[Caven]

This is with a $150k mortgage, one child and outside major cities. The nearest in fact is Palmerston North. Oh, and that's a joint income :eek

I know there's a cost of living estimator but this is pants compared to real-life experiences, despite them being individual and subjective.

We're not the flash types, never have been, but we like entertaining and/or nights out. Holidays are important, but we like tramping so that should be cool.

Any thoughts appreciated. Ta.

[Bubbles]

Caven,
that's about what we are aiming at, with maybe a bit less on the house ( $100K ) We reckon we could manage on that.

If not we can always send the kids out to work. They must need chimney sweeps in NZ with all those wood burners. :nice1 Cherooo !

John

[ruthyroo]

My OH is on $57K pa. That translates after tax to about $800 per week. From this the basics that we (a couple, no kids) have to pay each week are:

Rent $325
Food / Groceries $220
Telephone / Internet $40
Electricity $30
Insurance $16
Petrol $45

Total = $656
Left over = $144

That is really the bare minimum and doesn't include anything for the house / garden, any savings / pensions at all, one offs like car rego / WOF / repairs, doctors bills, clothes / shoes, any luxuries like CDs etc, any holidays / trips / sightseeing, purchase of any sporting equipment for your new outdoor life etc. We don't generally eat out any more (probably a good $100-$150 for dinner for two, maybe less if you favour cheap all you can eat restaurants), we don't go to the pub, we don't have Sky.

So you can see it will be pretty tight on $55K. You can survive on that, but that is strictly no luxuries, no holidays, no good wine and no nights out. think hard about whether you want to come all this way to live like this. We don't have to becuase I work as well, but if it was one salary it would be very hard. Only saving you might be able to make is on rent / mortgage - if you can work out how much your weekly payments are likely to be it might give you a better idea.

[kiwi]

Ruth are groceries really $220 a week for the 2 of you?

mine are $150 for the 7 of us... I always feel I am doing something majorly wrong when I see people spending more than me and have less in their family.....my kids must be starving but they just dont say anything!!

help!!??

Hubby just got qualified as a teacher and his start pay is $39k a year..last year we earnt $18k so I am very very excited now!!!

I guess it depends on your money management skills and how big your bills are (fixed ones, like mortgage and rent, rates etc...phone and power can easily be halved if you dont buy those oil colomn heaters and dont make too many calls to cell phones etc)
and where you are living, bluff is cheaper than Auckland etc

Nicky

[Bubbles]

Kiwi
Thanks for putting my mind at rest. I thought I'd got my sums wrong !

[Moorf]

There's just two of us and a dog and I spend $180 - $200 a week on groceries plus probably another $50 - $100 a month eating out. We will look to have a c. $200k mortgage here.

$57k will be fine - it really depends what you are used to - we find we don't have the disposable we once had but we're not starving, don't feel "deprived" and DO more than we ever did in the UK!!

Moorf

[Moorf]

Kiwi - let's go shopping together one day, I'd really like some tips.. :nice1

[kiwi]

no, I am really embarrassed now! You must think I just buy baked beans all the time ($150 worth!!)

I must admit though we dont drink or smoke so I guess that might save me a bit in my trolly. Plus I buy my meat at cross brothers in town ($90 worth for 2 weeks and freeze it I shop fortnightly as we get paid fortnightly now ) and veges at marshlands road...the rest wherever.

maybe I need to buy some more yummy stuff....then I too can have a $200 plus bill!!

[Danpoll]

so if 55k is okay what about my 36K wife and 2 year old son, Dunedin bound.


Dan

[Jodie]

This is a really interesting one, eh! Thought I might put our costs in to see if we're living a life of luxury or a-la-kiwi-style and living on baked beans! :laugh (You'll have to give us your secrets, kiwi!)

Costs per week: (2 of us)

Rent: $230
Food: $130 ish (incl beers and wine! :cheers )
Petrol: $45
Take Aways: $30 ish
Daz train fare: $15
Daz lunch: $30 (he "never has time" to make lunch in the mornings before work! :roll: :laugh I work from home so my lunch comes out of the weekly food shop)

Bills per month:

Phone: $35 line rental plus calls (last month's bill was about $60 total I think)
Electric: This varies depending on if they take a metered reading or estimated - over xmas it was about $150, whereas last month it was only about $50! Work that one out! :?

