New Zealand - Will the move to NZ be a mistake

ourquest

7th March 2008, 01:03 AM

Such a difficult question to answer, particularly as I don't fit the profile of person from whom you wanted an answer! But I have read through the forum posts you linked and it's mixed opinion, and for what it's worth here are some general comments applicable anywhere.

It might be worth considering that although home ownership is an ideal we often prefer, renting is a viable option also, particularly if you are disciplined enough to put a large portion of the "saving" away to grow a deposit for when you do feel comfortable buying. This might not be great advice in a booming market, but NZ seems to have had its boom and there are a lot of indicators that property might even go backwards in value. So for the time being, emotions aside, it might be better not to buy in any case (and wait for the market to adjust downwards).

It could also be viable to rent in the city/township you will be living and working, and purchase a property in the place that you might want to retire to (where you might also be able to afford a mortgage now, since it might not be in a major centre). Put a tenant in your property, or holiday let it and you are then subsidising your investment property which is at least in a place that you like and you could live in yourself later in life. I know this second option might present cashflow issues, but my reason for mentioning it is that we can get stuck on thinking there is only one way to do things (in this case buying a home to live in), and when the numbers don't add up we give up on the whole idea, when maybe it is just an invitation to get creative with our spending.

I would also expect everyone to go backwards financially when they emigrate, and we (generally speaking) firmly resist doing exactly that in any context. As with so many things we take on, the combination of our expectations and attitude often define failure or success before we even have the chance to go through the exercise. So we're in a strong position...as we read these forum posts our expectations become smaller and our chance of finding actual success greater!

britzy

7th March 2008, 01:32 AM

Hi Ricky
Im also starting to doubt whether New Zealand will provide a better standard of living .I keep reading how expensive everything is,high interest rates,poor pensions,etc.
Unfortunately for me, Im lead by my heart not by my head ! I'm of the belief that everything will work out alright in the end,with a bit of hard work and patience,this doesn't help my cause!!
Sorry I know that doesn't help you,but I'm sure quite a few people are feeling like us.
Helen

Rusty

7th March 2008, 02:02 AM

Hello Ricky,
I don't think anyone but you and your family can really answer that question. If you are going for a better financial standard of living, then my opinion is you will not get it - unless you are taking a lot of money with you to buy a house, etc.
I am going for a better life where money counts for less on the whole, there is space, people are friendlier, etc. I am under no illusion that we will be rich or even better off financially - and we are taking some money from our house.
As for the other site, take it at face value. It is a place where people who are not happy get together and talk about it. Do not expect it to be a balanced discussion.
I am sure you will make the decision that is right for your family if you look around as many different places as possible (OK, you probably already know this, but no harm in saying it) or if you can afford it, go to NZ for a reccie.
Good luck.

Red Devil

7th March 2008, 02:27 AM

... I think the site is a front to stop us all moving over ;) :D

Seriously though, we've taken on board various comments mentioned on the site, plus members have mentioned on this forum that the standard of living is reduced mainly based on salaries, etc.

Still reckon it's got to be a better quality of life compared to the UK :roll

CJ22

7th March 2008, 04:07 AM

Okay, let me ask the question this way: if my salary in NZ were roughly the same as my salary in the UK (in terms of the exchange rate), would I roughly expect to feel better off, worse off, or about the same? I'm never quite sure when people say they're worse off, whether they mean 'after having taken a salary reduction'. Are people mentally allowing for lower salaries, and if you managed to get an equivalent salary there would in fact not be much difference?

Justine+Ben

7th March 2008, 05:03 AM

Wow... those British Expat threads paint such a bleak picture of the house buying situation in NZ, especially for those of us who are without much equity and who are just starting out :(

If the house buying situation really is that dire, I think I would prefer to just rent a house and use the amount left over each month (after rent, bills and food etc.) to enjoy life in NZ rather than spending it all on a mortgage! One of the main reasons we are considering a move there is so that we can see new places and travel around a bit - but if all your money goes on a mortgage how can you do any of that? :uhoh

Is $100K NZD (approx.) per household really not enough for two people (no kids) to enjoy life in Auckland?

