Flyddo

Hi

New to this forum, we are a family of four, children 6 and 3. Husband has just been offered a job in Christchurch. They are willing to help with Visa application and moving us across and offer support and guidance with housing and schools. Suggested Rolleston?
Basically we came over to Nz last year to have a look around but stayed in the North Island, loved every minute of it.
The job is for a forklift mechanic on $30 an hour. I was just after opinions on whether this would be enough to have a fairly average standard of living (we are by no means extravagant) would need 2 cars, enough to pay for food (we do like to grow our own here), may bills etc?
Also when there last year the cost of food was incredible!
Just wondering on people's opinions on Christchurch since the quake and whether it is worth giving it a go for a few years...?
Also is there a cost to schooling?
I am also a nurse and would ideally like to work part time.
Opinions would be really welcome!

Thanks

Bo-Jangles

It's certainly not gonna be flash and will depend hugely on how well set up you are in the first place. You'll need to work through the numbers according to the type and standard of of housing you're expecting: weekly rent or size of mortgage you'll need, if you're buying.

My OH earns similar amount, there's only two of us and life would be pretty tough if we were reliant on his income alone, so I suggest you need to work through a very detailed budget before committing to anything.

Schools do often have some costs in the form of almost compulsory 'donations'.

Bo-Jangles

Just for starters:

Your take home pay will be about $957 per week if you don't make any contribution to Kiwisaver (pension) PAYE Calculator | PAYE.net.nz

Rent in Rolleston $450 to $500 per week Trade Me Property - New Zealand real estate. rentals, houses for sale & more

Weekly shopping will be anything between $150 (very basic I spend this and more for two of us) to $250 per week depending on how frugal you are and your skills in the kitchen.

The list of other things to pay from then on is endless but I'm sure you'll soon get the picture.

escapedtonz

It's gonna be tough for you all initially unless you have the money to set yourselves up and also a pot that you can use to dip in to for those first 3-6 months until you can get part time work. Crazy the things you need to pay for like rental house bond, maybe a new appliance or furniture etc.
Hubby salary for a standard 40hrs a week is around 62500 pa then less income tax, ACC and Kiwisaver. I'm not 100% but Kiwisaver may now be compulsory at the minimum 3% rate?

To practice as a nurse you'll need to be professionally registered in NZ. You can do this from the UK, takes around 3-4 months and then you have an annual fee for a practicing certificate/card. Nurses are usually covered by the MECCA contract (unless in the private sector). Top salary around $31 per hour for an RGN equivalent. Wife was an ICU Sister but decided to get out of the hospital and now does casual practice nursing. Difficult to get a permanent position even with her many years experience.
Also remember you have to pay for rubbish collection and GP visits plus a state school will cost anything from $300 to maybe $600 per child per year depending on the voluntary fees which are kind of considered compulsory plus uniforms and trips etc

Bumptious

Just a note on donations - School donations are just that, donations, don't feel in any way that you have to pay them if you can't afford them or don't want to. Purely up to you and cannot be enforced. The costs get more expensive the older the children get and of course depending on the school. Education is not free here although it is supposed to be. One of our local high schools bumped their 'donation' up 100% last year, my friend refused to pay it for her son.

chc4me

KiwiSaver is not compulsory but saving for retirement is a good idea. ACC is accident insurance paid by Self Employed people or by your employer. It is not an additional cost.

In terms of Christchurch after the quakes, the city is well on its way to rebuilding and in some parts of Christchurch, including Rolleston, there are absolutely no after effects. Some might argue about the extra traffic or additional roadworks ....

Rolleston is a nice area and has really grown in size over the last 10 years. I'd also suggest Wigram which is 10 minutes closer to the city (but smaller sections). Prebbleton is great too if you are wanting more of a community feel. If you are planning to Nurse part time, you might be able to secure a role at a local Doctors offices, or one of the many Blood taking services, or the growing retirement villages, otherwise travel into the main city - 3 main hospitals, 2 private hospitals.

In my opinion, NZ provides a great lifestyle particularly if you enjoy outdoor actives, biking, walking, close to lakes or the sea, close to mountains and offers a huge range of sports for kids. But it is costly. Everything from food to household goods costs more.

