paul2

am i doing the wright thing, ive got 2 kids and a wife my kids are 11 and 2, ive just about got resedence now but i hear loads of stories saying i wont beabl to survive on the money there, i am a joiner house building etc. i struggle here in to earn a living? im from grimsby in linconshire

is there much woork for joiners in pahia? am self employed here but its a struggle now just seem to get hammerd every which way

cheers paul

shirl

Far north I don't think there is much work at all. Pahia is lovely part of NZ but alas I don't think there would be much work there but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Check out www.trademe.co.nz or www.seek.co.nz and search the job listings.

Good luck.

Genesis

Paul, to be blunt we need to know what you anticipate your earnings to be and how much capital you are bringing before we can give you an idea as to how you will fare (I refer to your 1st post).

You are lucky as the $ is low in value at present..around $2.75 just now..its been as strong as down to $2.50 only a few months ago..of course no one knows what it will do in the next few months..it could go to $3 for a £!!!

NZ is a strange littel place. You really need to want to be here rather than it sounds like a nice place to live. Just like the UK it has a barrow load of problems. Alot of the problems in the Uk affected me daily, here fortunately very few of the problems affect me directly in anyway. I am sure there are indirect ways all the shite here affects me but our quality of life in NZ is way superior to what we left in the UK.

The only way to see if its for you is to live it. Be mindful a large group of would be settlers to NZ end up in Oz..have you not considered Oz???

Am Loolah

Hi Paul - my friend's hubby has is a joiner and he is using

http://www.tradestaff.co.nz/Home

and seems to have found a new position here in less than a week. They are in Taupo/Rotovegas area though, don't know about Pahia. You could try PM'ing pixidust as she lives near there.

Ted Logan

Hi Paul,


Lifes how you make it. Hopefully you will have some savings to bring over which will make things easier to begin with.

Depending where you live and how "posh" you want to be will depend on your budget.

Just remember shorts in the summer, sweaters in the winters

renoir9

Where are you moving to ( city or rural?) as this makes a big difference to costs and life style

Fooferfish

As long as you remember that there is more to NZ past Auckland? and that will make a difference to your pocket, but your kids will stay kids for longer in NZ.

Heavenlyscent

Paul it depends on what and how far u want yr money to go. We left Grimsby in 2005 and returned in 2007. Sold 5 bed detached house over 200.000 profit, but living on the wages in New zealand proved too difficult for us, Granted we went over with 4 children. My hubby is an HGV driver so on good money in the Uk. I also taught at the Local Institute but in NZ I could not find work, due to being over qualified for the area we settled in. We found that we were eating into our savings every single month. My husband was on good money in NZ, so everyone else kept telling us, be we could not survive on it. The cost of living is higher in NZ than the UK, food prices are dear and you have little choice and the quality is not good. It will cost at least 15 pounds for a leg of lamb. But u have to try it for yourself. We all worry as it gets nearer to getting on that plane, my hubby would be back there tomorrow, he still has a good job offer, but for me it was too much of a struggle. Do u know Pete Smith a builder in Healing? Well he can tell u what a rollercoaster ride it has been for us.

shirl

Ouch where did you shop for a leg of lamb! I pay around $26 and less if I see a bargain which is just under 10 GBP - I found lamb to be quite pricey in the UK anyway and it is definitely cheaper here. But on the whole I think it compares to the UK quite favourably. I spend roughly $200 per week which at todays exchange rate is 73.20 GBP which is less than I would have spent in the UK. However, we do eat well for that. It was more like nearer 80/90 GBP per week back home - I do however shop around and there is only the 2 of us and the occassional grandchildren/Children who come over to eat. I find it great to get back to cooking good basic home made food but then I do have the time to do it. Most families might rely on more easily ready meals if both parents are working etc which would make it expensive.

We both used to bring in a wage back home and were struggling then and only the OH works here and we are still managing to make ends meet and have a much better house than we ever could have had back in the UK as regards space, rooms, etc. However, NZ is not for everyone, some people would prefer to struggle in familiar surroundings rather than come here and struggle. I do wonder some times if I will ever return to the UK but for now we are happy to be here and have been for nearly 2 years now. Yes I get homesick sometimes and want to cut and run but then the sun comes out and things look much brighter and there are still wonderful places to be explored and everything gets put back into perspective for me. It is one of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make in your life and I hope you make the right one for you and your family.

paul2

sounds good to me!!! i live in a terrace house with loads of dol bums round me and they seem to get buy better then me. i think the uk is just work work work then tax tax tax you just seem to get hammerd in every direction

paul2

i have been offerd a job in pahia bay of islands?

paul2

hi i will have around £8000 to bring, i live in a terrace house not really the best life! am comftable but i have to work 6 days a week to live

shirl

You really should check out the property on Trademe. The Far North is way way expensive and if you don't have a huge deposit you may have to way up your options on where you live/accept a job - maybe try another area or look at rentals. Go to www.trademe.co.nz click on Property, then Rent or Buy then Northland then Far North and look down the list for Pahia. Sorry if I am trying to teach you to suck eggs. Went there last November for a holiday and loved it, would love to live there but too pricey for me!!

BOI Unique Beautiful Setting Opua for $449,000 looks good though if you could stretch to that. Check it out. Great little place it looks. Sorry couldn't find a listing number for it so just put in the title! Lots more I see just under the $500 mark. You need to look past the first page, unlike me!!!! Maybe I can afford to live there after all LOL!!

howden40

£8,000 should give you a good $20,000. Enough to get you started, but not a deposit on a house. Due to the housing climate I understand the banks are insisting on a 25% deposit. It's hard/almost impossible to save for a mortgage when renting, hence my soon to be 24 year old is still at home, but he would still of been at home in the UK (Arrived 1st Jan 08).

You can live cheaply here, you don't have to have all the latest and best accessories - car, TV etc.

Pauline

Marika 38

Shirl, I couldn't agree more, this sounds exactly like us, my OH is a truckie, bringing in more money than he was on in U.K, and like you we are happier with the house we have, we're closer to the beach, and we came from Cwll, we are family of 4, so we feel a normal, manageable life can be obtained here, but it does take a bit of budgeting some weeks.
You have said some very wise words.