andrew.catrina

hi there, we are quite a large family with four young children and twins due in a few weeks, we have been planning to move to nz but the family expanded quite quickly which meant we have had to put it on hold, now our family is complete we are looking to relocate when our house sells/have enough money to move over. my hubby is a fully qualified gas central heating engineer / plumber / gas fitter, we have a relocation company that has all the paperwork sorted so they are dealing with that side of things. we wonder though how much we would roughly need to relocate? we are not too bothered about buying our own home initially (although it would be nice), but just to get over there, set up home etc etc. we are open to the north island or south island, obviously here andrew can get a decent job. any advice info etc would be greatly appreciated!!! thanks

we were relocating a few years ago when at that point we only had the two eldest children and the exchange rate was much better etc, now we have quite a few more and my hubby is the main wage earner we are happy with just renting for the first few years but are not too sure how much that will cost for us to set up home. we know the flights will be about 5000 british pounds and the relocation company 3500.00 british pounds, look forward to your response catrina

BEVS

Kia Ora and welcome to our cosy wee NZ forum. Have a good browse around the place and ask away.

When you write
what do you mean please?

Genesis

Your air fares will be abround 6k GBP I reckon...the 2 babies go free eh? Remeber the airport departure tax has gone up from the UK!!

It depends how long you need to make things last before the 1st wage comes in but here are my guesstimates.

We are a family of 5 and our credit card bill on average is $2500 per month. That is for all food, petrol and other expenditure. What do you reckon you will need? Having said that I do not shop to a budget and get what I fancy..you only live once eh? That $2500 does not include rates, gas, electric, phone, broadband etc.

Bills like the latter will be in the region of $1000 a month I reckon bearing in mind I assume you will need a bigger house, and have bigger bills.

Then you need to buy a big van. May I recommend a Toyota Reguis, they are 8 seaters and are circa 1997. I had one it was good motor. Look at www.trademe.co.nz under the cars section. Alas you will not get 8 x 3 point harnesses in that..there will be a couple of lap belts, plus the six 3 points. If you want/need 8 x 3 point harnesses you will need a late vehicle and that WILL NOT be cheap.

So say for 3 months you will need about $2500ish X 3 and $1000 X 3 for your bills. You will need the cash for the van..say $10k-$15k and I would want another $10k in there for the 3 months rental, the bond and a contingency fund. I reckon $50ishk NZ in total, (flights, 3 months living expenses and a van) that will sort you and you will probably have loads left over..always better to have more than less.

Are you aware that UK gas people have to jump thru lots of NZ hoops? I don't know if it has gotten any easier. Kate had 15 years exp. as a nurse in the Uk and she had to jump thru loads of hoops.

Hope this has been helpful. What does anyone else think?

andrew.catrina

hi thanks for the reply, we just need a rough idea as we have our house up for sale but the housing market here is terrible, we understand andrew will need to come over and become nz gas registered before he can work so we know we have to take this into consideration, hw has 12 years experience and he has spoken to a few employers who are interested in what andrew has to offer escpecially further south as andrew installs central heating systems here on a daily basis. the other option we have is once the twins have arrived, andrew could go ahead and find work / home etc whilst i wait here for our house to sell, i have family and friends to support me here so thats not a problem, would that be advisable ?

BEVS

I'm sorry. This is going to sound really dim now but I still don't understand. Can you explain further please.

Really. How ? Tell me what you know of the plumbing and gasfitting trade system here please.

BEVS

No. It is much worse.

andrew.catrina

andrew has been told by the relocation company that he needs to resit gas tests to become nz qualified to beable to work with gas in nz, it will cost around $2000+, a few employers are interested in andrew but obviously would need a date for moving over before further discussing job opportunities, thats why we are wondering how much it would roughly cost us to relocate comfortably so we can get our house sold or the other option is for andrew to move over before us and start working and we would follow over at a later date, catrina

Genesis

Have a look at www.savona.co.nz they are a CH co. here run by an english chap called Andy. They put the CH in my kiwi home. They may have vacancies.

andrew.catrina

thanks, great stuff we will look into that, would you advise us to all go together or andrew to go ahead and set up home? where abouts do you live? catrina

luvwelly

I think with 6 kids you would be mad to come over - stay put you will get a much much better deal and financial support from the UK tax system than you would here.
Even if you could get PR before you came over, you would not be entitled to any unemployment type benefits for the first 2 years. Can you imagine what your GP visit bills (zero in UK) would be for 8 of you per year, ditto dentist etc etc ?

