sophie p

Hi, I have just recently discovered this site and having read a number of the postings I am a bit overwhelmed by the comments regarding CoL and how high it is in NZ compared to UK.

My husband and I currently live in London and are quite used to (and never quite happy with) paying £1200 pcm for a two bedroom flat (Zone 3), £120 pcm Council Tax plus all other living expenses and if we were to buy in London or the South East we would be looking at taking out a mortgage of at least £200K for a two bedroomed property!

Surely Auckland is better than that! Especially as every year, articles I have seen in newpapers name London as one of the most expensive places to live in the world.

I would be really interested in hearing about people’s experiences of moving to Auckland from London.

I would also be really interested in the experiences of any uk chartered accountants or barristers who have made the move.

Tricky266

Hi Sophie,

I too had your concerns but what you will have to look at is your salary expectations and look at what you can afford in NZ - chances are you will be earning less but stuff will be a lot less, like for like.

My current take on things is that CoL is about 70 - 80% of that in the UK. The only reason you can afford £1200 pcm in rent is that your wages are high. In an economy where salaries are lower so too will the prices.

Richard

verdi

hi there my partner and i have just returned from a 4 month fact finding trip and have come home convinced that the move is worth it.
i have great friends out there who left devon six years ago without a pot to pee in and have, within this time made a real bonafide success of their lives.
not only that they are not in high powered jobs in any of the cities, rather they are living the good life 2 hrs from aukland on the east coast of north island as a chef and builder/decorator.
they live in a beautiful 3 bed detached house with huge garden and sea views run two vehicles and a boat and are happy and content with a huge group of friends nearly all kiwi.
all the kiwi's i met there from maori to pakeha young and old were fantastic can do people with a verve for life you do-not see everywhere.
everything i did there( fishing/walking/climbing/swimming/camping) was also being done by people in their seventies and eighties because they were not afraid to leave there houses and had not retired to their front rooms and tv to see out their days.
the exchange rate has taken a dive since last summer which is a little worrying, but what goes down eventually goes back up again so i am not overly concerned.
houses are much much cheaper!
home insurance is loads cheaper!
car insurance is loads cheaper!
all insurances are much cheaper
petrol is loads cheaper!
rates/council tax is loads cheaper!
buying/setting up a businesses is loads cheaper and easier
you can grow just about anything to eat!
meat and staples are cheaper.
you can catch enough fish in a day to last you a month!
you get to talk to someone when you call (no automated indian call centers)
the list is endless............................
our plan is to buy land and grow and rear our food as the vegetables etc are expensive.
we currently live in cornwall and would love to own 20 acres as we have horses and would like to run an equine dentistry business.
here it would cost us GB£750,000.min just for the land and a house.
in NZ as long as you dont want the sea in your back garden you can get 100 acres with two houses on it and with no planning permission to stop you doing whatever you wish, for less than half that. plus a climate you can grow things in. (north island tauranga)

for us there is no butts as we have long since travelled our way out of feeling nostalgic for an england that really does not exist anymore. europe has been designed to fall and whether you like it or not the uk is in europe.
we have seen the world and checked out many possible places to re-settle before the coming storm.
there is only one for us.
we are not stupid enough to think we wont miss our families because we will,
more we are hoping that if our first five years are as good as our friends then they will all come and join us.

life is what you make it! and NZ is a fantastic canvas on which to paint your dreams!!
best wishes
verdi

scottish

Of course it helps if you are loaded

verdi

we are in a lucky position at the moment but that is due to hard work and a horrible injury payout which i had to wait 7 years for and would not wish on anyone.
the main point is i would have to earn a fantastic wage £60,000.+for the next 25 years to afford what i want here and by then i will be to old to enjoy it.
cornwall is beautiful but we pay more in utilities than most areas (20-30% more) and my band d council tax is higher than london where i lived for 4 years.
the wages here are comparable to NZ (ie dreadful) as is the crumbling infrastructure of the once rich and prosperous mining areas hence cornwalls objective one status.
my partner as a 10 year veterinary nurse struggles to earn £5 ph here and is currently working during the week in Devises (4 hrs away) at £10 ph so we can get by until we leave. in london she would command up to £12 ph and all our outgoings would be cheaper.
real poverty is alive and well down here and although we are some of the lucky ones the majority of good cornish stock will continue to struggle to get by and secure a home of their own which is very sad.
yes i agree we are in a lucky position, but i have paid a heavy price and was born with a plastic and not silver spoon.

best wishes
verdi

ukkiwi

Its cheaper for you compared to your life in the UK - its not a rule that can be applied to all. I hope your life in NZ is as good as your expecting.

verdi

i fully agree with you and of course we hope so too!!
best wishes verdi

Damages

Top post!!!

Don't let the cynical bastards drag you down. Go paint your dreams. (you could have a go at mine if you like I, unfortunately can't afford the paint)


Poor souls! Imagine life without a Butt. How utterly Bottomless!


Cheers

Ali

Rosie

[I would also be really interested in the experiences of any uk chartered accountants or barristers who have made the move.]

Hi Sophie

I am also a chartered accountant who is hoping to move to NZ. We have put in our EOI & have been invited to apply. We are trying to lodge our application ASAP before 5/4/05 when all the medical rules change which will double the cost of the medicals & be very in depth - even for 11 yr olds.
I have also been told that you need to have provisional reg.n with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in New Zealand. Plus to get full registration when you are there you will need to pass exams in tax & law.

Anyway keep in touch - would love to hear your experiences of this process. Have U tried applying for any accountancy jobs - do you know any good web- sites?

Rosie

sophie p

Hi Rosie

I am lucky as although I have lived in the UK all my life, my mother is a Kiwi, so I hold an NZ passport.

Have a look at

http://www.globalcareerlink.com They are really nice and very helpful in terms of getting you CV ready for the New Zealand market, and once you know when you are going they will start helping you find a position. They certainly seem to have links with all the big companies and practices out there. The person I spoke to also said that it was not uncommon for companies to support CA's in the two papers to get NZ CA status! (how great would that be!) On that note there are two university's which do distance learning.......and the NZ tax courses start in the 2nd semester i.e. September......so you start getting there even if you are in the UK .... I got that info from the http://www.icanz.co.nz/StaticContent...squalstudy.cfm

The best website for jobs seems to be http://www.seek.co.nz

Anyway, do let me know if you find any other resources andd definately keep in touch.

Sophie

Rosie

THanks for the info. Will definately look into the distance learning as will be good to get a few things sorted before we leave. I should imagine that once we get there to new jobs & new livess it will be hard at first to fit any studying in

Good luck with your move. When are you going & where do you plan to live?

Rosie