Wages V Cost of living

[Henniker]

Having looked at the job ads, i see that the wages are very low for skilled people in relation to the uk wage structure, is it that the cost of living is that much cheaper or that the employers don't have much competition to worry about.

[LadyMandy]

Money is a bit of a concern, everyday living costs food power etc are about the same as in the UK, however luxury items cars, housing etc are cheaper. The exchange rate is currently only around 2.5/2.6 so if you have a UK property to sell depending on which area you are moving from and which area you are to. this could be the deciding factor.

[Karen]

Wages do seem quite low and I was really shocked when I first came out here but I was still in the habit of converting back to pounds and didn't really have an understanding of how much a doller is worth and what it will buy.

If you have good equity in your UK house and can buy mortgage free over here it's a great help!
Everyday living costs are roughly the same as LadyMandy said, whiteware and electrical goods are roughly on a par with the UK to so they do seem quite expensive but the big ticket things are generally cheaper - more so in the south island than the North.

[Shamus30]

It is relative to where you have come from. I think people moving from Asia will generally find it much more expensive in New Zealand, and people from Europe in particular will generally find it reasonable - in comparison to where they come from. Useful resource to compare salary purchasing power and cost of living is a website calculator called xpatulator. You can find it via google. Hope this helps.

[gloucester_geezer]

Originally Posted by LadyMandy

Money is a bit of a concern, everyday living costs food power etc are about the same as in the UK, however luxury items cars, housing etc are cheaper. The exchange rate is currently only around 2.5/2.6 so if you have a UK property to sell depending on which area you are moving from and which area you are to. this could be the deciding factor.

Hi, What is the standard exchange rate then? I think it was about the same when we were out in February this year. Does of course make a big difference to things... Paul

[Flyingfoxnz]

Tough topic...

I'd say that it depends how you shop. I get the impression most British expats shop in the (very expensive) frozen convenience foods section of the super market. That pushes weekly expenses up. Renting/buying in the city centre is also really expensive... on top of that inner city supermarkets are much more pricey than others... (to pay the mortgage/rent perhaps?). I've actually noticed that clothes etc can be bought very reasonably in NZ, even the typical expensive labels like levis etc. Of course you can dress yourself for a lot less at Farmers or some of the outlet stores. Cars are cheap of course... (Stupidly enough. I thought our country was supposed to be encouraging a clean green image). Anyways on that note train tickets in AKL are very reasonably priced compared to London and the rest of Europe. Try taking the tube... or train in Switzerland or Germany etc!

I know a lot of kiwis and ozzies in England who find living there horrendously expensive. There solution: Pack more people in to one place to save on rent. From my time travelling in Europe most things are more expensive there (taking in to account average salaries and costs of living. Even the locals complain here in Europe.

Education is well supported in NZ too... Sure it's only a "loan", but repayments on that are made as a small percentage of your salary, depending on what you earn.

If you have a nest egg already to get in to a house that will make life even easier.

Good point about the huge debt NZers have. It's really wise not to let yourself get sucked in to it. Just because it's available doesn't mean you have to use it. If you don't have the cash, go without, as my Mum always advised. Basic budgeting skills should be taught at schools... I think they are explicitly doing that now.

Either way, good luck everyone.

FF

[shell]

mmm. Good topic. It all depends on the person/family however I have recently moved to Australia from NZ and find that the wages/money is a lot better in Australia compared to NZ however the lifestyle is very different as well as the climate.
The cost of living in NZ is totally dependable on the person. If you like expensive clothes and a really nice place in Mission Bay, Auckland then good luck. However if you dont mind the good old kiwi lifestyle then a sausage on the bar-b and a few good crays and paua then you can expect to have a little more money in your pocket. Not to mention a bloody full belly. Yummo. I miss NZ. PS go the Warriors Im with you all the way boys.

[American Guy]

I think it totally depends on where you're "coming from," so to speak.

From what I've discovered, it would appear that someone coming from the EU countries would find NZ to be on par or less expensive than where they're from. Coming from the US, however, NZ is ridiculously more expensive. Housing is, from what I've found, nothing more than an expensive shack. Housing is of much higher quality and far less expensive in the US than in NZ. Gasoline is certainly less expensive. Clothing and food prices are, from what I've discovered, ridiculously high in NZ. I find it funny that Flyingfoxnz calls "Levis" an "expensive clothing label." It's certainly not that here. Add that to a tax scheme that, coming from the US, seems very, very high and a pay scale that is quite low, and I would have to say that, coming from the US, NZ is much more expensive.