andyi

hi, new to the site and looking for any advice? Ive been offered a new job in Auckland on a package of $160k. We live in Uk and have a reasonable lifestyle with both earning. The company has offered to pay all costs to relocate etc. We wondered whether or not a family of 4 could have a reasonable lifestyle on that sort of money initially? We plan to rent initially and would be looking for an area inside say 1 hr tops commute into Auckland, any suggestions would also be welcomed. My package includes health, car, pension etc.

Anybody out there willing to give us soem good initial advice would be really helpful?

Thanks,

Andy

BEVS

Hi there and welcome to this cosy little NZ forum.

As you are asking something specific to theAuckland area I;ll move your thread into the main forum. That way more people will see it.

This section is really only the Intro area and not everyone stops by.

andyi

thanks bev, appreciate the help

simonmarkellis

You'll have a great time on that package... no worries financially... unless petrol keeps going higher...

nero

$60k is deemed as a good wage here in NZ and that is without the perks you are being offered, so you will be laughing - of course if you have a lifestyle like Donald Trump you may struggle

Bo-Jangles

It sounds quite a lot to me, especially by NZ standards. However, it's only human nature that most of us somehow manage to spend all that we earn and more, so just be aware that it may well not afford you the lifestyle that you are already accustomed to, assuming you're on an equivalent or similar package in the UK.

Crunch some numbers through IRD http://www.ird.govt.nz/how-to/taxrat...etaxrates.html to see how you will fare after tax. On the upside, you're onto an immediate winner with the company car, as you won't pay any tax on that (company pays).

P18PPS

You won't get the cliff top mansion with infinity pool with sea views, but you should be able to afford a good standard of living in a nice area close to the city with access to nice schools, and have a few brekkies out at waterfront cafes!

andyi

Thanks all, some comforting thoughts there. Any ideas on what area/suburb i should be targeting to commute to Auckland? Ideally i dont want too long a commute, but would also like to be reasonably near the coast as well, as we all love the coast, so happy to stick another ten minutes each way for something that makes you smile wehn you rock up? As my wife wont be working initially i guess some consideration should be for her and my daughter too, but we perhaps should put teh location first i guess to save multiple changes/ moves. All info appreciated

Thank you, Andy

P18PPS

WOW - Now you've opened up the flood gates!!! You'll get every man and his dog recommending where they live as the best place you could possibly ever go to!

For us - husband works in the CBD, he has a really 'hard' commute to and from work - gently ambling along the waterfront!. 20 mins (peak time) door to door, we live in the eastern bays - St Heliers is a sleepy old fashioned village (if you're a warwickshire family you may know Knowle outside Solihull?) - we call St Heliers 'Knowle-on-Sea'. There are good schools/college, good community feel with a proper little high street, beach, boat ramp, a couple of pubs, few restaurants, a few churches, community centre etc.

I'd recommend you buy a "where to live in Auckland" book - you can purchase online, it gives you socio-demographic info along with average rental/purchase prices of different suburbs, school info etc etc - scan this and highlight what you think you want, then come out here and 'get lost', it really doesn't take long for you to realise what you will/won't compromise on.

trademe.co.nz will give you an idea of rental prices in the area too.

andyi

tee he, made me smile, Knowle yes, lovely...like something you see on a tin of toffees once in a while !!!

ill check out teh book now and see where i can get it.

What/where is CBD, daft i know, but we are learning every day.

Thanks again.

Andy

P18PPS

!! CBD - local-lingo - central business district - so downtown auckland.

andyi

ok , thanks, just ordered the book and ships in less than ten days. Thanks again.

Andy

janeyk

we survive on less than that and have a good lifestyle cliff top mansion yes if you bring decent equity from UK
We live in torbay, OH gets a fast bus from Albany 35 mins into town, this week I have been catching a bus from home as car is not well and I have managed Torbay to Grafton (the otherside of CBD in 40 mins), I can walk into Browns Bay which has a wealth of shops, cafes etc and I feel like there is space, everyone will have an opinion so its best to see what you want! 5 mins further up the road are some fantastic lifestyle lots again a few minutes from park and ride.

we decided to rent a holiday bach here in Torbay first off to see if suited us the commute while we were awaiting our goods, and were happy to stay. If you go further up the coast to the gulf peninsula there is a ferry that takes 40 mins to CBD how cool a commute is that!

Congratulations on your job btw, the package you got as well is not often given so you must of done well to get that! pm if you want to know more! not shure how old your kids are but schools maybe a consideration

P18PPS

[QUOTE=janeyk;9263069]
We live in torbay, OH gets a fast bus from Albany 35 mins into town, this week I have been catching a bus from home as car is not well and I have managed Torbay to Grafton (the otherside of CBD in 40 mins). If you go further up the coast to the gulf peninsula there is a ferry that takes 40 mins to CBD how cool a commute is that!


That is not a bad commute for the bus. If you drive and it takes 40 mins what time of day is that? I only ask because whenever I go north in rush hour the traffic is stacked up to from the bridge to Albany and looks as though it would take at least an hour.

Bo-Jangles

The buses have either a bus lane and in parts a separate two-way road all to themselves for approximately half of the journey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Busway,_Auckland