bearskin

Don't know if anyone else on here has ever driven up to the Cardrona pub? It has undoubtedly the most impressive (and beautifully stacked) pile of firewood I have ever clapped eyes upon. Makes me smile just thinking about it. We were there in spring and it was still, well, PRODIGIOUS.

fazza16

Thank you one and all for your replies. Much appreciated and helpful too.

PS what's a cord of wood??!

davros1984

Have to say, having read the first few pages of this thread, there are a lot of statements here that are similar to statements I made a year or 2 ago and ultimately played a big part in our return to the UK.

To earn that amount of money and to be in a "no frills" situation, pretty shocking. Then there's the near-impossibility of being a home owner.

We just had a friend of ours who lives in Auckland visit us this past weekend. He was fairly blown away by where we lived, our house, the weather (for mid-October) and how much is going on in comparison to his life. This is despite us earning considerably less money than we did in Auckland. Looking back, life was a real struggle at times there, but of course - miss the scenery, our great friends we meet there and cheap tickets to watch the rugby!

bourbon-biscuit

You clearly didn't read the whole thread: we have a poster living the good life with four kids on a combined total pre-tax income (including working families tax credits) of circa $70k who managed to buy a 5-bedroom home with only a normal deposit so pays $800 in mortgage every fortnight and the kids do multiple clubs etc. Apparently, it's quite doable.

BEVS

I'd show you a pic but we have burnt all ours.

I may have a pic somewhere. I'll have a dig around later on.

MrsFychan

she does do very well on so little, not something I could do plus she's so lucky to have fantastic friends like me , but then she would probably say "harden up you southern pansy" in her Leeds accent and call me over for a cuppa and some home baked cake - which is long overdue.

bourbon-biscuit

Ahh, but MrsFychan, you are now an estate agent and therefore nothing you say can be relied on

MrsFychan

ahh but you probably was not aware that I am not your standard agent that comes from a marketing background but rather from many many years of Customer Service, for me its all about giving excellent service and doing right by all involved, strange but true, I will not compromise on my high standards.

MOSO

Trying to compare house prices in Wales to those in Auckland is completely unrealistic. Try comparing London to Auckland and it's a different story with house prices way higher relative to incomes.

Kitti is not in a 6 bed house in Auckland living on $70,000, she is on the lovely Kapiti Coast an hour from Wellington. It would be virtually impossible in Auckland or London/SE but it sure would be in Wales or other cheaper parts of the UK.

bearskin

well put.

bearskin

I have friends on the North Shore in similar (not identical) circumstances. The activities their kids do are either at the cheaper (scouts for example) end of things or free, and their house isn't exactly a mansion... But they are very happy with their lot.

One thing that does come with regards to Aucklnad specifically, is house prices to buy. If you go back even to 2009, you could buy a regular family house around here for around 500k. That is now just around 900k! Things like that make a massive difference.

kitti

I honestly can't quite tell, are you taking the mickey out of me? I never claimed to be flush, or that my (admittedly large) house was fancy. It is doable, if you budget and your expectations are realistic. We're all different. I'm happy, you may not be in my situation.

kitti

And I'm not in Auckland, where admittedly you need more money.

davros1984

I appreciate my posts are Auckland-centric and I know elsewhere in NZ, things are more affordable, i.e. the lovely Kapiti Coast (great choice btw).

However, NZ is overly Auckland focused and for most, they need to end up in primarily Auckland, maybe Wellington or possibly CHCH for work. NZ doesn't have the bulk of jobs that other countries have.

I moved to Auckland for a "better life" but in the end I found whilst I had a good/interesting life, I never could have settled. Being back in the UK, I have easy access to Bristol, Cardiff, Newport, Gloucester, Swindon, Bath - all with good job opportunities and a lot of affordable housing. I'm also 2.5 hours drive away from both sets of family.

What I'm saying is, if you're considering a move to Auckland and not full of money, you should consider looking elsewhere in the UK, Europe or somewhere other than Auckland in NZ. I do not believe today that you can go to Auckland and be better off (unless you're very lucky). Had you gone out there 6-10+ years ago, I'd say yes - you've probably done great and improved your lot.

Trying to compare Auckland house prices to London house prices is completely unrealistic.

Snap Shot

BTW did you re-mortgage to get the lower interest rate ?  If so, did you have to get the house surveyed, LIM report etc etc all over again ?  Were you able to made a professional (no pun) valuation on the house as you're a licenced Estate Agent ? Or were you able to increase your mortgage to get the better interest rate without doing any of that ?