[mazzie]

Hello all

First of all, sorry for the long post, but I am in a quandary and really need some helpful advice.

My husband has received an offer of employment from an Accredited Employer. However, after reading many, many posts on this forum it appears that the cost of food and other living expenses are very high and we are not sure if we can afford to live in NZ, therefore I wonder if some of you could please help me out with some answers to some questions please.

We are quite diverse as we lived in the UK for 22 years, then lived in Canada for 22 years and only moved back to the UK in November 2007. Many years ago, the standard of living in the UK was terrible and it was a great idea to move to Canada for a better standard of living. Now the tables have turned and we are substantially better off living here in the UK than in Canada, financially anyways. The reason for this is mainly because of my husband’s job. He works outside driving heavy equipment and in Canada he could only work for 8 months of the year, from May 1st to Christmas. The rest of the year it is far to cold to work, it’s normal to have -20C temperatures and loads of snow, but sometimes it gets to -40C, now that’s cold! Yes, his wages were pretty good, but if you divided up 8 months pay, plus 4 months on unemployment the wages were barely average.

We live a relatively simple life, but do have some money for extras because I work and we do have some savings in the bank. We are extremely fortunate not to have any debts whatsoever, (been there, done that) we like it better this way. We rent, (can’t afford to buy a house here.) we go out a couple of times a week, go on holiday once a year and that’s about it, but is it too much to want these things? Should we just be satisfied with the getting up, going to work, eat, sleep and do it all again tomorrow kind of life? And nothing else! Is this what will happen to us if we move to NZ? The reason I am asking this is because of the cost of living in NZ. Is $736 NZ dollars a week, take home enough for two people to live on? Bearing in mind that houses are around $300 a week to rent and food and electricity is so expensive. Forget the extras like holidays, savings etc, could we afford to just live, without having to scrimp and scrape? I will get a job for those extras, but will I have to get a job to enable us to just live without any extras?

The following list is everything that we pay out here to live, my husbands’ wages in the UK are $1000 NZ a week take home and we can just about manage here on that, so can we manage on $736 a week in NZ? This is the big question for us. If someone could please put prices to the following items, I would very much appreciate it; I could at least then see if it is possible to live on the wages he would get there or perhaps see what we can live without. Please be realistic about prices. I am a good and thrifty shopper and not into expensive clothes and stuff like that and you will see that the things I have put down here are basic things, nothing for clothing or entertainment etc.

WEEKLY OUTGOINGS

Rent – Wellington Region – Kapiti/Hoowhenua Area $
Food $
Electricity $
Water Rates (is there any?) $
Contents Insurance$
Car Insurance$
Road Tax (is there any?) $
M.O.T. (is there any?) $
Doctor’s Visits $
Prescriptions (I need two every month here) $
TV Licence (is there any?) $
Sky TV $
Internet $
Phone $
Mobile Phone $

This list may help other people that are looking for the basic cost of things in NZ. I have trolled these forums now for a few days and can’t seem to find anything like a list of basic expenses, but if I am missing something perhaps you could let me know.

We really do want to come to NZ, but the thing that worries me is that we would end up spending all our savings just to be able to live and then we would have no money left to return. We think we would love NZ, but we need to be practical and if anything should happen to me, hubby would most likely return to Canada and I would most likely return to the UK if anything should happen to him. We are dual citizens so we could choose either Country to live in.

It is easy to get carried away with the romantic side of moving to another Country, but all Countries have their problems and it really matters not where you live your life, but how you live it. We are all responsible for what we do in our lives and we make our own choices, sometimes they are good and sometimes bad and if we don’t have any spirit of adventure then we are probably destined to be like those people who do just get up, go to work, eat, sleep and do it all again tomorrow. We can do that too, but would we be happy? Surely there is more to life than just that? This is the 64 million dollar question that we need to ask ourselves and no-one but us can make that decision. However, I am not asking anyone to decide for us, just to give me some practical advice on costs.