Other expenses:

Meals out: about $60 - $80 a couple of times a month.
Drunken night out in the city: about $100 - $150 depending on how big a night we want to have! :cheers (A round of a beer and a vodka & coke normally comes to between $10 - $15 depending on which bar you're in.) Once or twice a month maybe....
BBQ at friends: $30 - $40 worth of beer/wine, and a few more bucks on a bit of meat to donate! A few times a month.


It actually does all add up and it's quite scary to write it all down! Daz worked out that he'd earned about $20,000 since he's started work, and god knows what we've done with all of that! Although, we have bought furniture and set up home again, as well as having Christmas and both our birthdays etc, and Daz's Dad has been to visit so we've been out with them and up to Whangarei for the weekend too so paid for flights etc, so we have done quite a bit...

Anyway, don't know if this will help anyone, but it gives another idea of what a couple's lifestyle can cost over here.

Any questions, give me a shout. And TELL US YOUR SHOPPING SECRETS KIWI! :nice1

Jod
:cool

[Caven]

Thanks very much guys :nice1

Love the kids idea John :laugh If there's no sweeps needed, there's always open-cast mining or gold panning! Gold panning, now there's an ...

Thanks very much for putting figures down ruthyroo, kiwi, moorf ( you got the dog in a post - AGAIN! :laugh ) and Jodie.

Kiwi, come on, how do you do it?

I had a bit of a wobble over all this, but I guess it is going to be conservative spending to start with mixed with a good bit of job-hopping :nice1

[Paul and Linda]

This is a fantastic thread I hope those with experience keep it going. :nice1

I am looking to start work on exactly this sort of salary and we have had a few sleepless nights of late (res app submitted 31 jan) as reality starts to bite and the true cost of "upping sticks" and heading off to paradise (I'm from the north east of england so I can quite confidently use the word paradise) sets in. :wah

Is there a prize for the longest unpunctuated sentence? :?

We've just cancelled Sky, the movies package and my gym membership in preparation for a different life in NZ (were also wearing jumpers instead of turning up the heating) ......... and it feels great. :mrgreen:

I never grew up with all the mod cons that we provide our kids with (and we have!) and what I'm seeing is that they are missing out on all the outdoor stuff I used to do (when it used to be safe to go out of your house!).

I can't wait to get there, live the life, for real and get some use out of the fortune I paid out for camping equipment that we get to use once a year! :uhoh

Mmmm little too much to drink :cheers methinks....and so to bed :nice1

Thanks to all, keep it going gang.

[RoadRunner]

Consider this another plea for Kiwi to share secrets!

I easily spend US$150/week on food, wine, beer (that does cover our lunches for the week, too). Plus another US$60-75/week eating out.

Kiwi! Share your secrets!!

I'm hoping the cost of eating out will be cheaper in NZ, ditto wine. Can anyone confirm/deny that?

RR

[ruthyroo]

Honest I don't live on caviar and champagne! We don't eat out except once in a blue moon, don't go pubbing / clubbing (living in the sticks with no public transport helps), we never get takeaways. it's probably mostly to do with preferring a low carb diet - so lots of good quality meat / fish / chicken, veggies etc and very little cheap filler-uppers like pasta, bread, tatties. Because of that I prefer to buy meat at a good butcher rather than Pak n Save / Mad Butcher. And the $200 includes wine!

On the whole I would not agree that food costs are lower in NZ, and certainly not as a porportion of your NZ$ salary. I spend porportionally far more here than in the UK on food and wine. Wine can be cheap if you go for the bargain bucket stuff, which is actually quite decent, but the NZ wine industry is small and boutique compared to the mass producers of Europe - gosh I miss yearly access to French vineyards! As always, it's individual choice how much you spend on grub and booze - but I can't see us ever getting it down to under $200.

[kiwi]

yeah sure Ruth, bollie anyone!

I have no secrets peeps, it is all I know...living on a sniff of a coissant.

I do the specials at the local grocery shop...I know the price of EVERYTHING! I know when it is cheaper/on special so I buy it,(toilet paper / washing powder..never the same,....whatever is on special) if it is more than $9.99 a kilo..it doesnt get bought, and I buy in season..so if it is apple season (which it isnt...cos they and oranges are soo dear at the moment) then it is apples in the fruit basket..if it is mandarin and banana season which it seems to be, along with apricots then it is them.

