Rascal

We have never found the 'lifestyle' here. Its been all hard work, long hours and sh*te pay. Not to mention sh*te employers.
I do not want to spend the rest of my life sitting in one city, having no money for fuel to drive anywhere different, no money for plane fares to travel anywhere decent. No money to enjoy anything at all in life. So different to our life we had back in UK. Then, we had a life, here has just been a existance.
If people are happy to just beach/BBQ or watch grass grow for the rest of their lives, thats fine, but its not for us, we would rather LIVE!
Off to OZ soon anyway.

soulflour

blimey... I wish i had TIME for watching grass grow!! what with all the going to the beach, hanging out with friends, taking part in events, volunteering, stimulating rewarding work and enjoying life to the FULL we just don't get the time!

We LOVE it here, and don't struggle nearly as much as we did in the UK.

So some people love it, some people hate it - sounds like anything in life really! and that's just the way it's always been and the way it always will be - vive la difference.

SF

southerner

There's that word 'conned' again.

Please tell me who conned who. Many people do find the lifestyle better in NZ for them, and that is a personal and subjective matter..

Nobody in NZ says that we are in the top ranks of the OECD by wealth or income measures, like the UK is. It is clear where we rank, and clear that we would aspire to rise from our current "underperforming" status.

Spouting about being conned and 'some honesty at last' makes out there is some sort of conspiracy. Everyone has their own take on things, and clearly for some NZ is not the right solution. But just as clearly it is right for others.

Lets debate what makes it right and wrong for different people rather than sweeping statements either way.

lapsed kiwi

I just worked out my approximate hourly pay - $48.61 (I actually get paid by the year). My wife gets $65ph but no annual leave, pension scheme or health care (which I do get). I guess if you build up the right qualifications and experience so you are attractive to employers, you can get decent pay. In NZ, UK or anywhere.

tootsie

It's quite possible to earn the same, if not more, than was earned in the UK if you're in the right job and I never quite understand why people settle for less (maybe they fall for the tosh that the cost of living is lower in NZ?)

For some reason many migrants believe that if they accept an job on the NZ national average income this means that they will be able to make ends meet. Many come here to work for 2/3 - 1/2 of their old UK wages.

What they are NOT told is that the average wage isn't sufficient and many, many people have to claim state benefits.

The government taxes its residents to the hilt to pay for a state benefit system which susbidises a low wage economy. All this does is add to inflation (it is the greatest pressure on inflation in fact)...leads to higher interest rates...povery trap.

Interesting fact: NZ citizenship is taking 12 months to process at the moment due to the high number of applications and many people leave for Australia as soon as they have it.

tootsie

This question often crops up and is a very valid one. The problem with NZ is that property prices are way out of proportion to incomes.

This is because of various factors such as high immigration which keeps the property market up and an absence of any real restrictions on foreign investors buying up property in the country.

There is no stamp duty and the government has never been that interested in chasing up people for capital gains tax when they sell an investment (this may be changing soon though) so NZ property is an attractive way for many offshore Asian and Australian investors to make money, as well as many Nzlanders who use it as a pension 'fund'.

No one can really tell you how much you need to be comfortable in NZ. It depends on what your standards are like and how much you are prepared to put up with.

If you can be free of a mortgage things will be a lot easier for you that's for sure but when it comes to looking at a suitable salary/wage there is no reason why you shouldn't ask for the same as you're getting now. If they won't pay it then perhaps you should be asking why.

p.s. the trades are the worst for low pay.

Good luck.

dazal

Hi Nisey

Just to give you an idea of how we live. It might give you an idea of how some people can and do live here. We live in Auckland and between the pair of us (no kids) we earn just over $100,000 a year, soon to be going up with our yearly rise. We own our own house and because we didnt have a deposit we had to get a 100% mortgage which means we have a bloody high mortgage. But saying that we dont struggle at all. I am sure the no kids part has a lot to do with it but quite a few of our friends are in the same position as us i.e. same sort of money and mortgage but with kids and are not struggling either. We even have managed to do some travelling while living here including a trip back to the UK which is bloody expensive for us and a trip to the States so although expensive its not impossible. But that is living on the above wages. We go out regularly and in no way skimp on anything, although to be honest its not in my nature to skimp anyway and if I was earning peanuts I am pretty sure I would spend most of it!! We also manage to save some money as well.

I hope the above doesnt sound preachy but just trying to make a point that it isnt all doom and gloom. I know what we earn would be considered a decent wage and it is but can only tell you about our experiences and with what we know.

brussels_sprout

Someone with insight !! Yes, it is the price of the houses that is the reason for the seemingly bad pay. If you went to live in Thailand, you could afford to buy a palace, but your pay would be pennies. It is the current house prices in NZ, i agree. There are only 4 million people here = (ONLY 70 rugby pitches of people, the same area as a small lake). Why are more houses not being built ?

The crappy wooden shed houses start at 300K, more in the city ! Even to buy one of them you will need quite a big salary, and the interest rates are just starting to go up , i am waiting for the prices to drop!

Avid

You get paid once a year? What kind of job is that? Pyramid builder or something??

So, assuming you work the same hours as most people...you get paid $93,000 on January 1st and that's it?

wow...

Avid

Lighthouse Keeper??

Apple Tree

and what will it buy you in the UK? Or Oz? Or the US?

lapsed kiwi

No, silly, I get paid by the year but every two weeks. People who get paid by the hour don't actually get a cheque every hour, do they?

happynz

In the UK? Dunno...
In OZ? Dunno...
In the USA? Surprisingly, this...
You could by several of these plus a big ol' pick-up truck. Right in the heart of Missouri's wine country.

http://www.hartmanrealestate.com/DH420.htm

Yee-haw!

Avid

Oh...so you have a year's contract with a fixed hourly rate and they pay you every two weeks for the hours you have worked.

It would have been more fun if you pretended to get paid once a year...

Those wacky Japanese don't always pay bonuses in cash, you know. I've been given 'year end bonuses' in the form of rice-cakes, soap, telephone cards and knives.

The last reminds me of 'Glengarry Glen Ross'....

Apple Tree

And people complain about "shacks" here!!!!!