Kurtons

Hi everyone
as you may have guessed i'm new here, and I need your help & advise.

We<snip>
have just been received our residency visas for NZ (great)
problem is having read some of the other threads on ths site & having just come back from 4 weeks in NZ we are having serious doubts about moving over now. We knew the wages were lower in NZ but to our suprise we found that the cost of living was comparable to the UK which in our minds makes it a lower standard of living (or am I missing something)

So I guess what Im asking is for your +/- feedback on this & any other points.

Regards,

Deb+Chris

Hi Rich,

We came back from NZ because it was basically too expensive on my OH's wage to live there... we found it a huge struggle financially, just for basic food and mortgage. All depends what you will earn, I recon you would have to at least double in dollars your UK pounds to maybe manage, in fact, probably treble.

scottish

Sorry this isnt going to help but we came home too due to various factors one being cost of living and the quality of life that would get.

To be NZ is a very expensive place to live and even if we could of managed another few years there its not a place I would want to grow old in... unless I was rich.

I have said to loads of people if you are unhappy where you are in the Uk, you can find maybe what you are after in another part ie open space, village schools and safer environment for your kids to grew up in, you dont have to move to NZ to get it.

Go with your gut instinct. This time last year we put our house on the market to move to NZ, if I could go back 12 months I would.

Good luck

Kurtons

Thanks guys
I will take your opinions on board, which I basically agree with.

I know what my gut feeling is telling me - dont go !!!!

buts my heads telling me ive spent a lot of cash getting this visa, my house is sold & we were ready to go, just flights to book.

Still better to realise it would be a mistake now than in a year or so.

isv

GO! You've jumped the initial hurdles... house sold... visas in place. You've joined an elite club of people - those with the OPTION to live in NZ. If it doesn't work out you can always come back - I'd prefer that rather than carrying a bunch of "what ifs" around with me.

It is absolutely true that salaries are lower than in the UK - that is the case with most countries in the world. However, the difference is not that great with some jobs (my wife's a nurse and once the latest 20-30% wage increases roll-out we calculated she would earn more in NZ than in the UK!). With my job the difference is large and hence I will take the opportunity to run a business in NZ.

For some people the cost of living is lower - for some it can be massively lower. For some - higher. Some things are cheaper, some the same, some more expensive... You really have to work out where you stand.

For *us* some things really make a difference:

In UK, a nurse's after-tax salary will barely cover the private school fees of 1 child. In NZ it will pay for three at the very best schools.

There is no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, no stamp duty on property purchases, no national insurance, cheaper fuel, cheaper insurance...

If self-employed or running a business I consider the tax situation leans very heavily in favour of NZ.

If you are going to NZ with very little capital then a lot of the above advantages might not be evident to you - if (like most migrants to NZ) you are in your 30s/40s then I would imagine if you've made some money on your house etc. it will go a long long way in NZ and enable you to exist on a lower salary. Note too that a fair proportion of UK migrants do very well in NZ too - depends totally on your ambitions/motivations etc.

Alan.

Roger

Agree with all of the above. Yes salaries are less and the cost of living does not equate with the loss of cash. Whilst we earnt well in UK and felt we had excess cash we always seemed to be overdrawn, had no savings and worked almost 50 hours a week to have the house and holidays that we felt we deserved. In NZ we work four days a week and manage to have a comfortable standard of living and admirable quality of life in Hawkes Bay (the weather is great).

What I would say is that we have only managed to do this by buying a house almost outright and having no loans on cars etc. Housing, though appearing cheap, are just as affordable to Kiwis as houses are in the South of England. There are some areas where houses are amazingly cheap still ($100K), but you do not want to live there.

I would suggest (without knowing your situation) to come over, rent a furnished house (the house market is back to normal so no rush), buy an old car, leave your stuff in storage in the UK. Generally make few financial commitments. Put your money in the Isle of Man. I know plenty of doctors who have come over as a work experience who have done this and it has offered them the opportunity to suss it out without making a massive commitment.