Everything has gone like a whirlwind for us, it was only on Monday of this week that my husband sent his CV to the employer, he didn’t expect to hear back at all, never mind the very same day. The same night he had a phone call from the recruitment manager, then Tuesday night a call from the Regional and Divisional managers, Wednesday night another call from the recruitment manager and today he received his offer of employment. Some of you talk about this being a rollercoaster ride, well; we ain’t ever been on such a fast rollercoaster in our lives before. :raebanana

Thanks to all for reading this very long post and thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[Moorf]

Hi Mazzie,

The following thread makes interesting reading - from page 4 onwards there are quite a few examples from people on the forum of their outgoings... it may help!

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10158&page=4&highlight=Electricity

Moorf

[mazzie]

Hi Mazzie,

The following thread makes interesting reading - from page 4 onwards there are quite a few examples from people on the forum of their outgoings... it may help!

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10158&page=4&highlight=Electricity

Moorf

Thank you so much Moorf, I am busily reading that thread right now.

Mazzie :)

[dusk]

hey mazzie, the amount you quote seems a bit on the low side in terms of being able to afford to live reasponably. is that weekly income figure a guesstimate or have you plugegd the figures into the IRD calculator? (which will give you an accurate take home wage)

[mazzie]

hey mazzie, the amount you quote seems a bit on the low side in terms of being able to afford to live reasponably. is that weekly income figure a guesstimate or have you plugegd the figures into the IRD calculator? (which will give you an accurate take home wage)

Hello Dusk

Yes I have plugged the figures into the IRD calculator. However, I am a little unsure as to what exactly happens about taxes. Let me explain. Job offer is $55,000 salary, plus $940 for medical insurance and $9,342.00 for a Ute, which the company supplies. Total for that is $65,282.00 which looks quite impressive. However, actual cash is $55,000 and if you plug that amount into the calculator the taxes are $13,020 leaving a net income of $807 per week. However, if you plug the full amount into the calculator taxes on $65,282.00 are $16,729.98. I don't know if you are taxed in NZ on the amounts they allow you for medical insurance and a vehicle, but if you are then $55,000 (actual cash) minus $16,729.98 leaves a net weekly salary of $736.

We are not high rollers and have a 1994 Toyota Corolla here and don't buy many things for our home as we have everything we need, we don't spend a lot on clothes or entertainment etc., so we are used to living a simplistic kind of lifestyle. My worry is that many years ago I was living hand to mouth and at 55 years of age I don't want to do that again. Are we going to be taking a gigantic step back in time where I will have to 'save up' to be able to purchase something reasonably priced. I've been there, done that and I'm not sure I want to walk down that road again. I'm not expecting to get rich in NZ, all we ask for is to be able to live in a reasonable capacity as we are doing now.

I have been reading some great threads that Moorf pointed me to about Consumerism etc., and it seems that basically most people just want to be able to have a reasonable standard of living and not just survive.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Mazzie :)

[IanW99]

...
WEEKLY OUTGOINGS

Rent – Wellington Region – Kapiti/Hoowhenua Area $
Food $
Electricity $
Water Rates (is there any?) $
Contents Insurance$
Car Insurance$
Road Tax (is there any?) $
M.O.T. (is there any?) $
Doctor’s Visits $
Prescriptions (I need two every month here) $
TV Licence (is there any?) $
Sky TV $
Internet $
Phone $
Mobile Phone $
...


You don't say what type of visa you are applying for if it is not PR or a two year+ visa then any medical costs will be more expensive.

I'm sort of assuming that you will have found approx costs from the previous thread - if not there are plenty of them that you can search for and the parent site also has a cost of living calculator.

A few more comments:-
You quote a rent of $300 per week, this seems low for Wellington region.

Water rates are part of general rates in Wellington unless you have a water meter (very rare), so as this is paid by the landlord you can ignore this cost. Don't know about other regions.

Road Tax =Vehicle licensing approx $183 for 12 months

MOT = WOF every 12 months on newer cars and 6 months on older cars

No TV license

Phone - all local calls free and also most companies have freephone numbers so we rarely pay more than the normal monthly fee (unless we talk to mobiles).

Mobile Phones - very expensive, most people text instead.

Ian

[NZAussieGirl]

Hi Mazzie

Check with the employer, but I don' think you will be taxed on the vehicle or medical insurance. The company will usually pay Fringe Benefit Tax for these types of employee extras, not your responsibility. You should only be taxed on the actual salary.
Also, fuel, car insurance etc. would normally be included in the supply of a vehicle.