swissmissdesigner

7th March 2008, 05:15 AM

Hi Ricky,

This is a very interesting subject and I would like to add my opinion to it.
When I first visited New Zealand many years ago I want to move there immediately. Then I went again and I started to see things differently. On my list of cons are things such as: very high expenses, racisms, high crime, and low wages for such a small country! In fact I didn’t have to worried about housing too much, because If I sell my California home and we combine the money with my kiwi boyfriend home we cam pay off a brand new home. But still the rest of the problems are remain...
On the list of things I like: really the beauty of the country with the unlimited outdoor activities, and my many lovely kiwi friends that I miss so much. The big question remains: is that enough to make the big move? Personally, for me it is not, but you will find many on here for whom that is enough. Don’t misunderstand me, I love New Zealand. But I do not think that this is the right time to make such a big move because I don't want to moan and complain about everthing I will miss once there.. I am better off in California at the moment where my daughter has an excellent school education and I also have a better paid job. My expenses are way lower which allows me to make several oversee trips during the year including visting my home country Switzerland. It always depends on where you come from. Some people make a big improvement in there life by moving to New Zealand. Some of us do not, but still decided to go through with the move because of the beauty of the country... It dependds on you what you are looking for. The best I can suggest to those considering the movie, just go there and observe, so you get an idea about what can you expect. The fact is that around 600 kiwis leave the country every week and move oversees... So the government is taking in many immigrants to make up for the lost population. Immigrants comes with capital and pay off they home, or at last they can afford to buy a home.
Lot of kiwis cannot do so, which causes them to move to UK and Aussie for a better life, but usually after a while the return home because they miss it.

This is my humble opinion..Good luck with whatever you decided.

Pebbles

7th March 2008, 05:22 AM

It might be worth considering that although home ownership is an ideal we often prefer, renting is a viable option also

I couldn't agree more with above quote (incl. the rest of what OURQUEST wrote). Even before moving to NZ I have often felt the pressure from others to get onto the housing market. If you do not own your own house (or paying thru the teeth for a large mortgage) I'd be cheating myself.
Personally I have for the most part enjoyed not having to worry about a mortgage, upkeep of the house, council rates, etc.
And right now, all I have to do is hand in notice for my rental and I can move whereever/whenever I want. Who knows where we might end up in the world?

incredible hulse

7th March 2008, 06:58 AM

It really comes down to what the word lifestyle means (to you). See it banded about a lot here but personally don't think it's anything that can be defined in black and white.
I actually enjoy work so for me my 'lifestyle' in NZ is in someways worse as work is so far behind here technically, the opportunities are small, the output from the workforce is pitiful (kiwi can-do attitude must have been sarcasm) , the investment from employers is inadequate and the work conditions (including salary) are very poor on both a world scale and in terms of cost of living. Add to that my commute is longer, transport infrastructure is 1980's and work environment is not as much 'fun' as the UK. In addition we have 3 kids who are growing up without grandparents, we miss real friends, we can't afford luxury items, overseas travel is limited and there is no decent football ;)

Countering that I have a nice big house (made of wood admittedly ;) ) on a nice plot of land, summers have been mainly dry, people are friendly, and I am still in tourist mode somewhat as there is so much to see that I haven't seen in the 2 years being here. Also in my way of thinking life is short and this was an experience I wanted to tick off so can never be viewed as a mistake personally.

Lara Croft

7th March 2008, 07:31 AM

I know that it is not a good thing to slag off other forums, but the BE Forum.... all they ever seem to do is complain!!! I used to be a regular poster on there, but got very fed up with all the grumbling threads - anytime someone posted a nice thread, it usually got 'shot down' by the grumblers - this is purely my opinion, and I have no wish to offend anyone who posts on there! This forum, as an example, has a completely different - far more supportive - attitude.

Someone asked about salary differences? I was on a very good (contract) wage in the UK, and have more or less swapped my take home for the equivalent in NZ$. So if I took home 50k in pounds, here I take home $50k - this makes it quite easy to see how relatively expensive it is living here. Washing machines that cost 400 quid cost over $1000 here. Paperbacks that cost 5 quid in Tesco are $30... we are having to adjust our spending, and get used to having a fraction of the disposable income that we were used to.

But money isn't everything, and we knew that life would be more expensive here (with less money coming in - also one wage now instead of two!). My OH is wandering around muttering "how much??!?", but I've been here a few weeks longer and am starting to get a feel for how much to pay for things.

