ezzkazz

This is more my perception of how I see the cost of living compared to the UK really.
It seems to be that in general the cost if living is higher in NZ than the UK so many say. Not being in NZ yet I wouldnt know but surely it depends where you have come from in the UK and where you are going to in NZ. I am in the south of the UK so I feel that houses and daily life is more than what it would be if I were living up north. Would this not apply in NZ? Maybe cheaper in some places than others etc.

happynz

Most things are equal, perhaps fruit and veg are a tiny bit cheaper up in Auckland. The biggest difference you will find will be in the cost of accommodation. A modest house in a middling neighbourhood in Auckland or Christchurch might set you back well over 350K (most likely higher) whilst 350K would buy you a palace in Southland or Taumaranui.

southerner

Cost of living comparisons probably only make sense when you also look at what salaries are available.

For some careers, such as teaching, nursing, etc you can probably get the same salary wherever you are in NZ. Therefore all else being equal you might want to focus on living in lower cost areas (Taranaki, Dunedin, Southland, Hawkes Bay, etc). I'm not aware that any sort of COL premium is paid like say a London allowance in the UK.

For some other careers, you may want to focus on the larger centres, because they are the only markets that offer the sort of specialised roles that you may want.

But there are probably a lot of people between the two extremes, where they may be able to get jobs in most places in NZ, but feel the bigger centres probably pay a bit more.

I'm never too sure whether this is that true in practice. Some of the tightest employment markets are in regional NZ, so if you are comfortable that there won't necessarily be suitable jobs advertised every week in these places, then most times I would say to potential immigrants choose where you want to live and then look at what jobs are available.

I agree also with the previous post, the cost of property is the big difference between areas.

P18PPS

The killer for us was the interest rates - these are double those of the UK, so if you do have to get a mortgage it is mega expensive. If however you are in an enviable position of zero mortgage then you'll be living the high life I'm sure!