I have tried the soya meat thing and the bean thing (lima/chickpea etc) to try and save money and it just got thrown out...kids cried, husband sobbed, not fun.


The best way for me is to write out 14 recipes that I love to cook, put the ingredients in a book and that is what you take to the butcher/ greengrocer every fortnight and you buy the stuff in the book.

if something extra is cheap..say a chicken get one of them too incase you go mad and invite people over for a roast..at least you have one!


At the grocery store you get the ingredients you need plus extra like shampoo etc and then you know you have on hand a complete meal.

Usualyl I will have a cook up that night as stuff wont fit in our small fridge and we now have a friends freezer in the garage and I will cook say 5 meals...butter chicken 2 lots and freeze one, bolognaise sauce for 1) spaghetti, 2) nachos 3) lasagne and you freeze the sauce, and make it up to what you want when you need it, same with say sweet and sour fish, ..do a double lot so you have 2 meals..same work as one meal huh!?

Just do meals you love, cos then you will cook rather than text hubby and say bring home chips which is what I do if I havent organised my life!

Nic
ps we dont drink..this is a big saving remember...sorry!
we also have ice cream each night...in a cone or with fruit maybe! but no fancy puddings etc so that saves $$. I do spend $10 on junk for school, my one vice.

[susanlin]

Hi Nic

Butter chicken sounds yummy! Definately think you should share your recipes - you superwoman you! I can imagine you being the kind of person who can turn a couple of spuds, 3 baked beans and a cabbage into a gourmet dinner!

Sue

[kiwi]

ha ha, I would also need a tin of tomatoes to really do it justice!!

If you really want recipes....(I hate writing recipes out) you would have to get me on a really good day...and I dont see one of them happening for a wee while!!!

Nic

[ruthyroo]

The no drinking must be a big help, financially. We generally get through maybe four bottles of wine over the weekend and maybe a couple during the week - so that's a minimum of $60 on the shopping bill. And then there is the malt to keep topped up (well gotta have some reminders of home!) and a wee gin and tonic on the terrace goes down very well on a hot evening (or a cool one). Hmmmm I think I can see why our grocery bills are at odds - I am a boozer! At least we are drinking less than when we first arrived - that was down to shock horror and a bottle of wine a night for the anaesthetic purposes!!

[Moorf]

As I type this there is a very interesting debate on the Breakfast show here in NZ... seems the Kiwi's are feeling the pinch too with increased housing costs, food and general living costs.. so it's not something that just us immigrants are finding shocking..

Kiwi - perhaps you should share your budgeting skills in a book or website... I spent a day last week cooking up five meals and froze them.. my shopping for 1 week lasted 2 with just a few trips for fresh stuff inbetween!

:nice1

[Moorf]

Can I also add that my part time job at the surf shop will bring in c. $600 a month after tax for approx 3.5 days a week split across the week. This is pocket money and it will go a LONG way to making our life more enjoyable here.. once the necessities are paid for (mortgage, power, food, etc) your disposable goes alot further that it would in the UK (imho).

[Moorf]

Something I heard the other day which made me smile:

"The grass IS greener on the other side, it's just harder to mow"

:nice1

[Rob K]

Interesting thread...

We spend about $200 per week for a family of 6. We buy organic food mostly. We buy dry food in bulk and store it in big plastic containers (well, I still have to get the plastic containers - we arrived in NZ a month ago).

We get our produce delivered weekly from 2 different companies. I avoid supermarkets and the like as much as possible (ok, you've guessed it: I hate shopping). I have found that buying unprocessed food really reduces our grocery bill. Our only sin: chocolate!

By the way: I am trying to buy a food processor: any tip on which brand I should get?

Sandrine

[Danpoll]

rob

go for a magi-mix blender, professional tool expensive but not made of cheap plastics and bits that snap,


worth the extra hundred pound

Dan

[Ria]

Very sobering thread and makes one think that many of us probably waste alot of money on convenience/processed food.

Kiwi sounds like she's got her head firmly screwed on (sorry folks, don't mean the rest haven't) but each time I go to Tescos/Sainsburys I'm amazed at what I've got for what I've spent (doesn't generally include alcohol).

I know between now and arriving in NZ I've got to get better organised and focused on what is really important (and I do like a drink as much as the next person). I'm hoping to give up work for a few years, but at this rate, I don't think I'll be able to.