I honestly don't see how you could make ends meet with such a large family on an average NZ skilled persons salary. Most things are far more expensive here and your take home pay is lower on based on a lower salary that is taxed on every dollar (in UK you get 11k tax-free).
Do you know most NZ homes don't have central heating? Most systems here are of the heatpump variety, not the water-carrying radiator systems he is used to.

Listen to Bevs about plumbing - naive is coming to mind right now and I am only being this blunt as I really want to save you from financial ruin. In your case the grass is highly unlikely to be greener. Cut your losses now - immigration consultant was money you didn't need to spend, hardly anyone else has done that..they rip you off that is just the start though...call a halt now while you still can.

andrew.catrina

thanks for your honesty. thats what we need, what does anyone else think?

burbschook

First of all stop wasting money on an agent. The process is easy enough to do by visiting the NZ immigration site.
OH would have to get his "credentials" varified by the PGDB here before anything else. They are a force to reckon with & are constantly bringing in new standards as well as expensive exam criterias.
Employers know nothing about the immigration system and may be interested but there is a lot more to it than that.
Employment opportunities are either thin on the ground or poorly paid. I know of many established plumbing firms in the lower NI that are struggling.
TBH with you,I would do a lot of online research about plumbing & gas before committing to a move here. Also, gas central heating is not that common & where it is done is with bottled gas.
Please answer Bevs questions, she's the one very much in the know with your husband's line of work.
Kind regards

fayemd

Hi Catrina

I agree with Luvwelly DON'T DO IT!!!!!

We have been here 7years and are on our way back.We have 5 kids and it is a struggle everyday what with low wages,rip off food prices,doctor fees,dentist fees e.t.c.

And don't get me started on school fees and the ridiculous price of school uniforms $95 for a school jumper W.T.H.And the greedy kiwis change the uniform every year so you have to buy a new one even though they are attending the same school.(Rant over)

DON'T DO IT YOU WILL END UP BANKRUPT!!!!!

Genesis

What about working for family tax credits? I know its up for some money saving tweeking by the government but still. 6 kids and a medium wage will see quite a bit of credit don't you think? We have 3 kids have just done our annual family income based on about $74ish k a year and we will be getting about $5-6k. You can either get it weekly or in a lump sum.

We are in Palmerston North. Just 2 hours drive above Wellington. A nice inland, busy, lots to do town of 75k people.

BTW if it was me I would want to go together..for lots of reasons, can't see it would be possible for 1 parent to take 6 kids on what is a 48 hour trip door to door in most cases!!

Personally if I could afford to emigrate and I was in your shoes I would do it. But I am driven by my heart and I like life to throw me the odd challenge or three. BUT if you have done your sums and it does not add up that is the time to pull the plug. If money is not an issue/unlikely to be one you should go for it IMO.

Re the school uniform find a school you like that does not have a uniform! And re school fees unless you go to a Catholic school or a private one all school fees are a donation...IF you can afford it. And then its only about $150 per annum per child. As they say regarding risk..he who dares!!!!! Also the biggest risk in life is taking NO risks.

Si19761

Have to say I agree with the above, we have just arrived back but knowing full well how expensive life here is but fortunate to have family support while we settle. Don't rely on your house selling, ours was on the market 3 years and we have now had to rent it as for us it was not worth putting life on hold.

With 6 children I do think you would really struggle, healthcare is free till age 6 but then its all on. Rent in our area for a very 'average' standard 3 bed house is currently $350 a week - just take a look on trade me.... so for equivelent of around £650 a month you could only achieve something average, not big enough for a family of 8 and for a fair chunk of salary. Tax credits are minimal and if you are claiming tax free status on rental income from UK housing you are not eligible anyway.

Sorry can't be more positive for you and all the best counting down to your new additions joining the family...