Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Well that earthquake wasn't fun :scaredhair:

That was the final straw for us - we want outta here! Half the Brits we know in Christchurch are leaving in droves, and the other half are acting like it never happened because they can't afford to go anywhere else as they've spent their life savings getting here and now their houses are in ruins (might be a slight exaggeration but you get the idea). We need to hang around for another 12 months and save like mad, so we're being all sensible and doing a financial plan.

So now comes the dreaded money part. Can anyone give me a ball-park figure for how much it would cost to ship a full 20ft container from NZ (anywhere in NZ will do) to Oz (Melbourne or Sydney ideally). And what about insurance - did you take the risk and go without, did you pay the extortionate amount the shippers offer or did you find an alternative policy you can recommend?

And then there is the cars. We are happy to sell our smaller car, but the family car is in great condition and pretty new so we want to take that with us. I'm pretty sure it will meet the code of compliance (or whatever it's called) as it has all the required tethers for carseats, and the same model seems to be on the market in Oz too.
So any advice for shipping cars. I wouldn't bother if we were coming from UK, but NZ is a lot closer so surely it must be more economical to take it with us that take the chance on another vehicle we don't know the history of. I'm thinking there will be the cost to ship, maybe cost for cleaning, registering the car. What am I missing?

Flights we can get cheaply enough at least :)

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Your first question should be "Do we qualify to live in Australia?" And your second question should be "Is that a permanent visa or temporary?"

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Yes you are right. We already have that one covered and it's currently a work in progress. We can easily hop the ditch on a temporary visa, and then apply for a permanent visa later, or we can apply for a permanent visa soon and wait for that. There are a number of options open to us after checking the most recent amendments to the occupation lists, and which one we choose will depend upon exactly how soon we decide to leave here. Hence my reason for asking about the costs involved and creating a financial plan which will help us to determine our best option.

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

It was three years ago when we moved and my new employer paid. We had packers in and shipped a container, then had two weeks accommodation paid by the complany. All up, we cleared NZ$15,000. We didn't ship the car. You could do it cheaper but there are costs that you will have to pay.

Shipping
Flights
accommodation
car rental
Recce costs - which will include car hire, flights, accommodation and food for a week (we hired a camper van).
Buying a car
And probably moving costs again when you discover you have rented in the wrong place :)

It took us a year to get settled. Melbourne is much much bigger than Chch. We lived in Sumner and I cycled to work. But you'd be hard pushed to find that kind of lifestyle quality in Melbourne unless you can afford inner beach suburbs (e.g., for A$500 you can rent an old weather board with paper peeling off the walls in Williamstown).

I feel Melbourne is great for people in their 20s wanting nightlife and a good city scene, but a bit harder for families I think. Families tend to tie you down to the suburbs which isn't all that great around outer Melbourne. After a year we moved out to the Surf Coast to Torquay for a lifestyle that was closer to the Sumner lifestyle (beaches, cafes, happy smiling and healthy people).

So what I'm saying is that it is unlikely that you'll just drop into Melbourne and rent in your dream area with no further costs. I would advise that you need to plan for a bit of expense in the first year as you get settled.

Cars are very expensive in Aus. Ship your car if you can. Check comparable car prices on carsales.com.au

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

... or you could just spend the $15 grand on repairing your Chch house :)

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Presumably you will have to pay import duty & also GST...probably totalling up to about 20% of the value of the car.

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

cost me about 5k from Auckland to Brisbane 4 years ago.. didnt bring a car but apart from that every thing came with us.

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

If you've owned the car in NZ for one year or more you are exempt gst.

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Thats good to know.

And I hear everything thats being said about changing rentals when you realise you've got it wrong. We've moved several times for this very reason and changes in our circumstances (i.e. child starting school), so we're not expecting things to be any different in Oz, neither are we expecting it to be a utopia compared to our current location. What we are expecting (hoping) is that we'll be a little better off in the long run with more opportunities open to us. We've done the maths and ever taking into account the higher rental costs and increased cost of living, wages are that much higher compared to NZ that we'll be able to save more easily. We don't live extravagently.

Anyway, keep the advice coming. I'm like a sponge, getting all the little tidbits of info I can right now :)

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Are you really moving because of the earthquake. Only I think Australia has far more frequent natural hazards than New Zealand. If you want to minimise your exposure to natural hazards then UK is the best if the three ;)

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

No, we were looking to move before the earthquake happened, but it was really the final straw as the memory is with us now like a bad dream. If the Alpine Fault now went it would be like re-living a nightmare. That's not to say we weren't prepared because we took the risk seriously and did have a survival kit etc. And yes, we are well aware that earthquakes also happen in Oz - we've done the research and will of course make ourselves suitably prepared for the natural hazards that exist in Oz, just as we would prepare ourselves for the risk on a disease pandemic or terrorist attack in UK.

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Not really mate - I think what was meant was bushfires, floods etc.

But the quality of life and affordability is much better here than NZ!

BB (another NZ refugee)

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Yep, well aware of all the natural hazards, including bushfires, floods, tsunami risk etc etc. I just thought i'd get in first and mention earthquakes before someone else decided to comment that earthquakes also happen in Oz. A hell of a lot of people here in NZ seem to think that they don't happen across the ditch.

In fact (paranoid I know), in the interest of trying to pinpoint the lowest risk areas to live, I have in front of me a map of all the flood risk areas in both Sydney and Melborne and also a map of faultlines in Oz. Am currently trying to find out about the one that runs through the SE of Melborne (apparently a young faultline?) and there are lots of articles about the Sydney basin and possible liquifaction too. Not that it worries me unduly because the risk and size of earthquakes within a techtonic plate (which also happen in the UK occasionally) is lower than that of NZ which sits on a plate boundary.


Thats what I like to hear. It's very reassuring hearing these words from someone else who has tried NZ and found the right life balance elsewhere.

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Also because Australia is the size of Western Europe it helps to keep that in mind for some perspective when considering natural disasters.

A disaster that happens in Athens does not physically affect someone in Manchester. It is the same here and you only live in one place at a time. :)

Re: Costs of moving from NZ to Oz?
 

Mate - do not worry about earthquakes in Australia when choosing your area to live.

BB