simonsi

This.

And this again.

Genesis

Not really true if you look at the link below.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...y2=New+Zealand

Groceries are just over 28% more expensive. I do not know anything that is treble or quadruple the price here in NZ in comparison to the UK.

Anyway as someone else said you are never going to know what it is like until you start living in NZ.

For some people NZ is a fiscal fail, for others like Justcol, me, PomCh and others, we are much better off than we were in the UK. Yes, drinking in pubs is very expensive in NZ, it was in the UK when I was there a year ago. So, now I very rarely drink in a pub.

Anyway I have a big dick that is always in the sun (when its not raining..but I rarely use my dick in the rain), why go to the pub if you have got a big dick with a pleasing aspect? I get my dick in the sun at the front and the back of my section. I have two dicks.

Pom_Chch

Yeah, I'm not overly sure where items are quadruple the price tbh. Even double or triple If items were this much more then even the most highest earners wouldn't be able to afford to live here. I've noticed that sometimes when people move back to the UK there can be an exaggeration in how cheap items are compared to NZ and that comes across quite frequently on here. I'm certainly not denying that some things are markedly cheaper in the UK but not to the extent that people talk about. You know the whole "I bought a car from BMW for only 10 pence in England, that would be any where from a million to 2 million in NZ!"

Yeah, Nah.

Genesis

My thoughts entirely

There were 150 of us, living int' shoe box int' middle th' road....................

You were lucky! We lived in a paper bag!

NZ is very, very, very far from perfect (look at the shite driving for a start) but it is not that expensive... except, I do honestly feel, when it comes to housing NZ is ridiculous if you use the wages to median house price thingy.

And one imagines you can only blame the government for that, unless you you simply wanna blame it on the free market economy. If you wish to go with the latter the government CAN still, very much influence the housing market.

barnsleymat

I must have been dreaming the other day when I went to Lidl and spent a fraction of what a similar shopping trip would have been at Countdown on Andersons Bay Road in Dunedin. 28% less my arse.

Things that are double, treble etc:

Groceries, second hand cars, electricity bills, DIY good, anything from a chemist, beer, eating out, clothes, travel, borrowing money, dentist, some electrical goods, disposing of waste, school fees, anything to do with babies, nights out, double glazing, broadband, furniture, housing, carpets, paint, some car parts.

I've just woken up after 2 weeks solid tiling so I'm exhausted, there's probably more but my brain has started its Xmas holiday early.

Justcol

Wez130 pointed out a couple of weeks ago that his car which was £40K costs £78K here in NZ
I think that's a pretty big difference




When I came over, I sold my old Corolla for what it was worth, about 350 quid, or just
under a $1000 at the time
on arrival I saw the exact same car, in the same condition with similar mileage, in a yard
for $9995. That's 10 x the uk price

wez130

This is true, not quite double, but still a healthy margin more expensive, also, i'm not sure how it works in NZ, but obviously, here, you don't pay list price, my car although listed at £40k was achievable for around £34k from the likes of a broker. As i say, i don't know if thats how it works in NZ, but the difference was just the list price of both countries.

I'm not sure how much has changed in a year but from what i remember, i bought things when they were on promotion wherever possible, and there were some good deals at the time. I found beef and lamb to be comparable / cheaper in NZ, cheese was more expensive, beer was more expensive too, but i stuck with monteiths and steinlager mainly, never tried the speights, but that was cheaper. I guess the equivelents of monteiths over here would be Brewdog, which are around £1.95 / bottle, or usually 4 for £6 in Morrisons.

I also found pak n save was the best for offers but the fresh produce in new world was better, and a better supermarket experience overall. Countdown was somewhere i the middle, with the best range of confectionary, and a British section.

I'll be making a more conscious comparison when i get back to NZ in a couple of weeks though, so i can make rough guestimates as to how much my weekly shop might cost when i eventually do move there next year.

The only thing i'm not looking forward to over there is the lack of decent mens fashion shops, but this may be a good thing, as i'm a self confessed label basher, i have a big fondness of Emporio Armani and Hugo Boss, i guess i can always purchase online.

garethwm

One thing to consider about shopping here is the sales. One day a couple of weeks back they had 50% off all menswear at Farmers excluding Levis. Everything half price. Briscoes (homeware and small electrical) have similar sales scattered through the year. Although this makes me wonder why they cant be cheaper all the time. In a few days there are the Boxing Day Sales with often large discounts, if you can put up with the crowds. You might also be surprised what discounts you can get from large items like whiteware or furniture by asking the salesman, how much is it if I pay cash?

Genesis

Horses for course innit? You found it horrifically expensive, no one can take that away from you. Likewise no one can take away from me the fact that I and others, in NZ, find the prices here, whilst dearer than in the UK, more than manageable.

I find quite a few things cheaper here, find quite a few things more expensive. But on balance it is all worth it. At the end of the day one can either find NZ affordable or not. Some do, some don't.

If I was at the start of the housing ladder I would certainly not be able to afford a house in NZ. But then again nor would I in the UK, or probably anywhere in the 1st world.

Maybe I find food here reasonable as I never ever pay full price for almost all my supermarket items. Minimum discount I look for is 25%. Most of what is in my fridge, larder and freezers are food at about 40% off. I just buy the lot and freeze the stuff or stick it in my larder.

$20 chicken, $11 the other day, bought 3, Hi end frankfurters $8 for 4, half price at $4 (they are worth it!!), bought 3 packs again. When Alfa One spread has 25% off I buy 12 off them and so on. I have a freezer full of smoked salmon, all half price.

Virgin Olive oil, 3 litres= $36, on offer at $27, got another $4 off cos the tin was dented. I know where all the cheapest of everything is in town. I guess I am lucky that I have plenty of time to shop.

I hate the fact that there is a duopoly for food shopping here and I will do everything to ring every cent out of Countdown..save for shoplifting. That's just not cricket.

wez130

That's one thing i did like about NZ, the boxing day sales are actually worth going to, they have genuine bargains, i keep looking at the Harvey Norman website and the Noel Leeming to see if their sale is up yet so i can see if there's anything we can buy for when we get there

BEVS

You'll be good. These places , like others, have LOTS of sales throughout the year.

Parnell

Is a Briscoe sale a sale? or more a sign they are open?

Genesis

Did you all know? If you go to a Briscoes on a 'non sale day' (christ, you would be bloody unlucky!!) and purchase an item at full cost (one assumes you could not wait), simply return your reciept on the next sale day (ie tomorrow), and they will refund you fully, at the sale price.

Mental or what? Maybe its a tax dodge....like diesel powered nuns?

barnsleymat

Agree. Do people actually fall for a Briscoes 'Sale'?

All a Briscoes sale means it that prices have come down from the ridiculous to overpriced.

Genesis

Can't be a bad thing eh? Its not falling for anything. Why pay $120 for a tefal pan when you can pay $60. Its a win win situation. They get a sale we get a pan at a less inflated price. Which is nice.