Tricky266

If its financial how does a native Kiwi get by? - or is it that we as Brits just can't give up stuff we take for granted that are deemed luxury in NZ?

I'd really love to get to the bottom on this one - if anyone can back it up with facts and figures (and not we earnt 3 times as much in the UK generalisations...) I can earn the same amount for my job in NZ (£20,000 - $60,000 NZ) so would If I spent bought the same things would I be better or worse off?

Don

A lot depends on your job area. Some professionals do (comparatively) pretty well in NZ, eg dentists, accountants. Some don't, eg marketing managers, general managers. Tradies - not badly paid in NZ compared to white collar workers.

Put it this way: my job area commonly pays about sixty grand in the UK with a a lot of upward scope plus all the extras but earning that kind of money/ package in NZ is a bit of a dream (for my job area). I'd be lucky to get NZD 75K.

Not that surprising as there just aren't as many big companies in NZ.

Tricky266

Cheers Don for your response...

I suppose its all relative - as I said before my families income (we only have one child) is just £20,000 and we get by in the UK but I suppose if you are used to living on £60,000 + in the UK your lifestyle matches your income...

kiwichild

The downhill tend in NZ started when they brought in that bloody GST and whacked it on everything including fresh food (meat, poultry, fish fruit &veges) and they neglected to remove the whoesale sales tax I seem to recall (which they promised to).

We got the GST crap here in OZ too but it is still 10% not the 12.5% you pay there, AND its not applied to fresh food (fancies pastries aside).

The demise of the unions and the advent of individual employment contracts and casual work conditions with no sick or holiday pay, just another way of screwing the worker. Unfortuantely have had that crap here also.

Capitalism, what a wonderful thing for those who run and profit by it, and a prison for all those others who have to just cope with it. Time the people MADE the pollies do it their way. Civil disobedience enmass in the streets I say

kiwijetpilot

Yeah a real hardship compared to 17.5% VAT in the UK...

I've already posted a lot of direct cost comparisons, and others are easily available on the net. However people here aren't much interested in facts, as we see from the generalisations above.

The simple answer is, we get by just fine.

Anybody that comes to NZ to earn a large salary, or who thinks NZ is just like the UK only quainter, or who has the considerable chip on their shoulder that Tayberry exhibits, shouldn't come. In fact, please don't.

This country is about lifestyle, an easy pace of life, and a complete absence of the worst aspects of Europe. We make do on less, if we have to, and we smile whilst doing it. We don't feel the need to wear shoes all the time, we thrive on innovation and meeting challenges. We have (real) mountains, forests, and some serious lakes. We don't care if we only have ten washing machines to choose from instead of fifty, and we enjoy the fact that we pay less, pro rata, for pretty much everything here compared to the UK. This is pretty easy to demonstrate.

We have Paul Holmes, the UK has The Sun. Take your pick! And I fail to see what the problem is with Judy Bailey. She asked for, and got, the market rate for her services.

For those who can't make it work here and go home, good luck. For those who come here with a desire to make it happen in NZ, welcome and I'm sure you won't be disappointed if you approach the experience with an open mind.

Linda Maxwell

I have read heaps of your dismissive posts ubout us returnees, and have kept my toungue between my teeth, simply because i have no desire to get into a slanging match with you.
We invested 8 years in NZ, I taught kindergarten, my husband was regional manager for a very large Kiwi company. Money was OK, holidays to Aussie etc. trips home, big house. pool, air con, underfloor heating, nice big Holdens to drive around, private school for kids.
Came home for a variety of reasons. Now have big house, BMW, good jobs, good money, holiday anywhere we like, only thing missing really is the pool, but have a burn in the garden, lol.
We did make it work there, and we can make it work here or anywhere. As you yourself have done. Why do you constantly feel the need to undermine others decisions and experiences, is it simply to make yourself feel better about a decision that you have made, come on Kiwijetpilot, time for you to be viewing this forum with an open mind, don't you think.
Linda

kiwijetpilot

Nah, nothing like that.

The only reason I get involved is because often, people get confused between opinion and fact. Others use their experiences to present a thoroughly biased and unfair view of what NZ is really like. They then hang around here and discourage others who may want a change of lifestyle.

