$325 a week sounds like a heck of a lot of money. I had a nice apartment in hollywood, ca, and the rent was about $950 US per month. there are still parts of socal where one can live very close to the beach for that. Now I'm in Berlin where a flat can be had for the 400 euro/month range.

$1300 nz = $977 US = 622 euro, and this is for a city in NZ that is relatively normal size, etc. and in comparison to a place like LA, not exactly off the hook as far as earning potential is concerned.

perhaps I'm making an error in my comparison, as the figures I'm providing are not for such large places that would accommodate 4 people. and i know that on many internet forums or property-oriented web sites the prices are much higher than one will find when one is actually in the city and searching at a more intimate level. (ie there are always great deals to be found once one operates at a face to face level)

in all seriousness, what would it cost for someone to have their own flat, or for a couple of people to rent a small house, without any of the surface amenities that inflate the price so quickly?

in places like Nelson, Wellington and its vicinity, and Auckland and its vicinity, for example. These are 3 possibilities that I'm researching. I don't need anything fancy, esp. in the beginning.