Kiwiprincess

If you do decide to buy here, sure as hell don't until you have rented for a while.

A decent place by the beach and a reasonable and scenic commute is a bit different after spending 6 months in it, 90 minutes to get from door to door, waiting for a train because the other one broke down and not being able to see the scenery because you are leaving at 7pm and in the dark.

I don't mean that badly btw. I just mean that what may seem nice when you first get here isn't necessarily where you want to buy

Would probably get a better idea about kiwi resales of property too. After all, you pretty much should know what kiwis like to buy...after all, they are most likely to be the ones to buy your property if you sold it. Which means no swimming pools unless you are really really really sure it will be used. Kiwi's choose not to buy houses with a pool in lots of places.

Unless the house is perfectly targeted to brits I guess then you will probably have a winner!

bourbon-biscuit

Rent first for sure!

As for how much to live on- after a few years having met several families on differing incomes I think a family of four, mortgage free you'd need something around $65-70K to live comfortable and with a mortgage you'd probably want to have over $100K. Plenty do it on less (as do we!), but that's the minimum I think you'd need not to worry about money. Hope that's not a dream-dasher.

TeamEmbo

We didn't rent first, simply because we had so little money left after the move over that we didn't want to use the house deposit on "dead" rent money. It was a huge risk, we know, buying within such a short space of time (bought and moved in after being in NZ 2 weeks) in an area we knew zilch about, but then we'd already gambled everything on coming here. Our house isn't huge or executively styled. It's about 40 years old. But it's solid and, to us anyway, spacious and in a friendly little cul-de-sac. We have a huge mortgage which takes over half my OH's wage each year. We have 2 teenagers so they eat as much as we do. We have no savings. No holiday fund and cannot afford to pay into a pension scheme. We figured it would take us around 2 years to get straight after the move over anyway and some months are better than others depending on whether new school uniforms are needed, which I think cost a bomb. We usually get by on bargain buys - anything with a yellow sticker is good!!! Recently we had a good month so I was very pleased over the kids recent school holidays to be able to take them to the mall for new clothes in 'proper' shops (ie. not Warehouse sale bin) for the first time since moving here over 2 years ago .

I think we are very lucky. We rarely have spare cash for luxuries. But we have a nice house, a nice garden, we live in what we consider a nice area and we earn enough to pay our way. And on the rare occasion we do have a little available for a treat, it is so much more appreciated, and I don't think that's a bad lesson for the kids to learn either.

It does get me down sometimes and the scrimping and juggling and trying to make meals out of nothing before pay day can be hard going but I'm generally a positive person and there are people far worse off in the world so I count my blessings and don't feel bitter for the things I can't have

garfield250

My partner and myself live on my salary of $72,000 (which is a pretty good one for the area I live in), the mortgage repayments take up the bulk of bills at $800 per fortnight (although we are paying more than we need to in order to pay the mortgage off sooner).

The remaining bills, fortnightly account for approximately $300 - $350.

I also pay into two private pensions which account for around $170 per fortnight.

I am in agreement with bourban biscuit with the 100K figure for a family (probably even if two people are earning with no children).

I think the term is asset rich and cash poor.

Having said this, I would not change living here as I think we made the right choice, BUT new immigrants do need to be aware that it can be a difficult place to live due to incomes and expenditures etc.

When we first arrived we were both working full time and our joint salaries were the same as my current single salary.

Bo-Jangles

People go out in the UK to entertain themselves, because they can generally afford to - that's the difference. NZers are no less materialistic than anyone else, it's just a matter of affordability and different priorities. Hence, the millions of dollars worth of boats floating around in every harbour or parked on the drive, with the fancy schmancy shiny ute to tow it.

