davros1984

They calculated their food bill, their outgoings and potential earnings and how big the difference in money was. £1780 is a big hit. I reckon they didnt factor in the cost of kids clothing, SHOES and how expensive it is to holiday in NZ. These programs clearly show that to move to Auckland that you need a serious wad of cash to move here. In addition, when they said that its a 20 minute drive from hisbiscus coast to auckland cbd i couldnt believe the lies.

Have any of you watched the latest on the randall family?

1) they looked at a massive 5 bed house in waitoki and said it was only 1.25 million NZD. it had loads of land and swimming pool. again, that might be the CV but very unrealistic. look at this link andyou see how much a 5 bed detached house with land costs there (2.5 million+)
http://www.realestate.co.nz/resident...h/suburbs/2229
2) said it was half hour commute from there to cbd.In rush hour?
3) the female IT recruiter, i have met her, totally useless.I am an IT consultant andcan tell you that contract options here are very limited, especially compared to london. Salaries are lower than good paid jobs in London as well.

Now I'm angry with myself because I feel these programmes have made me sound all bitter. I just wish they were more honest and picked more ordinary people.Not those who own multiple properties or 5-bed detached houses in Epsom!

Bo-Jangles

I think though this is probably where NZ excels in selling 'the dream' when it comes to the $1m+ market. If you have that kind of money and go a bit rural outside of main centres (I had to google Waitoki as had no idea where it was) you can indeed get a lot of house and space for your money but then those people probably already have a pretty good set up in the UK too.

Don't be angry or bitter, those places have got to take a blooming lot of maintenance and upkeep and would be bloody hard work in keeping that going. Certainly you'd need a lot of help with garden and general cleaning if you were two adults at work with kids to ferry around and everything else.

I'd find the very thought of what I would need to do with this place: http://www.realestate.co.nz/2197741 overwhelming and would be totally daunted at where would you start with the cleaning and gardening - it would be never ending.

JaneRiley

Currently in Scotland Davros and its blooming cold and wet! Got to say after 2 years back we are looking for what's next...that's what comes of years in the military moving all the time!

Purrball

Something I would never deny. It makes a great life if you've got the dosh or work in the type of professional field where you can command a decent salary. Didn't used to be like that, but for various reasons, times have changed. After watching a few episodes, I'm also struck how many of the families expect to get on with a single wage-earner. No-one I personally know in NZ lives like that; one of the parents usually works full or part-time or freelances from home.


Just watched it now. Keep getting sucked into watching the Kiwi ones, if only to remind myself what NZ is like... and just as interestingly, to me at least, is how British people react to being there, especially if it's for the first time. Initial appearances can be seductive and after all, it's an escapist telly programme. They're not going to show your average lifestyle in Palmy or Taihape.


Heh. The Liverpool family and the gay couple were closer to what I'd think of as 'ordinary people' on average incomes, I guess.


God yes. Nothing about that says lifestyle to me. Unless you can afford to regularly pay for people to come and maintain all that stuff, it's a massive timesink. I think of my Dad spending his weekends mowing the huge lawns on a hilly Wellington section... that no-one ever used. If you're not careful, your possessions can end up owning you.

It would make a more interesting, but less escapist, show if they were given a wad of cash and asked to stretch it out for the fortnight they're there for all their outgoings. Seeing people negotiate New World, Pak n Save or The Warehouse for the first time, looking to replicate their typical UK shopping trip, would be a eyeopener.

dannigirl

Purrballcan't find a link for the kiwi expat but it was episode 4 I think. Schnell family from Northern Island

Purrball

Thanks, though. Can't find the full episode, but there's a short clip on the BBC's site. More interestingly was this piece about them I found in the Belfast Telegraph:

westie1234

I missed the Schnell one as well, will try and find a link. They do have a lot to answer for regarding area's picked , etc etc. I just watch to see Auckland tbh. I do wish they would go to west auckland instead of the shore all the time.

I do hope this couple made the move and settled ok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRk7lXDC7zc

davros1984

ive got a copy of the schnell one, but not sure how to share it with those who want it. 700mb file,mp4 format.

anyhow, that was a better one.their budget of 250k gbp is also our budget for the move back, so the comparison was interesting. to me, their life in ireland was so perfect and idyllic, i cannot believe why anyone would give that up to come here. The fact that you can get such a nice big 4 bed house and the surounds they had for 170k GBP, just wow.

The first house they viewed was nice. the temp house they lived in, whilst it had great views, that was a classic wooden house in quite a state. waiuku, yes there are 3-4 bed houses there for around 650-750k nzd. However, we looked at houses there, pukekohe and patamuhoe. to get to waiuku took us an hour and 15 from the cbd (at the weekend), so no idea how long that would take in rush hour.

I can also say with much certainty that the price of the nz houses they are given are the CV,not what it would actually cost them to buy. those of us who live in auckland know the deal with CV of a house and auctions.

westie1234

Yes Waiuku is far out from central AKL so it is not for everyone, not sure about 650-750k in Waiuku more like 400 - 500k. But people still commute into the city. I just like the area and what it has to offer young families.

A Rush And A Push

There was an episode a couple of series back with a mum and teenage kids relocating to Titirangi. I think they made the move.

westie1234

Yeah I remember that one now, lady with two sons. Didn't realise they made they move across.

A Rush And A Push

I'm not 100% sure they did, it's a while since I watched it. Nice woman, had been through a bad marriage break up. I spent much of the programme trying to identify the locations of the houses they were showing her.

westie1234

I would need to have a look again, I think their house was around French bay If I remember correctly. I have family who live in the village, nice area.



This is the one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37d7X_wx-2s

Purrball

Was looking for last night's news on BBC iPlayer and this just turned up on Wanted Down Under Revisited. No, the woman from Shipley with the house near the moors with her two teenage sons didn't go to New Zealand in the end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01qlcxz/

The interesting thing, to me at least, is the difficulty she faced moving with two teenage sons, one of whom was quite resistant to the idea and given that she was the kind of parent who wasn't calling all the shots, being the boss, she wanted everyone to be on board.

Skip here to 31:00 if you want skip all the old stuff from the first episode and get to how their life has panned out three years later.

davros1984

I also think the commute times they claim are ridiculous.yesterday, we left the cbd (beach road) at 5pm. it took 55 minutes to get from there to birkenhead.

so when they say orewa, hisbiscus coast or silverdale is a 20 minute commute, complete rubbish.