momodog1

hiya im new to the forum,so this is my first querie

my girlfriend of 10 years has the possibility of a job with Auckland council,if she takes this she will get a work to residency visa. I was wondering what my prospects are workwise,im a 47 year old postman,i also spent 10 years working on the railways as a guard/shunter/resource controller,and have been a health and safety rep for many years,but no actual trade as such,i will need to work obviously and I am wondering what my prospects are,im very hardworking and never been out of work in my life.any hints or tips would be much appreciated
thanks

BEVS

Yes. If her job offer fits the criteria then there is no reason why it shouldn't be work to residence. It all depends on the line of work, the pay and if the employer is accredited or can show no NZer can do that work.

If you can show proof of the joint relationship then you would take up a visa on the back of hers under the family stream. That would give you an open work visa to take up work.

Bo-Jangles

Have you had a look at NZ Post Careers | New Zealand Post Careers going rate for a Postie is about $17.50 per hour which won't go far in Auckland. Postie jobs here always look like helluva lot of hard work to me, lots of hills and distance between houses so you have to be fit as or choose your areas accordingly.

Before you go too much further down the track with Auckland Council, you might want to check out cost of living (particularly the 'affordability' of housing) and weigh this up against what you and you and your GF are likely to be earning.

Stormer999

Think you will find a postie job in NZ a lot easier than the UK. No masses of door to door junk just letters and small packets. All the boxes are situated at the road so no long drives with letter boxes 6" off the floor and no dog worries by having to go through the gate! Most posties here drive with their post bike on the car and post in area loops without getting off the bike and the experts even post on the wing...... With the OS act already signed when you leave, NZ post will easily take reference from the UK.

MrsFychan

shame they are shutting lots of the post shops and making less post deliveries to your post box per week.

snaps

I would suggest 47 is no problem at all for finding a job, you may have to work through a couple of jobs o get the one you want but there are opportunities here. I believe 'ageism' is frowned upon more here than the UK, meaning people don't care so long as the job is done. Railway work may be hard to find away from the major cities though. Have a look on the SEEK job site... Jobs on SEEK - New Zealand's no.1 Employment, Career and Recruitment site Good luck.

momodog1

thanks for all the replies my girlfriend would be on around 60000nzd so I would be looking a wage of 40000 or over......would that get us by in Auckland?

MrsFychan

Use the search option above as there are loads of threads on the subject of costs here in NZ especially Auckland and from what I have read on 100K, if that is the take home pay and not the pay before tax, if not then you will pay just over 11K tax on 60K and on 40K you will pay just over 6k tax , you might struggle in Auckland but it does come down to what you want, how you want to achieve and what you are prepared to compromise.

tax calculator here http://www.ird.govt.nz/calculators/t...-tax-rate.html

Bo-Jangles

Depends on your personal circumstances, where you intend to live and how much rent or mortgage you will have to pay.

Going by the ads for Posties the rate is $17.51 for 37.4 hours per week - so that is only $36k pa before tax. Assuming you will have significant chunk of that taken up by housing and feeding yourselves then yes you will 'get by' but it would be a pretty frugal existence and would be little to nothing left for luxuries, holidays or gadding about.

Bumptious

If you want to do postal work also look at DX Mail which is currently growing in NZ, they are NZ Post's main competitor, they provide the motorbike and wet weather gear. They pay per item delivered.

Justcol

Unless you bring over around 4 or 5 hundred thousand dollars, I don't think
paying a mortgage will be a concern for you

Bumptious

Although we don't live in Auckland (anymore) and don't have a mortgage we live very well as a family of four on around $50,000 per annum. Mind you we don't have expenses hobbies or overseas holidays but it is amazing how well you can manage, if needs be.

BEVS

I think the key word in the above post is 'manage'.

We also no longer have a mortgage although we do live in the sunshine dollar area of Nelson and Bays. We 'manage' and it is that which can become rather dragging & dull around the edges.

Anyway , the OP and partner must look to Auckland as that is where the job offer is. The question is if they would manage on the money & as JustCol points out , a lot also depends on what wad they can bring with them.

Bumptious

Agree with you there BEVS, reducing any debt has got to be up there with 'wish lists'. We only became mortgage free (in our late 30s) when we moved from Auckland to the provinces 11 years ago. We were only able to become mortgage free because you get so much more for your money here and believe it or not my husband found a job (door knocking) that paid more here than there. (Building Services consulting engineer). He is now self employed after being made redundant 2 years ago and I work part time but he doesn't want to be GST registered so tries not to earn too much.