nahb

Hi

My partner and me are moving to NZ in August, we have some friends that live in Whangarei and they have offered to have us lodge with them until we get jobs and somewhere to live.

They said that we could stay there for $200 per a wk includes bills this would be sharing bathroom etc and the food will be extra obviously

Is this expensive?

How much is the average cost of bills, based on 2 people living in an apartment/house?

Nahb

happynz

That's not over the top if it includes your power.
If you are renting you should be able to find an acceptable shed () in Northland for less than NZ$300/week. But then again, it depends on your standards and expectations. The cost of furnishings will depend on your tastes, I suppose.
There are loads of variables, but if you eventually set up in the Far North your electricity bill should be lower than what we pay here on the South Island.
Standard telephone charges with Telecom, maybe a smidgen under NZ$40 a month. Internet charges are all over the board depending on what sort of services you want and who you go with. Mobile phone service is shockingly expensive.
Here in Christchurch I've never got a water bill. I think the water is paid in through council rates (I'm not sure as I'm a renter).
But yeah, if you are DINKS (dual income, no kids) you'll have no major problems. Do be aware that vices such as smoking (NZ$10-13 a packet) can definitely put a dent in your budget.
If you have any more questions, fire away as there are a few correspondents on these boards that live up top who can give you better and more detailed rundowns on life in Northland.

Good luck.

garryhg

I would say this is very reasonable...We are paying $800 + bills for our place!!

G

happynz

But Garry, you'll have a pool, right? Yeeha! *splash*

garryhg

Yes....I made a mistake of promising this for the kids....should have checked the prices first!!!!

Since I'm taking them to the other side of the world, I couldn't back out, not that I would have, as this will be great fun.


Cheers

BEVS

We rented for two years here in the Nelson area.

For the two of us. $265 a week plus power bills.

P2L

We rent a 4 bed house for $350 a week. The only extras we pay are power & phone. - There's 5 of us.

Still much cheaper than buying a comparible property.

nahb

Ok thanks for that, we think we will stay with the friends to start then when and if work is found we should try and rent , especially as house prices seem so artificially overpriced as per rest of world at the moment. saw plenty of one bedroom apartments and x motel rooms advertised for approx $160 a week , but i guess these could get noisey etc ???
Even looked into buying camper van , but WOW the prices they go for , even a old hedge monkey 1950,s coach converted to live in was mega bucks , what are New Zealanders on ??? when it comes to value of vehicles ? in UK old bus like that could be found for few hundred quid not tens thousands ????????.
Anyhows , got to get packed , flying in 26 hrs time .........see ya all soon ?

reecefam

GOOD LUCK!

lardyl

indeed, wave as you drive past........
anyone else noticed how common lodging is? with garages and rollouts convereted into sleeping accom....must be the cost of living vs. income