As an a side, someone mentioned that eating out at a restaurant was $100-150 I think. Is that at a really fancy place or just you're average weekend meal out? The reason I ask is that my husband and I were thinking of possibly opening a restaurant, and if rent and ingredients are less (?) than the UK, then restauranteurs can't be doing too bad??? Then again, maybe people don't eat out as much in NZ - too many neighbourly BBQs.

Ria

[ruthyroo]

Hi that was me that posted that price for a meal for two, based on a good restaurant, 2/3 courses each (and totally stuffed due to NZ portions) and a decent bottle of wine. Can be done a lot cheaper e.g. going for a buffet option, glass of wine rather than a bottle, or BYOB. BUT I think the restaurants find it hard because eating out is not something kiwis generally do (except in Aukland!). Home cooking / BBQs are far more their style. We have been to dinner with many people since coming here - but only invited to dinner in a restaurant once. Kiwis are thrifty people, they don't spend unnecessary money.

[RoadRunner]

eating out is not something kiwis generally do (except in Aukland!)
Really?! That's quite surprising! I thought I heard that Wellington has a "cafe" culture with more restaurants per capita than NYC. I assumed that meant people ate out quite a bit!?

[Jodie]

I can vouch for Welly's cafe culture, and on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night the restaurants are jam-packed. (If it's not, I generally wouldn't venture in cos there's obviously a reason! :laugh ) Even the small Indian restaurant in Johnsonville is packed from 6pm on Friday.

I must admit we haven't been out eating as much as we did in the UK, but we've had a few expenses lately (er, like coming out here in the first place and setting up home, ITA, medicals etc...), that said however, when we have been out we've had a really decent meal (2 courses at least), and either a few drinks or a bottle of wine for between $60 - $120 depending on the restaurant.

Hope this helps!

Jod
:nice1

[Annierobrigado]

hello all

thanks for all your tips... i think going grocery shopping for me is gonna be a challenge there, coz all the brands are quite different from ours here.

I tried that website for supermarket... uh, what is it, woolworths or eh, i forgot! anyway, tried putting in the basic things i use at home, so for my family (we're seven) i found i was gonna need $200 for the first shop and then maybe $100 every 2 weeks for some grocery items that need replenishing, plus about $50 for the fresh produce. would that be realistic or is it expensive because i look at woolworths and not at pak and save?

anyway, I love shopping, in case anyone needs to know that, so if you need a shopper... :P :P :laugh

:cheers
annie

[leslie]

in sw london we spend (easily) £600+ month on foodstuffs - note that with 2 kiddies food fairly simple. add hubs lunches, hmmm, prob £100+, takeaways/out £200+ (1.5 x weekly), daughter £30+ school lunches (baked spud and juice). we intentionally dont think too much because it would just stress us more and stress is the one thing that ensures raising the takeaways/ eating out figure. pre new wagamama eating out used to be higher. much. having people in add £100.

so that is min £1000/ post-tax per month. pls tell me there is a light at the end of this tunnel. guess am hoping that reduced stress means you have time to enjoy what you eat and are less inclined to go out. would also be nice is food actaully tasted of something more that brussels h2o ( we often hear you can buy lovely fruit and veg if you trail around the city first thing sat am but the stress of that is worth at least one more eating out/ takeaway. as for the environ hazard of the car... ). i once bought 12 'handmade cookies' that were made from !@£$%^&* at the local french market for an astonishing £5 - and they tasted hideous.

[RoadRunner]

Jod,
I can vouch for Welly's cafe culture
Whew! That is wonderful to hear! :yes



Even the small Indian restaurant in Johnsonville
Johnsonville is sounding better and better! :clap

RoadRunner

[Timbo]

Leslie. You have just made me gasp. What you spend as a family on food per month is more or less what we spend on total house expenditure per month in Surrey. This is by no means a critisism of yourself, it is just an eyeopener for me.
I should add that there are only the two of in our household these days, the "kids" have flown the nest.

[ruthyroo]

I guess I was differentiating btw cafes and restaurants... would agree that the cafe culture is very strong here in NZ - hence all the weight gain due to muffins / traybakes / cakes that go so nicely with a flat white! However, for serious dining out, we don't do it nearly as much here as we did in Scotland. We've just had friends staying for a couple of nights - they reported that although they ate out a lot at night during their tours of NZ, it has been mostly other tourists they have met in the restaurants. That's been my experience anyway. Outside the big cities, I would guess restaurants find it harder to survive without tourist spending. Also I am in Rotorua, where the local population is considerably poorer than in bigger cities, so the restaurants are very dependent on tourists eating out.

