Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Hostile is too strong, perhaps the attitude of the French to Parisians is nearest - a bit brash, a bit sharp in business dealings, a bit 'flash'......

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Only in the same way the Scots love us English.
And when the rest of us are told we may have to help
to pay for uncle Lens ludicrous transport plans

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

A tad of a generalisation there !

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Noes :p It's just a part of the NZ's psyche. Bit like those in the Midlands thinking that London is given the cream whilst everyone else gets the dregs. That sort of thing really. Nothing sinister but a bit annoying at times.

MrBEVS gets a company vehicle.
It is a works van :p Mind you it is big enough to use for an overnight camp NZ style :nod:

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Houses can be on mains or tank water, especially the further out from Auckland you go. If on tank and renting then the tank is normally full at the start and you make sure it is full at the end of the tenancy. The tanks take water from the guttering/roof, you would only need to pay for a tanker if during the summer you run dry but on such a small household (I have 4 daughters), you should be fine.

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Four daughters!! How do you stay sane? Despite recriminations, my daughter would run our dutch barge water tanks dry (1500 litres) in a weekend visit :-)

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Largely by starting with a 20,000 litre tank :-)

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Our water (Auckland) is $40 ish per month on meter - ours is always shown to be well below the typical usage of a two person home but probably reflects the fact that there's nobody home for at least ten hours per day.

We have to pay for rubbish disposal too - we pay for a private wheely bin $200 per year (by choice) because I think it is slightly more economical than paying for bags at the supermarket and worth it for the convenience . It's not the same everywhere in Auckland - CBD & central areas gets wheely bins included in rates and all other areas you have to pay by the bag (bags available from most supermarkets). This is likely to change, in coming years we should all end up on the same system but I guess somehow you end up paying.

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Yes as evidenced in this thread people just can't help themselves from trying to have a dig or make every issue into a 'JAFA' versus everyone else thing.

Tax rules apply across the country and there are no specific rules that apply differently to rural usage or 'JAFAs' when it comes to companies paying tax on personal use. of vehicles. There are some exemptions that apply for restricted use, non-passenger carrying types of work vehicles e.g. Utes and Stationwagons and cars that are racked out or have had rear seats removed to be used as vans. I'd suggest that those who claim to use them at will for personal use are almost certainly not complying with their company policy. It is the company's responsibility to monitor and restrict usage but I guess there will always be some that are more slack than others.

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

I loved the movie – My Cousin Vinnie

“What’s a UTE “ :lol:

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

So basically - country vs city ?

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Not actually sure what the prob is here.
It's national normal practice. Very commonplace and even more than commonplace & normal practice ;)
It is simply what happens and how it is.
Ensure you pop a bit in the tank to cover and away you go.

Is there a problem here ? I didn't think so.

Noes again. We have a city. It is Nelson.

South Island has a major city and it is called Christchurch and it needs a lot, a HUGE lot, more care than it is currently getting.

We also have Dunedin.

I have no idea about the North Island but in the South Island we value all our communities. Big and small.

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

I would like to say thank you for all your input on this. My task is to understand what I, as a solo parent (single wage) need to be looking at in terms of salary band vs COL.

I also think it is important to have a rainy day buffer as I have previously been made redundant and as we all know the bills keep coming in, regardless.

I have updated my spreadsheet to this (below) , and further comments would be welcome. Cheers for now

ITEM WEEKLY MONTH x 4 After overheads
Rent 500
Food 120
School costs 100
Car 50
Petrol 50
School trips 50
Electric / heating 40
Clothing 25
Doctors / medical insure 25
Misc entertainment 25
Water supply ? 20
Home & maint 20
Internet 20
Car insure 15
Other 15
House - contents insure 10

Sub total 1085 x 4 = 4340

Take home Pay @ $65 k 4294 after overheads -46
Take home Pay @ $75 k 4853 after overheads 513
Take home Pay @ $80 k 5126 after overheads 786
Take home Pay @ $85 k 5399 after overheads 1059
Take home Pay @ $90 k 5672 after overheads 1332

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

I think it shows you that even at your most optimistic salary range you will be cutting it very close to the bone and any requirements to replace major household items, furniture, holidays, Christmas pressies and such are likely to be a big deal and will tip you into the negative. You'll be left with some tough decisions to make regarding cutting corners, whether to forego a trip to the dentist to fix the achy tooth or afford a trip home. That sums up life for most people by the way!!

I think you may be short anyway as seemingly missing the fact that there are 52 weeks of the year - 4 weeks x 12 months is only 48 weeks of costs

Re: Looking at Auckland – Cost of living , trying to gauge salary I need to aim for
 

Yeah thanks. I meant to change that to 52 - most billing here in UK ( rent etc) is monthly based.

It does make me wonder how folk survive on the ave NZ salary (using the ave of $51 k) . :eek:

It does seem that NZ is very expensive, I say that by comparison. My current COL is £1050 p/m and that is pretty much the same as included above (except med ins).

I have to do some scratching around regarding schooling as my son is in a really good school here and pretty settled. It’s a big move to (NZ) consider.

Thanks for your input. :thumbup: