kathm

Hi

Hubby and I have been in touch with a NZ IT recruitment agency enquiring about what sort of wage he could expect etc. We were given the figure of about $70K.

I wanted to know whether people already out there feel that this wage is sufficient for a good lifestyle for 2 adults and 2 VERY young kids (aged 19 months and 7 months at the moment). Here in the UK I am a housewife because the kind of wage I could earn would mostly get eaten up with childcare costs for the 2 kids. Also, I am one of these people who really wants to stay at home and bring up my kids (not everyone's cup of tea, but it is how hubby and I want to play it at least until kids are at school) So obviously we need to live on whatever hubby makes.

Am I living in dreamland?

I have already looked up previous posts on salaries/cost of living etc and not found anything that is completely up to date.

We want to emigrate for a better lifestyle for ourselves and the kids, so don't really want to come out and be struggling badly because of low wages.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks
Kath

jandjuk

It very much depends on what city you're in....

Most IT jobs paying $70000 would be in Auckland and Wellington where the cost of living (particularly property) are much higher.

In Dunedin or Hamilton $70000 is a very nice salary. Maybe similar to earning £35000 here...??

I can't really answer your question as I don't know how much kids cost, but tell us if you're paying rent or a mortgage and that might help us answer your question further. If you can afford to own your own home from the outset ($300000 to $500000 in Wellington and Auckland for a really nice place for a family), then 70k would be fine I would have thought.

Plus, it depends what standard of housing and area you want to live in....

davidw

i think its a good salary for nz, but it wouldn't go far in auckland without savings, elsewhere, good i think.

david

robernelli

Likewise, depends what your standards/expectations are in regard to your cost of living. I am not there yet but looking at the 'official' figures may give some indication. The average cost of living for an avearge size family in NZ is $2700 and the average salary is $36000 so by my workings you are well above that regardless of what city you live in, and a good lifestyle sounds definately possible. I certainly hope so anyway because, I am waiting to hear about a job and I think it would be somewhat less than $70,000 but I am confident it will be ok. I am sure that most of us on this website are not going to NZ aming to make it rich, just to be

Rob

davidw

fair enough, but i honestly think auckland must have the world's most expensive and probably overheated housing, relative to earnings.....

david

southerner

No Kath! That sort of salary is pretty good, and particularly so if you can get away with a small mortgage.

And, my wife and I have the same view about childcare as you. If you can afford it and have the motivation, then we feel it is the best thing in the world for a parent to be the primary carer up until school age. And this view seems to be more widely held in NZ than in SW London - where my wife often feels some antagonism from the 'sisterhood' of working mums. Hey - we have nothing against working mums (or dads), every one has to decide what is best for their own families. But stay at home mums or dads do struggle to get the recognition they deserve.

Regards....

smithone

Kath

A salary of $70k after tax will give you $4215 per month.

To give you an idea of monthly costs here's what I spend (2 adults no kids). I've excluded housing and entertainment costs as these vary enormously depending on what you like doing.

Food $700.00
House Insure $95.00
Car Insure $49.30
Life insurance $46.60
Telecom bill $60.00
Rates @ $1604 pa $133.67
Sky $56.00
Petrol $135.00
Power $120.00
Total Expend $1,395.57

Your standard of living will be determined by your housing costs. If you are mortgage free then $70k will be great. If you have a $2k per month mortgage then $70k doesn't look so great especially if you want to fly back to the UK each year. Cost of a flight back is about $2k each.

Good luck

sofistek

That depends where you want to live. It certainly can be true but very good properties can be had for 300K or less, particularly if you don't mind living a bit further out. There are very expensive areas and some that are very good value. There are also some that look exceptional value but where not many would choose to live.

Tony

sofistek

Interesting. If you look at shop prices of goods, you probably will see not a lot different from UK prices (some cheaper, some more expensive) but it looks like it's the utilities and taxes that get the cost down overall.

newkiwi

At $70k u shouldnt be struggling, youre looking at about $1000 a week after tax, maybe just below that. We live in Auckland and our expenses look something like this:

Rent $350 - this varies a lot, depending on where u stay, Auckland will be the most expensive
Food - $100 (for two adults, maybe $200 for your situation)
Telephone and Electricity $80
Insurance - $25
Sky TV - $20
Transport -$50

The rest goes towards entertainment/savings/holidays

Hope it helps

kathm

Thanks everyone for your opinions and advice so far.

I think I'm just panicking a bit. The whole idea of moving to NZ is for a better quality of life for our family, and while I'm sure it's a nicer place to live/ better weather etc, I am worried that we will move across the other side of the world and struggle financially.

Hopefully, we should have at least $100,000 to put as a deposit on a house, but we really want a 4 bed + rumpus type house in a nice area.

I think my main concern is that Dave will get a job in Auckland and we'll have to live commuting distance from the CBD, which is going to mean a LOT less house for the money, and probably not such a nice quiet little area as well.

Once again, thanks for your help, and any further advice, reassurance, or just plain hard home truths will be appreciated.

Kath

sofistek

Kath, there are plenty of areas in Greater Auckland that are still good value. There are also areas outside greater Auckland that are still commutable and even better value. I'm sure you'll be able to get something at the right price, provided you have an open mind on what you'd find acceptable (there is a lot of variation).

jandjuk

Well to be honest, to may have to downgrade your house expectations a bit.

If you have $100000 deposit, and a $300000 loan, then you're looking at at least $2000 a month for a 25 year mortgage (at 7%).... (using the national bank home loan calculator)

To give you an idea I've just plucked a couple of new houses from the waitakere city (west auckland) for about $400000. Not sure on the commute - at least 1/2 hour, probably longer...

Of course once you're out there, you husband could always find a higher paying job or one closer to where you live which would help.

http://www.open2view.com/Property/63...10759&offset=0

http://www.open2view.com/Property/61...0759&offset=10

Having said that, I agree with what tony said above - you just can't be too rigid on your house expectations - if you are that could make things financially difficult - but if you're flexible the you'll find something. Keep a close eye on the property sites like open2view.com and you'll soon get an idea

sofistek

I don't think that is particularly representative of what you'd expect to pay. I've seen 3 bed + rumpus houses for under 300K, in Massey, for instance. Depends on where you're happy to live. You could probably buy a house outright for $100,000 in Otara, for example, but you probably wouldn't want to live there.

In general, you should be able to find a house to suit, without having to break the bank.

Renting is also an option.

jandjuk

Yes I agree - I just plucked a couple of brand new houses at random. Plenty of other stuff available too...