Rent – Wellington Region – Kapiti/Hoowhenua Area $ ?? Not sure
Food - maybe $150
Electricity $ 120 per month
Water Rates (is there any?) $ Only for property owners
Contents Insurance$ $350 per year for $80000 new for old
Car Insurance$ Depends on vehicle, but approx $300-500 per year Full Comp.
Road Tax (is there any?) $ Only for diesel vehicles, 3cents per km travelled I think. Paid by the company.
M.O.T. (is there any?) $ Car Rego $190 per year/$40 per 6 months WOF Should be paid by the company
Doctor’s Visits $Depends on doctor - approx $30-$50
Prescriptions (I need two every month here) $ Depends on whether subsidised or not, and medication type??
TV Licence (is there any?) $ None
Sky TV $ 47-$80ish per month
Internet $20 - $50 per month
Phone $40 - $60 per month
Mobile Phone $25 per month

You can actually bundle sky/phone/internet etc together to save money. Try TelstraClear.co.nz or Ihug.co.nz to get an idea of costs.

Good luck with the move :)

[mazzie]

You don't say what type of visa you are applying for if it is not PR or a two year+ visa then any medical costs will be more expensive.

I'm sort of assuming that you will have found approx costs from the previous thread - if not there are plenty of them that you can search for and the parent site also has a cost of living calculator.

A few more comments:-
You quote a rent of $300 per week, this seems low for Wellington region.

Water rates are part of general rates in Wellington unless you have a water meter (very rare), so as this is paid by the landlord you can ignore this cost. Don't know about other regions.

Road Tax =Vehicle licensing approx $183 for 12 months

MOT = WOF every 12 months on newer cars and 6 months on older cars

No TV license

Phone - all local calls free and also most companies have freephone numbers so we rarely pay more than the normal monthly fee (unless we talk to mobiles).

Mobile Phones - very expensive, most people text instead.

Ian

Hello Ian

Thanks so much for your reply. The Visa is a WTR, (Work to Residency) although I am not sure what the difference is between that and a Permanent Residents Visa.

The $300 rent I quoted was what the employer told us. They said that you could get a very nice 3 bedroom house for around $300/week. However from my research it seems to be likely that it would be more like $400/week.

On the other comments you have made, thanks for your input.

:cheers

Mazzie

[IanW99]

...
Road Tax (is there any?) $ Only for diesel vehicles, 3cents per km travelled I think. Paid by the company.
M.O.T. (is there any?) $ Car Rego $190 per year/$40 per 6 months WOF Should be paid by the company
...


Just a quick clarification of these points.

The nearest equivalent of Road Tax (UK) is Motor Vehicle License in NZ.

Often it is incorrectly called Car Registration (or Rego) as the first time you register a car you also pay the motor vehicle license.

Also agree, for those that have a diesel vehicle that they are also liable for Road User Charges (RUC) which is based on distance travelled (a true road tax).

Ian

[IanW99]

Hello Ian

Thanks so much for your reply. The Visa is a WTR, (Work to Residency) although I am not sure what the difference is between that and a Permanent Residents Visa.

The $300 rent I quoted was what the employer told us. They said that you could get a very nice 3 bedroom house for around $300/week. However from my research it seems to be likely that it would be more like $400/week.

On the other comments you have made, thanks for your input.

:cheers

Mazzie

Assuming that you are going for a 30 month WTR then there is practically no difference from a medical cost perspective.

But not all doctors / hospitals appear to know this rule and will sometimes attempt to charge you more than they should so worth watching out for.

Ian

[mazzie]

Hi Mazzie

Check with the employer, but I don' think you will be taxed on the vehicle or medical insurance. The company will usually pay Fringe Benefit Tax for these types of employee extras, not your responsibility. You should only be taxed on the actual salary.
Also, fuel, car insurance etc. would normally be included in the supply of a vehicle.

