Conks

Hi,

I was interviewed a week ago in London for a job in Christchurch helping with the Earthquake reinstatement.

We're anxiously (very) waiting either a phone call or email - any day now.

The employer is accredited and we meet all the immigration qualifications but there's still lots to sort out as we plan to rent out our cottage here in Somerset.

We have some questions and hope that you can help us out with these:

1. We will aim to take minimal possessions with us but there will still be items that we will need to fly over. Can anybody talk us through or recommend any companies out there for the relocation (transporting our worldly goods etc.
2. I am a type one (insulin dependent) diabetic. We are aware that the Visa process is subject to a medical so will this have any major bearing?
3. Money - we are to open a NZ bank account. We will need to transfer funds across monthly to our bank account in the UK. Does anybody recommend any companies for this and what are the fees likely to be ?
4. Car lease - I will require a car for work. Can anybody recommend a car lease company in NZ (Christchurch) and would we automatically qualify for finance etc.?

Sorry, one last one - where to live - what are the best regions/suburbs to live in Christchurch?

We would appreciate any feedback - thanks.

Debbie2NZ

Good luck with the anxious wait. My husband and I emigrated to Christchurch in February this year. We had difficulty finding work there, and to be frank, the earthquakes are very scary. Anyway, he was offered a job on the North Island of New Zealand which he accepted and we left Christchurch at the end of June. However, to answer your questions:
1. We used PSS who were very good. We sea freighted all our furniture etc which took 11 weeks. Bring all your possessions. You will regret it if you don't. Some people bring their car. We didn't. MAF will decide what they want to inspect i.e. your hoover, garden implements, hose, bicycles etc if you have them. The advice is to clean outside items with Jeyes Fluid as far as possible. We didn't and there wasn't a problem. We couldn't get it forensically clean, so why bother ? Your removal company will advise you what you can't bring. PSS had us removing the natural pine cones from our fake Christmas tree on move day !
2. Type 1 diabetic - sorry, don't know. I assume if it's under control and your doctor/diabetic nurse agrees hopefully it should be OK. Tell your doctor what your plans are and bring about a year or more supply of your prescription/s already filled, including needles/pens. Seeing a doctor costs about £15 per visit, same for prescriptions. That goes for all prescriptions. You may wish to get health insurance later.
3. Banks - you could look up Westpac and BNZ (Bank of New Zealand) online before you come and set up an account before you leave the UK. They have a migrant banking advisor. Westpac is a High Street bank similar to any in the UK. We used Moneycorp to transfer our funds from the UK to NZ. They can do it the other way too. We only did 2 transfers and were not charged. However, it might be different for monthy transactions. Westpac charged us about £12.50 to transfer a bit of money to our UK bank. There was about the same again for HSBC to handle it on arrival into our account.

By the way you will need an IRD number. This is similar to your N.I. number. This is a simple form filling excercise, the form is available at the Post Office in NZ or you could look it up online from NZ Inland Revenue. There is a national pension scheme called Kiwi Saver. A small percentage of earnings will be deduced at source and put into the individual's Kiwi Saver account with the same again being contributed by the NZ government. If you are not planning on staying in NZ until you retire you may wish to opt out of this. You can do this by ticking the box of the Kiwi Saver form that you will probably be given to you by your boss/Personnel Dept. It's automatically deducted for the first 3 weeks but if you have opted out, it's refunded albeit eventually. Govt depts are the same the world over ! Each new account gets $1,000 welcome bonus. So far they haven't asked me for this back but I can't claim it until I'm at pensionable age. I could be anywhere by then !

3. Car Lease - again don't know but we got a cheap rental car from Jucy Rentals. A reliable if old car. You could Google the question. Don't know about credit. You could play safe and put it on your credit card for the time being.

Where to live in Christchurch ? The east side of Christchurch took a hell of a hiding in the September and February earthquakes and all the aftershocks in between. We lived in Linwood, which is in the east. We didn't think it was to bad even if people did look down their noses at it. Our 2 bed link detached house cost $260 per week (about £130 pw). Eastern suburbs are Bexley, South and North New Brighton, Avondale, Wainoni, Dallington, Aranui. Rentals are cheap here because of earthquake damage - some visible, some not. Don't be disheartened when viewing suitable rental properties, you will see some real dives en route to the one you want. Fendalton/Ilam are posh i.e. expensive. Riccarton is a nice place but busy because 3 of Christchurch's 6 shopping malls were trashed in the earthquake. So that puts pressure on the malls that are still functioning.

Was this answer long enough ? I hope so !

Conks

Thanks Debbie for a a very comprehensive reply! Amazing.

Appreciate the comments which are very useful.

I guess only time will tell - should find out any day now.

Cheers.

BEVS

The application would most probably go for a medical referral .Perhaps best to get consultant reports, prognosis etc in place . NZIS look to the cost to NZ of ongoing medical care.

sliam37

Seen your post as I'm searching to find a way to get away from Christchurch! Fantastic city, beautiful living next to beach, fantastic for kids etc etc - until Feb 2011. (In fact even after Feb we didn't think of going as love it here so much, but the June 13th quake was the last straw).

If you are coming be very prepared for what is here. City still being dismantled, and will take another 2 years just to get the buildings down (noone has been allowed in except engineers, demolition crews etc since Feb 22nd). Whole suburbs are now 'red zoned' - ie: homeowners are being bought out by govt or insurance, and they will not be rebuilt - so a lot of competition for the remaining houses, and prices in the west side of the city (much less affected) have gone up accordingly for rentals and buying.

