Living costs

[ClemClan]

Originally Posted by escapedtonz

Hi,
No the summary of costs was in equivalent NZ$ - we were paying £144 a month dual fuel so around NZ$300 on a big 5 bed house and that also included a private supply fee for the gas as we lived on a private unadopted estate where a 3rd party owned the gas pipeline.

Yeah we are paying very high rent here - my fault as I wanted us to rent a big house within cycling distance of the city and one big enough for family and friends to stay in when visiting.
We just couldn't find anything decent and big enough in the areas we wanted to live for our budget so had to increase it.
With hindsight we were a bit naive and didn't completely understand the law with regards to being a tenant here. Was a bit of a rush trying to find somewhere with our temporary accommodation rental end date looming.
We wish we had looked further out of Wellington to give us more choice & you do get more for your money.
Since signing up to a contract we have found other properties further out that we would rent for less dollars but hey ho not much we can do about it now.

Yeah I agree with the comparisons but its purpose is to give the forum an idea of costs using the simple 1/2 rule for UK migrants to turn dollars into pounds.
In reality it has cost us more as we got a rubbish exchange rate when transferring money from UK - 1.86 to the pound and I earn approx 30% less here for a job with more responsibility.

I don't agree that cost comparisons become irrelevant after a while. Maybe they would if we completely severed all ties with the UK but we still spend a lot of money in the UK via Internet shopping etc as it is so much more value for money even with the shipping costs and risk of paying GST on any goods. We still have an income in the UK from rent so the comparisons will continue for many years to come I'm sure.

Hi - yes, sure if you still have an income in the UK etc then it would be relevant and that makes sense. For the ones that don't, such as ourselves it does then become irrelevant when you've severed all ties and your income is NZ based only, however I do shop online too and order from the UK, but pay in NZD and this is for the quality as well as being cheaper. And if we purchase sale items in the UK and pay NZD we're still getting a good price. You do have to be careful of the GST, but at least you're aware of that.

I understand what you're saying about the rent and it sounds quite similar to us over five years ago when we came here and paid epic rent payments, luckily we bought a house so it didn't go on for too long.

Unfortunately wages are lower and it's a shame about the exchange rate - it's worked well for some and not for others. It's been pretty dismal for a few years now, let's hope it gets better over the coming year or so.

[Song_Si]

The following is one of a series of eight articles about different people's current lifestyle in NZ - link here
I though this one was the most relevant, with an ex-NZer and Dutch partner moving to Auckland after 17 years in London.

*****

THE RETURNING KIWI

After 17 years in London, it was time to come home. The city so appealing to Emily Swan when she'd arrived in her 20s wasn't the place she wanted to raise a child.

So in 2010 Swan, her Dutch-born partner and their daughter Belle crossed the globe to set up home in Auckland.

The clean air, the beaches, the family support - all have been just as expected. What was unexpected was that the antipodean good life would be so pricey. "We were delighted to be home. But we've been really taken aback by how expensive it is," Emily says.

Emily, 38 works in media and her partner is in hospitality. They earn $130,000 a year between them. They have a mortgage on a two-bedroom house in central Freemans Bay, which costs them more than their London rent, (and which they bought only with help from Emily's mother).

Emily's salary is 33% lower than in the UK, but she find utilities extremely dear. "Gas, water, electricity - we pay each month what we paid for each quarter in London."

In London, broadband was free with her cellphone contract. Food was cheap: last week own-brand supermarket milk was priced 70% higher here than in the UK, and bread 50% higher. Cheaper petrol and childcare don't balance the extra costs.

Swan is paid monthly, her partner weekly, and "three out of four weeks we get down to cents in the bank before payday. "My daughter was doing swimming lessons, but we've stopped - we haven't the funds."

Belle is three, but tall for her age, and has almost outgrown a cot-bed meant to last till she was five. "I'm thinking **** - I'm going to have to buy her a new bed. I'll have to do it on hire purchase."

Luxuries Swan had grown used to - especially dining out - are out of the question.

"Sometimes I look at my peers, and feel like poor relations. We don't measure our happiness by our things. It's very much about our child and her quality of life, and we have that. But it's not how we thought it was going to be."

Does Swan appreciate that with that income and a house, many Kiwis would see her as well-off?

"Yes! The average household income is what, $30,000? Crazy. But then a lot of people are sending their kids to school without breakfast. We are grateful for what we've got."

And yet . . . "I look at my age and think, I'm nearly 40 and I'm still living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque. What do I pass on to the next generation? Will I ever pay my mortgage off? I do feel like I've f---ed up somewhere along the way.

While she wasn't always sensible with money in the past, she had a "bloody good time", and she has the mortgage now. "I'm happy with the way round I did it."

Emily and her partner would like to have another child, but don't feel they could afford to live on one income, and "I don't feel anyone else should have to pay for that in terms of state support."

She doesn't regret leaving London. The other day she had a do in town. Two minutes after leaving she was picking up her daughter from her mum's house, and Belle was in bed 15 minutes later.

"I love that. Life here is much easier. That's worth it."