MarkMcKeown

Hi there, my name is Mark and I'm new to the site!

I'm from Scotland, been living in England for the past two years and I'm moving to Auckland at the end of January. It's always been an aspiration of mine to move and work abroad at some point in my life, and I've received a great opportunity that I couldn't say no to, so I'm taking the plunge! I'm very excited but naturally nervous about a few things!

I have a few questions that I would love some assistance on if anyone has the time to lend a helping hand;

1. My new employer is putting me up in accommodation for one month. Within this first month I'll be looking for my own place. I might look into house sharing, but ideally I'd prefer my own place with 2 bedrooms (I'm not moving with any family, but I'd like the spare room for visitors). I've had a look on some sites already, and the housing market seems to be very different from the UK. I see a lot of things called 'units' which essentially look like fixed caravans? Are these quite popular? And are they safe/warm etc? What price would you be looking to pay for a furnished 2-bedroom apartment? About $350/week or is that optimistic?

2. Are there any areas to avoid in Auckland? I've heard it's a lovely city but everywhere has it's 'dodgy' places that are best kept away from. My workplace is based in Henderson to the west of the city, so I'd be keen to base myself in the city, or west of the city.

3. If I am renting, is it fairly easy to set up broadband and/or cable TV? I'm very big on my sports and would like the equivalent of Sky in NZ whatever that might be. Broadband is very important to me to keep in contact with family back home.

4. Can anyone recommend a good mobile network that offer good rates on phonecalls back home, or do most people tend to use Skype?

5. Is football fairly popular in NZ? I play football 3 nights a week here in the UK and I think I'd miss it a lot if I were to stop playing completely. Is it fairly easy to find friendly after-work teams to play in?

6. What is the easiest/quickest way to fly from UK to NZ? It seems that Emirates is the best way with a stop in Dubai and then a stop for fuel in Australia. I think I can get to NZ with one stop only (going west through the US) but it seems to be far more expensive.

7. I've been told that it's a good idea to set up a NZ bank account before I leave. Can anyone recommend the best/biggest banks? I've heard ANZ is a good shout.

8. I intend on keeping my UK bank account open when I move, so keep small debts/direct debits trickling over. Is it easy enough to transfer funds from my NZ account to my UK account?

I know I've asked a lot of questions and I don't expect anyone to answer them all, but if you can help on any of them it would be much appreciated!

Also, if any like minded people would like to meet up when I move out then get in touch! I'm not going to know anyone when I get out there so it would be great to meet with people and start making connections around the city. I'm a 26 year old male from Scotland, I enjoy football, golf, casual drinks and could spend a whole day at the cinema!

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

Mark.

snaps

Hi Mark,
I am sure there will be a number of people on here that will be able to help.
Good luck in Auckland.
Not sure which route I prefer, Dubai airport is wonderful but then having to stop at OZ on the way too. Going via LA is long in 2 hops, just ENSURE you have the correct form for entry into the airport at LA, the security there is not too friendly at times.

janeyk

Hi there, my name is Mark and I'm new to the site!

I'm from Scotland, been living in England for the past two years and I'm moving to Auckland at the end of January. It's always been an aspiration of mine to move and work abroad at some point in my life, and I've received a great opportunity that I couldn't say no to, so I'm taking the plunge! I'm very excited but naturally nervous about a few things!

I have a few questions that I would love some assistance on if anyone has the time to lend a helping hand;

1. My new employer is putting me up in accommodation for one month. Within this first month I'll be looking for my own place. I might look into house sharing, but ideally I'd prefer my own place with 2 bedrooms (I'm not moving with any family, but I'd like the spare room for visitors). I've had a look on some sites already, and the housing market seems to be very different from the UK. I see a lot of things called 'units' which essentially look like fixed caravans? Are these quite popular? And are they safe/warm etc? What price would you be looking to pay for a furnished 2-bedroom apartment? About $350/week or is that optimistic?
depends where you live you need to think of Auckland like London lots of burbs the further out the cheaper it is,

2. Are there any areas to avoid in Auckland? I've heard it's a lovely city but everywhere has it's 'dodgy' places that are best kept away from. My workplace is based in Henderson to the west of the city, so I'd be keen to base myself in the city, or west of the city.
there are pockets like every city some say the south some say the West, depends on your lifestyle and commute are you working in CBD?

