Lb welly

Problem for peeps who once lived in the UK is that much dentistry was heavily subsidised by the NHS. A fixed charge depending on level of treatment - this system does not exist in NZ. If you compare costs for private trt then there is little in it. Hygiene is not generally an NHS treatment so is always considered private and cost £40-65 per half hour. A check up with X-rays is upwards of £85 in my experience. Those able to access NHS dentistry do not realise how lucky they are. X

Robbie2010

"New Zealand is one of the most expensive developed countries to live in, second only to Australia."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10881413

lapsed kiwi

That isn't a big surprise - a lot of things are expensive here and you can save a lot of money by buying over the internet. Strangely, consumer electronics are generally as cheap here as anywhere, in my experience - I think due to the proliferation of pararellel importers and sites such as pricespy.co.nz

I find that "doing things" here is often cheaper than UK - eg parking, launching a boat, visiting parks. The Auckland region is very lucky with its regional parks

But it still doesn't mean you have to put exaggerated figures on here to justify your dissatisfaction with the place

barnsleymat

I think this sums it up

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10881413

tiger mama

Just came back to read these updates. Don't argue folks. It is a common phenomenon that two different people can each have the a different genuine take on the same event or situation. In the same way two people can witness a car crash and give completely different recounts of it to the police. It's not that anyone is lying, it's just different angles = different perceptions. In researching about NZ I have come across many contradictory points, especially relating to the cost of living. That's partly why I asked this, just to gauge some sort of average. Obviously people will have different experiences and different views and I'm hugely appreciative of you all sharing yours. So, again, thank you! I think looking at things we are very prepared for a very high cost of living in terms of financial forecasting and anything less will be a bonus.

Also for what it's worth... since having three kids and being skint all the time you will far more commonly find me at home drinking from a bottle of £4 plonk than in a pub drinking a £3 glass of wine ;-)

GS.83

In my opinion it all depends on your priorities, location, where you shop etc.
Anyway my tuppence-worth

[QUOTE=tiger mama;10679807]

Monthly unless stated otherwise...
Location: Christchurch
Family size: 2 adults
House size: 3 bedroom
Rent: $380/wk
Gas: n/a
Electric: $120/month
Water: n/a covered by landlord
Internet: $90/month
Mobile phone (per person): $60/month average
Sky:- $65/month
Home insurance: unsure
Car insurance: n/a company vehicles
Groceries: $100/week
Vehicle licensing fee: n/a
Other car costs: n/a
Social: $400/wk
Annual GP, prescription and misc. health costs: approx. $500
Annual Dental: approx. $200
Annual homeware and appliances: variable
Clothes: buy from the uk so unsure what NZ would be
Bins: n/a

And would you say your expenditure is tight, comfortable or luxurious in comparison to general society there?
QUOTE]

Expenditure not too tight as still managing to save a fair amount and go hols, OH is a student working PT. Don't find it anywhere near as tight as is made out by some on here, to be honest if I went 100% with this forum it would probably put me off moving here. Everything is relative though I suppose and depends on priorities.
I would rather have a decent social life than buy $10 soy sauce and other 'luxuries'.

Snap Shot

GS.83 - Four hundred bucks a week on socialising Do you entertain John and Bronagh Key ? (NZ Prime minister and his wife for non NZ readers) And you still afford to save ? How come you are still renting ?

You spend four times the amount on socialising as you do on groceries in a week. Phew ! Also, for the record, I wouldn't spend ten dollars on a bottle of soy sauce either.

GoingIn2011

I'll add my two penneth.
I have got into a few args on here in the past with people reading too much into simple statistical measures. For example, a Xxx..xxX curve can have the same mean and median as an .xxXXxx. curve, yet the distributions of these are very different - where most samples in the first are at the extremes, unlike the second where most are at the centre.
That said, having lived here for 18 months, or so, I will say:
1) It is true that WE are better off here (a position, I have always argued), at least for now!
2) I suspect that most people are NOT better off here, compared to their situation in the UK (and that is with the problems in the UK being worse). NZ is just a very expensive country, in my view. (This is a position that I have not always held here. But you will find, if I have argued it with you in the past, that I've only ever said that I am better off here.)

