neiljdonn

Hi All,

I've just been offered a job in Christchurch. I'm trying to get a handle on the cost of living there. The salary I have been offered is approx. NZ$75K. Is that a reasonable salary? I would like to be able to afford to rent a decent apartment, drive a decent car, travel a bit and have enough left over to put by for a rainy day. Is that possible on that sort of salary?

Tom1983

Coming on your own.... definitely

Coming with a family, then it could be depending on circumstances

Don't have high expectations though, the city is still in recovery mode.

neiljdonn

Yea, I'd be coming on my own Tom, so I like the sound of your reply! I visited Christchurch 12 years ago, but I am well aware that things have changed ALOT!!..... I would hope to be able to have a nice 1 bed apartment (if not in the city, then within an easy commute) and be able to run a decent car. Although to be honest I would prioritise a nice holiday to a pacific island once or twice a year above owning a snazzy car.... I just want to be reasonably sure that I can improve my lifestyle by moving there. I would hate to move all that way and end up living hand to mouth!!

Tom1983

Do you know where your job is? Presume your on the rebuild

You should easily get a decent one bedroom at a good rental price per week. You could even get a 2 pushing the boat out. Have a look on trademe.co.nz for current ones. Going for a 1 bedroom would put you in a much better position in the rental market.

You most certainly wouldn't need to live in a cardboard box and have a second job licking road wit tongue! You could easily save up for flights to French Polynesia etc. I'm not sure what prices are but you could easily get a good car as well. Would you becoming on a permanent visa or a temporary visa? Just if permanent, you could potentially afford paying for a new one over 5 years.

I may say no to some coming on salaries with family and kids, but you would be in an excellent position coming here.

Woodlea

It did get above freezing, but not by much http://www.wunderground.com/history/...lyHistory.html
was it 21st-23rd you were here by chance?

davros1984

yes! those were the days fortunately we were staying in one of the motels which had a decent heater. It rained hard the whole first day, so we decided to just stay in and keep warm (apart from going out to eat). Was so cold though, similar to how I felt when I was back in Scotland in November (it was around 0-4 degrees on some days and dipped below on a couple). It was well below minus at night.

Being from Cornwall, it usually doesn't get colder than 4 or 5 degrees in the Winter, so yes, definitely colder in CHCH on those days.

Stormer999

Recently arrived or future Chch residents renting a place with windows doors and sod all inside until your container catches you up. Just shout and I have a spare get you by FOC :-
Iron
Ironing board
Electric kettle
Toaster
Microwave oven
Small table with 4 chairs
Small bar top fridge(empty I drank all of the beer!) though winters coming!
all finest Warehouse quality......

neiljdonn

Well that all sounds very promising indeed!! I will be working for the city council, so I'll be based right in the city. Would there be many apartments avilable near the centre? Yes, I am coming on a permanent basis. I only got a solid job offer yesterday, so I still have to sort my visa. I think its fairly straight forward tho, as they are an accredited employer.... I;m due to arrive around the end of July. I presume that will still be the depths of winter??

Hazelnut

That sounds encouraging and many thanks for the post Woodlea, exactly what I needed to hear. I'll go and investigate the link too

Stormer999

Chch is on the opposite side of the globe to northern Spain and experiences about the same weather absolutely nothing like anywhere in the UK. It can be cold in winter but when the sun comes out it,s strength soon has you down to tee shirt and shorts and in winter we have a lot of beautiful blue sunny days. Yes we do grow lemons outside

Exact or almost exact antipodes:
Christchurch (New Zealand) — A Coruña (Spain)

Pom_Chch

I don't remember it being below zero last year. At night time for sure, but during the day it's not common. But then that could be because I hibernated in front of the heat pump until it passed I would say the average temperature in winter is typically around 12 degrees (not a researched figure, just my perception!) The sunny winter days are lovely here in Chch. Blue skies, sunshine with snow capped mountains driving through the city - stunning!

Tom1983

At the moment there are 75 rentals in the city centre, averaging around $400 a week, would you be wanting furnished or unfurnished

The ones that say have 6 or 7 bedrooms are room only hostel type accommodation. You'd be sharing a bathroom and kitchen. If you're one that doesn't mind that, they're usually cheaper than others. If your like me and are a bit of a cleanliness demanding person, it may not be suitable. Dating my wife in the early years when she lived in shared nurses accommodation was not fun when half the cooking time was spent cleaning up other peoples mess

The council building looks pretty smart. It's off Worcester Street so you'd have some decent views of Hagley Park and other areas. There's a lovely bistro called Cook N Gas and one i've forgotten the name of close by. In the summer the outside garden area is lovely to be in

You're lucky your coming late July as you should have missed the cold weather by then. I think the average day temperature was around 8 degrees last year. June is generally the coldest month, August and September can be very wet though. Make sure you bring a brolly that can survive coastal winds. Take a trip to Bournemouth and that's the sort of climate you'd get here. Warm summers, mildish winters but very windy!

Lastly when you do arrive and come over, I strongly recommend when searching for a rental you ask about potential roadworks. If your going to buy a snazzy car and your driveway/garage is going to be unaccessible for a few weeks for SCRIT to have cups of tea etc, bear that in mind! According to a police officer my wife knows, don't buy a Scooby Doo! They're the ones that get stolen a lot. Even the car dealer at the garage we went to told me similar. Shame as I saw this Scooby Doo that was insurable, one shock you will see - insurance prices here will make you faint! Get it though!

theghostofdustybin

no one has every tried to nick my Impreza and it only has 365k on the clock.

TomandFiona

Hello guys, looking for some advice. Can anyone recommend a car dealer with some cars around the $2000 mark preferably to the south of the city as we're in Diamond Harbour. Thanks.

Stormer999

Walk along Moorhouse Avn North from Hagley Park or try http://www.backpackerscars.com/