jrotunda85

Alright got a bunch of questions for you all concerning the cost of living and general questions about New Zealand. First, in terms of the cost of living, I was wondering how much you all pay (in NZ $) for the following services – and if you could elaborate on them at all (e.g. 600 minutes for $X, etc).

• Internet Access at Home
• TV (I understand you get 4? Channels for free, if I want to get more what is the cost?)
• Cell Phone Service and/or Home Phone Service
• Beer & Liquor

Also, I am interested in asking a few “stupid” questions, here they go!

I see most rents done on a weekly basis, does this mean you actually pay the landlord on a weekly basis or do you pay 4X that amount once a month?
How do most employers in NZ pay their employees? For example, direct deposit or check? And how often? Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.
If I am granted PR I assume taxes are withheld from my paycheck each pay period. Does this mean I am eligible to use the healthcare system in NZ or do I have to be a citizen?

I think that’s it for now, thank you all so much for answering!

garfield250

Hi,

I pay approximately $16.93 per month for dial up internet on a prepay 150 time credit (150 hours)
I have Sky TV which costs around $80 per month (this does not include the sports channels). You can get freeview if you wanted it.
Cell phone depends on the service provider I am on pay as you go, but that is expensive. But I have no cell phone coverage at home (rural area).
Home phone costs $60 per month for rental etc.
Beer is relatively cheap but I brew my own so its even cheaper.

Most employers pay their employees fortnightly, my salary goes directly into the bank.
You are taxed at source but it will pay to check out the IRD website as they offer the correct information regarding tax.
As a PR you will be entitled to health care, but you will have to pay for some services such as surgery consulations etc (it will pay to check out the Ministry of Health website as well).
An average doctors consulation costs me $15. (Plus if you have another appiontment with the practice nurse that cost me another $15 so one trip $30 all up) then the cost of my prescription was $3 per item.

Kiwiprincess

It's a bit hard to say how many TV channels we get.

For instance, for free to air in Wellington I get:

TV1,
TV2 (both tv1 and tv2 are part of TVNZ)
TV3,
Prime,
C4, (music)
Maori TV,
some weird local channel that used to have Al Jazeera news but I haven't watched it in ages, and I get racing on one channel

Freeview requires the purchase of an extra set top box but you don't have to pay monthly rates. No clue how many channels are with freeview.

So that's around 7 channels. I think the local channel is dependant on whether there is one in your area and I think Prime is supposed to be free to air but only if you have pay TV or something. But I don't. So who knows.

Most people are paid fortnightly direct into your account. It's very rare to get a cheque or cash. I can't recall the last time I have even heard of people being paid in cash or by cheque - even my high school jobs were direct payments.

Rent is often fortnightly but the figure is provided on a weekly basis. However, depending on whether you rent from an agency or directly you may have a little leeway there. I (and my 2 flatmates) were offered an option - weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

However, I don't they can ask you to pay rent any more regularly than what your bond is....check www.dbh.govt.nz for the rules

Booze....

No idea about beer. In a bar I usually pay around $7.50 if I want a vodka and lemonade?? Anyway between $8.50 to $12 (sometimes $14) for a glass of wine in a bar. Ok it can go more - and certainly more for sparkling - but that's normal from what I know

In most cases tax is PAYE (Pay as you earn). No clue whatsoever about those on temporary visas. So I will leave it to someone knowledgeable

Cell phone costs vary.

I don't have a clue about phone & internet. My house pays about $100 a month in phone and internet. That's unlimited national calls (excluding cell phone calls), can't remember the download limit. We do have a download limit but we have never reached it. Considering my flatmate watches a few shows on TVNZ 'on demand' and the equivalent on TV3 I think it's reasonably high.
In another example, my parents pay $30 for the line hire (which I think everyone pays in some way shape or form). They pay for national calls but get local calls free. I suspect this is the 'normal' rate but don't know! They pay around $40 a month for 8GB broadband. I think their actual rate is for 4GB but they got some sort of extra allowance at one point.

