[upnorthkyosa]

Does anyone have any information on the cost comparison of items between the US and NZ? I'd like to use this information so that we can plan what we need to expect financially for our family.

[Richard_from_Long Beach]

You'll probably find this thread helpful:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2049

[Park City Partner]

It would depend on specifically what you are looking for and where you are comparing it to...which city in the US and where you plan to live in NZ. Housing in Auckland can be on par with some areas of LA. Insurance overall is far cheaper in NZ...including house, car and health. Life style is also an issue. In the States we ate out a lot or did take out. Here we eat home most of the time so our grocery bill is way up but our dining out is way down. Eating out in NZ is more expensive even for a casual dinner. In general life is expensive here in my opinion and I have lived in LA and Park City (think resort town expensive)...but if you can be more specific about what you are looking for that would be good.

Also try doing some searches as this topic (cost of stuff) has been covered extensively.

Good luck.

[upnorthkyosa]

Also try doing some searches as this topic (cost of stuff) has been covered extensively.

Thanks for the info. I've done a bunch of searches and it really did turn up alot of stuff. Mainly, I'm looking for a general sort of website that I can use as a planning resource.

[Park City Partner]

I meant search the forum as there are several threads about costs of things...groceries etc. They may not give you a comparison to US but it will give you an idea of NZ$ cost of things.

[Going2NZ]

Howdy

It depends on where you're at and where you're going to. For example LA to Christchurch vs Boise to Auckland. But if you do a web search on "cost of living index" that should give you some indicator since it originates in the US. I'm from Austin TX which is a 94 on the cost of living index vs Wellington (which is home now) which is a 72 on the index. That makes Wellington cheaper - not totally accurate in a few things but overall, I think its pretty close to real life.

But as you'll read many times on this forum, a lot of it depends on your personal lifestyle and priorities as to how your particular expense pan out - you know, kids/no kids; takeout /home cooked; one or two incomes; urban or rural and so on.

But if there are some specifics (rent? insurance?), toss 'em on out there and chances are you can get some ideas from the people who are already here.