tiger mama

1. Very roughly speaking, which would go further: £39,000 a year in Midlands, UK, or $93,000 a year in Northland, NZ?

2. Which shops do you shop at? Which shops are popular? Do they have many big cheap chain stores like we do or is it all smaller and more expensive? I think I've got my head around the supermarket options. What about furniture, electronics, clothes, homewares, etc.?

3. The closer we get the more nervous I feel about the prospect of moving somewhere where we don't know a soul. What was your experience of making friends? How easy and quick was it? How did you do it? Those of you with children, how did they cope without seeing family?

Bo-Jangles

If you're going to Northland your shopping choices of course will be very limited and you wouldn't have access to the full range, however most major centres will have:

http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/

http://www.farmers.co.nz/

http://www.mitre10.co.nz/

http://www.postie.co.nz/

http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/ and / or

http://www.bondandbond.co.nz/shop/

moonie2011

Not sure if there's a Moores Wilson in Northland but we have one in Wellington and you can bulk buy certain items. Used by the trade caterers mainly but anyone can go in. www.moorewilson.co.nz, otherwise it's Pak n save and warehouse

Money wise think the $93k will be ok, but we are on similar and I am watching the bank balance very carefully. Not managing to save much, luckily we are saving a bit back in the UK from our house rental.

You will make friends via the kids, I also volunteered to help with the school gala committee. Those friends I made then were really keen to introduce us to others so the circle is getting bigger. I have two kids, neither are upset re the family, we Skype regularly, but the youngest, 8, was really missing friend who he had no contact with. The oldest has Facebook so often chats to his UK mates. But 3 months on and the youngest says he's really happy here now

escapedtonz

1. Well $93000 is definitely the higher salary.
Approximate breakdown as follows :-

Tax Rate Taxable Income Tax Element Remaining
Bottom (10.5%) $14000.00 $1470.00 $12530.00
Low (17.5%) $34000.00 $5950.00 $28050.00
Mid (30%) $22000.00 $6600.00 $15400.00
High (33%) $23000.00 $7590.00 $15410.00
Totals: $93000.00 $21610.00 $71390.00

ACC Levy (1.70%) on $93000.00: $1581.00

Total available to spend: $69809.00
Monthly: $5817.42
4 - Weekly: $5369.92
Fortnightly: $2684.96
Weekly: $1342.48

Whereabouts in Northland are we talking ?
Have just spend a week in the Rodney district - absolutely loved it. Beautiful place and you would want for nothing. All the usual shops and in many towns of different sizes.
Granted the cost of living is higher than the UK but you will save on motoring costs, insurance and energy bills. You won't ever experience much of a winter in Northland.

2. The Warehouse and KMart are the two big stores that sell everything at a reasonable price. What we lack in NZ is hypermarkets like Asda and Tesco's etc that sell absolutely everything from food to clothing to electronics.
You can get the bargains but you have to shop in many stores (like in the olden days) and just change your habits. You have to adapt - shop seasonally. We still shop online from overseas and will continue to do until we ever get stung by NZ customs for tax.

3. We found it really easy to make friends. You just have to put yourself out there and say hi to everyone you meet.
As soon as you make friends your circle just spirals quickly as people introduce you to others etc. Doesn't take long to settle into life with friends you click with more than others you have met. There's also the people you meet through work.

barnsleymat

I'd say GBP39K is a higher wage, the cost of living in the UK is much cheaper and 39K goes a long way. Things on the whole are more expensive here, from cars to food, you'll find the odd thing slightly cheaper but you'll regularly be shocked at things being 2,3,4 or even 5+ times more expensive.

I was given advice to stop converting prices into pounds as soon as I could. It's utter bollocks, convert everything and you'll quickly figure out which shops and services absolutely rip our eye balls out. It'll spur you on to hunt for reasonably priced items or like we do, buy abroad and ship stuff over. I never accept shops that blatantly take the piss with obviously several hundred percent mark up on goods, it's lazy retailing and they get away with it due to the 'she'll be alright' attitude.

tiger mama

Haha thank you Mat, the realism helps! I think (*think*) I am braced for the rise in costs and possible drop in stuff we can afford to buy/do, but I'm worried that my OH is being too optimistic as he seems to think it'll be roughly the same or slightly better. I guess only time will tell - I'm hoping it won't be too much longer before I'm earning myself which will be a boost. I teach private antenatal classes here but I think I have to start from scratch learning about their maternity system!