We live in a fabulous rented house, 2 mins from the beach. My commute takes a bit longer, but I can sit on the train and gaze at the wonderful scenery instead of the bumper of the car in front of me. When I go home I can go jogging or walking on the beach. We can eat out relatively cheaply, in family friendly cafes and restaurants. We can go exploring some of the most wonderful and diverse countryside, half an hour from home. I work in a vibrant and clean city - where I feel safe and find the streets quiet (compared with Manchester) - and then go home to a quiet spacious village. My son goes to a school where they are not all locked in at the start of lessons, and where they have plenty of space to play, and good sports facilities.
TV is rubbish, but personally I rarely watched mainstream TV anyway. We've brought our vast DVD collection (and a UK DVD Player to play them on) and can watch movies when we want. Also, you can download some current TV shows onto iTunes (Ashes to Ashes / Torchwood), so we can keep up with our favourite dramas at low cost.
I've only been here 6 weeks, but love it, and don't envisage wanting to move for a long time! Ask me again in 6 months time, after a freezing winter in an uninsulated house, with extortionate heating costs, and I may have a different story... :)
Joking aside I am so glad we made this life changing decision to come here - if for no other reason that to give it a go, rather than always regretting what might have been.

J

incredible hulse

7th March 2008, 08:13 AM

I agree the BE forum is on the negative scale compared to here and I haven't been on there for ages for similar reasons.

That said just had a read of that link and must say it is quite accurate imho - house prices are not cheap here (more expensive in cost of living terms that uk I would say) and if you were starting without a helping hand from sterling you would struggle.

Nick88

7th March 2008, 12:19 PM

I've just read the link, too, and I can't really fault the logic or the numbers. As I have said elsewhere on this site, NZ is no fun if you are skint.

I also wouldn't go back to the UK if you paid me, I would rather be here. When we arrived we rented for years and built up a good sum for a property, added to the sum we had tucked away in the UK we were able to buy our home outright. However considering the way that property prices have shot up in the last few years (and are going to fall in the next few years) we wouldn't be able to do it again now, things are just too expensive. There is no shame in renting, and it is considerably cheaper then a mortgage, and you have flexibility to move if the area doesn't suit you.

We have created a business here that would have been beyond our wildest dreams had we stayed in the UK. Ironically we are now going to sell it and move to Aussie.

willsken

7th March 2008, 01:06 PM

After reading a post from BritishExpats.com http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=518660 I am getting really concerned if the move to NZ for me and my family is a good idea. The reason for the move is getting a better standard of living but now I am not sure. I don't want to work in NZ just to pay the mortgage with no much spare cash to do other things (after all bills have been paid). To all people that made the move and are living in NZ is it really that bad?? Hope that some people can put my mind to rest before I pull the plug. :exit

Thanks

I'm quite happy to reassure you about my move. I don't know if it will work for you because I don't know your financial circumstances.

We were told that if you double your UK salary ie. 30,000 UK pounds to earn $60,000 then things should be OK. As a teacher/HOD I have definitely achieved this and a little more. My OH has gone from being a fire fighter to a builder and has started his own business. Once this is up and running properly (hopefully in the next year or so) he will also be earning more than he did in the UK. At the moment we are pretty much living on my wages. We have a mortgage here that costs me exactly half my take home salary. We are living on the rest and while there isn’t much spare, we do live a very comfortable life. We don’t do without at all.

It is impossible to reassure you about your question not knowing more facts. Where do you want to live? How much do you expect to earn? How much money will you bring over? Do you have a couple of teenage boys who eat you out of house and home? ;)

I wish I could offer the answer but we are all so different in our lifestyles and expectations it's impossible. There are people on this forum who live on a lot, lot less than I do and in my wildest dreams I can't see how they do it, but they do!