Please think very hard before coming here about whether you are going to be better / worse off. Research it well...

qssue

We are due to get our visas soon, but unfortunately getting a job has not been a smooth process. We are however still fully committed to getting to NZ with our 4 and 7 year old. The being better off/ worse off financially, must be a question for each individual, and surely be balanced against many other factors. We all have our own reasons for making the move, personally, mine reflect the way of life for my kids. I found the original post really helpful, it is good to get factual information on things like energy bills/ food costs and leisure costs. I will never live exactly the same as anyone and will buy different things/do different things, so to read lots of different posts regarding people's actual expenditure is a great starting point for me to form my own opinions and build up an idea of what my own personal costs would be. Perhaps a cost of living thread with just costs on would be brilliant for those of us still trying to make the move.

tiger mama

Thank you GS.83 for your insight too - very helpful! And yes I would agree with what qssue has said.

I'm personally not going to place too much emphasis on the results of some casual questionnaires but it is very interesting at the same time to real experiences, that is all this thread was about. Thanks to all those that have shared - prospective migrants find this helpful but I don't want it to dissolve into some kind of dispute. Different people will obviously have different priorities and experiences.

RobClubley

Monthly unless stated otherwise...
Location: Wellington
Family size: 2 adults, one 2.5 year-old, 3 cats, 1 dog, 3 chickens, 12 fish
House size: 160sq m
Rent: Mortgage - $2000
Gas: $75
Electric: $100-200 depending on season
Water: 0
Internet: $100 for lots of data
Mobile phone (per person): $29/month for wife's, mine covered by work
Home insurance: $130 (house and contents)
Car insurance: $60 + $40, 2 cars
Groceries: At least $2000 including our takeaway habits
School related costs (per child): Kindy $275 a week 5 days 7:30-5:30
Vehicle licensing fee: $280/year x2
Other car costs: Sensible car - maybe $100 a month average for repairs etc. My car - too much, I tinker.
Social: $250
Annual GP, prescription and misc. health costs: hard to say, few hundred probably.
Annual Dental: $600 - need to find a cheaper dentist
Annual homeware and appliances: I try not to think about it
Clothes: Me - not much. Wife - more
Bins: $270/year

And would you say your expenditure is tight, comfortable or luxurious in comparison to general society there?

We always manage to spend up and I'm on a decent salary. Mind you if I spent less on car parts...
But we're not exactly living the high life

GS.83

Yeah depending what you buy then you don't have to spend a fortune on groceries. $400 between us, that's going out at the weekend, a meal or two out, cinema, whatever else. Still renting as not got permanent residency yet but that will come in time. Just enjoying getting a far better wage than back home and savings are going on holidays, rather than saving like mad for a deposit etc and not enjoying myself after a week of work.
That will come in time though as definitely plans to buy, just not yet

Probably not the best or most mature attitude but it's good to have things to look forward to through the week and prevents any homesickness!

TommyLuck

Knew I'd find this somewhere.

I remember reading this when it was posted and didn't quite know what to expect.

Anyway we visited friend in Northcote and saw the inorganic collection in its full glory a couple of weeks back.


Quite what some peoples perception of how much "one small trailer load" is from another is astounding.

Some drive ways and kerbs looked like the owners had completely gutted thier home of all belongings!!

Snap Shot

TL - yeah. Looks about as attractive as Steptoe's yard. If you're old enough to remember the t.v. show, 'Steptoe and Son'.

Other people come to rummage through the inorganic waste collection before the Council come for it. What a cringe !

TommyLuck

Aye, I'm familiar with 'Arold and his old man.

How did the job interview go?