We are going to Whangarei by the way. Is Rodney in Northland? I thought it was Auckland. I can't wait to explore the whole area, heard such good things about it up there, we're doing it blind having never been so the whole prospect is super exciting (if a little scary). If anybody knows of any nice suburbs or good info about Whangarei please feel free to shout up by the way - I think we're honing in on Maunu but won't know til we get there.

I'm actually quite looking forward to taking a step back in terms of shopping. I hate the fact that I shop in Asda, Amazon etc. for stuff because it's just so darn easy but I would much prefer to support smaller businesses. So it will be good not to have the opportunity in some ways!

Thanks for all those links by the way, very helpful, just doing some window shopping

Your comments about making friends is good to hear. I hope we have the same experience. We're both quite shy people so I worry. We moved to a new area in the UK nearly 2 years ago and it took us maybe a year before we started to get to know people. But we're going to make an extra special effort to try and get over our shyness and get introducing ourselves to people when we get there... hopefully then things will snowball as you say!

Snap Shot

Thank you Matt. I'm glad someone has said it. I still convert the cost of something here in NZ back to pounds when I want to. Damn anybody who tells me not to. I realise it doesn't mean much when you are earning the local currency, but hey.

Albeit I go the other way. I've got a quote for some work to be done on the house which is nearly NZD1,000 including tax. When I convert that back to pounds it's not quite £500. So, not bad. (Note to all contributors: Please do not derail this thread into a currency discussion or rant)

I got two pairs of jeans in the Farmers sale recently for NZD25 each. That's about £12.50 per pair. About as cheap as Tesco own brand, 'Value' range !

OK, I got a spanking on a large box of Nuramol pain killers recently, but I got a free mini hot water bottle as well, so, that's ok then !

I could pay NZD100 for a bottle of Aramis cologne that would cost about thirty quid, I'm guessing, in Boots. I paid NZD71.00 for a 70cl bottle of courvoissier cognac that would have cost, IIRC about £20.00 in Morrisons. (Expensive tastes, well, only since living in NZ. We WILL live like we lived in Britain. There is a limit to how much I'll let NZ grind us down.)

I look at Boots website and try not to weep ! The cost of things is so cheap and the offers are so good. Their website has a problem with my IIP address and I can't order from there.

My husband likes Paco Rabanne aftershave (well, I like him wearing it). Trying to hunt down a bottle of this in NZ (splash not spray) is a work of genius. No, not Million, not Sport, not Black. I mean the real thing. I ordered a bottle of it from an online ordering service a few months ago, cost not with standing. They don't have it now either. I've, 'sourced it elsewhere', so, no worries.

I asked for an alternative cologne from a different manufacturer in our local branch of Farmers. The girl on the perfume counter smirked and told me that had been discontinued. I get right fed up with this country sometimes.

scrubbedexpat094

Rodney is north of Auckland but still classed as part of Auckland. It certainly isn't in Northland. It's a great place to live, though I'm biased. Whangarei is a couple of hours north of us on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.

I think GBP39k would go further than $93k but that will also be dependent on your lifestyle. I find shopping dire in NZ, very uninspiring.

To make friends you have to be ready to put yourself out there. Accept all invitations. I went to a meet-up with some lasses from this site & made a good friendship with Dazal. Have met others from on here locally, some I got on with, some I didn't. Go to our local pub quiz & made loads of friends through that.

We both got involved in our local theatre in Orewa (not something we've ever done before) & help out backstage, fund-raising & doing all sorts of things we've never done before. Whangarei has a thriving theatre group I believe. We haven't done any performing but doing props & crewing on shows is a great laugh.

Tom1983

1. No brainer - 39k in the Midlands easily
$93k in the Northland is roughly 42,5k in Britain. The Midlands is a lot cheaper to live in than Northland area. You'll never ever find a burger n chips on sale for $2 here, nor will you get very good bargains.

2. Shopping - what shopping? All we shop at really is K-Mart, Warehouse and Farmers. We only go to Farmers when they have their mega sale on (red dot sales you can usually find a bargain). Oh I can add Briscoes to that but they have a sale on every day (although their adverts would make you think they don't). Sport products, don't bother shopping here - we purchase our stuff online for sport products. The wife likes Glassons (an expensive version of New Look). Oh we sometimes shop at Cotton On, they can have some good value deals.

