Purrball

There seems to be a pervasive air of naive unreality in this thread, looking at rainfall figures, for instance, or asking whether you can drink the tapwater… of a country and city that one has never visited or seems to know little about, rather than exploring the substantial hurdles of visas, cost of living, housing and finances particularly on the incomes stated and the ages of people involved.

Gathering a ream of facts doesn't mean you understand the truth.

And you're looking at Wellington — the windiest city on the planet — on $70k at the age of 55, with Google supposedly telling you you'd be eligible for a 30 year mortgage?

And as the thread has progressed, you've clearly bargained away the things you say you want from New Zealand, as well as putting a higher emphasis on your kids being able to play outside, rather than gaining a world-class secondary and tertiary education (at substantial cost) that will serve them well in a global economy in the 21st century.

As someone who is in my early 50s myself and who briefly entertained returning to my home country which I fled in my mid 20s, until I went out there for a visit, I'm not going to pull my punches: to me, this smacks of a completely ungrounded escapist fantasy, a one way trip which has the very real potential to make your life considerably more difficult, sharply reduce your current standard of living and introduce severe strains in your family relationships.

In my opinion — no, you're not barking up the right tree… or to put it more colloquially: get real.

moving2NZ2013

Financially we are fine out here and have a good lifestyle on around 85 in rural South Island it's a good wage. We are looking at going back mainly because the children which is ironic as that's the reason we came here.

I don't personally feel I fit in here. And the education standard IMO are worrying me.

If we went back to the uk it would be to a job that if we had in the uk we would never have come here iykwim.
I will make a huge update soon
I don't hate it here but I don't lie it either lol of that makes sense.

I don't regret anything as I believe if always be thinking what if. We didn't spend a huge amount of money coming out here thankfully.
Although looking at the exchange rate I cringe to think how much it would cost coming back.
I will say even on 85 a year we STILL have to budget.
The price of things here is obscene.
I'm not materialistic atall but find it so frustrating how they can charge the prices they do.
$200 on shopping a week won't get you Lot :/

bourbon-biscuit

In fact, I would say that, unless you are prepared to eat a LOT of cheap crap, it won't be doable for a family at all. We are cook-from-scratchers and we eat seasonally and make use of a great cheap fruit and veg place as well as using dried pulses etc., but it is a task to keep it at $250 per week for a family of four. Unlike other people when they give their groceries budget, that is all in including the pop-outs over the fortnight for more milk, fruit, etc. (we do the big shop fortnightly due to a hatred of shopping) and we menu plan so it is precise.

We should do a 'show me your shopping' thread

concretepump

hi we moved to nz Tauranga in 07 with a job to go two , my wife tried every where, to get a job could not so wanted to come home we both agreed to do that, don't regret moving in fact would do it all over again, but for us when we came, back we put our mortgage up double started our old business back up, still going well ,but means we wont pay off mortgage until we retire, where as if we had stayed in uk we would be mortgage free now
but we made lots more friends , and still go back for holiday's
but don't be put off , if you want to do it its your money we only live once good luck

BEVS

Really? That is highly unusual.

Anyway, is this person barking up a wrong tree ?

Perhaps we should all get back to basics for this person to see whether it is practicably or not. Forget about location , weather and the like. Even schools for that matter.

Here are the usual matters that decide whether someone will be able to arrive. Perhaps the OP can furnish us with the usual type of info that we have all given out.

Occupation? That is a biggy isn't it.

Age? Already known 55+

Kids? Already known.

Equity. Deposit . Savings.

If the person cannot afford to relocate within the UK or Ireland , how will they really afford the emigration & start up costs to a new country. The cost is in the thousands as we all know.

I think that unless we know a little more about the OP we are not really in a position to help with this, especially as the OP has stated that they understand that we none of us walk in each others shoes.

OP . You need to give a little and then we can get down to the basics , rather than us lot simply telling you how it is for us which , by your own admission, is meaningless .

salmoncolour

We still are. Not sure what made you think otherwise. Sorry if I phrased something badly and it sounded like we don't.

:/ I've not had time to compare rainfall but would not really like going into more rain than we have here... :/ This is bad enough...

When you say "leave", do you mean leave NZ or leave UK? I am guessing NZ looking at your location (UK - NZ - UK).
Was it just generally the system you are unhappy with or anything in particular?

And yes, absolutely. Your responses have given us loads of food for thought, made us rethink some points and question others. Overall, we have decided to come over for a visit and just take it from there.

salmoncolour

It's quite possible we will as well. The housing situation really frightens me but I suppose until we see how the $600/week houses actually look, it's very hard to imagine.
This is where all the questions and experiences help so much as they often point out things you should research but haven't actually thought of.

Absolutely, until you see it with your own eyes, it's impossible to say whether it will be right for you or not. Hence the visit.

Thank you. I don't see NZ as heaven, far from it, but I think, going from research, that it might be worth a shot. At least a visit which might lead to a move. Or not. We'll see.
If it doesn't work out, it doesn't but that's why I intend to keep most of the money back in the UK until we know.

salmoncolour

You misunderstood me, I am afraid. I am happy to hear any opinion on life in NZ, moving from UK etc., I am however not very happy if anyone who doesn't know my family or circumstances tries to judge what we have or whether we should be happy with it. I am surprised you don't see the difference between the two.

