Cost of living.

Old Feb 3rd 2013, 1:21 am
  #31  
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by lisamct
I think where abouts in NZ you live must make such a huge difference in comparisons that its all but impossible to actually compare until you live here.

I'm in Auckland, by choice, and here my rent is much higher than it would have been in the UK, my car insurance is pretty much the same but here I drive 10yr old Toyota and back home I drove a 2yr old Jeep and I just simply cant afford to eat the way I used to.
I pretty much always cook from scratch but in the UK tried to stick to organic as much as possible and free range when it came to meats but here that's way out my price range, and often difficult to find even if you can afford it (and markets and dedicated fruit/veg shops in no way mean the products are organic or free range)

I also find meat, fruit and veg to be lower quality and often a bit tasteless but I put that down to the difference between organic and not as I found the same in the UK with regular produce.

Anyway, I don't think anyone can say its all cheaper or its all more expensive as there's such a huge variety in life styles and expectations that you'll pretty much never know how its going to affect you till you try it.
+1, nicely summed up Lisa
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 1:24 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by Catchafire
There is no poor expolited African famer growing strawberries to be flown into every Tesco's in the country all year round.
Sure, the poor exploited African farmer would have been far happier if he had no one to sell his strawberries to!
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 1:41 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by Pom_Chch
I also find shopping in NZ a whole different ball game. In the UK I used to go to the supermarket for pretty much everything. NZ I don't do this because it works out expensive. You have to be more of a savvy shopper in NZ than you do in the UK. Supermarket fruit and veg is cheap in the UK, but buying it from a farm or market is cheaper in NZ. Buying fruit and veg in supermarkets in NZ works out much more expensive.
In all your two weeks of experience, yes I am sure it's all fun and laughter shopping around in holiday mode with your cashed up pounds in your pocket, going every weekend as you say. When you're working full time, earning kiwi wages and paying the winter leccy bills, I hope to see you still so full of it.
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 2:07 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

We don't all work full time, my husband does I just work part time and casual hours, been on weekends away, going to Taupo camping soon, we seem to get on well, guess it depends how much you ate in the uk really

I find the food much nicer here, anyway you can grow your own veg, and be organic, infact I think things are getting cheaper now than they were 5 odd years ago, but maybe I've got used to it and like my life here and am finally settled after 5 years!! And happy with my lot

We are much better off here for now

And by the way I feel in holiday mode after 5 and a half years but maybe we are lucky

Last edited by love30stm; Feb 3rd 2013 at 2:09 am.
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 2:20 am
  #35  
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by Bo-Jangles
In all your two weeks of experience, yes I am sure it's all fun and laughter shopping around in holiday mode with your cashed up pounds in your pocket, going every weekend as you say. When you're working full time, earning kiwi wages and paying the winter leccy bills, I hope to see you still so full of it.
I am not full of anything as you so politely mention. I am telling things from my perspective. I like the way you steam in and make assumptions based on nothing. You know nothing about me, my circumstances or my past.

Last edited by Pom_Chch; Feb 3rd 2013 at 2:32 am.
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 6:37 am
  #36  
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Default Re: Cost of living.

It sounds like if they were going to make a comparison somewhere in the remoter parts of Scotland would be fairer.
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 10:26 am
  #37  
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by lisamct

I also find meat, fruit and veg to be lower quality and often a bit tasteless but I put that down to the difference between organic and not as I found the same in the UK with regular produce.