Personally we do just fine over here and as a previous poster said, I wouldn't go back to the UK if you paid me! :nice1

Georgebulldog

7th March 2008, 01:17 PM

I do think only you can make the decision. What are you realy after? We have moved over & with our equity cleared all our debts, had a deposit for a house but on the other hand have a slightly larger mortgage than the UK, we were lucky enough that OH salary was almost the same as the UK but still need to watch the pennies a bit, saying that we are still new to NZ, putting money aside, the childrens play parks here are IMO much nicer than the UK, there's beaches all around & so much going on for free you don't need to spend lots of money, I suppose this does depend on the age of your children. Also when you watch the news it's not full of stabbings & murders, not saying it's perfect but you only need to log on the BBC news website & I see one of the reasons why we wanted out.
Also if you've come this far I do think if you don't do it you will always think "what if" better to say we tried it & it wasn't for us
Good luck with whatever you decide

Lupin

7th March 2008, 03:56 PM

BE is a very negative forum- full of whingers and moaners. Please bear in mind that anyone with a positive disposition would be put off posting there- I know I have! You'll find a more balanced view here and more people prepared to give hard facts about life here rather than just sound off on a bad day.

gpbenton

7th March 2008, 08:36 PM

The reason for the move is getting a better standard of living but now I am not sure.

I think it depends on what you mean by a better standard of living. If mean purely financial, then I would be very careful. Most people seem to find that they are less well off financially after the move.

But other 'quality of life' issues tend to make up for it.

Ricky

7th March 2008, 11:58 PM

I like to thank all posters with their honoust answers. We have decided to go for it :clap . We are not bringing over much equity but we will be renting for the first year until we are settled and save some cash for a deposit. The most important thing in our live is to give a good/stable life for our son who is 6 now. Hopefully Wellington will do that for us. Now it is just waiting for the PR to come through and the house to sell but that is another story.

Thanks Ricky

CJ22

8th March 2008, 12:58 AM

Until he hits 18 and can't wait to get the hell out of there ;)

swissmissdesigner

8th March 2008, 01:27 AM

Good on you Ricky!

Good luck to your big move!

Red Devil

8th March 2008, 02:28 AM

Yeah, good luck Ricky... one things for sure, your little lad should enjoy the great outdoors over in NZ... can't wait to get our little one into skiing again, as he loved it when we were living in France last year :)

JandM

8th March 2008, 04:45 AM

Good luck.:nice1

dilanium

8th March 2008, 11:13 AM

Good luck!!

migratory birds

8th March 2008, 11:39 AM

Only you will know if it is a mistake after you've moved...no one can answer this question for you. Some love it and there is no question this is the home for them while others can only stay for a year or two before returning to the country they emigrated from.

Listen in and keep asking yourself, rather than the list, this question.

dharder

8th March 2008, 12:09 PM

Until he hits 18 and can't wait to get the hell out of there ;)

That's exactly what I keep thinking when everyone says 'oh, their lives are sooo much better than in London', and I know that once they are old enough, we'll get all that thrown in our faces 'we lived in London and you moved us all to Auckland??!!'

Daniela

Wonderbob

8th March 2008, 12:50 PM

We have decided to go for it :clap . We are not bringing over much equity but we will be renting for the first year until we are settled and save some cash for a deposit. The most important thing in our live is to give a good/stable life for our son who is 6 now. Hopefully Wellington will do that for us.
Thanks Ricky

Go for it mate. Wellington is a sensational place to live, and an excellent city to bring up youngsters. My 6 yr old son and 8 yr old daughter walk to school together (attend the same school) and they love their school so much that they can't wait for holidays to finish so they can rush back. I personally think the US economy is in melt down right now (Dow down to 11860 today) and this will continue to drive down our property market, so you have plenty of time to wait before buying - you might even save 100K or more if you waited a year or more - the chances of a US recession are now so likely that this will have a big impact on NZ , and our over-inflated property market as well. It's a terrible time to buy, great time to wait and sit on your cash. National Bank is offering 9% for 18mths right now, I know where all of my spare cash is at - what a killer rate!......Good luck!

cheers, Bob

shut018

8th March 2008, 10:48 PM

I lived in New Zealand for 6 years and have both UK and NZ Citizenships aswell as a house in Auckland, however I returned to the UK and have no deisre to move back to New Zealand. Both myself and my partner had a joint income of over $100K and with only $50k left on the mortgage we still had to be very careful with our spending. Tax is a killer. Dentist bills are horrendously expensive and you have to pay each time you visit the doctor. The lifestyle is good, but it may not be as good as you envisage it to be. I don't mean to be negative but I am only referring to life in Auckland for me. If you have a large sum of money and a good job you will have a very comfortable lifestyle.