Please don't try to turn this thread into an argument. I am really thankful to everyone who contributed with their experiences as it all helps create a more realistic picture of life there.
If anything I say sounds like I am not, please ask. I am not English and in written conversation often lack that PC approach so can be quite easily misread.

salmoncolour

What makes you think we are not exploring the figures? Just because I am not doing it on this thread? It would be mad not to.




May I ask why? Are you basing this opinion on numbers?

salmoncolour

Are there differences cost wise between the South and North island?
Aww, I am sorry to hear that (about your children).

I know the feeling.

This is something that really worries me. I am not fond of the UK system and it's not working for my children... :/
What is the NZ one like - what is it that worries you about it?

Patiently waiting for your update.

Good to hear you don't regret it.
How did you not spend a lot coming out? Did your employer pay for the move?
How much would you say a family of four needs?

salmoncolour

Thanks, Bevs.
You've hit the nail on the head here.
He is 55, well will be shortly. I am younger. It was irrelevant at the time of posting as he will be the main applicant so my age wasn't important at this stage.
I was curious whether we'd be able to live on his wage alone.

That doesn't mean I won't or can't work. I can work online making not a lot (again, depending on how much I want to take on) or I can get a job that pays between $45 and $60k in NZ.

The deposit is at this moment unknown to us too, lol. We have a business to sell. I don't like guessing but no, we won't have enough to buy outright unless we decide to live very far out of anything which we won't. There is also property that will sell, just not yet.

On paper, finances look better there. We will know more once we visit and do a proper number crunching exercise.

I would be very interested in the costs of moving if anyone is willing to share.

MrsFychan

sorry but the comments about " I can get a job that pays between $45 and $60k in NZ" just leaves me shaking my head. We have members that have been here over 4 years and not managed to get a full time job or even any long term part time jobs.

and seriously you think you can afford $600 rent on a salary of 70K is again naive at best. take home salary would be $55980 so $1076 per week and that is without the ACC contributions.

what age are the children? do they need schooling, cost for that.
cost for GP's, dentists, then day to day living, kids activities, days out etc etc etc

salmoncolour

Fab info, thank you so much.

It's incredibly hard with food bills. I could budget for New world now and then discover I hate their stuff, end up buying cheaper or more expensive and my budgeting out the door...
Yes, you sound comparable to us: cook from scratch, we don't eat meat, don't drink, don't smoke, love eating seasonal/fresh...
We tend to do a few pop outs too and hate shopping.
So ideally $300 a week?
That would bring our rental ability down to just over 2k on a single income...

Definite food for thought. Much appreciated.

Purrball

No, I'm basing this opinion on your banging on about wine, then saying you don't drink… and weather and BBQ, as well as having kids and hating the cold and damp and somehow imagining that you'll have more leisure time… and that taking their Xboxes away and telling the kids to play outdoors is magically going to turn them into well-rounded educated adults.

You're both middle-aged, you've stated that you're more or less happy in the UK, you don't sound like you're high income earners. You're asking lots of questions about public transport where New Zealand is the sort of place where many people, if not most families, need two cars to organise the day to day activities of a family.

The last barbecue I went to in Wellington was at the height of summer, in mid-February. It was pissing down and thick heavy clouds were rolling in from the Strait, wrapping themselves around the slopes of Ngaio and Mount Kaukau… and there we were, standing around in a bloody garage with coats on, wafting away acrid smoke, living the dream. The idea that you're going to find a fully insulated property in Wellington on the budget you've been discussing sounds highly unrealistic to me.

What you're effectively looking for in your wish list at the top of the thread sounds like a large 4-5 bedroom house in Tauranga or Hawkes Bay, or possibly parts of the South Island where the climate suits. My best guess, and I'm sure that people will tell me I'm wrong, is that to have the sort of lifestyle you imagine you'd like, while giving your kids a nice life, you'd be wanting around a joint income of at least $160-180k pa upwards… and not live in Auckland or Wellington.

You've had people in this thread, currently living in New Zealand who know the score, recommending you stay put or look elsewhere in the UK. I would take this feedback incredibly seriously and as you've repeatedly stated, if you won't move if you can't have this ideal lifestyle and that other people's circumstances aren't easily applicable to your family, particularly when they don't match your rose-tinted vision, then I have to wonder what the purpose of this discussion is.

Cheers!

salmoncolour

Sorry, probably badly phrased if this is how it sounded to you. What I meant is the job that I am doing now, should I need to get one, pays that much in NZ. That is not to say I'd be offered one at a drop of a hat.
I meant that if his income isn't enough, I'd look for a job too.

I based some calculations on this: https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/li...e-living-costs
This: Cost of Living in New Zealand. Prices in New Zealand. Updated Sep 2015
This: Cost of Living in New Zealand
A few random posts I found online and a couple of friends' experiences.
Is the info on the links incorrect?

Activities are not something I looked into yet or days out as we tend not to spend on that here either.
I need to research insurance - do you know how much this is approx?
We don't have any health problems luckily and tend to see our GP once a year, if that. Same for the children. Not sure if this would affect the premiums?
I heard dentists are expensive :/ Will need to budget for that. Not done it yet to be honest (I did add a bit for extras but if the above info isn't correct, I might need to do my sums again).
The children will need schools, I've had a look at various ones for contributions etc.