[chips]

Leslie, that would be $1550 a month ($2.6-£1)..
If you can afford to spend that much.. go for it. If i could i would. I love food ,and think i would give up anything for good chow. It always comes down to priorties. some people preffer to spend loads on modcons ,tv, super cars, sporting events etc... if yours is food .. great.

Although i don't live in Auckland , i have found the range of food "limiting, but just as good and if not nicer"
:P
Chips

[Carol]

Kiwi - let's go shopping together one day, I'd really like some tips.. :nice1

me too!!!!!


I'm astonished!


I'm spending a minimum of $250 per week on the five of us.
And that is at the HORRIBLE Pak'n'save on basics.

[Moorf]

Annie - yes, Woolworths is more expensive than Pak'n'Save...

Carol - I am going to have to review our shopping if I am feeding 2 of us for $200 a week and you are feeding five on $250 :eek

My "mince" marathon cook that I did last week has proved to be good value - we are still eating the frozen meals I made :nice1

[Carol]

Annie - yes, Woolworths is more expensive than Pak'n'Save...

Carol - I am going to have to review our shopping if I am feeding 2 of us for $200 a week and you are feeding five on $250 :eek

My "mince" marathon cook that I did last week has proved to be good value - we are still eating the frozen meals I made :nice1


it's taken me nearly 9 years to get to that stage though luv.
I sometimes allow myself an "internet shop" as a treat.......at $9 a go.

We had one on Monday.

$500 worth....

aaaaargh......I missed the zero button and ordered 1kg of shaved ham instead of o.1kg.

Anyone fancy a sandwich?? :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

[Carol]

yeah sure Ruth, bollie anyone!

I have no secrets peeps, it is all I know...living on a sniff of a coissant.

I do the specials at the local grocery shop...I know the price of EVERYTHING! I know when it is cheaper/on special so I buy it,(toilet paper / washing powder..never the same,....whatever is on special) if it is more than $9.99 a kilo..it doesnt get bought, and I buy in season..so if it is apple season (which it isnt...cos they and oranges are soo dear at the moment) then it is apples in the fruit basket..if it is mandarin and banana season which it seems to be, along with apricots then it is them.

I have tried the soya meat thing and the bean thing (lima/chickpea etc) to try and save money and it just got thrown out...kids cried, husband sobbed, not fun.


The best way for me is to write out 14 recipes that I love to cook, put the ingredients in a book and that is what you take to the butcher/ greengrocer every fortnight and you buy the stuff in the book.

if something extra is cheap..say a chicken get one of them too incase you go mad and invite people over for a roast..at least you have one!


At the grocery store you get the ingredients you need plus extra like shampoo etc and then you know you have on hand a complete meal.

Usualyl I will have a cook up that night as stuff wont fit in our small fridge and we now have a friends freezer in the garage and I will cook say 5 meals...butter chicken 2 lots and freeze one, bolognaise sauce for 1) spaghetti, 2) nachos 3) lasagne and you freeze the sauce, and make it up to what you want when you need it, same with say sweet and sour fish, ..do a double lot so you have 2 meals..same work as one meal huh!?

Just do meals you love, cos then you will cook rather than text hubby and say bring home chips which is what I do if I havent organised my life!

Nic
ps we dont drink..this is a big saving remember...sorry!
we also have ice cream each night...in a cone or with fruit maybe! but no fancy puddings etc so that saves $$. I do spend $10 on junk for school, my one vice.


I do ALL of this...... I buy NOTHING unless it is on special..........

However...


We do drink.... a little.
But then we never eat dessert........

and still spend $250 min per week.
ah well..

[Moorf]

http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/food06.gif

[Carol]

Helen...




that smilie look a tad............................perverted.
If you dont mind me saying...
;)

[Moorf]

:eek

I have no idea what you mean :angel

[Carol]

REAL LIFE INFO - HAPPENING AS WE SPEAK....




15 year old son.....tonight has eaten - Spag Bol left overs.
Played indoor soccer.
Eaten home made fish and chips.






and is currently................. eating a jam sandwich to "finish off"


I dont stand a y chance.
I reckon I'm heading for bankruptcy.
(No idea if that is spelled right because it is Friday night - we have ERO coming in two weekas and I'm on the wrong side of 2 bottles of red wine that was on offer at the terrible Pak'n'save last week.
:nice1 hic

[Diny]

Carol

The report of your son's intake this evening made me laugh. Our eldest has discovered an appetite.