Rent – Wellington Region – Kapiti/Hoowhenua Area $ ?? Not sure
Food - maybe $150
Electricity $ 120 per month
Water Rates (is there any?) $ Only for property owners
Contents Insurance$ $350 per year for $80000 new for old
Car Insurance$ Depends on vehicle, but approx $300-500 per year Full Comp.
Road Tax (is there any?) $ Only for diesel vehicles, 3cents per km travelled I think. Paid by the company.
M.O.T. (is there any?) $ Car Rego $190 per year/$40 per 6 months WOF Should be paid by the company
Doctor’s Visits $Depends on doctor - approx $30-$50
Prescriptions (I need two every month here) $ Depends on whether subsidised or not, and medication type??
TV Licence (is there any?) $ None
Sky TV $ 47-$80ish per month
Internet $20 - $50 per month
Phone $40 - $60 per month
Mobile Phone $25 per month

You can actually bundle sky/phone/internet etc together to save money. Try TelstraClear.co.nz or Ihug.co.nz to get an idea of costs.

Good luck with the move :)

NZAussieGirl, thank you.

Going on all of your figures there without rent, we are looking at approximately $350 week as from what I have read you might be a fair bit out on the electricity and food costs. Add this to let's say $400 week rent and that's a total of $750......bang, money gone.

I guess we will be walking around naked, with broken teeth and unkempt hair until I get a job, but hey what will that matter with such a beautiful country to live in.

Thanks for the good luck with the move, but we haven't decided yet whether to move or not. I have my OH reading the forums now, so that he too can get a good idea about life in NZ. Once he has read enough, I guess at that time we will make our decision.

I suppose he could always ask for more money and if they want him badly enough, perhaps they will say yes! Ooohhh, did you see that pig fly past just then? :laugh

:cheers

Mazzie

[mazzie]

Assuming that you are going for a 30 month WTR then there is practically no difference from a medical cost perspective.

But not all doctors / hospitals appear to know this rule and will sometimes attempt to charge you more than they should so worth watching out for.

Ian

Yes, it's a 30 month WTR. The doctor hasn't asked and gave me a price of £95.00 per adult for the medical and £145 for each of us for the bloods, plus £85 each for X-Rays, total cost £650.00. Yes, there are cheaper places I believe, but this one is right on our doorstep, so is very convenient. I haven't done anything yet apart from download forms and find out things like medicals and police clearance stuff. If we decide to do this we will know by Monday as we are going to have some heavy discussions over this weekend.

I really appreciate the advice from people on here, it definitely helps a lot.

Mazzie

[IanW99]

Yes, it's a 30 month WTR. The doctor hasn't asked and gave me a price of £95.00 per adult for the medical and £145 for each of us for the bloods, plus £85 each for X-Rays, total cost £650.00. Yes, there are cheaper places I believe, but this one is right on our doorstep, so is very convenient. I haven't done anything yet apart from download forms and find out things like medicals and police clearance stuff. If we decide to do this we will know by Monday as we are going to have some heavy discussions over this weekend.

I really appreciate the advice from people on here, it definitely helps a lot.

Mazzie

Sorry, cross purposes here, I was talking about medical costs once in NZ i.e. doctors visits, prescription charges etc.

If you have a 2year+ visa or PR then you pay the same charges as everyone else, if you don't then you pay more.

Ian

[NZAussieGirl]

Hi Mazzie

I did exaggerate the food costs and electricity costs a bit, as I am used to feeding a family of 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 cats and a dog. I can usually do this on $200 per week plus that includes nappies etc.)
I also live in the South Island which is a lot colder in the winter, so tend to run the heating and clothes dryer more than I expect you need to in the North.

Our take home pay fluctuates week to week, last week we only got $750 take home pay. Our mtg costs are a lot less than $400 per week, but it was pretty much all gone as soon as it came in. If it was just the 2 of us we could probably make do on that, but you would still have to save and budget hard for holidays, meals out etc.

Regards

[mazzie]

Hi Mazzie

I did exaggerate the food costs and electricity costs a bit, as I am used to feeding a family of 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 cats and a dog. I can usually do this on $200 per week plus that includes nappies etc.)
I also live in the South Island which is a lot colder in the winter, so tend to run the heating and clothes dryer more than I expect you need to in the North.

Our take home pay fluctuates week to week, last week we only got $750 take home pay. Our mtg costs are a lot less than $400 per week, but it was pretty much all gone as soon as it came in. If it was just the 2 of us we could probably make do on that, but you would still have to save and budget hard for holidays, meals out etc.

