ChocolateOrange

I have to make a decision by tomorrow as to where we live and work...I'm so stuck. Each has positives and negatives.

We've been offered a job in both countries and both are so different. So I'm after some opinions.


Tenerife: A really good wage with bonuses and guaranteed 2% increase every year. The husband would work away a lot. I've never been to Tenerife however the photos make it look very black/grey with looming volcanic rocks/ash everywhere. I don't like international education which leaves either the bi-lingual school on the east coast or home school. I am a wedding photographer and we love to travel. Being in Europe wold mean we can travel.

NZ: We lived in Aus for 4 years but never visited NZ. The wage is quite low, much lower than we were on in Aus. The cost of living worries me although there seems to be loads to do. We like spending time outdoors. Auckland is having a massive housing crisis and I'm worried we'd never find anywhere to live.

Please help, I'm going out of my mind with 'what ifs' lol.

Thanks

Bo-Jangles

Seems like a no brainer to me - do the quick and easy thing, give Tenerife a shot for a year or two with a view to deciding looking at NZ as a longer term proposition without the added pressure and in the meantime save up some money .

ChocolateOrange

The NZ job won't be on offer in a year though. Plus it isn't good for or CVs to have a job of a year. Plus my husband is in his 40s, not many companies look to hire after you're a certain age.

Bo-Jangles

That's sounding like excuses and you need to take a more objective view of the pros and cons:

• there will be other jobs
• 18 months to two years is fine on your CV
• 40 is no age at all

Truly stunned that in 2016 you are worrying about being too old in your 40s - you're at the prime of your life and another two years is nothing. Crikey I'm in my fifties and not struggled with ageism ever and am working alongside lots of people who are well over 70.

chocolate cake

Yeah, agree with above advice. You mention Auckland housing and ability to travel. In Tenerife the options for overseas travel will more, shorter distances and cheaper too.

Also Id definitely visit NZ before making any decision to move. Yes, Auckland housing is expensive, ridiculously so, however it simply can't get worse as homes are unaffordable for many as it is.

scrubbedexpat094

It's a no brained to me. Definitely Tenerife. Bo-Jangles has given you good reasons why. In a year or two a better job offer for NZ may well be on the table. Life is full of unknowns. Life can be very miserable when you are a long way from home, having to watch every cent and can't afford to do all the fun things you would like to or took for granted at home.

As chocolate cake says, Auckland housing costs are ridiculously expensive but I don't expect to see them dropping anytime soon.

The weather isn't that great in Auckland. High humidity in the summer coupled with the burning sun means that I don't spend as much time outside as I used to in England. Winters are notoriously wet in Auckland. Many houses are poorly insulated, poorly heated and most aren't double glazed, hence it can be warmer outside than inside! Condensation and mould is not unusual in NZ houses. On a low salary, you probably won't be able to afford a decent rental.

NZ will still be here in a couple of years. Save up whilst in Tenerife and then come for a holiday here.

Justcol

go to tenerife....its that simple

ChocolateOrange

Together we would have a combined income of about $160k. Is this enough to live on?

We already lived in Brisbane for any years so the humidity isn't a problem plus we had bad housing there too lol.

Lisa Maree

I personally thing the objections you are mentioning to the comments are pretty telling, is there some other reason that you feel the pull towards the NZ option and not toward Tenerife which on paper sounds like the easy, sensible option? Given that you were right on NZ's door step previously and didn't visit then. Tenerife also offers a quick escape route back to the UK if it all goes awry.

I think $160k NZD is a pretty good salary, obviously wont get you what it did 2/5/10 yrs ago, and you wont be living on cucumbers and caviar but lots of people earn less than that and have perfectly nice lives.

Sometimes its not until we chose the left hand that we realise that it was what was in the right hand that we really wanted all along... just saying

No move has to be forever, you can always move back to the Northern Hemisphere at a later day tho that is a pretty pricey option.

Kotare

You imply you have kids which needs to considered. Getting them dug in to a NZ school might be better than chopping and changing - but multi lingual experience might be great - depends on the kids.

garethwm

$160k is nearly twice the average Auckland household income. It is my opinion that you will be able to live comfortably on that amount, especially if you have no kids. I dont think anyone can make up your mind for you as both destinations would offer different lives. Did you feel homesick for Britain while living in Brisbane? Perhaps take into account that Auckland house prices are high at least partly because it is considered by many a desirable place to live (ie demand outstrips supply). Let us know what you decide.

Damson

Factors that immediately spring to mind for me: the heat. Tenerife, when I was there was horribly hot. Not something I would like for a good part of the year.

The language: Do you/do you want to speak Spanish? Not something I would fancy on top of moving my family abroad. Plus, try as I might, I can't get used to driving on the right. Can't comment on education as I don't know anything about it in Tenerife but I wouldn't want to homeschool my kids (shudders!).

Basically it's horses for courses, and many would laugh at my reasoning, but all anybody can offer is their own opinion. Good luck.

escapedtonz

Aaarrrggghhh! What is wrong with you people ;-)

Tenerife....to live! With round the clock idiot tourists, timeshare rip off merchants, lucky lucky cheaper than Tesco price men selling crap on the street/beach, black sand, volcanic deserts, crazy high summer temps and freakish weather.

Don't get me wrong. Its a fine place for a holiday to unwind and have a blow out - I've been many times and travelled all over the island, but to live there, work there, bring the kids up there etc, you really think it's better than NZ ? Couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck on a tiny island and dodging the tourists on their hired mopeds.

Seems we do have differing opinions :-)

Justcol

Average house in Auckland now requires a $400k deposit

jayandbill

The only advice I can give you, having been here for 7 years and holidaying in the 4 years prior to moving is to do your research on both NZ and Tenerife. For me the Cons for NZ are the distance from anywhere else, cold houses, transport system (could do with a proper rail service, it takes ages to get around the country). The traffic in Auckland. The weather is just as unpredictable and changeable as the UK.
The pros. Here they speak the same language (well, sort of) I know where I'd go. Neither options are permanent but I feel that being on the other side of the world makes it harder to change your minds 2 years down the line .