Before I immigrated in 2001 I read a book by Nicola Butler called 'Emigrate with Caution'. I was very excited about the move and thought she was just another negative Brit, however since returning to the UK I have re-read the book and I totally agree with it. Everyone is different and emigrating is a great adventure. Nothing is for ever either and it is very easy to come back to your old life and slot back in.

Best wishes.

daygloweyes

9th March 2008, 05:17 PM

The one thing I like about this board is that everyone seem to be so honest and forthright with their answers :) I too have been thinking heavily regarding making the move to NZ but oh I want to go so bad haha...so I'm still doing some research and honestly have just started looking into possibly going to Oz...

Nick88

9th March 2008, 07:20 PM

just started looking into possibly going to Oz...

A sensible decision. At the risk of being too political, the present NZ govt has really done alot of economic damage here, and while the there is likely to be change at the next election it will be a long time before any remedies take effect. NZ might be a better place to move to in about 5-6 years, but at the moment Aus wins hands down. Sad really....

Carey

9th March 2008, 08:04 PM

Sorry to see you're off to Oz Nick88 as your contributions on here are valuable. But be interested to see how you get on so keep in touch!
Good luck!

Vision

10th March 2008, 11:05 AM

Just finished my EOI - will be submitting within a week or so. Very interesting scenarios and people having different reasons for wanting a "better life" in NZ..OZ ...or not. I just looked at these statistics today and my descision was easy. The facts speak for itself:

CRIME: CRIME SOUTH AFRICA PER YEAR April 2005 to March 2006
18,545 Murder
54,926 Rape (Very, very under reported)
20,553 Attempted murder
226,942 Assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm
227,553 Common assault
119,726 Robbery with aggravating circumstances
74,723 Common robbery
9,805 Indecent assault
2,320 Kidnapping
3,345 Abduction
4,828 Neglect and ill-treatment of children
12,415 Culpable homicide
1,044 Public violence
12,825 Carjacking (subcategory of aggravated robbery)
829 Truck hijacking (subcategory of aggravated robbery)
59 Bank robbery (subcategory of aggravated robbery)
385 aggravated robbery.
10,173 Robbery of cash in transit (subcategory of aggravated robbery)
4,387 Robbery at residential premises (subcategory of aggravated
robbery)
7,622 Robbery at business premises (subcategory of Arson
144,265 Malicious damage to property
44,512 Crimen injuria
262,535 Burglary at residential premises
54,367 Burglary at business premises
85,964 Theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle
139,090 Theft out of or from motor vehicle
28,742 Stock-theft
13,453 Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition
95,690 Drug-related crime
33,116 Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
432,629 All theft not mentioned elsewhere
54,214 Commercial crime
64,491 Shoplifting

Crime is very under reported in South Africa
All crime is UNDER REPORTED
If the newspaper reported all crime in South Africa every newspaper
would be 1 metre thick.

Please be aware that some of the links below is EXPLICIT!!, I repeat..EXPLICIT!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lYYZfztK9g

http://www.videospider.tv/Videos/Detail/3961282674.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmzIc6ANjWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2E9oz4dfLs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S71PbichSw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X38CW6l-em4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G5bXsF2qQs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C44mMok09FM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRuxy_4T4CI

Makes the little money issues look a bit irrelevant actually.

I am not making any political staments or anything, I have taken the above from an e/mail I received today from an unknown person who has been robbed and stolen from 30 times. In SA if you take all the different taxes into consideration you loose between 50 and 60 % of your income to tax. This is why I want a better life in a country where there is law and order and respect for one's life and property. For that I am prepared to work hard and to contribute to the economy of NZ, and in exchange earn a reasonable salary. Nothing more than that. Just my 1c worth why I think NZ is a much better deal than what we in SA have now.

Regards

BoroCraig

10th March 2008, 09:09 PM

Hi,

I've already stated previously that we are moving anyway despite having to leave debt here - it's the same debt whether we are here or there. All I wanted to add is that I have friends who have lived in NZ for over two years now and when I have asked them about the cost of living and other negative points posted on this and other forums they simply don't agree - in their opinion they think the cost of living is cheaper than UK and many things are cheaper including many things that I have read others say are expensive. They also state that they have definitely improved their quality of life (reference to another post).