Regards

Wow! I must be spoiled. There you are with a couple of ankle biters and trying to live on $750 a week and I'm moaning because I think that it's not enough for 2 people to live on, let alone 4.

I have learned an awful lot from reading these forums over the past few days. One of the things that really sticks in my mind is that NZ sounds today like the UK was, back in the early 1990's. What I mean by that is, in the early 1990's the UK was in a pretty bad way, wages were absolute garbage and there was hardly enough to live on. In fact you didn't live in the UK, you just existed back then. That's why in 1994 we went back to Canada. At that time Canada had so many opportunities and wages were good and the standard of living was great. We first went to Canada in 1986, moved back to the UK in 1991 for 3 years and then moved back to Canada in 1994 until last November. My OH is Canadian born, I am British. I was homesick, but after 3 years of existing on fresh air, moved back to Canada.

These days, the UK has not only caught up with Canada in the wages department, but in a lot of instances it has overtaken it. People now have a better standard of living in the UK and the prospects in Canada are not as rosy as they once were.

From everything I have been reading, NZ reminds me of the UK back in the early 90's, so if trends go the same way for NZ as they have in the UK, then that should mean wages will be on a par with the cost of living around the year 2025.

What we are struggling with at the moment is, can we really go back to the 90's UK era by moving to NZ now and watch it grow, or do we just need the comfort of being able to save, have money spare each week and live, rather than just exist. Hmmm, that's definitely a quandary.

We have one major problem and that is we can't stay still. Moving around the world appears to have become a habit. We love adventure and doing things that are out of the ordinary. One day we will be too old to have adventures, so why not do it whilst you can.

Mazzie

[mazzie]

Sorry, cross purposes here, I was talking about medical costs once in NZ i.e. doctors visits, prescription charges etc.

If you have a 2year+ visa or PR then you pay the same charges as everyone else, if you don't then you pay more.

Ian

My mistake, sorry Ian and thanks for clarifying that for me.

Cheers

Mazzie

[Ojai]

Mazzie,

From our move experience, I can say without hesitation that if money is what you need to have a good life, then you shouldn't come here.

We took a BIG lifestyle hit moving here, and we have never been happier. We go out a lot less, we don't have two nice cars anymore, and we have to stick to our strict budget. But we came to get away from the consumerist lifestyle, and to live in a country that doesn't embrace it. We got what we wanted. I now spend lots of time with my family, and the pace of life isn't griding us down anymore.

That said, from reading your initial post and all your follow up posts, it sounds like you went to Canda to make more, then moved back to Britain to make more. Perhaps I am misreading this? If I am not, however, then NZ would NOT follow that pattern. You will certainly make less, but as the average income in NZ is somewhere around $35k, you would be above that and would certainly be able to make a go of it, but with a lower "standard of living" than you do now.

[mazzie]

Mazzie,

From our move experience, I can say without hesitation that if money is what you need to have a good life, then you shouldn't come here.

We took a BIG lifestyle hit moving here, and we have never been happier. We go out a lot less, we don't have two nice cars anymore, and we have to stick to our strict budget. But we came to get away from the consumerist lifestyle, and to live in a country that doesn't embrace it. We got what we wanted. I now spend lots of time with my family, and the pace of life isn't griding us down anymore.

That said, from reading your initial post and all your follow up posts, it sounds like you went to Canda to make more, then moved back to Britain to make more. Perhaps I am misreading this? If I am not, however, then NZ would NOT follow that pattern. You will certainly make less, but as the average income in NZ is somewhere around $35k, you would be above that and would certainly be able to make a go of it, but with a lower "standard of living" than you do now.

Hello Ojai

Unfortunately you are most definitely misreading my posts. What I said was we moved from Canada to Britain because back in the 1990's we did not 'live' in Britain, we existed. What is so wrong with wanting to live life a little instead of having to scrimp and scrape to get by? We both worked and with our mortgage payments and all the other living expenses we hardly had enough money for food, let alone buy anything frivolous like clothing and dental work. My husband was born in Canada, so why not go there at that time? At least then we were able to have some quality of life, we weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination and we never will be, but we were certainly better off than we were in Britain and to be able to buy yourself a jumper now and then without having to save up money for a few weeks to get it was absolute heaven.