Both my parents and I are with telecom.

jrotunda85

Thank you both for your awesome answers! Another question as it relates to transportation. We are looking heavily at Auckland as the city we would like to live in and were wondering about transportation within the city. From what I understand, Auckland has some sort of bus system – how much does it cost for a ride? Is it reliable? Do they have good service or, to say it another way, do they frequently pick up at stops or do you have to wait forever for the bus?

Also, is we were interested in purchasing a car, I understand insurance isn’t required. If I wanted to purchase basic insurance how much would that run on a monthly basis? Also, does NZ have any type of car rental program if we decided to not buy but instead rent whenever necessary?

Kiwiprincess

As much as people say Auckland doesn't have a good public transport system most people I know who use it for point to point travel find it fine.

Where it gets difficult is when you want to travel across a number of areas but even then it's dependant on where exactly you are going.

Transport Site. Plenty of people use public transport in Auckland btw.

No idea about car insurance but take any proof of a no claims bonus or insurance history with you. It's not compulsory but it's bloody stupid to not have it!

Car rental schemes - are you thinking of leasing cars (eg for a few years) or the types of scheme where you pay a monthly rate to be in the programme and then rent the car by the hour or day? Either way, both exist.

garfield250

Re car insurance, I have full no claims on my comprehensive insurance and I pay around $12 per month.

If you do purchase a car factor in the road user charges which are payable for a diesel vehicle.

NakiMan

Car insurance is not a legal requirement in NZ, which is one reason why 17 year olds can run around in 5 litre V8 Holdens.

If you do go for it, (and you really should) its cost depends on your car, age, driving record, exactly as in the UK. I run a 2.5 litre, 7 seat people carrier and fully comp costs me about $24 a month.


As far as home phones are concerned, telecom and other providers, have a range of plans. One example is telecom's "Total Home" plan which gives unlimited calls inside New Zealand and 10gb broadband, for $99 a month in Auckland, $109 elsewhere.

Batty

We're with Orcon for phone and broadband and pay $120 a month (actually we pay $110 because I went for a job interview there - didn't get it but got a $10 discount on the account ). But, for $120 you get line rental, local and national calls are free, up to 1 hour free international calls to a specified country of your choice and 25GB data limit. We used to be with Telecom but this is working out cheaper for us and the service is MUCH better.

I get the bus to work from Glenfield on the North Shore and it's great.

Genesis

May I ask who you insure your motor with, methinks the AA are having a laugh with me. Cheers.

garfield250

Hi genesis,

If its any use, I insure mine through Westpac, as I have all insurance (contents, building, life and car) through them.

My friend works for the AA and to be honest I would not touch them.

Jan n Neil

AMI for the car ins they where over $200 cheaper than the AA

jrotunda85

I’m not sure – which is more cost effective? We are going to come there under permanent residency and don’t know exactly how long we will stay. I would hate to buy and finance a car only to end up moving back to the US a year later. On the other hand, I don’t want to pay a fortune on rental cars either because one of the big reasons we are coming down there is to explore both islands (of course we wouldn’t use the car as we cross the ocean to get between islands! ) so I want to make sure we have that option which necessitates a vehicle.

janek

But you could take your car on the Interislander, that is always an option.
http://www.interislander.co.nz/

Kiwiprincess

Jrotunda85- I was thinking of schemes such as Cityhop. Where you share a car. You don't own it but you can rent it for an hour or two at a time. Popular (apparently) in areas where people don't really need a car but every once in a while it would be helpful.

I know people lease cars but I thought that was only for new cars?? No idea if they lease older ones. In which case, i guess it depends on whether you want a new car or happy with an older one!

BTW, cars are older here anyway.

jrotunda85

Are there any other ferry options other than that? It seems quite pricey?

I wouldn't imagine they would lease used or older cars, same here in the US. Thanks for the link, I'll poke around there and see if I can find anything!