My point is that I believe it is far too easy to be swayed by negative posts and just like anything in life you'll 'never' truly know what it will be like until you've tried it. Obviously, everyone's circumstances are different but I personally won't be swayed by negative posts - depends on your outlook - mine is you only live once!

Craig

peebles16

10th March 2008, 09:20 PM

I don't think it's about being swayed by negative posts - I think what's great about this forum is that you get an all round good picture of people's experiences and that's why threads like this are so useful :yes You then take that and look at your own circumstances (everyone's being different) and then can judge whether it's worth pursuing. I do agree with you though that you can do as much research and read great threads like this but seeing is believing :)

Cheers
Karen

zardell

10th March 2008, 09:40 PM

All I wanted to add is that I have friends who have lived in NZ for over two years now and when I have asked them about the cost of living and other negative points posted on this and other forums they simply don't agree - in their opinion they think the cost of living is cheaper than UK and many things are cheaper including many things that I have read others say are expensive. They also state that they have definitely improved their quality of life (reference to another post).

The point is this Craig.

Your friends know you and your circumstances a lot better than we forum members do and therefor they can begin to precisely answer specific questions for you based upon their knowledge of you.

The object of a forum or any open discussion (IMO) is to relate the facts as those facts appear to the poster so that the reader can make up his or her own mind when relating those facts to their own personal circumstances.

I remember reading negative posts and thinking to myself 'No, it can't be that bad' or 'Well, surely it can't be as bad as here' We all see what we want to see don't we, but to the poster it is that bad - fact.

I totally agree with your outlook on life - you do only live once, so in order for a person to attain their life's goals sometimes chances and/or sacrifices have to be made. And if that person makes a mistake along the way and learns from it then so be it. No-one can accuse them of not trying eh?

Glad to read you are going to give it a good go.

Julie

xx

incredible hulse

11th March 2008, 04:09 PM

Moorf

11th March 2008, 04:14 PM

Even us RTS wearers would agree it's not cheaper than UK when all things are considered.... :) - but then we are of the "came here for less stuff more space" category so we were prepared to sacrifice certain elements of our UK life to be here.

Justine+Ben

12th March 2008, 08:13 AM

On the subject of cost of living in NZ and how it compares to the UK, well, I'm not there yet so I can't give an opinion.

But having lived in other countries (other than the UK that is) I can say that personally I have never measured how happy I am or how successful a move has been, by how much cash I have in my pocket or how much "stuff" my OH and I have around us (we have often been at our happiest with less money for instance). Moving abroad always costs a lot and it takes time to 'recover' and adapt to the new cost of living/way of life obviously. But if all we cared about was accumulating stuff and getting a good paycheck I don't think we would have ever left our life in the UK. Moving to New Zealand is certainly not motivated by financial incentives for us!

I agree with other posters, that each person (or couple/family) is different and I think it is impossible to know how it will be for you personally until you get there. None of us should be put off moving to NZ by posts about money related issues as everyone has their own unique circumstances. Plus, what is
a lower standard of living (or high cost of living) for some people, may not be for others! (depending on which country or region you are coming from for instance)

Good luck with your decision! :)

tezzasaurus

21st March 2008, 09:49 AM

Nick88

21st March 2008, 10:52 AM

You're quite right, Tezza. Alot depends on individual circumstances, the people from SA and Zimbabwe are a whole different kettle of fish to Brits, and things have to be judged accordingly.

I have a sister-in -law in the UK who can't get full time work as a Speech Therapist due to NHS cutbacks, and her husband's business is struggling due to competition. They would be far better off here, but due to family ties they won't even consider the move. On the other hand my entire family have emigrated here (all 6 of us), and are all doing alot better than we would be in the UK.

This may be a bit of a generalisation, but alot of the people on this forum are in the state sector, so they will have different criteria for their choices than me. I run a business, and am never fulfilled as an employee, so the job market is irrelevant to me. I tend to look more at economic and political conditions, the things that will affect the viability of the projects I embark on. This is the main reason I am leaving NZ, the next enterprise I have in mind needs a much bigger market than NZ to be viable, so I need to go where the potential customer base is bigger.

