying in the mountain hut) and yet tomatoes cost $10 a kilo and I've never seen a melon priced below $7. Last week I bought a whole bag of kiwis at $1 a kilo and they were cheaper than the single tomato I bought (which cost $1.37). Weird.

[Familyofmonkeys]

Food (esp fruit and veg) and school fees and medical bills are dearer. This is my experience in New Plymouth - may be different in other parts of NZ???



Price of fruit and veg can vary massively from one week to the next. In the space of a week Red Peppers (capsicum) have gone from 98c to over $4 in our local supermarket! If you put the same or similar sort of things in your trolley each week (most British people tend to do this) you will find food can be quite expensive. The trick is to buy things seasonally...only get things when they are cheap or on special offer. When you get used to doing this, fruit and veg can be very cheap.

[barryp]

So true, IMO.

Welcome to life with seasonal produce. I've read quite a bit of environmentally conscious writing urging a return to simpler times, when you bought mostly produce in season and that produce did not come from halfway round the world. Here in NZ you live that life if you're budget-conscious. (I must say I don't care for it all that much. But I'll get used to it; the $2 I could spend on a flavourless tomato almost buys a fabulous coffee.)

This is the season of root vegetables, which are so cheap they might as well just give them away. If you want a courgette in your stir-fry right now, though, it'll cost you more than all the other ingredients combined. A few months ago they were virtually free. Sigh.

[KD17]

Agree with all of that above. the cost of living is not that much different to the UK, that's where some may fall down, thinking that because house prices are less then everything else is less - not so...

An average Kiwi salary is around $35k -$40k I believe, but how on earth the average Kiwi manages on that, especially with children is beyond me.

Cinemas are aound $10 - $16 per person, depending on what day, where and what movie you see. Tuesdays here in Wellington seems to be the best day with $10 seats or 2for1 etc.

Petrol is probably around 1/3 cheaper than the UK. I find cars to be cheaper here and eating out is good value too. 3 of us had a nice evening meal in a nice restaurant with starter, main and general drinks (1 alcoholic) for $90, now that's pretty good in my opinion. Yes, there are more pricey restaturants, but you can find that anywhere.

Rugby tickets are anywhere from $20 for the local season, which is now, to $120 for the All Blacks.

When we came over we envisiged that it would be similar to living in the UK with just one decent salary, with anything over that being a bonus. It can be hard financialy for those with families with one parent working.

There are lots of free things to do, especially in summer.

We find that the general lifestyle is worth the salary sacrafice, but its all down to individual perception.

Good Luck

Keith & Debby

[Familyofmonkeys]

If you want a courgette in your stir-fry right now, though, it'll cost you more than all the other ingredients combined. A few months ago they were virtually free. Sigh.

I haven't even seen a courgette since i've been here :wah

[Nick88]

I agree with KD, it isn't that different really. When I arrived many years ago property was much cheaper, and this made things much easier as you could come out from the UK and buy a house for a song, comparatively. I suppose you still can if you own your home in the UK.

I terms of purchasing power parity things are about the same over all, perhaps slightly better here.

Wild horses couldn't drag be back to England (or make me eat courgettes).

[Mike & Nicola]

I find if your NZ salary, or household salary, is double that of what it was back in the UK eg. if you were on 40GBP then aim for $80NZD, then inside NZ you'll have a pretty similar lifestyle to that back in the UK. The NZ dollar will never travel as well as the pound, so you'll always notice the hit there I'm afraid when holidaying overseas.

If you're unable to double your UK salary, I think money will always be tight, something for all potential immigrants to definitely consider.

One thing is for certain, your lifestyle, even with less money, WILL be enhanced!!!!

Mike

[northernfive]

hi there
was reading this thread with interest and thought I'd ask a question about salary expectation ....
we arrive in Wellington in under 2 weeks time. My Hubby is a software developer with 10 years experience and has a lot of interviews lined up for when we arrive.
the jobs in Wellington he's going for are around the $85,000 mark. (in the UK he was on £32,000)So does this seems pretty good or could he push for more? Also, what sort of lifestyle can we expect to have on that salary (one wage, 3 children under 5, no mortgage, upper hutt area)

Would love to know what you guys in NZ think about the lifestyle we can expect to have

cheers

[leachio]

Why oh why didn't I go into IT instead of :confused:

My DH and I are so called 'proffesionals' (he is a copper Im a nurse) we take enough c**p off people in a wk to last a lifetime but there simply is no money in it!! We just love our jobs, ahhhhhhhhhhh

I recall reading threads like this last yr when we were still in UK and thinking 'yeah NZ means less $ for us but we will be fine with beaches & views etc' Oh how wrong I was! No arguements that NZ is gorgeous and spacious and mostly sunny but with no disposable income, no chance to save and 2 kids under 4 Im personally not living the life I lived at home. Strangely enough in the UK we had a mortgage, 2 cars, a pile of debt, I could go wild in the aisles at Tesco:laugh and a teenager emptying the fridge daily. We still had a nice 2wk hol every yr, occassional wkend breaks, lunches or dinners out often etc etc but in NZ we cannot afford a mortgage, we have no debt :raebanana and no teenager but we still dont do half the stuff we used to.

As you will have seen everyones story on here is diff, just try not to get blinded by the 'idea of NZ life' its not the land of milk and honey. That said nothing got in our way last yr so I guess Im talking from experience. If you are curious as to our figures I dont mind sharing, we are on approx $68,000 yr between us.

These are just our experiences and opinions and I wish you well in your adventures :)

[Chiba]

... software developer with 10 years experience ...
... around the $85,000 mark.


My circumstance are pretty much identical, and the agents seem OK with me saying $90k.