Mrs Pointer

To me the major lifestyle pluses are better weather and less people.

Except kayaking, which is a new thing we do, we do the same things but more often because it's not raining and the roads aren't packed with tourists.

I live beside the sea rather than beside the M8 and can afford to build a detached house with amazing views - no way we could do that in the UK. And that's on the same salaries.

BrightyRB

Thank you everyone for your replies, it has definately helped to paint a picture for me and given me some much needed insight. From what i can gather, it is worth moving to NZ if

- i don't expect to be better off financially
- if im not a drinker
- if im not into shopping or city life
- If i do like spending my free time outdoors
- If i do want to live in quieter surroundings
- If i get satisfaction from spending increased time with loved ones (as my immediate family are emigrating with me)
- If i'm prepared to accept that life has its ups and downs no matter where in the world i live.

I must admit, the money side worries me. I wonder just how bad the financial situation is out there? Other than that, NZ sounds great, even with all the negatives thrown in

bourbon-biscuit

Not quite- I'm told (I don't drink) that the wine here is rather good! I've certainly enjoyed the odd wine tour in Hawkes Bay and lots of coffees at wineries

Well, be brave and tell us what sort of salary you expect/ hope to earn and what you earn now and we can all have a (helpful) 40-page row about whether it's enough/ equivalent to what you earn in Britain

BrightyRB

no problem, i earn approx £30,000 per year in uk so would be looking to earn the equivalent in NZ..... let the discussion begin

bourbon-biscuit

The equivalent? Hmmm, I'd say that would be around $70-100k, depending on where you settle and where you're from.

BEVS

That's around 14 quid an hour as a mechanical fitter in the UK. The OP is looking for a rate of $27.50 phour here in NZ. That's nearly $57 K per year.

Mechanical Engineers are in shortage here in NZ. It's of degree standard . However, I think the OP wrote he was a tradesman & I can't see that Mechanical Fitters are in shortage here at the moment..

My belief is that most mechanical fitters would be looking to Auckland although I can see that Christchurch may also now be looking.

Tray

I know you've concluded, but I feel compelled to reply

1) BIG skies-gorgeous scenery

2)Fabulous weather-outside most of the year. Beaches are fab here & so many- you can see the fish swimming around you feet.

3)Far less & very friendly people

4)Kids allowed to be kids for longer-better education

5)Less traffic= less stress

chocolate cake

Really depends you're moving from and to. UK has some super scenery, though NZ will undoubtedly by warmer much of the year, it's gets it fair share of rain & generally Kiwi homes are unlikely to be warmer.

Far less people certainly. NZ has it's share of under performing schools too

Traffic, certainly Nelson will have less traffic, but Auckland's traffic is every bit as bad and worse than that in most UK cities. So there commutes can be no shorter and working hours generally longer.

chocolate cake

Actually with exchange rates NZ wages are closer to UK equivalents than for a long time. Though costs are probably greater, and if you moving funds from UK the exchange rate is a downer.

Quieter surroundings, really depends where you're moving to. Though certainly beaches are generally much closer and quieter. The seas certainly warmer.

Commuting time and working hours will decide your family and leisure time, don't take it as a certain winner.

Again free time in the outdoors, it depends what you're hobbies are, certainly mountain biking for instance mentioned by some, is in fact more restricted in the North Island, outside of mountain bike parks, which there's plenty of in the UK too and the ones are no better.

Don't mean to diss things, it's just important to do the research, it's a big move.

northumberland

1) Strongly agree
2) Not this year - local rivers off limits at moment due to toxins - no fishing or swimming! (Over 80% of waterways fighting pollution)
3) Yes less people - would say very polite rather than very friendly.
4) Very subjective - primary finally getting the shake up it needs with national standards - there has been no reliable data on performance and no accountability!! Auckland only NZ uni in top 100 and it has slipped way down to 70's I think!
5) Yes less traffic but very very stressful!
No where is perfect but as long as you are happy..........does it matter?

Tray

Well we are not better off financially than when we lived in UK but the house we live in now with it's many hectares does not compare (same price) It's also less cold & damp & more eco friendly

There are lots if Vineyards in Nelson & Canterbury

Personally i've not had a problem with shopping. Infact it makes mores sense to me out here. I sometimes felt that people on mass were addicted to shopping in the UK.

If you want City life there are quite a few to choose from in NZ!

Tray

Yes the UK does have some beautiful scenery (esp lakes & Scotland) but my 40+ years of enjoying them (20 in the north & 20 down south) were with numb fingers & toes & saturated raincoats.....& i'm not talking about winter!
I did appreciate the beauty but often from indoors looking out :thumb down: Conveniently it seems to rain a lot during the night in my 2yrs of being here.

Yes there is less traffic in Nelson but then I was listing 5/6 things that describe what MY lifestyle is like....answering the question

Tray

2) We've had (are having) a fab summer here in Nelson, lots of trips to the beaches here & over in Golden Bay & it's been very hot. We've seen fish swimming around our feet in the sea.

3)Subjective!

4) Totally disagree re: national standards as I firmly believe children develop at different ages. My son has just had an article published in the local paper where he talks about how it is beleived that only those who excel in their grades can be called 'intelligent'. He believes this is a tragic misunderstanding of the fact that intelligence runs far deeper than simply a score on a test.He goes on to say, It also encompasses a person's capacity for learning, reasoning, forming & understanding relationships, & much more...he's13.

5) I find the traffic here less stressful than when we lived in Christchurch, but then it's a smaller place & it was my list

Expat Kiwi

No, that's not enough to move to New Zealand for.

You can find all of that in Great Britain if you try hard enough, continental Europe if you're feeling more adventurous.

You don't need to drag yourself and your family across the world to the middle of nowhere to find any of that.

What is worth moving to NZ for? to learn to live in a culture that's very different to your own, to experience the life changing event of becoming an immigrant and to be prepared to raise your children with them knowing they are immigrants. To want to live in a part of the world where the major external influences come from Asia and Australia and where you'll feel like a very small cog in a very small, very remote wheel.

I agree with Bourbon Biscuit, you need to look at earning three times your British salary in New Zealand if you want to maintain the standard of living you have now. I also think that your assumption of being mortgage free may turn out to be on shaky ground when you find out what your British pounds will buy.

sr71

Although reliable studies have been performed that show there is little difference in ability once at 15/16 years old. Additionally NZ graduates are generally very successful overseas and are in demand - they certainly have absolutely no problems getting jobs in finance, medicine, technology etc anywhere in the world.

That's the reality, not some angst-ridden opinion of a disgruntled expat because NZ doesn't teach the way the old school did back in the UK.

The NZ uni being 70th is not bad either, it certainly puts it ahead of the vast majority of UK universities. Unless you are going to be attending Oxbridge, Kings College, Imperial College or a couple of other major ones.