He eats the biggest plate full around the table, has 2nds, has ice cream for pud (if we have any). Then 10 minutes later he'll be rummaging around saying he's hungry.

I do my shopping once a week, if the family 'go mad' on the crisps and sweets on day one they have nothing for the other days. They haven't quite grasped the idea of rationing yet.

This is a very interesting thread. Food shopping is something that we all have to do, it's good to see what folks are spending 'out there' ..... gives us some kind of an idea.

At the moment (here in UK) our weekly grocery bills can vary quite dramatically. When PB is home they are MUCH higher (he's a chocoholic and loves his red wine) ..... he's also a big meat eater. These weeks our bill is about 60.00. When he's away I buy much smaller amounts of meat (just for the boys as I don't eat it). I never buy anything that's processed, I make everything myself (apart from fish fingers) so I guess this cuts down my bill. The lowest amount I've spent (recently) on a weekly shopping 'stint' is 32.00 ....... must be some kind of record.

Yesterday we went to Tesco and spent nearly 60.00 on NZ wine. We've got some forum mates coming tonight for a 'sleep over' so thought we better serve up the 'real thing'. :nice1

Silly question this ...... how much cheaper is NZ wine over there? We pay 6.99 for a bottle of Matua North Island Red and 5.99 for a bottle of Lindemans (?) bubbly ..... Montana etc seems all to be around that price mark too.

Anyway - I digress.

Diny

[Carol]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooohh!!!!!!!!!


I just KNEW we had lots in common Diny pet.



Fish finger sarnies over a G & T


bloody LUXURY lass!
:nice1 :nice1 :nice1

[Moorf]

Your Price
Lindemans Bin 40 Merlot
750ml bottle $11.99


Your Price
Lindemans Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon
750ml bottle $11.99


Your Price
Lindemans Bin 50 Shiraz
750ml bottle $11.99


Your Price
Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay
750ml bottle $11.99


Your Price
Lindemans Padthaway Shiraz
750ml bottle $18.99


Your Price
Lindemans Reserve Cabernet Merlot
750ml bottle $18.99

Your Price
Matua Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Hawkes Bay
750ml bottle $17.99


Your Price
Matua Chardonnay East Bays
750ml bottle $17.99


Your Price
Matua Chardonnay Judd Estate
750ml bottle $27.99


Your Price
Matua Matheson Cabernet Merlot Hawkes Bay
750ml bottle $21.99


Your Price
Matua Matheson Chardonnay Hawkes Bay
750ml bottle $21.99


Your Price
Matua Merlot Hawkes Bay
750ml bottle $18.99


Your Price
Matua Sauvignon Blanc Hawkes Bay
750ml bottle $16.99


Your Price
Matua Settlers Series Tin Shed Red
750ml bottle

[Moorf]

Prices from Liquorking...

[Carol]

Carol


Silly question this ...... how much cheaper is NZ wine over there? We pay 6.99 for a bottle of Matua North Island Red and 5.99 for a bottle of Lindemans (?) bubbly ..... Montana etc seems all to be around that price mark too.

Anyway - I digress.

Diny

Linemans can be got for around $10-$12 Diny.....


but only when the wind is blowing a NW'er ;)

[Moorf]

Worryingly you are spot on Carol :uhoh

[Carol]

I'm an expert Helen........

even under the influence of.........MATTHEW LANG!!!!


oooooh errrr missus! :nice1

[Moorf]

You don't think we're going off topic do you??

http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/carton.gif

[Carol]

topic??
nah....

although I DO prefer a "Star Bar" myself...

ANYONE COMING TO NZ IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS PLEASE BRING SUPPLY OF STAR BARS FOR CAROL!!!

HIC HIC

[Diny]

Fish finger sarnies dipped into cold baked beans (straight from the can).

You can tell I was brung up proper can't you? :eek

Diny

[Moorf]

AND SALAD CREAM :nice1

[Carol]

with vinegar I hope!





god...I'd kill for one!
:laugh

[Annierobrigado]

hi moorf

thanks for the wine list... I don't usually drink wine, but of course if we're gonna have you guys for dinner some time we need it right? Ric drinks red wine, me I drink grape juice (am allergic to alcohol!)

y'all don't happen to drink Coke, do ya?