Anyway, I don't think anyone can say its all cheaper or its all more expensive as there's such a huge variety in life styles and expectations that you'll pretty much never know how its going to affect you till you try it.
Do you think its down to what tastes you are used to?
I find the fruit,vegetables and meat low quality and tasteless in the uk compared to NZ. Fish is even worse.
Can see where people are coming from about cheese in NZ.
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 4:45 pm
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by westie123
Do you think its down to what tastes you are used to?
I find the fruit,vegetables and meat low quality and tasteless in the uk compared to NZ. Fish is even worse.
Can see where people are coming from about cheese in NZ.
So strange isn't it? I don't feel that at all. We were able to do a fair bit of cooking while we were back last month and I didn't feel there was any difference in quality whatsoever.
My wife is a vegetarian and eats way more fruit and veg than me and I just asked her what she thought. The only thing she liked more was the fact that it is more locally sourced. Flavour and quality - no difference (in her opinion). By the way if you want low quality fruit and veg I'd suggest shopping in the main supermarkets in Qatar. We always maintained that they employed people to hit all fruit with a 'fruit hammer' before it was put out. That could be the only explanation for how bruised everything was.
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Old Feb 3rd 2013, 9:40 pm
  #39  
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by westie123
Do you think its down to what tastes you are used to?
I find the fruit,vegetables and meat low quality and tasteless in the uk compared to NZ. Fish is even worse.
Can see where people are coming from about cheese in NZ.
Totally, as I said I used to pretty much only eat organic free range in the UK and found regular meat, fruit and veg to be tasteless and bland there too.

I think they're probably pretty similar in quality, regular meat,veg etc here and in the UK is pretty shit it was just that I could afford the alternative in the UK where here I would have to win lotto to eat the way I used to.
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Old Feb 4th 2013, 3:06 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

My family of four (2 children 7 and 5) spends approx $260 per week on food. This goes on
- in season fruit and veg
- meat, mostly stewing beef and mutton, some chicken (free range)
- fresh fish probably once a week
- basics e.g. milk eggs oats bread yoghurt cheese pasta rice potatoes
- bottle of wine maybe once a fortnight and no other alcohol
- fruit juice for the kids
- family sized bar of chocolate

Nothing premade or out of packets - I make everything myself because it gets me out of cleaning the toilet.

Very happy with the quality of the fruit and veg.

IMO one will get lousy fruit and veg if one only shops at Tesco, but I've had perfectly decent fruit and veg on the occasions I've been back. I think one has to be a bit choosy where one buys it - or get an allotment.
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Old Feb 4th 2013, 3:15 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by westie123
Fish is even worse.
Eh? Fish in the UK is fine - last time I was back the prices were less and there was more variety - not just white fish but herring and mackerel as well. The only mackerel I've ever seen here is only fit for fish bait.

Can see where people are coming from about cheese in NZ.
I hate cheese but I'm told that NZ cheese is a pretty bland offering. I know a former cheesemaker who tells me that back in the 80s the Food Act regulations were changed at the behest of the big dairyowners and as a result the quality cheesemakers were all forced out of business: things are still recovering.

I'm also told that in NZ all cheese must be made from pasteurised milk.
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Old Feb 4th 2013, 3:19 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by Pom_Chch
I don't really see the point in getting bogged down with small purchases like how much a pack of cheese is. Yeah OK, it's more expensive than the UK. However in NZ my rent is half the price, car insurance is half the price, the equivalent of council tax is much less so if a piece of cheese costs more money I think I can deal with it!
Rent is half the price that the UK! In your dreams! Are we living in the same country?
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Old Feb 4th 2013, 3:29 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

According to Google;

Average rent UK: GBP 712 per month.

Average rent NZ: NZD 260 per week (or GBP 130)

So, NZ a bit less.

So when one takes into account NZ/UK comparative earnings, affordability is probably the same in both places.
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Old Feb 4th 2013, 3:30 am
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by benhila
Sure, the poor exploited African farmer would have been far happier if he had no one to sell his strawberries to!
A strawberry? In Africa???

(cue lots of panic-stricken Zulus running away)
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Old Feb 4th 2013, 4:08 am
  #45  
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Default Re: Cost of living.

Originally Posted by whitesand
Rent is half the price that the UK! In your dreams! Are we living in the same country?
I was paying 1400 pounds per month in the UK and 670 in NZ (using xe.com exchange rate). Not a dream, very much reality

That is of course comparing London to Christchurch so not really a fair direct comparison. However our combined income is about the same for now, until I get more hours so much better off here... and the sun shines!

Last edited by Pom_Chch; Feb 4th 2013 at 4:11 am.
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