RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Apr 2nd 2007, 11:43 am
#181
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2006
Location: Hobsonville NZ
Posts: 79
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Sorry here are a couple of the house everyone is a bit of a different design but all have good sized gardens
Rick & Tracy
Rick & Tracy
Apr 2nd 2007, 5:42 pm
#182
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Anyone on this thread posted at Ohakea Air Base as we arrive there in Nov 07. Could anyone tells us how their flight out to NZ was as with two teenagers it will be a long long flight. Do you travel economy class or is there a chance to upgrade if you wish to pay. If anyone could tell me anything on Ohakea and what to expect on the induction training. Cheers
Apr 2nd 2007, 8:33 pm
#183
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2006
Location: Hobsonville NZ
Posts: 79
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hi the flight was long im afraid there was no chance to upgrade. The kids were not to bad although my youngest was sick even with medical help.
We are Whenuapai the course was very helpful although i wish some one had told me the school uniforms are expensive and it would be a good idear to bring some a4 files and a4 paper also some school pens pencils u know all the stuff they need when they start school calculators are expensive.
Also if you can pack some shampoo bath stuff shower gel that sort of stuff as that is expensive .
I know i sound doom and gloom but im not the sun is shinning the beaches are lovley the houses arnt bad and we have been here a month and im still looking forward to the rest of my life here.
If i can help more please let me know.
Regards
Tracy
We are Whenuapai the course was very helpful although i wish some one had told me the school uniforms are expensive and it would be a good idear to bring some a4 files and a4 paper also some school pens pencils u know all the stuff they need when they start school calculators are expensive.
Also if you can pack some shampoo bath stuff shower gel that sort of stuff as that is expensive .
I know i sound doom and gloom but im not the sun is shinning the beaches are lovley the houses arnt bad and we have been here a month and im still looking forward to the rest of my life here.
If i can help more please let me know.
Regards
Tracy
Apr 3rd 2007, 3:06 am
#184
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hi all, I am reading all your questions and responses that have been posted here over the last couple of years. I wish we had known about this forum before we decided to move over here.
I will provide information to you that ios based on mine and my families experiences since transfering to the RNZAF.
Yes NZ is a truly wonderfull place to be and there are plenty of things to do in just about any subject you can imagine. There are great beaches up North and on the east coast, you can ski and snowboard on the mountains, there is plenty of space and traffic is not that busy, even in major cities although you will get caught in traffic it is nothing near the volume that is experienced in the UK.
I think it important to add a bit of realism to your decisions to move to NZ and work for the RNZAF. My advise is as follows:
Do not think for one minute that the AF will accept your previous knowledge and experience, the phrase "yes but that was in the UK" will become familiar! If the recruiters led you to believe that the AF has offered you employment for your skills and knowledge, they have not its a simple manning problem and "bums on seats" and you have to wonder why they cannot employ New Zealanders for these jobs. Now im not one to quote "this is how we did it in the UK", there is no need to quote this as the attitude of the kiwi AF is not dissimilar to that of "littlemans syndrome".
Financialy I would not even consider the move unless you have a full UK pension or at least $500000 dollars to buy a house cash and still have a fair amount of money left to sub your wage every month. Just consider the fact that it is a horrible situation to be in a great country but you do not have the money to do anything, look on the internet at the price of goods eg. a small cheap rug will cost in the region of $400, curtains will cost around around $159 per pair for a cheap set! milk is $4.20, bread $3.80, shampoo $9 for cheap rubbish. While this sounds good when you have the £'s it is like spending £4.20 on a 2lt bottle of milk and when you consider that you will only take home around $900 a fortnight a weekly shop will take up around $230 of that if you stick to the modest produce. A round of 3 beers in a bar will set you back $20.
Everthing is taxed, yes even your children will pay tax on their savings or anything in their bank account, 19%.
The AF provides DTLS which subsidises your mortgage for the 1st $150000 however if you do the maths, a Cpl. on $40200 a year will not be able to use this facility as you will not earn enough money to service a mortgage of that size and the banks will not lend it to you either. You will not be able to buy a house around the area you work for less than $200000, $450000 in Auckland and even then you will need to spend money on making it comfortable to live in, 1 lt of white paint is $85, would you spend £85 on a pot of paint??
School uniform will cost around $380 for each child + the cost of books and sundries every term, if you have the cash then send them to private school as the education system is pretty poor in many areas.
As you would expect from the military the info that you have all recieved in sensored, the families that are included on them are breifed on what they cannot talk about.
You really do need to consider things before signing your bond, this ties you to the AF for 3 years, unless you can afford to repay it and I do not know of many UK families that can so be sure that you want to committ for that long.