NZ is a very pleasant place, there are no two ways about it.

themilkybarkid

21st March 2008, 11:20 AM

Will we be better off if we leave the UK and go to NZ?:uhoh :uhoh

Well it depends on what qualities we consider important and value.

It depends upon our values - and they are personal and vary from different people.

If what was important to me was:

Having great choice in
shops
Having the latest gismos and IT equipment
Earning the best salary possible
Improving my equity
Becoming rich quickly
Enjoying cutting edge technology
Enjoying the latest films, theatre, concerts, gigs and bands

Then from what I've researched as far as I can see my 'quality of life' would be diminished by coming to NZ and it'd be a costly mistake. - I'd be worse off! :mad:

If what was important to me was:

A more relaxed laid back slower pace of life
A more relational/personal community
Better access to unspoilt countryside
A place that was less under the grip of capitalist agendas
People rather than possessions
Good access to beaches
A sunnier warmer climate
Organic locally produced food
A less centrally controlled, monitored, observed life
A life not dominated by global concerns, risks and fears

Then from what I've researched NZ would be a very good choice and as far as I can see I'd be much better quality of life:D .

It all depends upon what you are after what counts. Lots of people will testify money/wealth doesn't = happiness better life. From what I can see don't go to NZ to get rich there are lot of other countries much better suited!

5kings

21st March 2008, 07:19 PM

Many excellent, informative posts in this thread.

With regard to the cost of living, I suppose that much does depend on the amount of equity you have in your house, and therefore how large your mortgage payments are.

We live in the UK, are early thirties, still have student debt, and only a small amount of equity. Due to the insane cost of houses in the UK, our interest only mortgage is over £850 per month. We have no prospect of buying our own home, which will create problems come retirement age.

Even though we could only put down a small deposit on a house in NZ, we have worked out that, due to the lower cost of housing, we could afford a repayment mortgage on a small three bed house (not Auckland). On teacher salaries, we could still then have a reasonable, modest standard of living - something that is out of the question in the UK - every penny goes on the mortgage and bills (we pay £145 per month on Council tax alone).

So maybe it's not as bad in NZ, when compared to life for some people in the UK?

I think this is almost the same situation we are in, except our mortgage is about £650, council tax the same though :( but we have three kids, and only one income at the moment. We really want to move to NZ, but have decided to put our plans on hold a year or two until I am in the position to get a job. (youngest at school, and hopefully post-grad early years qualification finished)

Saying that though, we have said of OH gets a job offer, (which is unlikely as he is onlyhalf-heartedly applying) we would take the chance and go for it. BUt ideally for us, we want to start out with two incomes, as we feel that would be less of a gamble with the kids.

Helen
Helen

tezzasaurus

21st March 2008, 08:08 PM

Hi Helen

Seems like you have a sensible plan laid out. Would think that your post-grad qualification will go down well in NZ - I may being a bit naive, but they do seem to respect and reward qualifications. :raebanana

Living on one wage is not easy - my fiancee was on supply teaching for a couple of years, with not much work around - we only survived by taking out more debt. Therefore, it's a very attractive idea that we could sell our house in the UK, pay off the debts, and still have the possibility of being able to buy a small house (Auckland excepted).

Oh, by the way, with regard to your husband looking for a job, we got the employment pack from the NZ Immigration Service. It was about £70, but it was really good, and had a long list on websites where you can hunt for jobs, and details of recruitment agencies. Probably telling you something you already know, but thought I would mention it.

Hope your plans work out well. One of our school pupils moved to Wellington - they didn't come back to the UK!

caz

21st March 2008, 09:16 PM

We moved here last year, yes we have a mortgage and the usual bills but we came here for the lifestyle, the outdoors, beaches, walking. If you are big on retail therapy then thinks twice, yes there are some great shops some things are expensive, food being one of them but for us the lifestyle is the bonus, quite honestly you don't need to spend a fortune to have a great time here, spent the whole day at the beach last week and spent a total of $12 on icecream, not bad for the whole day. I think what I am trying to say is you will have the normal bills, but don't over streatch yourself with the mortgage, rates here are more expensive. Good luck with your decision for us it was the best thing we ever did.:cheers