Iced tea, perhaps?

i wonder if Nz sells young coconut juice?

I think i'll go for the coffee...

annie

[Jodie]

Villa Maria (sauvignon blanc) was on offer last week at Countdown for $11 - and it's a REALLY nice NZ wine.

I saw Kim Crawford sav on offer today at Countdown for $12 too, and that's another nice one.

Longridge is also nice (me and Sarahw drank a bottle or 2 of it a few weekends ago - went down VERY well! :laugh ), and that's about $11 when it's on offer.

This lot's normally about $15 - $17 normal price, so buy it in bulk when it os on offer as it's the nicest selection of wine I've found since being here. (And I've tried a few! :cheers ;) ) Don't know about red mind you, I'm a white wine drinker if you haven't already guessed!

Also, Montana 'Timara' sav is normally $9.95 in Countdown, but you can get it for $8 when it's on offer and that's a pretty good one too, although not as nice as the others I mentioned.
Happy Drinking!

Jod

[richard]

This thread made me analyze our bank statements yesterday. We have been in NZ for 14 weeks now and have spent on average $346 per week on groceries and booze. :? That is for two adults and two children plus a guest for around two weeks.

To be fair that would include the first weeks of stocking the cupboards and of course my wine habit. :uhoh

[Tanya]

This thread made me analyze our bank statements yesterday. We have been in NZ for 14 weeks now and have spent on average $346 per week on groceries and booze. :? That is for two adults and two children plus a guest for around two weeks.

To be fair that would include the first weeks of stocking the cupboards and of course my wine habit. :uhoh

I promise it will go down dear! :oops: :oops: :eek

Tanya :angel

[Dave & Sandra]

I promise it will go down dear! :oops: :oops: :eek

Tanya :angel

I don't think so :no

I'm begining to think we must be alcoholics :mrgreen:

[Pakeha Boy]

Can you still get 1/2 gallon flagons of beer over there?
How much are they nowadays?

[Timbo]

PB. I think Rimbo mentioned something about flagons of beer in his last post. May not be 4 pints though. $7 comes to mind.

[Moorf]

Jod - had bottle of Villa Maria 2002 red last night at restaurant - although it was 43$ :eek it was EXTREMELY NICE :nice1

[leslie]

timbo - we spend less than most. we aren't as careful as we used to be as the stress of being submerged in london (which is what living in the great capital is like, mr livingston) is enough without trying to think as well! i am amazed at the amount of money people blow living here. cannot imagine what it is like to be low-income.

surrey must be a bit insulated from the 'london effect'. a client of hub's put £30,000 in italian glass mosaic into his nannies bathroom shower. that was the cost of the tiles.

[Timbo]

Leslie. Would you care to pass on details of hubbys clients. I LIKE people who spend that kind of money on their home. :laugh
I have just been working for a 35 yr old who is worth a cool 225 million (on paper at least). He and his young family live in constant fear of kidnap, robbery etc. and the house is like fort knox.
I would rather be broke than live like that thanks.
I admit though, we are not big spenders when it comes to the house. If it is a toss up between a decent holiday or a new carpet or whatever, holiday usually wins.

[kwisstan]

Looking over this, puts our very modest amount to shame!

I've just been asked about salary expectations from a NZ employer, so thought i'd check out this thread to see what sort of costs I can expect. Quite varied, as I would have thought, just using exchange rates, we must be spending approx $150 per week here, so would expect to spend around the same over there.

I must stop the drinking though, as the presents from family will stop when we move over there.

I think it would be useful if the calculator on the site had a column for "average immigrant costs", which would be based on your experiences.

[Jodie]

Jod - had bottle of Villa Maria 2002 red last night at restaurant - although it was 43$ :eek it was EXTREMELY NICE :nice1

:cheers Told you it was a good un! Bit of a shame tho - I went down to Countdown yesterday ready to stock up on it while it was on offer, but it was all gone! :eek :no That teaches me to hang around, eh!

Note to self: Must get in quicker next time...