God luck.
Roger

annaerb

I agree with the last two posts.

My suggestion to those that are thinking of coming to NZ would be to rent out there property. Come to NZ for say a year and then see what happens.

Sally1

Hi

I'm also looking to come out to NZ within the next 4 months. Thanks to all who responded to my Thread regarding the difference between work VISA/Permit. I now have the paperwork and apparently it will only take 3-4 weeks and is pretty straight forward because my husband has citizenship. Continuing on this Thread, I have also been put off by the comments on the NZ Scary stories and negative comments. I commute to Luton from Northants every day at the moment and have long hours and £3000 on train costs. We are always broke here in the UK, we never go out, not big pub people (hardly ever drink) and we prefere to socialise at home with friends. Our expensives currently are just keeping the house over our heads, cost of living and a nice holiday in Greece every year. What get's us down is that we like to outdoor countryside and open spaces that we don't currently have and thought that we could have that in NZ at a fraction of the cost. Some people say that they miss big cities, nightlife and boozy nights out which can cost anything between £50 and £100 in the UK. That's not us, as long as we have enough money to survive, is that not enough? A better quality of life surely? Cafe Culture is fine by me!
Next - I have an Customer Service admin role within a major Pharmaceutical Co in the UK and get paid a decent salary for the job I do. I know for a fact that I would probably earn half in NZ which didn't really concern me at first until I see everyones comments on the Cost of Living. My husband doesn't have any qualifications either and is a fruit and veg market trader. He wants to get into the building industry but although very good at woodwork etc, has no formal qualifications which I know is a problem. We have heard of "hammer hands" but assume the pay will be low. We were prepared to sell our house and come out with approx £40,000 profit after clearing some debts but not sure if we will ever get on the property ladder in NZ if we are not able to take more money out with us. I also assume we won't earn enough to ever save for a house out there? But I agree that if you don't take the risk, you'll always wonder "what if". That's what I have always done in life. If it doesn't work out, surely it can't be that hard to start over in the UK? We've just come back from a month in NZ, the main jobs for me being in Auckland which I didn't fancy because of the traffic. I wanted to live in the South (weather permitting the area) or somewhere in the North with better sunshine. When I look over the job sites, hardly anything comes up for my role outside of Auckland. Any Advice? Also, I was looking at work and applying for jobs and got alot of interest and even got contacted 8 months after sending my C.V to them, however, beacuse I am not out there, no-one wants to consider me until I can get there for an interview. Is it a big risk to go over with no job? Seems to be the norm. The only people we have to look after is the 2 off us as we held off having children until after we were to "settle" in NZ. Help me too!

scottish

Sorry can I be nosey and as what kind of salary you have been offered in NZ. The nurses I know and who we spoke to in the hospital were on $37k a year.

I would also rather pay NI every month rather than pay for Docs etc.

Also so what if your house is sold, stil dosent mean you have to go. Getting your visa etc wont be the biggest hurdle, getting through the first year will.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Home and happy

newkiwi

Its true most jobs are in Auckland, but thats not to say all. Wellington and Christchurch spring to mind. Weather's nice and its cheaper than auckland (especially in Christchurch). Customer Service Admin roles are available in many places, albeit not in your area (pharmaceuticals) perhaps.

Its true youre more likely to find a job if youre able to go for an interview. Check out seek.co.nz for admin roles, send your cv with a covering letter explaining you have the right to work in NZ; im assuming you do; (say that right up front) and say when youll be arriving in NZ so you can immediately go and see the agent. That way youll save some time at least and hit teh ground running.

The money is about $100,000, which wont buy a big house outright, but once you gat a job you should have enough of a deposit out of the money to get you a mortgage. check out realenz.co.nz for property prices around the country

Campbells

Hi,

Not easy to say all that needs to be said in little words but I can offer a suggestion. If you are with a Multi-National Pharma Co, do they have a branch in NZ? From my experience to-date it is a generic process of doing the homework (not that I have cracked a well paid salary in NZ yet!) and understanding your value to NZ. This is your ace!