Also still relatively high risk of quakes up to 7.9s (have a look at Geonet - Christchurch quakes for latest predictions which change monthly according to seismic activity). Might be worth having a regular look at the newspaper The Press (online under Stuff, or try and get digital copies as the website leaves a lot to be desired) as that's really the only media that is aware of the day to day difficulties of living in Chch. However if you do come will be cheap to get a car and furniture etc as lots of people moving overseas. (cars are very cheap here anyway compared to UK due to Japanese import market, plus they're not affected by rust so have a long life).

Expat Kiwi

Wellington, in all seriousness (or the top of the South Island) I'd not take a family to Christchurch right now. Do what they do in the mines over here - fly in and fly out.

Conks

The employers are covering the first 4 wks rent then its down to us thereafter. I'm wondering whether I'll also have to pay for my medication? I know that you pay for GP's visits but not sure if you have to pay for the medication itself? I say this as I'm diabetic & use insulin.

We have a dog also & want to fly him over. Wonder if we could rent a house where the landlord accepts pets?

Lots to do & think about.

We need to be over there by the end of October.

sliam37

Rentals hard to find at moment - and high priced - as so many houses have been destroyed. But at least in the western suburbs there's no raw sewage on the street or outbreaks of scabies at local schools and kids don't have to use portaloos at school! Have a look at cost of living too - very expensive here just for food and basics (look at Countdown or New World websites for ideas of prices of essentials).

Persephone

Hi
In terms of where to live then consider the western half of the town, there is very little earthquake damage over that side. At least you will have 4 weeks to get yourself orientated and check out a few areas before deciding where to live. It has been mentioned that rents will be higher and availability limited due to high demand. You will also have problems trying to find somewhere that allows dogs, there was a thread on here recently by someone looking for somewhere with a dog though I can't remember if he managed to find anywhere in the end http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hurch+dog+rent. Also do a search for Christchurch and renting with dogs in the main forum.
You pay for doctor's visits, I pay about $30 each visit. You do pay for your medication but the amount will depend on whether it is funded or not. You pay $3 per prescription if funded so it's not a huge cost. If you need to collect further insulin then ask the GP whether it is funded and if not then it could be worth asking whether there is an equivalent funded version. They can sometimes be exactly the same even down to the extra constituents. Though you may prefer to stay on what you're happy with.

I shipped over 70 cu ft of belongings and used PSS. It is worth ringing around the various shipping companies and getting estimates. It depends on what you're planning on bringing over as to whether it's worth sharing a container as I did or bringing it with you. Some airlines will give you extra luggage allowances if you are emigrating [not Air NZ though] and you get 30kg as standard if you fly with Emirates.

Can't help you with the car lease questions. How long are you planning on staying? Would you consider buying a used car whilst here instead of leasing?

The aftershocks seem to be settling down quite nicely though of course none of us are complacent that there won't be any bigger ones! I live on the west side of the city and life is pretty much normal here apart from everywhere being much busier as some malls and the CBD are closed.

Hope this helps

iceworks57

Hi Somerset
I think you and I are in the same position in regards to the ChCh Construction rebuild. I recieved my offer of employemnt on the 19th August following interviews the same time as yourself [MZ by chance] We have exactly the same questions and concerns as you voiced in your thread but now more focused as the offer is in place.
A question we have asked ourselves [besides the ones on housing, cars and costs etc] is what are we actually moving for, what do we want to gain, how will the move affect our long term position.
We would probably rent out our place for now to see how NZ actually pans out before final commitment.

Keep the threads coming -- you are not alone with these concerns

BEVS

Extremely good questions to be asking yourselves.

Conks

Hi Iceworks,

Good to hear from you.

PM me with your email address so we can get in touch.

We're currently in San Fransico on the last leg of our West Coast tour so will respond when we get back.

Yes it was MZ! No surprise there. They made an offer which was just OK. Nothing spectacular to be honest and I did ask for more as its the same money that I'm on now although I think the income tax situation over there is less.

They didn't increase their offer.

As we're in the States on holiday at the moment its made us think about home lots and how we'l miss it . There's lots to sort out & we're contemplating whether we want to be doing this now. They say move for the life style which is fine but its got to be worth it judging by the other quotes here it sounds as if all will not be plain sailing although in fairness we never expected it to be.

We'll summarise when we get back to see if we want to do this. Before we left for the USA we were all keen but not so sure now.

Let us know where you are in your decision and as I say PM me with your email address

Conks

Hi Persephone,

Thanks for your repsonse.

Re the quote above do you recommend anywhere on the West side to rent?

Cheers.

Jan n Neil

I would consider renting outside Christchurch - esp as you have a dog. Rangiora or even further north or inland - travelling is easy compared to the UK and commuting is not a PITA

As for diabetes, you need to look at Appendix 10 on the NZIS site for excluded medical conditions. I don't recall that type 1 diabetes was excluded but I haven't looked at it for years.

Jan

Persephone

I agree, you may need to look further afield if you have a dog in order to give you more options. Rolleston is south of town but close enough to commute daily [approximately 20mins away]
I would say that all areas on the west side of town are ok. I live near Hornby which is probably one of the cheaper areas but still a reasonably good area to live in.
Have a look on Trademe and see what comes up in terms of cost and what you get for your money