Good luck with your decision.

escapedtonz

Ah yes maybe compulsory was the wrong word.
It seems all persons 18-64 who are eligible to be in kiwisaver are automatically enrolled at start of employment and employees given a kiwisaver pack. They can opt out if they so wish when all the details come through from the kiwisaver investor after approx 3 months.

As for ACC, I understood that my employer deducts the ACC % out of my pay through PAYE and contributes on my behalf just like they pay my income tax so I do pay ACC, as does every other wage earner. It is paid by the employer but the funds are removed from employees pay.....so doesn't that make it a deduction one should consider when migrating ?

http://www.acc.co.nz/for-individuals/employees/WPC088537

http://www.kiwisaver.govt.nz/new/join/how-to/auto-enrol/

http://www.kiwisaver.govt.nz/new/opt-out/

chc4me

@escapedtonz my sincere apologies, I did not know that about ACC. It's been a while since i was 'employed'. Thank you for setting that straight.

Flyddo

Thanks for all the replies, most helpful. We are still discussing things through. Not sure how much work there would be for me as a nurse in and around Christchurch and whether it would enable us to live without worrying due to the cost of basics and bills. Initially we would be looking to rent as we were thinking of staying for 3 years (to get over homesickness) and really give Nz a go for the kids sake mainly. We are really outdoors people and think the NZ lifestyle would really suit us, it is just trying to balance that with the cost of living!

Timmy Chch

Nz is a bit hit it miss with people, mostly hit but chch is definitely love or hate and id say nearer 50:50.
Saying that, as it's traditionally the female partner struggling to get work, id say nursing would be a great chance of getting work, I'm sure loads more peeps on here can offer more on that though.
Good luck

jayandbill

we came to NZ 7 years ago as retirees to join our children. we have quite good UK pensions, which are paid into a UK bank and transferred as and when the exchange rate is OK. I find the healthcare confusing and can be costly when you're used to it being free in the UK. GP visits have to be paid for, around $40 a visit. Some treatments are free, accidents mostly paid for by ACC but surgery might have to be paid for. Our food bill is around $150 per week. I would say food is more expensive here. I appreciate it's 7 years on but I think everything is more expensive. I have been back home 3 times to viisit so I can make comparisons. Personally I wouldn't move to Christchurch since the earthquakes, although it can happen anywhere. The south Island scenery is more interesting than the north but it's colder. We live in Tauranga, which has been extremely wet this year. Also bear in mind there's is no tax free allowance on your salary here so do your sums as far as is possible. I would suggest you do as much research as possible. Some move here and say it's the best thing they ever did, others return home after a few years and say going back was the best thing they ever did. Your kids will probably love it as they're the right age to cope with the changes. There is a lot to think about and coming on holiday isn't the same as living here. As for me, I would go home tomorrow but my kids are here and I want to be near them so it's not an option. I hope I hope I haven't been too negative but it's huge decision for you to make and making friends here isn't easy.

geoff52

Does the job have a path to permanent residency in NZ, if not then whats the attraction of NZ.

Flyddo

Yes it does have the prospect of becoming permanent after a time period. 2 years I am led to believe.
Still not sure if it is financially viable or not, looking at the cost of everything from rent to basic utilities and food I think we would be much worse off than we currently are and weighing it up with a better outdoors lifestyle I am just not sure it is worth it.
My husband is desperate to give it a go but I am trying to use my head when it is such a big decision

geoff52

If its not a clear cut decision then I should maybe postpone it.
I moved to Canada from London (UK). The critical ingredients you need to make a successful move is money.
The moving puts tremendous strain on family relationships and both of you have to be committed to the move. In addition having relatives in the host country also helps ( I had sister and cousins in the same town). Because things will be different between UK and NZ and if someone is there to to show you the ropes then its less stressful and you also have someone to discuss your problems with.

Good luck what ever you decide.

BEVS

That is a work to residency visa. Please ensure that the contract with the NZ Immigration accredited employer is for the two years.
For lift truck driver is not seen as a skilled occupation so the work to residence is your only route.
This visa requires one to remain with the accredited employer and earn above $55K pa for the two years.

Please ensure that the job offer and the contract are guaranteed for at least two years.