lardyl

yep us too - saves going to visit one local "barber" who is probably the worst cutter of hair that I have ever encountered, and if you'd seen my hair you'd realise that I can't have very high standards......
.....and our friend saves MrsL the eye-watering cost of a cut as well as having a fun mate for MkII and MkIII to play with whilst they wait

On the costs of haircuts - North and South magazine used to include the cost of a ladies (I assume!!) cut in their cost of living assessments for areas and I could not believe the amount that was being charged......

D-C; well $25-$30/hr is not a bad wage. Twas earning a little more /hr (plus benefits but no tips....LOL) as arguably the most qualified person in my field in NZ with 12 years experience to boot.............now I'm just the dogsbody for.....er......me.......

working for yourself in NZ is so much easier than it was in UK

but money is tight and will no doubt get tighter!
good luck.

wellyaidan

I'd be afraid to try to live on that income with a large mortgage. Perhaps renting instead of buying? But honestly it doesn't seem easy to save here, so that might not get you any further ahead in the long run. Renting with kids is stressful too- I'm always telling mine not to scratch the floors etc.

Add in the costs of petrol, expensive food, doctor visits, and I suspect it would indeed feel like a struggle to make ends meet.

Divine Comedy

Hi, yes I know Aveda very well, miss it too, loved it
The only Aveda salon is in Wellington and is a Spa also see ........... bodyscape.co.nz
I would imagine Aveda is out of most Kiwis price range [ not being horrible !] but as you have seen from your thread luxuries are not top priorty.
Going back to your thread on if you will have enough money. All the people I know all of which on very different wage levels find it hard here, but we all manage, you just do. Lifestyle here is very different to that of the UK as it is not as materialistic. I was a shopoholic in the UK, a new outfit for the family and I on a very very regular basis. Here I buy things because we need them and about the only lavish purchase for myself is my Clinque and a pair of leather boots in 2 years !! I am reformed! As for shoes im lucky if I can get the kids to wear them .
You do need to do your figures on what you can afford on your hubbys wage mortgage wise and dont forget rates, water etc. You should qualify for family tax credits on the wage you quoted, and if you rent you should be able to apply for rent subsidy also. Trademe is a very good way of sussing out how much rent will cost you for certain areas. I would go on the other posters advice on renting also, till you find out where you want to settle, you dont really know an area till you have lived in it.
What area are you looking at?
My shop is North Shore { Greenhithe } and we live West Auckland , much cheaper than North Shore. Yes I am a '' Westie" before anyone puts in a comment!!

Divine Comedy

[QUOTE=lardyl;7517477]yep us too - saves going to visit one local "barber" who is probably the worst cutter of hair that I have ever encountered, and if you'd seen my hair you'd realise that I can't have very high standards......
.....and our friend saves MrsL the eye-watering cost of a cut as well as having a fun mate for MkII and MkIII to play with whilst they wait

-
D-C; well $25-$30/hr is not a bad wage. Twas earning a little more /hr (plus benefits but no tips....LOL)

Come and see me for your haircut !!
Kiwis dont tip! no tips for me!
That figure is for high end salons which ''shopperholic'' currently works in . {yes.. I agree not a bad wage } , lower end salons would be around $20 an hour . Alot are renting chairs out and so hairdressers can earn very good wages in the right salon.
I have embarked on the very scary adventure of working for myself and hope to stay that way.

lardyl

yeah, just done the GST return on my first year of trading. Not bad but will probably get worse this year.....
good luck to all us entrepeneurs

Kevin

You cant eat scenery!

Kevin

We have been in NZ for just over two years…. We like it, however, the cost of ‘stuff’ in general is staggering!

Examples being trade goods eg electrical items (I’m a sparky).

The local wholesaler tried to rip me over $5000 (list price) for a drum of cable, which would have cost about £80 in the UK. After telling them where to go, I eventually got their rep to give me ‘best trade’ which came out at a staggering $1200 (£450). After much searching I managed to get a brilliant deal at another wholesaler, which took it all the way down to $650 (£240).
Plastic trunking… I just bought some which cost $80 (after a substantial trade discount)… same stuff in the UK is about £10…. Copper plumbing pipe, list trade price is $180 a length, with my trade discount is $80 (£30)… same stuff in the UK (Wickes) £6.40, and that’s to joe public!………….. the list is endless, and when I mean ‘stuff’ is dearer, I don’t just mean by a few percent, I mean it is 3,4,5 times as much!!!! The difference is truly truely staggering!

