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What sort of life could you have in the North or South Island on $975.00 aweek?

No kids, no home owner, so will rent, mid forties, drive a car, no smoke, no gambling, no drugs, but love a beer........and women......

Just looking at New Zealand, rent a nice one bedroom fully furnished place close to all the fun places, drive a car, what will life be like?

concretepump

is that before, tax or after, when we lived there i was taking home about $950 a week after tax renting and running a car, and there was two of us only one wage, not a lot left by the time you have paid for the week

hazeandsteve

Where are all the fun places?

If you've got the money for your rental bond and deposit, you could probably get by, but can't see you having that many nights out.

BEVS

What is your idea of 'fun places' ?

You might well get by on that as a single bloke. We're in the Nelson and Bays area and survived on similar with rent to pay. Doesn't leave much or anything for nights out , holidays , activities but there again for a single bloke you might not need as much dosh as having a ball and chain in tow.

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after tax thanks for the replies, not very good then, what amount would i need to live a comfortable life how much more that $975 aweek after tax

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thats very funny brigtenend my day is that your hubby or outlaws

love30stm

You may find fun nights out more in the UK, pretty boring here unless you go to Auckland or Wellington.

The kiwis idea of fun is going to bed at 8pm

Caz8NZ

It all depends on your general expenses. What you've mentioned is considered a fairly good wage here.

Its the beer that's gonna cost ya - average is about $8-10 or a bit more if you want those fancy european beers ;-)

Women - well that's what is really gonna hit a hole in your pocket.

But seriously - it will vary - if you are after nightlife you will want to be probably in Auckland or Wellington - 1 bedroom places in Auckland - about $300- 400 a week for somewhere central.

Fully furnished - doubtful - most places are unfurnished - including no washer/fridge etc. Usually comes with the oven.

I agree with love30stm re the fun nights out and even then Auckland and Wellington don't really compare to England.

My friend and I were out the other night and it dawned on her that nightclubs don't really exist here. It scared her for 2 reasons -

1 that she hasn't been to a nightclub for a long long time
2 that she reaslised that she's got to the age where she isn't looking to go to a nightclub.

Oh I meant to include in this response that as I said - that money is fairly good for new zealand. You can live a decent life here on that, especially if you aren't too extravagant. to live a great life - probably double it.

Caz8NZ

sush! I was out till 10pm last friday!

love30stm

Haha I'm going out tonight with a friend, I might stay out till half ten but then again we aren't Kiwis

barnsleymat

I've got to say, if you're after a bit of a mad British style pub crawl in packed pubs Dunedin is the place to be. It's such ashame I can barely afford a night out at 8 or 9 bucks a glass of beer.

We did used to go out in Auckland but to be honest it's a bit spread out and fragmented. The viaduct is alright for a couple of beers as is Vulcan Lane and K Road can be a giggle but apart from that it's pretty poor by UK/Euro standards.

Justcol

If you can find the fun places $975 will be fine

hazeandsteve

You lot are being robbed!
We pay 5-7 bucks for bog standard handle of gold/tui/waikato, less in happy hour.
$7-8 for a bottle, and you can be out til the early hours pretty much every night here with plenty of company and plenty of live bands at the weekends.
Bars all offer locals either a loyalty card or just known face local discount.
The joys of small town living

Maybe this is why I don't get the grumpy side of most threads.

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Caz. so you reckon i will alright i need to rent fully furnshed got nothing at all. after tax i reckon about $975 Kiwi bucks i like say two nights out a week i do not mind buying a few slabs for the nites in. drive, alot ski, fish, surf loke to eat out alot whether takeout or a meal out. in the uk thats about £500 aweek i can live like a king, thanksyou

Caz8NZ

Ummmm no you won't be living like a king.

I'm not sure i understand your first sentence re renting a furnished place. You will be hard pushed to find somewhere fully furnished - its not the norm here. There may be some fully furnished apartments in the CBD in Auckland (and other cities CBD but they will come at a premium. Look on Trade Me to see what is available. If you are looking at Auckland for example, the surrounding suburbs to the city centre that are popular are:

Mount Eden
Parnell
Kingsland
Ponsonby
Grey Lynn
Newton
Freemans Bay
Newmarket

Living expenses rent/bills will probably work out on average at around $300-400 a week so that leaves you with $500 a week - it doesn't go as far as you think.

Car - depends how far you are going obviously etc etc - Maybe $50 a week

Entertainment - if you like going out a couple of times a week, eating out etc, that will easily chomp through $200-300 in a week (you can easily spend $100 on a boozy night out - although I'm pretty sure boys spend more than that ) Slabs for a night in - probably around $30-40 for a 24 box of beer - depending on whats on special.

ski, fish, surf - not sure on the costs of these but of course that's all on top of the above.

Then you have your groceries so it depends how much you like to cook - but lets say it would average at $100 a week.

So yes - you can do it all - but you won't find you have endless amounts of cash - nothing spare to save for holidays, unexpected expenses like the car breaking down - or the 6 month WOF or the rego. Sorry - not meaning to be pessimistic - just realistic on the cost of living here - its quite expensive to socialise!