I'm not "undermining" anything, I am simply bringing correction where there is a clear and obvious discrepancy between what is written here, and what is actually true.

Like most Kiwis, I welcome newcomers who honestly want to integrate into NZ and make a new life. Also, like most Kiwis, I have little time for those who, having realised that they can't get on here, proceed to complain about it for years, and even when they do return home, continue to relive their experiences through media such as this.

They are, in fact, the ones who are doing the undermining - undermining the aspirations of those seeking a new life here. We have already seen that on another thread - somebody apparently scared off by a completely erroneous description of gangs and crime in NZ.

The reason I jumped in on this thread is because an assertion made early in the thread is untrue. The assertion is that "things cost pretty much the same apart from petrol/ diesel and meat". This assertion is untrue, as I have demonstrated.

If you don't like me correcting these fallacies, the bad news is that I'm going to continue to do so (time permitting). Somebody has to.

Don

Let's pick you up on that then, given your comment in the last post.

Power - we didn't find it any cheaper at all. On a Kiwi wage it would be dearer. With a poorly built and insulated house it was dearer again.

Cars - you can get excellent value 7 year old Jap cars. Say, 35% less than in UK. Turn to nice German motors like BMWs, Mercs, Audis etc and NZ is more expensive than UK.

Houses - cheaper but poorly built. If it was permitted, how much would a wooden shed with a tin roof cost in the UK? That's what you get a lot of the time in NZ. Most of the 'better value for money' regarding houses in NZ can be explained by: a) cheaper plots, ie lots of building land (NZ is nearly as big as UK but only 4 million people vs 60 million); b) shoddy materials; c) poorly pad construction workers.

Rates/ council tax - cheaper in absolute terms in NZ, but not really as a % of average earnings.

Car insurance etc - NZ is cheap.

TheArmChairDetective

Are you refering to all houses here please?

Regards
ACD

Don

Of course that is a generalisation. However, a true one.

Most NZ houses are not brick built but timber framed with some kind of cladding. The cladding is generally thin and a poor insulator.

Brick built houses are not usually double skinned, ie they just have a single row of bricks which again doesn't provide much in the way of insulation.

Heat retention is the issue. For that, you need housing mass. Housing mass is low in NZ.

I'm sure somebody will talk about earthquake issues. Earthquakes don't stop you building solidly fgs.

Double glazing is rare in NZ.

Central heating is rare in NZ.

I've got nothing against tin roofs but they do point to the fact that construction techniques in NZ tend to go for the cheap solution.

lapsed kiwi

Kiwijetpilot

As someone who has lived in NZ before, and is hoping to again soon, I'd like to offer my vote of thanks for the facts you often bring to emotive topics. NZ has so much to offer, but I think people need to appreciate the positives, and not get hung up on the negatives. NZ is not for everyone - which is just as well because, for me, the lack of the extra 56million people is the biggest plus point over UK!

scottish

Kiwijetpilot... can you answer me one thing and an honest answer please. If NZ has a better life to offer you over the Uk why did you stick out the UK for 16 yrs??? Also can I be right in saying that if it wasnt for the UK you wouldnt be in the very nice financial positon that you are in now.

We left behind some very good Kiwi friends but one thing that struck me about them and the other Kiwis that we met they all had one thing in common they couldnt see outside the box (the box being NZ). To them life begins and ends in NZ and the rest of the world is a world away.

I can see the benefits of both countries but for us long term Scotland wins hands down. NZ would of been ok for a few years but def not long term.

TheArmChairDetective

So a double skinned brick built house with central heating and double glazing can be achieved if desirable?

Don

Yes. And the good news is you would probably snap up a bargain as the Kiwis don't understand why a well built house should cost more than a wooden shed with a tin roof.

hubbard

Question - recent NZ Herald article said over 300,000 Kiwis were living in Oz but only 52,000 Aussies in NZ. Main reasons quoted were financial and better weather. Any thoughts on why so many Kiwis jump ship to live in Oz if wages and cost of living in NZ is good?