Honest opinion of life in NZ plz...
Discussion
We are starting to get really pigged off about a lot of aspects of life in Britain. It has been mentioned before, but now Vicki and her two brothers are seriously talking about closing the business down and moving lock stock and barrel to NZ.
Now, the initial consensus of opinion seems to be, and from talking to a few people out there, is that NZ is like England was about 30 years ago. Not in any bad way, but in a way that people still say Hello to strangers, and there isn't as much violence... just a much more pleasant way of life in general.
Also the weather seems to be much nicer, still having the seasons, just not as grey and miserable.
So basically, is it really that nice? Try to be unbiased please, this is a potential life altering decision. What is the level of income tax? Is there a good state health service or is it all private like America. Are the schools good? What are the average salary levels and house prices like compared to UK (eg. a decent 4-bed detached).
I know it's a lot of questions and subject to a lot of variance, but any info will be gratefully received
Oh... and most inportantly, how much is petrol, cos I'm sure as hell bringing the TVR oh 
al.
Now, the initial consensus of opinion seems to be, and from talking to a few people out there, is that NZ is like England was about 30 years ago. Not in any bad way, but in a way that people still say Hello to strangers, and there isn't as much violence... just a much more pleasant way of life in general.
Also the weather seems to be much nicer, still having the seasons, just not as grey and miserable.
So basically, is it really that nice? Try to be unbiased please, this is a potential life altering decision. What is the level of income tax? Is there a good state health service or is it all private like America. Are the schools good? What are the average salary levels and house prices like compared to UK (eg. a decent 4-bed detached).
I know it's a lot of questions and subject to a lot of variance, but any info will be gratefully received
Oh... and most inportantly, how much is petrol, cos I'm sure as hell bringing the TVR oh
al.
Hi Al, check out some of these threads here in the NZ forum for importing a TVR out, there has been quite a discussion going on.
NZ is wonderful, yes I have travelled with my eyes wide open, ahhh no place like home in every way.
The health system is average but can provide most things even if you have to wait for it.
Salary's - Well IMO its pretty relative to Britain, you would expect to get paid a bit less here due to our weaker dollar and other things, but depends on what your profession is. You can check out this website and perhaps make some enquiries on the advertised positions to get you an idea: www.nzjobs.co.nz
Housing well check this out very cool site, this will really show you what NZ looks like from the balcony
www.open2view.com/
I love the freedom, space, people, my job rocks and the economy is strong.
That will get you going
NZ is wonderful, yes I have travelled with my eyes wide open, ahhh no place like home in every way.
The health system is average but can provide most things even if you have to wait for it.
Salary's - Well IMO its pretty relative to Britain, you would expect to get paid a bit less here due to our weaker dollar and other things, but depends on what your profession is. You can check out this website and perhaps make some enquiries on the advertised positions to get you an idea: www.nzjobs.co.nz
Housing well check this out very cool site, this will really show you what NZ looks like from the balcony
www.open2view.com/
I love the freedom, space, people, my job rocks and the economy is strong.
That will get you going
oooh, nice houses... nice prices (about a third of comparative houses in UK).
What's the rate of income tax?
And what job do you do out of interest. i work for an advertising agency, but Vicki's family business in in horticulture and manufacturing. I think their ideal would be to set up a big garden centre kind of thing.
What's the rate of income tax?
And what job do you do out of interest. i work for an advertising agency, but Vicki's family business in in horticulture and manufacturing. I think their ideal would be to set up a big garden centre kind of thing.
The rates go something like 33cents in the dollar then I think if you earn over 60K goes up to 39cents.
I work in Quality Assurance for a large Resin and composite company, am also a landscape painter www.kyliesmith.com if youre interested
Plenty of horticulture people doing there thing successfully here.
I work in Quality Assurance for a large Resin and composite company, am also a landscape painter www.kyliesmith.com if youre interested
Plenty of horticulture people doing there thing successfully here.
Al,
I'm an Englishman who has been living in NZ for the past six years. I work in IT (contract programmer), my wife is a kiwi, we have two children, a dog, a TVR Chimaera etc etc
First things first, I never really intended staying in NZ when I followed my then girlfriend over here in '98. In fact I planned on having the best of both worlds, spending the summer in both countries and working a contract in each to pay for it. Marriage and sprogs soon put pay to that idea!
Like any country there are good and bad points in living in NZ. Without going through them all in depth here are some off the top of my head :
Plus points
Beautiful country.
Cheap real estate outside of major cities.
