Cost of living questionnaire
Aug 7th 2013, 6:04 am
#46
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Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Posts: 2,744
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
TL - it went ok, thanks. Just waiting for a response which is due in the middle of next week. 
Aug 7th 2013, 8:01 am
#47
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: In a large village called Auckland
Posts: 5,249
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
As for the vast quantities, with all the subdivided properties, it's hard to tell how many houses worth of rubbish there are. Most places may appear as a single house from the roadside yet may have 2, 3 or more properties tacked onto the back down the drive.
Oct 28th 2013, 4:57 pm
#49
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 137
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
Are you for real? It is such a kiwi thing to do to oversell Nz and defend its high cost of living. I was told it is a psycological condition called GroupThink -(you can look this up on Wikipedia) Why would a brit who is used to the pub culture want to sit at home like a lonely kiwi drinking a cheap bottle of $9 wine? Yuck! You can quote what prices are on special for sure but its not just food - what about the cost of going to the dentist - $90 to look at your teeth, and another $90 for them to be cleaned. I got an earplug stuck in my ear in the middle of the night and had to pay $70 as it was afterhours clinic and normal doctor fee is $35 for a GP visit. If you go to the doctor and the medication does not work -(such as the wrong antibiotic ) and you have to go back a few days later you will pay another $35 for the second visit. I paid $3000 to have 2 x wisdom teeth removed recently - In the Uk my cousin had this done free under the NHS when they got infected. And I won't mention house prices, leaky house syndrome, rates, and the new unitary plan for Auckland which involves removing heritage buildings and replacing them with 18-story apartment blocks in heritage suburbs in Mt Eden. But each to their own I guess.
Oct 28th 2013, 5:07 pm
#50
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 137
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
Are you for real? It is such a kiwi thing to do to oversell Nz and defend its high cost of living. I was told it is a psycological condition called GroupThink -(you can look this up on Wikipedia) Why would a brit who is used to the pub culture want to sit at home like a lonely kiwi drinking a cheap bottle of $9 wine? Yuck! You can quote what prices are on special for sure but its not just food - what about the cost of going to the dentist - $90 to look at your teeth, and another $90 for them to be cleaned. I got an earplug stuck in my ear in the middle of the night and had to pay $70 as it was afterhours clinic and normal doctor fee is $35 for a GP visit. If you go to the doctor and the medication does not work -(such as the wrong antibiotic ) and you have to go back a few days later you will pay another $35 for the second visit. I paid $3000 to have 2 x wisdom teeth removed recently - In the Uk my cousin had this done free under the NHS when they got infected. And I won't mention house prices, leaky house syndrome, rates, and the new unitary plan for Auckland which involves removing heritage buildings and replacing them with 18-story apartment blocks in heritage suburbs in Mt Eden. But each to their own I guess.
Oct 28th 2013, 9:08 pm
#51
Looking for my marbles.
Joined: Jul 2013
Location: durham, durham, England
Posts: 730
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
While goods are likely to be expensive to NZ due to being imported or because of economies of scale due to population I always felt that shopowners were exagerating their mark ups and basically ripping everyone off. No idea of a win/win scenario. My mother had little respect for NZ shopowners because of this.
What I dont understand is how can my sister purchase NZ lamb in the UK for cheaper than we can get it here? I think the cost of shipping excuse is a load of rubbish. I can buy clothing from M&S and even if I do get charged for shipping I still pay less than here. 
Oct 28th 2013, 9:41 pm
#52
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,213
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
You'll also find NZ wine is often cheaper in the UK than it is in NZ. You have to consider the market
It's largely down the economies of scale as well as shipping costs.
Let's use M&S as an example;
When we expats buy online from M&S, or wherever, those goods are being targeted at a UK market. So there is a shed load of stock. The population of the UK is 15 times what the population is of NZ and therefore M&S will buy their materials, good and labour for making their wares en masse.
If we look on a wider scale M&S actually operate Europe-wide so their target market is actually more than the population of the UK.
We are talking millions of extra customers. In fact I'd wager the customer base of a company like M&S is more than the population of NZ.
If we apply this to the supermarket, selling Lamb - pretty much everyone in the UK is a customer to at least one supermarket. Of 65 million a reasonable percentage will eat lamb - again we have millions of potential consumers for lamb.
Therefore Tesco, for example, might feasibly buy more lamb than NZ can eat and as it's is buying and shipping it in bulk therefore the per unit or per kilo cost is pretty miniscule - economies of scale.
Given or remote location on earth and the fact we are nowhere near anywhere else in NZ it just isn't predent for any business owner to buy anything in the bulk that they can in the UK the EU or the USA.
That business owner risks stock hanging around for ages that may never sell, certainly if we're talk about food, which perishes and will never be any good.
Even if we take Australia in to account we're talking 30 million people spread over a vast area, compared to twice as many Brits crammed in to a space that's a small proportion of the size of Australasia.
Whilst I have no doubt there are rip off merchants in NZ, many honest business owners are selling at a price with a normal margin attached so they can cater to their customers and stay in business.
On the lamb front, whilst it might be slightly more expensive in NZ. ?Think about it;
You're paying for a product that hasn't travelled across the world in commercial flying fridge-freezers.
You are paying for a superior product.
Oct 28th 2013, 10:44 pm
#53
Looking for my marbles.
Joined: Jul 2013
Location: durham, durham, England
Posts: 730
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
My sister is a chef and says the quality of NZ lamb is excellent. Still not convinced with the explanations. That does not explain the cost of milk. But everyone has their own opinions. Opinions also depend on how financially well off one is. The less well off are effected more by prices.
I think the cost of living varies so much from person to person. That's why these threads are hard to answer.
I think the cost of living varies so much from person to person. That's why these threads are hard to answer.
Last edited by pippalonghorn; Oct 28th 2013 at 11:45 pm.
Oct 29th 2013, 12:01 am
#54
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,994
Re: Cost of living questionnaire
It's pretty easy to work out the averages expected for the regular stuff, it's the big ticket, unplanned and unexpected stuff that knocks you sideways when you're trying to live within your means. Whatever figures you come up with, add some massive contingencies, cos sh1t always happens and stuff for the house costs a fortune.
