darlo_tony

good mornin / evening to everyone
i am very new to this only started yesterday by hijacking other peoples threads just a quick intro then i am tony 37 (the driving force for this life changing adventure)i have my OT (the brains) and two children 7 & 11 i have found out some things already from various people (thanks for that) and am slowly going through a long list of questions which seems to get bigger .
today my first question is does anyone know a wage calculator? or can you advise how i get from gross wage to take home pay so that we can try and work out the rough finances
also if i may ask is there a good time to get an agent to help with emigrating process if so are you allowed to recommend???
thanks tony

Avid

$0-$38,000 you pay 19.5% tax
$38,000-$60,000 you pay 33% tax
$60,001 or more you pay 39% tax

www.ird.govt.nz has all the details.

darlo_tony

ouch !!!!!!!
is there no lower tax relief then like here?

luvwelly

You do not need an agent...the Government website contains all the info you need and you can also email them for guidance. You have to do most of the form filling even with an agent anyway and they can't go for the medical instead of you, so it would be a rip off at worst or money for old rope at best.

If your employer is paying.... a bit of relocation assistance (showing around etc) once you arrive is helpful and takes some of the pressure off but as it's an English speaking country and the natives are friendly and helpful..it is not an essential by any means and most people do everything themselves.
We used http://www.relocate.co.nz/ when we got here only and they were very good but our employer paid, so no idea whether good value.
They are very good at taking the donkey work out of finding suitable (heated ) properties to rent because of their local knowledge. I'd chosen my house by day 3 and I still love it. The way it works is that you fill in a detailed questionnaire before arrival and then you are assigned one person (usually a mature lady) who will act as chauffeur/guide/advisor for about two weeks solid and you can check in afterwards with any queries as well.

darlo_tony

thanks for that i have added to my ever growing list of favorites
i have been sent link for living in welly but apart from the high winds are the any other negatives, it all just seems really too good to be true!!

luvwelly

In Wellington itself, can't really think of any major negatives. So long as the salary you get is sufficient to pay all the bills without scrimping (big if for some/many) and you have enough to enjoy the cafes/general lifestyle etc etc.
There are plenty of other places on North Island I would not wish to be marooned permanently in however.
The isolation is the major downside of the whole venture but I am not here forever so less of an issue for me - even I am surprised how isolated Wellington is....the next nearest major place probably being Palmerston North 2 hours up the motorway....nowhere is that isolated in the UK except maybe in the Scottish Highlands and their motorways are way better!

darlo_tony

i know its probably an impossible question to answer but do you have any idea what an english teacher could look to earn a year?????
and is there plenty of casual work (work in call centre here) for un skilled people

saritabear

check out the teach nz website. they have a salary link - it depends on your experience here. you'll have to get your qualifications assessed by them and then register with them in order to be able to teach. Costs a few hundred quid to get it all done (2-300 from memory). Teaching salaries aren't huge there. I've got 6 years experience at secondary and my projected salary was around half of what I earned here. Hence I am going to stay at home and be a lady wot lunches!!!
Theres a good cost of living calculator :
http://www.emigratenz.org/cost-of-li...w-zealand.HTML
you have to put in all your projected outgoings and then it'll tell you how much you'll need to earn to cover this. I did it wrong the first time and it came out at $200,000 a year salary. Went back and changed it and came up at $75,000 so phew!!!

darlo_tony

o my god just had a quick go on your cost of living link & have worked out that we need to earn $107k just to survive
what are the weekly costs of medical, child care & heating anyway???????????

Maz

The company I work for subsidises Southern Cross healthcare, but I pay $9 a week for 80%+ coverage for the three of us.

Heating - depends entirely on the type of house you have, insulation (most have little to none), size, type of heat, glazing (most houses have single)

Child care - sorry, haven't scanned back through your posts, but how many children, and what ages?

Are you looking to live in central Wellington, or the 'burbs?

saritabear

sorry to scare you! not sure on heating stuff but think it can be pretty expensive for the reasons Maz says. Childcare I think its fairly reasonable but it can be tricky to get a place. Come and live near us and I'll look after your kids! Seriously though I'm not gonna teach there cos its a lot of work, especially with a family, for not a lot of return. Sorry but I just don't love teaching THAT much. So I will either do some relief teaching when my boys at school or I'll do childminding....I'm very cheap as my OH keeps telling me!

CAN2NZ

Only three percent of individuals make more than one hundred thousand dollars here. Of those, one percent make over one hundred and fifty thousand according to the department of finance. So your 107K, puts you up there, but it is not impossible. Might be hard on a teacher's salary to find yourself in that bracket, but with two working you might get there.

darlo_tony

but do you know what an average teachers wage would be ?????
and could i expect to get a job that pays at least $30k (no skills)

saritabear

secondary teachers rates from July 2008 range from $28,800 for point 1 up to $66,300 for point 14. I think its similar to the UK - you move up the scale according to experience, responsibility etc.
sb

mallard

Just wanted to say Hi and welcome.

We are in exactly the same boat as you and at about the same point in the application process. We too have kids aged 7 and 11 and are looking at Tauranga as a possible location. I am a Midwife and will be the primary applicant, hubby is planning to look for work once we are out there and settled. We have sold our house and are living in rented accomodation and reckon we should have about £50k to take with us, however, how much of that will be left after costs is beyond me!! The expense of just getting there is esculating each day. I am just in the process of applying for professional registration, so far this has alone has cost £650! My Sister is an English Teacher and has been offered a job at a school in Auckland. I will ask her for any details she has about Teaching. Hope to keep in touch. Could PM you as and when I get new info!
Kind regards
Mallard