Do people in the UK honestly believe that Kiwis aren't equally interested in owning the latest Sony LCD TV, Apple Macs, i-Phones, i-Pods, Nintendo Wiis and all the latest gear? Worse still, thinking as a 'consumerist' person coming from the UK or elsewhere that all ideas of having anything new and up to date will disappear overnight. Why else would there be endless threads on forums such as this asking what to stock up on; what can they buy to bring, or where can they get certain things that will make the transition easier or their life more complete. I'm afraid it's human nature.

bourbon-biscuit

I'm not

Although I think that oversimplifies the situation- Kiwis may well covet all those things as much as Brits but they also, in the main, enjoy the Kiwi lifestyle enough to feel compensated. How many Brits feel happy and content with Britain and feel patriotic and wedded to the the British way? I'm not saying this is the case for all Kiwis but I have found it interesting how many concede that they would be materially better off in Oz and perhaps culturally (in terms of avle to access 'cultural' stuff- theatres, music, arts etc) better off in Europe (neither are fact- just generally accepted by many) and yet *love* living and raising families in NZ.

Bo-Jangles

It's the million dollar question, which nobody knows the answer to. They can guess at what YOU might consider 'comfortable' or ridicule you for living beyond your means if you dare to say a certain sum is difficult to manage. There's always someone who can manage on less and those that will wonder how you cope.

It depends entirely upon you, what house you rent or buy, where you choose to live and how much or little you have to invest and what you like to do with your money. We're child free, earn $100k plus between us, have fairly substantial, but not ridiculous mortgage on house of similar value to that which we had in the UK and we've nothing left at the end of the month. We work very hard at NOT spending money unless it is essential. We do however put the minimum amount into Kiwi-saver (pension), by way of 2% deducted from salary and are currently thinking about stopping that.

I think we're all in the same boat as far as any rises in wages are concerned for at least another year; pays are mostly frozen unless you are in a union with collective agreements. So we all breath in a bit further and tighten the belts and take a further step backwards as the prices of everything continues to rise.

Kentish Lass

I just always seem to be paying out at the supermarket. I thought it was expensive when we arrived 5 years ago but food has gone up SO much. Doesn't help, I suppose, that the kids are now ravenous teenagers. You do sort of get used to it and then you meet someone fresh over from Blighty that expresses their surprise at food prices especially the cost of a loaf of bread. When we came I noticed that Kiwis only bought what was on offer.....now I do the same.

Perry Groves

I am getting a bit worried now, I thought Lamb would be cheap at least.

lardyl

chicken's often cheap along with some pork - good as the ravenous one in our house loves chicken!!!

lamb will be getting more expensive this season as the bad weather has hit the farmers and prices are rising as we speak - according to the shepherd who did this week's demo at Sheep World (and I'd heard on the radio whilst the snow was falling last week)......

TeamEmbo

Last time I went shopping a pack of 3 chicken breasts was $18 Like UK, you'll pay more for trimmed meats - so cheaper to buy chicken breast with skin on and thighs with bone in and skin on etc. You can get a whole chicken from around $10 when they're on sale. Bacon is extortionate. I usually pay around $16 for 4 decent pork loin chops. However, we have learned to eat less meat, which is not a bad thing and bulk meals out with whatever veg is in season and cheap, and we do have a greenhouse and a veg patch so that helps save a bit on the grocery bill. Bread I think is expensive. I usually white toast when its 2 for $4.50. We've tried the $1.09 loaves and think they're like eating glue!

Genesis

I always ONLY buy meat that is reduced..you know with a big sticker REDUCED on it. Pak and Save do not do this. Thus I shop at Woolworths and Countdown. They always have meat and fish..all types on its final sell buy date well knocked down..sometimes half price. I load up the trundler and stuff it in the freezer. Likewise I only buy beans, tea, coffee etc, etc when its significantly reduced.

If you are canny you can save heaps on shopping. The credit card has up to 8 weeks on it before the bill has to be paid so its not even as if the money is comin g out of your current account and sitting in a larder for weeks before its used. Make huge sense to me.. Buy it cheap and stack it high. I once bought 1100 nappies, another time 180 bottles of half price wine. Which was nice.