[Annierobrigado]

Leslie. Would you care to pass on details of hubbys clients. I LIKE people who spend that kind of money on their home. :laugh
I have just been working for a 35 yr old who is worth a cool 225 million (on paper at least). He and his young family live in constant fear of kidnap, robbery etc. and the house is like fort knox.
I would rather be broke than live like that thanks.
I admit though, we are not big spenders when it comes to the house. If it is a toss up between a decent holiday or a new carpet or whatever, holiday usually wins.

hi timbo

just saw only now you're a nz guru. congrats!

a 35 yr old worth 225 M (pounds? dollars?)!! what does he do?

maybe he should just bring his money to new zealand and create more jobs for migrants. hahaha :laugh

blessed are the poor in spirit.
;)

annie

[leslie]

timbo

i wont go into details but he's SUCH a jerk/ mother same and there is a very sad story involving 2 tiny children deeply imbedded...

as a general rule of thumb i try to avoid people who spend 30g on nannies tiles and it hasn't done me wrong yet. will post details of anyone who disproves theory!

[Timbo]

Annie. With regard to me being a "guru", all I can say is , dont believe everything you read. ;)
The guy I mentioned is a "dot-com millionsquare. He really does not know what to spend it all on. Just had a leisure complex built in the grounds (note, grounds, not garden). Original quote for the work was 450>500K.
It came in at 1.8 million, and he didnt batt an eyelid. It is falling down after less than a year, apparently because of a mistake in the design (the pool is sinking ). Does this sound like one of hubbys clients Leslie.?:laugh

[Annierobrigado]

the trouble with dotcom geniuses is that their braincells are all wired to whatever programs they invent or hack or create that there's none left over for streetsmarts or even an understanding of reality. i think they think that the $$ signs are just part of a binary sequence, haha. so now they're vulnerable to all kinds of theft and thievery and tricksters and plain take advantagers.

if he gave us the 1.8M we would have known what to do with it, and he wouldn't have gotten stuck with a sinking pool. :laugh
(I always thought the term was sunken pool.)

building a sports complex means it is to be used. it's not for display only. otherwise, he just threw his money away, and it would have been better if he gave it to the tsunami victims.

oh well, who am i to preach what to do with money? it's just plain waste that's all, and as a mom i hate to waste things, especially money.

:wah :wah :no
annie

[leslie]

no timbo

i believe hubs projects are good for 18 months...

[Going2NZ]

If it helps there is a web site that covers Cost of Living Index (COLI):
http://www.accra.org/

This is a standard comparison which uses grocery, housing,utilties, transportation, health care and misc costs for a location. That way you are comparing apples to apples.

For example I'm in Austin, TX which is a COLI of 95 and Wellington (which is the city we are leaning toward) is 72.5 so it will cost us less to live there. There isn't one site that has all the numbers (I don't think) but if you do a search on "Cost of Living Index" plus your current location then do the same for your dream location in NZ, you'll have a good scale. Of course there are variables, like lifestyle (eating out, alcohol consumption, etc.) that you can probably adjust by knowing your own habits.

Then there is a very informative site that is Quality of Life in NZ (including "Household expenditures") that might be helpful. http://www.bigcities.govt.nz/indicators.htm

And a "COLI 20 Best Cities to Live in for Expatriates Workers" http://mcmorrowreport.com/news/re.asp

And a salary comparison calculator (although I'm not sure it converts the currency - might want to do that yourself):
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/servlet/ActionServlet?pid=246&previousPage=245&cid=RemaxIn ternational&fromSalary=&fromCity=665&toCity=561

Sorry if this is over-whelming...I do a lot of research for my husband - he is one of those "map guys" that deal in this sort of data. A lot more useful than I would have ever guessed.

Please send me a PM if I have confused the heck out of you and I'll see if I can explain it better. :nice1


Susan

[Timbo]

I have just learnt from a relaible source in NZ, that as I do not have any formal trade qualifications (just 20 years exp), I can expec\t to initially earn just $14>$16 per hour. This would be until proving my capabilities to an employer. It would probably rise to around $20>$25 after a short probation.
Not a lot of money compared to what I can earn here, but do you know what, I dont care.
In the long term, I think going it on my own is going to be the answer, but if it gets us in, I would work for nothing to be honest.

[Bubbles]

can't argue with that mate

John

[leslie]

dont know if it makes you feel better, but hub graduated top of class bartlett school of arch, has had 2 major double pages spreads in national papers by uk bigggests critics in less than a year (favourable project reviews) and a model going on display in the gherkin that the planning office considers one of the best redevelopment schemes of all time - and he'll have to requalify.

[Moorf]

:eek