bourbon-biscuit

Yes, shift leave is great. If you regularly work out of hours and/or overtime as my husband did it means that not only are you accruing more leave whenever you do it but also when you actually go on AL you earn more than you would on a flat working week ....

I would consider very very carefully a move to Auckland unless you are bringing a nice hunk of cash and your partner is also earning. There's Auckland and then there's the rest of NZ as far as cost of living goes. I note that you mentioned a salary you saw in NZ as being close to what you currently earn but how did you work that out? If you used the current exchange rate you have made a rather massive error.

kakapo

I am not a nurse but work in health - if you do not work shift work, annual leave allowance significantly less 20 compared to my 33 in NHS (due to have worked there for over ten years). In NZ it does not go up with time but you get an additional week every now and then (I think when you have worked 10 years for the first time). When you compare wages, you also have to take into account that here you work 40 rather than 37.5 hours a week.

bourbon-biscuit

That's a good point. One of the things my husband (and I) are enjoying about nursing in NSW is that you work 40hrs per week but the working week is 38 hours so you get an ADO every month - he can save up to three at a time. An extra 12 days-ish hols per year for working the same working week as in NZ sure is nice.

ellers1969

Hi, I have just joined this site and this thread is what I am looking for. My family and I are going to Auckland (Torbay area) in February 2018 to visit our eldest daughter, fiancé and granddaughter. We have discussed many times about emigrating to join them but until now this has not been possible however as a family we are now at a stage where we can. My biggest concern is that I am a newly qualified nurse and at time of writing only have 6 months post graduate experience in elderly care. My concerns are lack of experience will go against me when applying for a job but as I am 48 this year I don't want to leave it too long and have my age go against me. My husband is an IT systems administrator manager with 20 years experience but does not have a degree so we are relying on my application to get a visa. Although the family live in North Shore area of Auckland we don't mind living an hour or two drive away from them as it will still be nearer than the other side of the world. Any advice would be fantastic

Sparkleydiva

Hi there, and welcome

I think you have a few things to think about, with the big one being your lack of nursing experience at the moment. Most NZ jobs will look for 2 years experience and usually NZ experience (don't get me started on that one!), even in elderly care. Age isn't usually a problem, especially in nursing and elderly care, I worked with some nurses who weren't far short of those being looked after! For nursing I don't think NZ is particularly ageist. There are also a lot of home grown newly qualified nurses who haven't been able to secure jobs too - so that may also be a problem (bit like teaching).

Your husband may also struggle. My DH worked in IT and did get a job after about 3 months (back in 2008) but changing jobs was much more challenging as although he had NZ experience by this time, he was post 50 and no degree either. The IT market is quite a tight pool from what I have seen and demands for qualifications can be quite high as there is good access to tertiary education in NZ.

Torbay is a lovely area, expensive but where in Auckland isn't? The commute to the city, or even Takapuna in rush hour is awful and it's now almost a year since I last did that; but if you want to stay in elderly care maybe take a look at Warkworth - fast growing area, not too far or too bad a commute to Torbay to see family and a growing residential/nursing home population.

Good luck!

Bo-Jangles

I think your options will be limited being a relatively inexperienced nurse, since there is no longer any shortage and local new graduates can't find work.

It's at least one to two hours drive to get anywhere outside of Auckland and leaves you very few options of places to work immediately beyond the three Auckland regional DHBs.

Auckland City and Starship Hospital (Auckland DHB) are about 1 hour or more from Torbay depending on time of day
Waitakere and North Shore Hospitals (Waitemata DHB) within 1 hour
Middlemore Hospital (Counties Manukau DHB) 1 to 1.5 hours depending on time of day
Hamilton (Waikato DHB) about 2 hours drive on a good day outside of peak
Whangarei (Northland DHB) about 2 hours going North out of town but can take a heck of a lot longer coming back the other way

Gill and Rob

You need 2 years of experience to be able to register as an RN with the Nursing Council of New Zealand.

Regards

ellers1969

Thank you everyone for your advice. I had already seen on the emigrating sites that 2 years experience is required which I would have by the time we apply (if we do), we have also said we would not move without jobs to go to so who knows. When we come to NZ in February it is only for a 3 week visit but we were going to try and get some interviews lined up during our visit however reading all your replies I don't know if this will happen. Fortunately nurses are still in demand here in the UK so I do have a pick of job and I am already doing my Tissue Viability training to be the hospitals link nurse. We will definitely take all your advice on board and look forward to our NZ holiday.

garethwm

Work travel times very much depend on time of day. Off peak, Torbay / Long Bay to Auckland Hospital is pretty straight forward in my experience. Much quicker than somewhere like Devonport even though further away. Ive done from Torbay several times and comfortably in half an hour. 7 am to 9 am, double the time though. Middlemore maybe 40 mins off peak. On peak, the Bridge and Mt Wellington bottlenecks add significant time to the journey.