One word of advice - CONVERT!!!!!!!!!!! You'll be recommended not to, but I say ignore that. Especially when you go into shops like Stirling Sports, Whitcoulls, Harvey Norman and there's a music shop beginning with M who's name i've forgotten. For music itself actually, get yourself registered on downloadable websites. I can point you to a site where you can download music to your computer for 9c a track. Here, you'll be looking at around $25.99 for a new cd. Actually one of my favourite moments being here was christmas last year, some bloke was at the counter and asked how much a One Direction cd was (presume it was for his kids). when he heard the price, $32.99 for that piece of s**t, you're having a laugh! His choice of language wasn't the best as it made a 7 year old girl a few people away from him cry. Made me laugh tho

3. When we first moved over, we generally kept ourselves to ourselves. We were happy with that. Once we moved to Merivale mind, all changed and now we've got a nice group of friends. Take a look out for groups on facebook that may interest you. I'm sure it won't be a problem since your bringing children over, they generally end up being the ones who'll get you your friends.

Snap Shot

My sister in law moved to a 'lifestyle block' in Silverdale, Dairy Flat, Rodney in January. Rodney has now been swallowed up by Auckland. (If lifestyle means septic tank and no mains water, forget it)

The (recently built, characterless, dull) shopping mall and coffee house is described as, 'Silverdale Town Centre' I kid you not. There's more of these identikit meaningless subdivisions being built. With a service centre of identikit, meaningless, slapped up malls that pass for a town centre in the middle of them. You might as well move to Milton Keynes and have done !

I'd like to explore the Whangaparoa peninsular one day. We drove through Orewa on the way to a pop concert at Matakana Vineyard last year. Orewa beach looked nice. My sister in law said they thought about moving there. She thinks Orewa is getting overcrowded and quipped, 'they charge you money to sit on the beach'.

Tom1983

I'm exactly the same when I look at the likes of Tesco, Asda and see they've got bottles of Glenfiddich or Admore for a tenner

$18 for a decent bottle of whisky, if only

The whisky place I shop online does some very good deals I must admit, but they'll never have Glenfiddich or Ardmore on sale for $18.

Snap Shot

Making friends ? Why ? I don't find kiwi's particularly friendly, frankly they are dull and think more than two cars ahead of them on the road equates to, 'bit of a rush round here today'. Not deliberately unfriendly either. Just, I've yet to hit the mother lode of friendly kiwi's that other people have found.

We've made acquaintances but that's about it. We mostly keep ourselves to ourselves and don't need/don't have a wide circle of friends.

pippalonghorn

When I first moved here a few of the kiwi girls who live near to me invited me for a coffee morning with my daughter. I really struggled for conversation. They tend to skim the surface. I wanted a good chat to get to know them.

They blew me out two weeks ago met them all down the park.... I was on my own and had not been invited with them was a bit awkward. . Think they lost interest in me when I stated that I was not settling here. They may have been offended. my hubby says that it must be my crack because its s..t!

I have an English friend who is great fun. Same sense of humour. We moan to each other. . Bit like my friends on here.. I moan all the time to them too.. :lol

love30stm

Know exactly what you mean, I had some kiwi friends who invited me out a few times and never really got to know them, not friends with them anymore, I find some kiwi women want to know all your business but don't tell you much about themselves! after being here for 6 years any new kiwi friends I make I hold back on myself now and keep them as people I socialise with from time to time. my husband has made a good group of friends through his cycling club English and kiwis.

I have one very good 'Irish' friend' in Wanganui and a best friend who I knew in the UK that lives in Napier, and since my husband collapsed while on a cycling race a few weeks ago, and he was in hospital for a week, I found out who my true friends are, English and kiwis, was a very scary time for me


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carpman

Oh my! I can TOTALLY identify with this and pippalonghorn's post unfortunately We keep on trying and well, enough said from me really. Keep on keeping on. Glad it's not just us though. Have to add that we too have put ourselves 'out there' and volunteered at school regularly...constantly in fact. Have found it very difficult to join in the 'closed' clubs. And I can almost laugh now at the mums that interrogate you for all their worth and then ignore you once they have all the 'goss' - very strange phenomenon (gawd that's hard to spell lol!) Think I might add some really juicy info next time and see what happens. Thankfully have recently made a lovely, lovely kiwi friend who saves my sanity on a regular basis!