Another bit of maths, you can move here cheaper than what you sign for on the bond with no ties!
Flights back to the UK are about $10000 for a family of 3 an no you cannot get someone in the UK to book them for as it is cheeper.
In short before you come over make sure that the decision is right for your family, this is obvious but you will be suprised how much you can overlook things. Look at your finances and make sure you can afford to live and have a life!
The recruiters for NZ are the same as the ones in the UK that you will have experienced, they dont all tell the whole truth!
I have not spent the time to write this because I am unhappy with NZ, which im not, but because this is info that you need to know. You cannot live of your AF wage alone in this country. Make sure that you understand your contract and seniority, you will probably be dropping a rank to come over so bear in mind that the ranks are a lot more junior to what you are used to in the UK, a Cpl. here basically has the same responsibility as a LAC in the UK
Please read the message again and pick up the bits that concern you. Do not get caught up in the romance of starting over again and moving to a new country, make an informed decision. I will answer any questions you ask truthfully and I have no bias either way where the AF is concerned, i just believe that you should have the proper gen.
Forgot, it is a myth that NZ is a country with a hot climate. It has all the seasons and is pretty similar to the UK onlt in reverse, winter is summer and vise versa, only its a lot windier and rains alot more frequently. It is not like Aussie!! even in Auckland.
God my fingers are bleeding!!
I will provide information to you that ios based on mine and my families experiences since transfering to the RNZAF.
Yes NZ is a truly wonderfull place to be and there are plenty of things to do in just about any subject you can imagine. There are great beaches up North and on the east coast, you can ski and snowboard on the mountains, there is plenty of space and traffic is not that busy, even in major cities although you will get caught in traffic it is nothing near the volume that is experienced in the UK.
I think it important to add a bit of realism to your decisions to move to NZ and work for the RNZAF. My advise is as follows:
Do not think for one minute that the AF will accept your previous knowledge and experience, the phrase "yes but that was in the UK" will become familiar! If the recruiters led you to believe that the AF has offered you employment for your skills and knowledge, they have not its a simple manning problem and "bums on seats" and you have to wonder why they cannot employ New Zealanders for these jobs. Now im not one to quote "this is how we did it in the UK", there is no need to quote this as the attitude of the kiwi AF is not dissimilar to that of "littlemans syndrome".
Financialy I would not even consider the move unless you have a full UK pension or at least $500000 dollars to buy a house cash and still have a fair amount of money left to sub your wage every month. Just consider the fact that it is a horrible situation to be in a great country but you do not have the money to do anything, look on the internet at the price of goods eg. a small cheap rug will cost in the region of $400, curtains will cost around around $159 per pair for a cheap set! milk is $4.20, bread $3.80, shampoo $9 for cheap rubbish. While this sounds good when you have the £'s it is like spending £4.20 on a 2lt bottle of milk and when you consider that you will only take home around $900 a fortnight a weekly shop will take up around $230 of that if you stick to the modest produce. A round of 3 beers in a bar will set you back $20.
Everthing is taxed, yes even your children will pay tax on their savings or anything in their bank account, 19%.
The AF provides DTLS which subsidises your mortgage for the 1st $150000 however if you do the maths, a Cpl. on $40200 a year will not be able to use this facility as you will not earn enough money to service a mortgage of that size and the banks will not lend it to you either. You will not be able to buy a house around the area you work for less than $200000, $450000 in Auckland and even then you will need to spend money on making it comfortable to live in, 1 lt of white paint is $85, would you spend £85 on a pot of paint??
School uniform will cost around $380 for each child + the cost of books and sundries every term, if you have the cash then send them to private school as the education system is pretty poor in many areas.
As you would expect from the military the info that you have all recieved in sensored, the families that are included on them are breifed on what they cannot talk about.
You really do need to consider things before signing your bond, this ties you to the AF for 3 years, unless you can afford to repay it and I do not know of many UK families that can so be sure that you want to committ for that long.
Another bit of maths, you can move here cheaper than what you sign for on the bond with no ties!
Flights back to the UK are about $10000 for a family of 3 an no you cannot get someone in the UK to book them for as it is cheeper.
In short before you come over make sure that the decision is right for your family, this is obvious but you will be suprised how much you can overlook things. Look at your finances and make sure you can afford to live and have a life!
The recruiters for NZ are the same as the ones in the UK that you will have experienced, they dont all tell the whole truth!
