Purrball

You might be right. Can't remember paying for the doctor, though... and never for the countless hospital appointments. And yes, bursaries and a bunch of other things too. Showing my age.

davros1984

Its exciting, but you really really need to do your research.

Look at the costs of housing, cars, food, stuff you'll need for a house, i.e. paint/wallpaper, diy materials, clothes, any sports gear, gear for kids etc.

I think you will be staggered, just staggered at some of the costs here compared to the UK, especially if you live in Wales and want to buy a house here!

MrsFychan

you are giving out an unrealistic view, the exchange rate is not 2:1. and hasn't been for some time. You also get tax relief in the UK on pension contribution and you don't get that here for the Kiwisaver

oceane01

Thank you so much for all of your input it is so hard and the biggest keep me here is my daughter and her husband and my grandaughter due 16th January . I was 16 when i had Lauren and it was hard enough her moving to Scotland when she got married ,though maybe in the long run it will help . We talked for hours last night and i have agreed to give it a go on the condition that if its not working we come home , Also i am going nowhere until at least February so i know baby is here and they are all safe .So now my long long list of questions .

Do we get a container to take furniture / appliances over or buy over there ?
If take what are the prices like on containers ,

Weather : There are so many conflicting stories like the highest temp in summer is 27 etc , winter is -15 so facts would be good .
We will be heading to Christchurch so honest advice on areas would be good , My children ages 9,5 and 7 are used to living in a little village so dont want to shock them too much
Earth quakes : This is a real worry for me so please give me some reality .
Schools , What are start and finish times and what is this about voluntary contributions ?
Work for me is a hard one as i am a sheltered scheme manager (The old warden) i can do most admin and have done a lot of sales too but would also quite happily work in a cafe . Would i even be allowed to work ??
Sorry over load i know and i have lots more so please help . Thank you so much Julie

oceane01

Oh yes and hubby wants to take his van and car ... seriously !!! did anyone else ship these ??

oceane01

We will rent our house for £750 a month here so would just need to put the extra to rent over there , wouldnt look at buying for at least a year , We have a 4 bed dormer bungalow over here , what is the price comparison over there to that ? Thanks

oceane01

I have agreed to give it a go , Dont want to live with the what ifs for ever . Baby due the 16th Jan so i wont leave till Feb at earliest even if Chad wants to go first thats fine .

luvwelly

It seems to me that you are being pushed into this when you would rather stay put in UK? The UK Government can be kicked out on 7 May 2015 - the NZ one is pretty similar so 'frying pan' and 'fire' come to mind.

How easy would it be to get back your job as a warden of a sheltered housing scheme if you returned? Not selling your UK house is wise, as it makes return easier but the whole scheme could be an expensive mistake. It sounds like your husband needs to change his terms of business to improve his lot in UK. Are the earnings in NZ guaranteed or is it just an indication of what he might earn?

Most people say a family of 4 costs £12k just to legally get to NZ with all their wordly goods.

The weather is better when it is good (more sunshine) and worse when it is bad (stormy); but still pretty similar on the whole it is not Australia. South island tends to be colder in Winter than North Island.

So why would you move to an earthquake zone and why would you go to the site of a recent earthquake problem? I still wake up in the morning glad that I no longer feel earth tremors.

If you have the proper visas, you would be able to work. There are many hidden costs in the cost of living as compared to UK as MrsFychan has pointed out. These are not to be dismissed lightly when comparing: no tax free allowance - annual fees for state schools of a couple of hundred dollars a year, charges to visit your GP for most things, expensive dental as not subsidised by NZ Government for adults, GST charged on food, etc etc.

Presumably you want to see your daughter and Grandchildren again? How would you arrange this? As annual leave in NZ tends to be much lower than UK and airfares out of NZ cost more than airfares in (I am told). Would you be able to save enough from salary to fund return visits to UK? Many think they will be able to then find they can't and only return every 5 years of so or for significant funerals.

Financially could be a disaster given high rentals in Christchurch and high property prices in NZ generally. There are also pension implications to moving. Can you tell, I'd be lobbying against in your shoes, particularly if you enjoy your job.

luvwelly

Do have a look on TradeMe for properties to rent /buy. The rental quoted is per week not per month and most properties lack central heating and can be damp and expensive to heat.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/property

oceane01

Hmm all the negatives that you have just stated are my worries . Apart from my daughter no other family keeping us here , Its a bit of a ... If we dont try it we will never know i suppose . We had estimated 15 k to move so were not unrealistic there i suppose .

Assanah

Have you considered what would happen if he likes NZ and you don't? I think it would be wise to talk this through before going.
Have a look at the prices for plane tickets back to the UK. I assume you would want to see your daugther and grandchild every...what...3 years or so? If you would like to fly with your whole family there will massive costs. Break down the cost of plane tickets and calculate how much money you will need to put aside per month to pay for plane tickets.
Also keep a few thousand pounds in your bank account - for the possible move back. Otherwise you might end up being stuck in NZ.

MrsFychan

earthquakes, well yes there is that and even the small ones can be scary. A new fault line has opened up in Seddon and is having a merry little dance with Mother Nature and has been for some months. NZ sits on fault lines everywhere so you are never going to be on a non earthquake area. Insurance in ChCh is going to be high because of earthquakes and as far as I have read rentals are expensive and few and far between. You would need to move a little way out to find somewhere.
Make a separate thread for ChCH rentals and I am sure that people will advise the best they can. Unfortunately it does seem neigh on impossible to rent before you arrive. Please also be aware that there is nothing like double glazing you are used to in the UK, central heating is not something most places have, where we live there is no piped gas so no central heating possible. Weeping windows is another problem so if you can make sure you check that they have some form of what they call double glazing (which really isnt).
We call our house a deluxe shed because quite honestly that is what it is. We have installed heat pumps, electric fan heaters basically, and have bought electric blankets which obviously racks up the electric bill but I will not be cold.

oceane01

Yes we have both agreed that we will at least 6 mths , And plan on keeping money behind to get home in emergency etc , If all kids and chad were happy over there i would give it a good go , All decisions will be family ones , You watch he will hate it and i will love it

MrsFychan

6mths is no time to be making final decision as you would still be in honemoon period and not taken all the seasons of the year into account. and a lot of money to move for a final decision to be made in such a short time. I have said I will give it til we can gain citizenship for the kids, takes 5 years. and then look at it but at this stage 20mths in my mind and heart tells me its not for me in my dotage but we will have to see what happens once the 5 years is up. really can't see myself diving under tables when I am old decreped

oceane01

The strange thing is that most people on here seem to accept the earth qukes as just a way of life now , Maybe we are far to pampered here in the uk , I mean last year we had an inch of snow and the school was closed :S We dont seem to be able to deal with anything here . Your right i am probably just stamping my authority by saying 6 mths as i realise this is unrealistic, And i cannot afford 15 k every 6 mths either . So now we have made the decision (Only took 2 years ) It is all kind of going really quickly so in a but of a flap now , Also just realised all of the xmas presents i have bought the kids should really of been rethought !!!