If you have skills on offer you can bring to the party they come at a fee and it’s just a mater of how you can negotiate the deal. Perhaps look into trying to get a company to sponsor you to move over which might pay for the re-location costs & immigration visas etc.

NZ is looking for skills at the moment and have the lowest recorded unemployment in 20 years. You may have to turn over a few rocks but I would consider UK recruitment companies that cater for NZ and see what's up for grabs.

Could also be worth your while contacting your competitors yourself (bearing in mind that a very high percentage of positions are not filled via recruitment agencies in NZ as they can charge up to $10k for a placement which is a lot for the employer) to check for potential positions in NZ.

We are in a different situation here in SA as we want to get out ASAP due to high levels of crime etc etc and therefore doing the LSD option. My outlook is to get in, get the residency sorted and then I can look around for a good position if I don’t crack it first job.

Life is way too short so my take on the whole deal is; put your Nike’s on & just do it. :scared:

You will get at the least an experience that you can not put a price tag on and can not be reflected by the cost of “living�.

Cheers & good luck

Campbell.

Deb+Chris

With respect Campbells, it's not as easy as that. I have read some of your posts and like your enthusiasm.. I was once like that myself, only to return home pennyless and starting all over again.

You can't be just saying to people 'just do it' because they may have many more ties to the UK than you, less money, more kids to feed, a lower paid job in NZ etc. it's really a very personal experience and one not to be taken lightly.

The EASY bit is getting the visa and flying over there, the HARD bit is LIVING there.

You give some excellent advice on this forum, but have you actually lived in NZ?

Debs

isv

We were planning on $41-42k (based on discussions with health boards) and this is before the expected 20%-30% increase that the gov have offered nurses. Having said that even if you take your figure of $37k the result works out as follows:

$37000 less 20.7% tax (19.5% + earner levy) = $29489 net

Compare this with the UK where a typical nurse's gross basic pay is about £17k (approx NZ$ 45k). After tax you will take home around £13200 = $35000.

The 2006 pay rates for nurses in NZ should see the basic pay of a Registered nurse range between $40k (entry) and $54k (5 yrs experience).

This year a NZ nurse earnign your $37k takes home about $5500 less than the UK equivalent. From next year many NZ nurses will be taking home more than their UK equivalents. With that in mind you should then factor the big difference in living costs between the two countries.

I think your point about National Insurance is a valid position to take but unfortunately not supported by the underlying figures. A UK nurse earning £17k per year pays about £1350 each year in NI. Thats almost $3600 per year!!! That's about the same as 70 visits to a NZ doctor... I'd rather save the NI and pay for the Doc thank you.

Sorry... NZ nurses have far higher spending power than their UK equivalents.

Alan.

southerner

For some people the cost of living/salary equation will mean that NZ provides a lower standard of living (as measured by disposable income type measures). Many immigrants put up with this as they are outweighed in their minds by improved lifestyle and social factors.

I hate rules of thumb, but the ones who most often succeed are those who have some of the following attributes:
- want to bring up kids in more relaxed environment
- can make a go of it financially
- want to start a business
- love the outdoors
- want to cash in the expensive UK house for something better in NZ
- want to escape the rat race

Its a tough call, only you know whether your doubts are genuine reasons for pulling out, or the usual pre-move jitters that we all seem to suffer at some time.

Deb+Chris

We were every single one of those southerner... every one.

NZ has loads, absolutely loads of good things going for it, I miss things about being there, I really do.. but definately not enough. The UK provides a better income, better housing, cheaper food/clothes/books/shoes, so many things we can now afford off our UK wage. We also feel like we're (Chris) is appreciated at his work, he is having a ball now, thinks it's too easy... the kiwi way just wasn't for us but we understand why it might be for others.

There can't be a hard and fast rule about who will 'make it' and who won't... as I said before, it's very personal all this and not easy for anyone.

Think HARD about it.
Deb