I have not spent the time to write this because I am unhappy with NZ, which im not, but because this is info that you need to know. You cannot live of your AF wage alone in this country. Make sure that you understand your contract and seniority, you will probably be dropping a rank to come over so bear in mind that the ranks are a lot more junior to what you are used to in the UK, a Cpl. here basically has the same responsibility as a LAC in the UK
Please read the message again and pick up the bits that concern you. Do not get caught up in the romance of starting over again and moving to a new country, make an informed decision. I will answer any questions you ask truthfully and I have no bias either way where the AF is concerned, i just believe that you should have the proper gen.
Forgot, it is a myth that NZ is a country with a hot climate. It has all the seasons and is pretty similar to the UK onlt in reverse, winter is summer and vise versa, only its a lot windier and rains alot more frequently. It is not like Aussie!! even in Auckland.
God my fingers are bleeding!!
Apr 3rd 2007, 3:10 am
#185
Account Closed
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 527
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
eg. a small cheap rug will cost in the region of $400, curtains will cost around around $159 per pair for a cheap set! milk is $4.20, bread $3.80, shampoo $9 for cheap rubbish. While this sounds good when you have the £'s it is like spending £4.20 on a 2lt bottle of milk and when you consider that you will only take home around $900 a fortnight a weekly shop will take up around $230 of that if you stick to the modest produce. A round of 3 beers in a bar will set you back $20.
Everthing is taxed, yes even your children will pay tax on their savings or anything in their bank account, 19%.
Everthing is taxed, yes even your children will pay tax on their savings or anything in their bank account, 19%.
Apr 3rd 2007, 3:56 am
#186
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Blimey....what supermarket is that?
Apr 3rd 2007, 4:40 am
#187
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2006
Location: Hobsonville NZ
Posts: 79
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hi ben pb
good views but what supermarket are you using!! plus we think the cd hid nothing the poms on it all had negatives the wages were also there to be seen and the internet provides research on house prices in areas around Auckland, Palmy and Blenheim and the banks will discuss mortgages over the internet. This is a foreign country and you have to work hard to fit in because it is not the UK but that is the same as going to Cyprus or Germany unless you want to live in an expat enclave. Overall you have to research in depth life here using forums with a good mix of responses and be sure why you want to come because no one forces you and at the end of the day its your decision to sign the dotted line or not so be sure life on the other side of the world is what you want.
good views but what supermarket are you using!! plus we think the cd hid nothing the poms on it all had negatives the wages were also there to be seen and the internet provides research on house prices in areas around Auckland, Palmy and Blenheim and the banks will discuss mortgages over the internet. This is a foreign country and you have to work hard to fit in because it is not the UK but that is the same as going to Cyprus or Germany unless you want to live in an expat enclave. Overall you have to research in depth life here using forums with a good mix of responses and be sure why you want to come because no one forces you and at the end of the day its your decision to sign the dotted line or not so be sure life on the other side of the world is what you want.
Apr 3rd 2007, 6:45 am
#188
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Well im glad you have a positive attidute towards being here. We researched all those things too as these are obvious considerations. I was not trying to portray a negative outlook towards NZ or the AF and yes your right, you make the choice.
As for fitting in you can only expect that you need to adjust to the kiwi way it is part of the whole process of moving abroard, but this cannot be a one way process.
The financial side of things has been a massive impact on many of the UK personnel that I have had contact with and no one can argue that compared to the wage the cost of living is probably as much as three times the cost in the UK and to that end you will struggle to live on an AF wage alone.
appoligies that was 4lt milk!
As for fitting in you can only expect that you need to adjust to the kiwi way it is part of the whole process of moving abroard, but this cannot be a one way process.
The financial side of things has been a massive impact on many of the UK personnel that I have had contact with and no one can argue that compared to the wage the cost of living is probably as much as three times the cost in the UK and to that end you will struggle to live on an AF wage alone.
appoligies that was 4lt milk!
Last edited by Ben PB; Apr 3rd 2007 at 6:47 am.
Apr 3rd 2007, 7:28 am
#189
Account Closed
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 527
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
TBH, I think some people on here may disagree with the cost of living being 3x that of in the UK... but I am not wanting to argue with you or hijack the thread. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.
Apr 3rd 2007, 7:30 am
#190
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Back in NZ & loving it - living in Orewa
Posts: 1,183
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
from tesco.com - cost of milk around £0.49 per litre, or £1.96 for 4 litres. A direct conversion gives you around $5.30, and using the "double the numbers" rule of thumb, $4 - so in my mind, pretty comparable.
Ben - sorry you don't feel well valued by the AF, this isn't the feeling I get from the RNZN although I agree that they are possibly less interested in the UK perspective than ideal. I guess that stems from having too many of us over here telling them how things should be done!
Ben - sorry you don't feel well valued by the AF, this isn't the feeling I get from the RNZN although I agree that they are possibly less interested in the UK perspective than ideal. I guess that stems from having too many of us over here telling them how things should be done!