We moved back to Britain last year, not because the wages were better, we found that out only after we had moved back here, but also because 4 close members of my family have passed away in the last couple of years and I wanted to spend a little time with the rest of them before I lose any more. Yes, it is a bonus that we are financially better off here than we were in Canada in recent years, but that is only because we both get decent wages here and we have savings in the bank from selling our property in Canada.
Property being a 40ft x 12ft mobile home, which we sold for £15,000, not a luxurious house.

We are humble people, we have worked hard for a living and have never had a consumeristic lifestyle and we never will. However, if you think that someone after working for 40 years should not have any luxuries at all in their life then so be it. After 40 years of working hard, we do not own a home although we do own everything we have in our home, we own a 1994 beat up Toyota Corolla which my husband fixes himself when it goes wrong. We have a little bit of money in the bank, but the best thing of all is that we do not have any debts and do not owe anyone a penny. This is not much to show for 40 years of hard work now is it? Still, I guess we must have been doing something wrong because we have actually enjoyed our lives.

In going to NZ we know that we would never be rich, not financially anyways, but that doesn't matter to us. maybe rich in the fact that we would have another life experience. However, what we do not want is to go back to that life of just existing, and not living. Is that too much to ask for? We wouldn't be coming to NZ to 'get rich' all we want is enough money to live on. Yes, I repeated myself, but that's because you appear to have trouble in understanding what it is we actually want from going to NZ.

If you feel that this is being a consumerist, then so be it, but to me it's just wanting to be able to have a half decent life whilst living in a beautiful country. As I said before, what is so wrong with that?

What we do not want is to have to use our little savings that we do have to 'get by' in NZ. If we do that, we have no recourse and what then? After all these years of hard work, no we don't have much to show for it in a materialistic way, but at least we have something and in my book, a little of something is much better than a whole load of nothing. We are more looking for the life experience than material items, but we would like to be able to live whilst having that, not just survive.

Regards

Mazzie :yes

By the way, we have never owned two nice cars and as for spending more time together, my husbands employment offer is working 60 hours a week from Monday to Friday, so he won't be getting lots of time to spend with me working those hours now will he?

[dusk]

Mazzie, it never hurts to ask, so I would say get your OH to have a chat with the NZ company, with the figures for costs and so on that you have gathered here and ask about a slightly higher salary, if they say no, they say no - they won't be offended and withdraw the offer though :D

as for your comments re existing vs. living, I think most people here are on the same wavelength (Ojai too, I think he just got the wrong end of the stick with your post!)

you can find cheaper ways to live, certainly the further out of the city centres you get the cheaper the rents seem to be, so that may be worth investigating if its a possibility for you. Like you I don't really care about 'stuf' but I do want to be able to tre1at myself to a nice meal or a trip to the cinema sometimes without worrying if I am breaking the bank to do so, so it is definitely worth your while doing the resefarch here :)

best of luck, whatever you decide.

[mazzie]

Mazzie, it never hurts to ask, so I would say get your OH to have a chat with the NZ company, with the figures for costs and so on that you have gathered here and ask about a slightly higher salary, if they say no, they say no - they won't be offended and withdraw the offer though :D

as for your comments re existing vs. living, I think most people here are on the same wavelength (Ojai too, I think he just got the wrong end of the stick with your post!)

you can find cheaper ways to live, certainly the further out of the city centres you get the cheaper the rents seem to be, so that may be worth investigating if its a possibility for you. Like you I don't really care about 'stuf' but I do want to be able to tre1at myself to a nice meal or a trip to the cinema sometimes without worrying if I am breaking the bank to do so, so it is definitely worth your while doing the resefarch here :)

best of luck, whatever you decide.

Dusk

Thanks for the sensible post and we actually have decided to talk to the company that is offering the job. They can only say yes or no can't they and we won't know unless we ask. As we said, all we want to do is live life a little, not just exist and my hubby only wants to get paid what he is worth, we don't need a King's ransom.

Have a wonderful day!

Mazzie :cheers