Grobo35

May be moving to Newzeland in the new year along with the wife and three kids.Will have about 100k British and going to a job that pays approx 60k NZ.Will possibly be in the Auckland area but may be going else where.All the kids below the age of eleven and I would like some idea of what to expect.Would like to put as much of the money as possible onto a house.We live in a fairly large house at the moment and are wondering if the same will be possible in NZ with what we are starting of with.Any help would be greatly appreciated as we may have to make a choice between NZ and Australia and would like to make the most of what we have got.Cheers Geoff.

mumomonty

For overall lifestyle and more choice in life for your children please do not come here, go to Oz. 600 people a week leave NZ for the UK or for Oz due to climate, lifestyle and opportunities. I hve lived in both. In Oz it is quite 'american' but after you get over that and if you are not homesick the place is so postive compared to NZ. The weather can be bloody amazingly hot yes but consider somewhere like Melbourne which itself has a European feel.

If your life in the UK is very comfortable then I would say stay put and work out why you think it will improve by moving lock, stock and barrel and are you ready for the amount of disruption it causes in a family which when you are settled and if you genuinely like the place, is worth it.

If you have enough funds, come and visit both while you are in the UK and travel is relatively cheap.

Markk

So, that settles it. Don't come to New Zealand whatever you do.

bookemjano

Hi Geoff, welcome to the forum. Horses for courses, and I've never been to Oz, but if it's any help we've found NZ to be the right move for us. I know we may have just been extremely lucky, apart from one thing go wrong we seem to have landed on our feet with everything else, but we like the lifestyle here. But it all depends on what you want - we're not high spenders or sporty mad so we can keep within a budget, which you do have to do here if you don't want to get into debt, but on a day to day basis we're positive that this was the right thing for us to do.

Congratulations on the job offer, that will make a big difference if you decide to come here. I can't say anything about Auckland, never been there.

Perhaps you should post something similar in the Australia forum - get a feel there for expats who either love or loathe it? I did a lot of reading on the moving back to UK forum as well before coming here to see what was pulling people back, some of the posts will give you food for thought before deciding to leave.

Good luck with your decisions,
Jan

hubbard

Hi Geoff

I vote Oz too. We lived in NZ for three years and are now in Oz. Oz offers a better lifestyle than NZ if you are after:
better weather
fantastic scenary
loads of outdoor activities
good employment prospects in the larger cities
lower cost of living (apart from property prices in Sydney)

Have experienced living in BOTH countries and this is certainly mine and my husband's findings.

newkiwi

Hi and congrats on the job offer. 60k is ok but not stellar for auckland. If you have a large mortgage I dont think it will be enough. Without a mortage or with a small mortgage it will make it easier to manage. will still require good budgeting.

housing is the biggest expense in auckland, if you want to stretch your budget maybe look at locations on the outskirts. means more travelling commuting but thats a trade off. houses in inner city auckland start at about $500k, you would want to minimise your mortgage thoug as interest rates are very high at the moment.

Relatives of ours bought in Papakura, nice big house but is quite a commute. Some of the suburbs on the North Shore are also goiing to give you better value for money. Choice below 350k will be limited i think, but possible. Relatively big houses will be around, but you will have to accept it will require additional commuting.

In cities outside of auckland housing costs are less.

Some ppl seem to have had negative experiences in NZ, other positive. I guess it pays to read both sides and form a balanced view. I have only spent a few months in Aus on secondment, didnt really grab me but each person has their own opinions.

Good luck, its always tough to make decisions such as this..

K9s

15,000 Brits left the UK and moved to NZ last year !!!!!!!!!!!!!

silvermuse

they probably all want to go back again. most of them end up leaving after a couple of years or buggering off to oz.

melting pot

And 31000 left nz....so the point being made is!!!

mumomonty

Yeh cos as a percentage 31,000 is way higher than those leaving the UK.

babybella

You don't say!
15,000 is from Britain alone, NZ being the wonderful country it is does attract immigrants from countries other than Britain!
Overall net immigration to NZ is still higher than net migration.
KAZ

K9s

Well said Kaz

These doom and gloom merchants are starting to get on my nerves

shame some of them are not included in the supposedly 31,000 leaving NZ

hiddybiddy

NOW THATS FUNNY!!

babybella

[QUOTE=K9s]Well said Kaz

These doom and gloom merchants are starting to get on my nerves

shame some of them are not included in the supposedly 31,000 leaving NZ


Yeah getting on my nerves too, I could organise a whip round for their plane tickets back to blighty.
KAZ

mumomonty

[QUOTE=kaz Hen] Who says I have to stay for one thing?

Also, I'm only trying to make it real because people from the UK would do almost anything to leave at the moment and coming to 'quaint behind the times but living simply NZ' appeals but that would work all being equal but it isn't.

Sounds like you, Spazhen, have been away too long and don't realise that in the last 4 years it has become very difficult for the average earners to live here in a basic manner.

As for the whipround, yes please :-)