Aaron87

Hello everyone..

Stumbled across this forum during my research on NZ and all things involved with moving out there..

A little about me - I am 25 year old prototype vehicle engineer for high performance cars and a sponsored athlete (boxer/kickboxer).. I have a wife and 4 year old daughter. That's enough for now..

Basically I've been offered a job in Auckland from a high end automotive supplier and am really considering the move out there for a 'fresh start' and a change. Living abroad is nothing new to me, I lived in Barcelona for a year or so a couple years back so am fully aware of the difficulties in finding housing, cars, different foods and the cost of them etc. My research tells me NZ is fairly expensive and wages can be 'low'..

My main question which I can't seem to find an answer for is what salary range would be best to live in Auckland - I'm not bothered about being in the city centre as I plan to get a car.. From looking online I've found 2/3 bedroom houses for anywhere from $300-1000 a week. Initially I'd be looking to rent but once some time passes and we decide if NZ is for us I'd buy a place.

I notice when people ask about what kind of money you need to earn in NZ alot of people reply with.. "What kind of lifestyle do you have.." So to answer this...

I'm easily pleased. Not fussed about eating out, I'd need a gym membership for myself and my wife, a school for my child and the odd day out for her to do things, a car and not much else.... I guess the odd meal out would be nice but being an athlete i'm on top of what I eat 95% of the time. I've read a lot about the cost of food, if someone could provide an insight to cost of meats (chicken/steak/fish) and vegtables that would be good.

Lastly, pretty much linked into a previous question.. What is a 'good' monthly salary before tax as I don't know the deal on tax for Brits in NZ? I'd be getting paid around $5000 monthly - Would we be happy on this wage in NZ? My wife wont be working at first as I assume Visa constraints wont allow it but she would look to in the future.

Any info would help.

Thanks

Bellasmum

Do you know what part of Auckland will you be working in ?

Aaron87

Hi Bekkasmum

I'll be working in New Market but not fussed about living close to there - outside the city would be fine.

Aaron87

Sorry just noticed my mistake - Bellasmum***

MrsFychan

tax - you pay tax on a varying degree on every cent you own
http://www.ird.govt.nz/how-to/taxrat...etaxrates.html

what sort of visa are you looking at to get over that allows you to work?'
there is a rather long thread about cost of buying a house which might be of interest to you.

as for finding out about cost of food go onto New World website and do a "shop"
look on trademe for rentals and houses to buy

Bellasmum

Aaron this is just my opinion for what it is worth.

I would find a reasonably price motel in New Market (weekly rates, not nightly rates) for a few weeks to give you time to look around areas/homes in Auckland that you could consider renting.

I wouldn't commit to a rental lease agreement under pressure. IMHO too many settle for poor housing and that sets up a very negative start to their new life.

Area's I would consider would be Hillsborough, Blockhouse Bay, New Lynn, Avondale, Ellerslie, Mt Wellington. My word of caution is all those areas have good and not so good parts to them but they all have bus/train transport to NM.

I would see it as just a step towards your long term goal of home ownership if NZ to be right for you.

I wish you all the best on your journey

davros1984

Please do further research before coming here. I am not posting this to just be blatantly negative, its just to give you the taste of actual reality in auckland at present.

Whilst 5000nzd may seem a lot, you have to provide for others, pay rent and everything else. I take home approximately 6000 a month after tax and am able to save in the region of 3k a month. However, banks do not see me and my partner as suitable for a mortgage. she has a good and steady job as a nurse, so between us we do pretty well.

You mentioned you may want to buy a house. If you are really hoping to stay here long term and its in Auckland, ensure you are bringing in the region of 50-70K GBP for a deposit as that is what you will require at the present time and dont see that changing for a few years. This is the main reason we are moving home.

Good luck with what you decide and we are all here to try and answer any questions you may have.

moonie2011

Hi we are a family of four in Wellington, we get just under $6k a month and we do ok. We manage to save between $500-$1k a month. However the first few months we just mahout managed.
I moan that prices are high but to be honest it hasn't changed the way we eat and we still have take aways, eat out and have paid for the numerous clubs etc that the kids are joining
We have just bought our own house after renting for 5 months, renting wasn't for me as I like to put my own mark on things
We were able to bring £190k over with us and the bank have given us, quite happily, a $300k mortgage, so we had a budget of $670k, and that's just on my husband wages, I've yet to look for a job
The repayment for the mortgage and council rates, insurance etc work out cheaper than the rent for a 4 bed bungalow.

Re your wife working I think most visas allow partners a work visa. We came over on my husbands WTR visa and I applied for a partnership visa at the same time. This allows me to work at any job.

Hope this helps, good luck