The excuse I get from the suppliers is, ‘Oh well you see we are geographically far away from the manufacturers, and transport costs are high etc etc’ but that doesn’t stack up for me, because there are plenty of Chinese cheap shops around that sell crap for just a few dollars… and they still make a profit! What I have surmised over the time we have been here is that there seems to be a cartel of ‘importers’ who dictate prices, it seems they fix prices between themselves (I know for a fact this happens with electrical cable).

Another thing is clothing. Personally I am not a big fan of shopping for clothes, being I guess a typical guy, I like to go out maybe once a year if that, run around, get the stuff I need and that’s that. In fact I don’t even know what ‘jeans’ cost these days. My wife on the other hand, she loves shopping for clothes and shoes, but she is constantly disappointed here, firstly because she can’t find quality clothing at a reasonable price, same as she did in the UK or Europe. As for sales, they are all but a mythical beast here! Very few and far between! She keeps saying we should go back to the UK to shop in the after Xmas sales…. She really misses them.

When we first arrived here, we had a massive culture shock, as we saw so many scruffy looking folk walking around in ripped clothing, some bare footed, and generally grubby looking and unkempt. We also got the impression that Kiwis are tighter than a camels ass in a sandstorm generally speaking. I know now that this was quite an unfair assumption, in as much as it is a situation brought about by ‘stuff’ costing so much, that the ‘will make do’ saying that kiwis have, is actually because a large proportion HAS to make do, as they have no other choice.
If you take a good look on trade me (Kiwi’s answer to eBay) you will see that nothing here is given away, its almost like a third world country in that respect. If you drop a dollar, it will disappear before it hits the ground!

If you are coming here from the UK expecting a good life, only do it if you have PLENTY of money, a good job to go to, and a very easygoing attitude.

Fortunately we had enough to buy our house mortgage free, still some in the bank, both have careers, and no kids…. And believe it or not, we still worry about money!

On the whole we still like NZ and hope to make it our home…. but… it certainly isn’t easy going here, and bargains do not exist, or at least there are so very few not to be noticeable. As for the folk who have returned to the UK because they couldn’t afford to survive here, I can well understand it. If we had come out without money, I can tell you, we would have gone straight home again.

I hope that my comments above do not offend anyone, but they were meant in the most general of terms, but I don’t apologise for making them, they are my honest opinions based on what my wife and I have experienced since we have been here.

And just to answer your question.... if you have $55k annual salary, and a $300k mortgage (approx), you will not live well here, you will find it hard going to say the least i'm afraid.
As for the shoes, you had better bring them with you, and look after the ones you have... you may need to keep them a long time.

Rezza

Sound post mate It's a great place if you've got the money to insulate yourself (in more ways than one)

love30stm

yeah agree with some things, my husband has a good wage $80 annual salary, I work part time, we have two kids and a small mortgage , but we cant afford lots of things, and yes clothes are crap and not much choice but I still find some bargains, and there is some not as much as the UK but still things are getting cheaper.

No.1 shoes I think have cool shoes, i have plenty of heels yes and I love to dress up, and still can, even though I do still wear some of my uk clothes that are falling to pieces...

but I would not like to be in this country and struggle, $55 would not be enough for us to live on I can tell you!

anyway I am going back to the Uk for a holiday in june for two weeks, and I am looking forward to the clothes shopping and going out, as alot of people dont tend to go out and party, unless you live in Auckland or Wellington.

but for now i like it but wont stay forever.

Kevin

… Another way of looking at it is, would you live okay in the UK if you were looking to buy a house costing £150,000, your Salary was £20,000 and overnight the cost of food, clothing and other stuff nearly doubled in cost, you had to pay every time you or the kids want to see a doctor etc etc?

That's roughly what it works out at, based on $2.7 NZ to £1

As for dentists.... I know that some folk here fly overseas to see them, firstly because they get better treatment, secondly, to save money!!!!!