3. If I am renting, is it fairly easy to set up broadband and/or cable TV? I'm very big on my sports and would like the equivalent of Sky in NZ whatever that might be. Broadband is very important to me to keep in contact with family back home.

yes telcom and vodapone and sky all do deals like UK Vodapone are sdoing a sky deal at present and yes a lot of rentals aloow sky from my experience

4. Can anyone recommend a good mobile network that offer good rates on phonecalls back home, or do most people tend to use Skype?

4 networks vodaphone, telecom 2 degrees and skinny

5. Is football fairly popular in NZ? I play football 3 nights a week here in the UK and I think I'd miss it a lot if I were to stop playing completely. Is it fairly easy to find friendly after-work teams to play in?

yes many clubs accross the city not sure about 3 times a week but yes and they play summer soccer

6. What is the easiest/quickest way to fly from UK to NZ? It seems that Emirates is the best way with a stop in Dubai and then a stop for fuel in Australia. I think I can get to NZ with one stop only (going west through the US) but it seems to be far more expensive.

US means you need an entry visa it depends really what you call quick average is 25-30 hours

7. I've been told that it's a good idea to set up a NZ bank account before I leave. Can anyone recommend the best/biggest banks? I've heard ANZ is a good shout.

we use westpac which we could set up before arrving and then activate once in the country most banks do

8. I intend on keeping my UK bank account open when I move, so keep small debts/direct debits trickling over. Is it easy enough to transfer funds from my NZ account to my UK account?

we have found this easy of late with westpac to barclays

I know I've asked a lot of questions and I don't expect anyone to answer them all, but if you can help on any of them it would be much appreciated!

Also, if any like minded people would like to meet up when I move out then get in touch! I'm not going to know anyone when I get out there so it would be great to meet with people and start making connections around the city. I'm a 26 year old male from Scotland, I enjoy football, golf, casual drinks and could spend a whole day at the cinema!

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

Mark.

jmh

Hi Mark

I'd probably wait until you get here to decide on an area. Your employer and work colleagues will be able to give advice and may even have contacts for you. A month is plenty of time to find somewhere. A unit is a small house attached to another house. Often you'll have several units on a property. They are popular with renters and better priced than a general house. Would be cheaper to house share though. Depends a bit on your income.

You can get Sky if the place has a satellite dish - I'm not aware of cable in Auckland. Mobile broadband available but expensive (like the UK). Telecom mobile broadband has the best coverage, but 2 Degrees is cheaper (although Telecom's prices have come down a bit recently).

Broadband is cheaper via the phone line. I use Slingshot which allows access to overseas on demand tv like BBC iplayer for free (you still pay for the mb).

Mobile networks: Vodfone, Telecom and 2 Degrees. I wouldn't buy a Skinny phone - they are locked (I'm not sure how they get away with that because phones are not allowed to be locked here).

I use Skype for overseas calls. It's incredibly cheap for phone calls and of course free for video calls.

I have heard of people playing football (you mean soccer of course ).

You've done your homework on flights. Quickest through LA, cheapest Emirates last time I looked.

It's easy to set up a bank online before you leave. I went with Kiwibank which has been fine. You have to front up with ID when you get here. Their online account has no fees which is why I chose it and it seems to be cheaper than some of the others.

It's easy to transfer money between banks, either using the bank itself or through a foreign exchange company which is cheaper. I use xe.com and hifx.com which are both very easy to use.

Snap Shot

Henderson isn't in the CBD. So you may not have to commute to far. South Auckland has got a bad reputation for crime, unemployment, poor quality housing etc.

West Auckland can be known as the wild west. My mother in law lives in West Auckland. 'On the eye' it looked ok. However, you will need a car to get around. The public transport is limited.

My sister in law and her husband and kids live on the Auckland's North Shore. People think the North Shore is posh, nah, it's just expensive for the same old standard of houses, just bigger.

Good luck with your move, I hope it goes well for you. All the best for 2014.

sarahw

Well if you could spend a whole day at the cinema you'll have to try the 24 hour movie marathon they have in Avondale each year http://www.incrediblystrange.co.nz/marathon/intro/