uk+kiwi

Sorry but that's very unnecessary and as a non-smoker myself I think somewhat insulting, although I can see what point you are trying to make.

Would $250-$300 really be way off the mark for a family of 4 in the Auckland area? Including toiletries and cleaning products, and also for everything in its entirety for a whole week.

Sorry but I really dislike reading things that I would not imagine civil people saying directly to strangers.

ginaf

Hi ACOB, I always write out a list of general expenses that I expect to pay per month:

Rent/ Mortgage payments
Groceries
Bills
Travel (petrol, bus/ train fares)
Children's expenses (school uniforms/ books / after school clubs)
Any other extra's (clothes, trips out etc.)

You can then work out whether your salary will stretch or not.

I am not sure whether you will be bringing any cash out but banks would be reluctant to lend you more than 3.5 - 4x your annual income for a mortgage (if that is what you want). So that would probably be a max loan of around $200,000, have a look at http://www.realenz.co.nz/ to see if you can find any properties in Auckland that you would be happy with.

The one beauty I found with Auckland is that there are lots of things to do with kids for free, the parks are beautifully kept, you have the gorgeous beaches and the schools are good.

Sue

If you are planning on renting then you might find the NZ Dept of Housing site helpful. The link below is to the rental section which gives the weekly rent for different areas in NZ.

http://www.dbh.govt.nz/housing/tenan...t%20region.asp

ACOB

Thanks for all the replies I guess that we will have to do a lot more work to find things out. The really unfortunate thing about this is that when we first started talking about the move we were doing it for a better life ( not financial) but as time has gone on we continue to worry about the financial side of it all.I dont want people to think we are materialistic but we dont want to make the move and then have money problems because this is when the family start to suffer, added stress in the relationship etc. At the moment all the research that we have done has actually shown us exactly what we do have here in the UK and although NZ is a beautifull place it still has its own kind of problems.Thanks again and look forward to hearing from you.

Debs70

Best of luck in whatever you decide, keep reading and keep thinking. You are totally right that even though you may not be emmigrating for financial reasons, it matters ALOT! I have seen relationships breaking down due to the stress and strain of not only living in a foreign country, but having next to no money and it isn't a pretty sight. NZ is well worth giving a try if you've got a lot of capital to take with you, support on the other side and a well paid job. Even easier is having no kids!

jueinnz

As I have have just got my first NZ mortgage I have a calculator which will calculate your weekly mortgage payments if you would like me to send it to you.
There is a much more flexibility with mortgages then there is in UK, I know a couple in there late 30's who have just got a mortgage for 30 years, to enable them to keep the cost down in the beginning, obviously you can change it at a later date. We are a couple with no children and our joint income is $90ish. we live very comfortably. (which is more than we did in UK, and we both had higher position jobs with good salaries) We are debt free except the mortgage which is the big difference from being in UK. Where we had loans and HP and credit for Africa, this we paid all off when we left UK.
Yes you can buy a house for $400k. But we have just got a lovely 3 bed home, with 2 baths extra toilet and nice size garden (and sea views from the en-suite which my husband sayes is great to look at when ....)In a nice quiet area which is in west Auckland for $345k. And I would feel happy to bring my kids up here. My impression of Kiwi houses is that you get much more for your money than in UK.
Remember that going to the beach is free ...and you take lunch with you so the cost of having a great day is minimal and doesn't have to break the bank.

Batty

Thank GOD! Someone like us!

And, as Debs says, the relationship thing - my mum always used to tell us "when poverty flies in the door - love flies out the window". Too true

Debs70

God, we were so lucky in that respect Batty! know what your mum meant cos I saw it, but we are, and always were 100% romantic.... aaahhh!! thank god eh? I would have been so evil if it had broken our relationship I tell ya!

Batty

Nah, you'd never have been evil "100% romantic"? Aaaaaaaaaaaahh Big softie

Debs70

Do you keep getting duplicate messages? cos I do too! you have to be fast and click it before it registers two messages! nightmare!

But anyway, what were we talking about? romance? aaaahhhh!

Chris bought me a 1/2 carat diamond necklace the other day just cos it matched my engagement ring... ahhhhh... that's romantic innit?

livewire

Can he get me one too?

Rent on the North Shore is around $450-550 a week, you can get stuff for less than that of course but you'll get what you pay for.

When it comes to buying white goods ALWAYS haggle with the store's sales reps. You will get hundreds of dollars knocked off the higher value goods just by asking. (A friend of mine just bought a digital camera, memory card and case from the duty free store at Auckand airport and got a cash discount there even). In fact it's well worth haggling over most things you buy, or rent, pity it doesn't work too well in Paknsave thou'

There are some pretty naff areas in Auckland and on the North Shore so you have to be careful where you buy a house. The agents can spot a green immigrant a mile away and will try to sell you something that looks ok to you but could be difficult to sell at a later date.

ElizabethC

Sorry - you are quite right, my post did sound rude! I did not mean to offend.

The question about smoking was a legit one however - I was a smoker and it added at least $80 per week to my grocery bill (I smoked approx 30/day). Smoking is expensive here.

About your $250 - $300 - do you mean per week? If so I would think that would be fine but I guess it depends on what you buy and what foods you eat. Until recently we were a family of 3 adults and one small child. I spent $300 - $350 per fortnight for all food, tolietries and cleaning stuff. An extra $100 per fornight on fresh milk and bread and a few extra. I should point out that groceries seem to have gone up since then. I tend to buy seasonal veg and fruit (cheaper). I also tend to buy expensive cuts of meat but we don't buy or eat much sweet stuff.

uk+kiwi

Thanks for that.

How do you shop by the fortnight? ie what do you do about fresh meat/fish/fruit & veg? Do you freeze the former and then buy little and often with the f&v? I ask especially since those who have moved have said that whilst the quality of fresh food is better than in the UK, that the fruit & veg doesn't last as long. And I think a week is quite a long time here. Carmen.

shazzafromnz

Hi ..if this is any help to anyone
This is what we do
We own a freezer..I shop fortnightly at Countdown spending about 300.00 for a family of 2 adults a 10y old and a 2 1/2 yr old.
I stock up on specials and have a cupboard for this extra non disposable stuff..ie paper towels,toiletries,nappies,tinned fruit,crackers,dried fruit,flour ,sugar,juice etc. I buy good quality meat and frozen vege on special and freeze it,we catch fish and freeze it.We freeze our milk and defrost it in the microwave or on the bench over night,same with the bread.We grow some green vege in a garden
On alternate weeks I go to a fruit and vege shop and replenish our fruit/vege supplies.We spend an average of 600 NZ a mth on everything and this includes cat food.
Shazza