Apr 3rd 2007, 7:14 pm
#191
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Thanks Tracy for the advice, all is welcome as we need to know whats ahead of us. Must admit not looking forward to the flight but will be worth it in the end. Will heed the advice on uniforms etc
Apr 4th 2007, 4:33 am
#192
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2006
Location: Hobsonville NZ
Posts: 79
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hello Badass
Just a quick bit of info after asking around the induction course today one of the guys who had a stopover in LA managed to upgrade one seat from LA at the airport so it can be possible, best advice is as soon as you get your itinery give AIR NZ a ring if you are not happy with your allocated seats we did and moved from over the wing to further back to get better window seats(although not a awful lot to see on the second leg) the flight although long has good entertainment facilities and I am 6'1" and managed to be comfortable and recline the seat even in economy
Hope this helps
Rick
Just a quick bit of info after asking around the induction course today one of the guys who had a stopover in LA managed to upgrade one seat from LA at the airport so it can be possible, best advice is as soon as you get your itinery give AIR NZ a ring if you are not happy with your allocated seats we did and moved from over the wing to further back to get better window seats(although not a awful lot to see on the second leg) the flight although long has good entertainment facilities and I am 6'1" and managed to be comfortable and recline the seat even in economy
Hope this helps
Rick
Apr 14th 2007, 12:48 pm
#193
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 282
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hello Rick and Tracy , we are Andy and Debborah and are moving out to AK in July.{havnt got a MQ address yet so dont know which area} Could you give me any info on the school uniform please? Does it have to be the school uniform bought from the school or can i bring some with us? ( if so what colour? ) Also, i know the children have to have some school supplies do you know what they are? Nice to see all the info you have done already. I am getting very nervous now with only 3 months to go! Debborah.
Apr 14th 2007, 8:29 pm
#194
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2006
Location: Hobsonville NZ
Posts: 79
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hi Debborah
Can you let me know the ages of your children then I will try to get the information you need ASAP? I felt apprehensive before we come out it is a big move. Are you staying at the Bryon for 2 weeks? If so it is great also you come on to camp to do some courses so if you let me know when you are coming over I will come on and meet you.
We have been here since March my children are 14 and 17 and they go to Massey high school and really seem to like it.
Our house is at Hobsonville that is about a 5mins by car onto camp. We didn’t find out our address until we got here although I did stress about that as well.
We stayed in London before we came out in the hotel Citadines which was not bad although we didn’t find that out until late in the day either although after speaking to others that have come out they had all stayed there.
The weather was great for March and we still have the odd good day although with winter on its way it is starting to get wetter.
I know things will be stressful and its no good saying don’t worry but believe me when you get on the plane you wonder what you were worrying about that end and when you get here you will probably think of new things to be stressed about but they will go.
So let me know anything you need to know I will pop on daily and answer as many questions as I can and also give you any pieces of info I wished someone had given me.
We look forward to catching up with you in July.
Regards
Tracy & Rick Tom & Mary-lou
Can you let me know the ages of your children then I will try to get the information you need ASAP? I felt apprehensive before we come out it is a big move. Are you staying at the Bryon for 2 weeks? If so it is great also you come on to camp to do some courses so if you let me know when you are coming over I will come on and meet you.
We have been here since March my children are 14 and 17 and they go to Massey high school and really seem to like it.
Our house is at Hobsonville that is about a 5mins by car onto camp. We didn’t find out our address until we got here although I did stress about that as well.
We stayed in London before we came out in the hotel Citadines which was not bad although we didn’t find that out until late in the day either although after speaking to others that have come out they had all stayed there.
The weather was great for March and we still have the odd good day although with winter on its way it is starting to get wetter.
I know things will be stressful and its no good saying don’t worry but believe me when you get on the plane you wonder what you were worrying about that end and when you get here you will probably think of new things to be stressed about but they will go.
So let me know anything you need to know I will pop on daily and answer as many questions as I can and also give you any pieces of info I wished someone had given me.
We look forward to catching up with you in July.
Regards
Tracy & Rick Tom & Mary-lou
Apr 15th 2007, 3:40 pm
#195
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Hobsonville
Posts: 158
Re: RNZAF / RAF transfers.
Hi Tracey
Myself, husband and 2 children are coming out in October, so reading you thread is great. We are just in the process of getting our medicals done and then all systems go. Have you met up with Mick and Sherren, they are friends of ours, a great couple.
Ann
Myself, husband and 2 children are coming out in October, so reading you thread is great. We are just in the process of getting our medicals done and then all systems go. Have you met up with Mick and Sherren, they are friends of ours, a great couple.
Ann