Mind you I pick up t shirts in the road and take them home wash 'em and wear them. Frugal and recycling are my middle names..not mean I hasten to add. I bought Kate a very nice car to drive a couple of years ago..thus voiding the previous 25 years frugality. Which was not nice.

Kiwi-Irish

Thankyou. Thankyou for pointing these facts out. I grew up in NZ so I know this to be the case. Living in NZ is I think, around 20% more expensive than the UK (just taking a stab), if you're comparing cost-of-living to what you earn. Its jolly expensive in NZ, and whenever I go home I watch my family and friends get out their flybuy cards, and coupons (for the supermarkets etc.) and I think jeez, I forgot they live like this ... And worse, they're all middle class (although a class system doesn't exist "officially" there). I haven't had to do that since I left NZ, Britain is so much cheaper - hey I don't even check the prices of items just chuckem in my supermarket trolley. The salaries in NZ just dont' equate. When I lived there I was always skint and got so fed up and that was the main reason for me leaving to come to the UK. Me and my husband have mulled over going back from time to time, but at the end of the day, none of us wants to live the frugal lifestyle. If you go there, you have to be prepared to give up the material lifestyle, you just can't do it there - hardly anyone can. People dont' realise this, and in fact, people often have the idea that "oh, but its cheaper to live out there". Its a mistaken belief. Actually my best friend went back home just under a year ago now, back to her home town of Wellington and told me - not to make her mistake and stay in the UK. However, that was mainly a complaint about the weather there. She's sick of the wind and the cold winter already (remember no central heating and poor insulation in the houses). NZers don't notice how hard-up they are as they dont' know anything else. When groups of people go to the pub - they go up individually and buy their own beers ... nobody will fork-out for a round in the event that they'll be out of pocket at the end of the night. When you've grown up there you dont' realise it, but once you've left you most certainly do. I don't mean this to put anyone off going, but you need to know the facts before you get there. Actually, I wouldn't go at all with the exchange rate as it is at the moment, at least wait for that to pick up ... Plenty of people go out there and can't afford to come back. I wouldn't recommend going there unless you have as a minimum - the house bought outright, plus a six figure salary .. no less. Personal opinion.

Genesis

You certainly don't need 100k and no mortgage. We do well on waaaaaaaaaaaaay less than 100k with not mortgage. We actually live a very, very good life, mortgage free on around $80K. We have 3 kids, 2 cats, run 2 cars and we eat and live well. I know I have said I don't know where it all goes but we are debt free, don't scrimp and save and buy what we want in the supermarket. Having said that I am frugal as I mentioned when it comes to bargains. But I do not have a calculator working out my budget as I shop. Kate only does a 40-42 hour week (in the UK we did 60 plus as a couple) and in the UK 33% of my wages after tax went on the mortgage. We feel freer, better off and waaaaaaaaaay more content in NZ. NZ either works for you or it does not. Its simple. You either balance to books or you dont. They balance for us on less that the above poster suggests.

And I will add that as we all know yo can't spend nice views, empty beaches and a 'laid back' pace of life. Don't emigrate ANYWHERE..unless the sums stack up. The best place to be skint if you are going to be so is where you have a support network. Not 12000 miles away from help and assistance.

sr71

Two personal examples :

Grandparents came over in the 60's, both 'working class', bought a large section in the early 70's (something ridiculous like $4000) which is now worth $1.2 million. (close to Cornwall Park, but not one of those ridiculous leasehold things)

My mother, who is divorced and works in a menial admin job on around $40K pa bought a house in Meadowbank/St Johns about 12 years ago for around $210K, pays a mortgage of around $400pm - now valued at $700K

So we have huge swathes of the population living in houses they could now never actually afford, but with huge reserves of mortgage they can draw upon. We know an awful lot of people like this.

To put it bluntly if you are on $100K+ and bought your house 10 years ago and have a small mortgage you are laughing and easily able to afford the good lifestyle.