Dappadee

What would you guys and gals consider to be a good wage for a couple with no kids and a mortagage living in the Wellington area?

Pinkie Pie

Depends how big your mortgage will be Dappadee - also how many cars you intend to run, what your lifestyle/spending habits are etc.....so many factors to be taken into account for anyone to come up with a blanket figure for you...

have a look at the cost of living calculator here http://www.emigratenz.org/cost-of-li...w-zealand.HTML and it will give you some idea of what sort of figure you should be looking at...also have a look at the salary guide here http://www.emigratenz.org/earnings-n...land-main.html

good luck...

ukkiwi

Depends on your mortgage or rent and desired lifestyle - for me a good wage would be $100k+

Dappadee

Thanks for the reply, I don't mean to come across ignorant or anything I have my own ideas on how much I need. I've been looking into this for the best part of a year now and I have been to NZ 3 times. I just wanted to get some ball park figures off people here I always like to hear other peoples opinions.

Dappadee

Do you have kids or a large house?

Pinkie Pie

Don't worry you didn't come across like that at all...

Off the top of my head then, ball park figure for a couple with no kids and a mortgage would be whatever you get in the UK less about £10K according to the Cost of Living Calculators that I've had a look at lately.. would seem to be what you would need to maintaint the same sort of lifestyle - whether or not it would be considered a good wage is another matter entirely...

Have a look at this link for a quick idea of what you would need in NZ based on what your earnings are in the UK..http://www.australia-migration.com/p..._calculator/95 use the 'cost of living around the world bit' as it has the NZ drop downs in it..

Panda_Pops

Hi,

You're in the IT field, right?

My husband also works in IT, something to do with Microsoft Server?? Anyway, salaries seem to range from $60k to $100k from what he's seen on job websites - although most of the best jobs do not get advertised.

I think contract rates would be around $40 to $60 per hour.

HTH

PP
x

Dappadee

Thank goodness for that. I was thinking around the 80k mark so that's cool.

Nice one thanks. Sounds like your hubby does the exactly the same as me. I heard that a lot of jobs are filled by word of mouth but I have friends on the inside so fingers crossed I can get something good.

ukkiwi

The $100k came from using the calculator mentioned above - $200k+ to live a really good life.

Pompey_Paul

$100000.00 per week

Sound like a good wage to me

Pompey_Paul

Or large kids small house

uk+kiwi

Thanks Caroline, good links - but a bit scary. I thought this was worth sharing:

In 2003, the average gross family income (including social benefits) in NZ was $73,929 for couples with children. The figure for couples with no children was $62,390.

Personally I find that a bit hard to believe having looked into salaries. I would have thought that income of $74k would be coming from better than 'average jobs'. Will have to see.

I had read that the average kiwi salary was just over $45k, and that dual income is much more the norm than in the UK due to cost of living. However I didn't realise quite to what extent both parents are working until I saw that figure above. I would therefore hope that childcare is better/more affordable in NZ vs UK.

Pinkie Pie

Sounds like we'll both be getting jobs too then!!!

this is a good link for finding childcare in NZ - phone numbers etc so you could ring and check costs...http://www.finda.co.nz/findabusiness...care-education

bookemjano

This calculator worked out fine for us - thanks!

uk+kiwi

yeah scary! Childcare for us will not be as much as an issue as it is currently, since our youngest (still 3) will be 5 and therefore in school Sept 2006 - either in NZ or the UK!!!! The schools I have looked at on the web in NZ seem to have out of hours care from something like 8-6, unlike here, though to be honest, I would be very unhappy if I had to use it on a regular basis. Just personal opinion though, but certainly not what we would be going to NZ for. Also our children have a granny there so would be hoping for some quality bonding time!

Anyhow, all part of the investigative process for Xmas.

Enjoy the big smoke tomorrow. Oxo tower brasserie (prob need to book) or somewhere outdoors at Gabrielle's Wharf on the Thames gets my vote for lunch. Had a lovely pizza there a couple of weeks ago, no idea if that is a good location for you though. Or alternatively, picnic in the park kiwi style! You could set the timer on your breadmaker so it's ready for you in the morning!! Oh I'm so funny