Top of north island is pretty warm all year round.
Excellent skiiing / snowboarding.
Easy access to beaches and water - plenty of scope for surfing, fishing, sailing etc.
Owning a boat is common-place.
Some of the best wine in the world!
A good sheep-to-man ratio.
Plenty of rugby to watch!
Rural and private schools are very good.
Excellent restaraunts.
Bars (as apposed to pubs) are pretty good in the city.
Some of the best seafood in the world.
Lots of British TV.
Fish and chips are really cheap.
The cost of internal flights has plummeted.
You can get a two-week holiday in an exotic, picture-postcard island paradise for less than $1000 (i.e. Fiji, Raratonga, Aussie Gold Coast!).
Lots of very attractive members of the opposite sex!
It's not unrealistic to buy a holiday home.
Golf clubs/courses are plentiful and cheap and easy to join.
Real estate investment is very, very attractive.
You get the feeling that you could start your own business and make a success of it!
Minus Points
There's more rainfall per annum in Auckland than London!
Generally roads are crap - poor quality and mostly single lane. However, IMHO the south island is much better and both islands offer some excellent driving roads off the beaten track. Make sure you have a radar detector.
Cheap track-days.
Property prices have gone loopy in the last couple of years. In Auckland in particular for young people just starting out it is practically impossible to buy anything. A nice 4 bedroom house in a nice suburb of Auckland (Mt Eden, Epsom, Remuera, St Heliers etc) is going to set you back $650,000+.
Average salary is somewhere in the region of 30-40k per annum.
Public transport is either non-existant or crap. You'll need a nominated driver.
Good schools in major cities are over-subscribed and there tends to be a large gulf between good and bad - i.e. no better than the UK.
Race issues concerning Moari.
Netball is televised and is like basketball with all the excitment taken out.
Going home to the UK is bloody expensive.
Pubs are generally poor although there are some nicer ones cropping up in the major cities. Very few are geared towards families.
Plenty of 'Pommie' bashing.
The standard of Soccer is laughable.
You can't avoid rugby.
You have to have sky tv!
No Marks and Spencers.
Being referred to as a Pommie!
I'd say on the whole the cost of living is on par with the UK, particularly in Auckland. You get paid less and things like real estate is cheaper. Cars are pretty much the same price the whole world over so they work out to be relatively expensive, particularly at the top-end. The market for cars and most consumer goods is small and therefore choice is relatively limited and prices relatively high. If you have a house to sell in the UK and you have a good amount of equity in it you could be sitting pretty in NZ.
The best advice to give is come over for an extended holiday. If you can manage a month, that would be best. Make sure you look into the job scene for your chosen profession and where and how much it is going to cost you to live.
Currently, you cannot bring your TVR with you.
Hope this helps. If you want more information email me direct.
I'm an Englishman who has been living in NZ for the past six years. I work in IT (contract programmer), my wife is a kiwi, we have two children, a dog, a TVR Chimaera etc etc
First things first, I never really intended staying in NZ when I followed my then girlfriend over here in '98. In fact I planned on having the best of both worlds, spending the summer in both countries and working a contract in each to pay for it. Marriage and sprogs soon put pay to that idea!
Like any country there are good and bad points in living in NZ. Without going through them all in depth here are some off the top of my head :
Plus points
Beautiful country.
Cheap real estate outside of major cities.
Top of north island is pretty warm all year round.
Excellent skiiing / snowboarding.
Easy access to beaches and water - plenty of scope for surfing, fishing, sailing etc.
Owning a boat is common-place.
Some of the best wine in the world!
A good sheep-to-man ratio.
Plenty of rugby to watch!
Rural and private schools are very good.
Excellent restaraunts.
Bars (as apposed to pubs) are pretty good in the city.
Some of the best seafood in the world.
Lots of British TV.
Fish and chips are really cheap.
The cost of internal flights has plummeted.
You can get a two-week holiday in an exotic, picture-postcard island paradise for less than $1000 (i.e. Fiji, Raratonga, Aussie Gold Coast!).
Lots of very attractive members of the opposite sex!
It's not unrealistic to buy a holiday home.
Golf clubs/courses are plentiful and cheap and easy to join.
Real estate investment is very, very attractive.
You get the feeling that you could start your own business and make a success of it!
Minus Points
There's more rainfall per annum in Auckland than London!
Generally roads are crap - poor quality and mostly single lane. However, IMHO the south island is much better and both islands offer some excellent driving roads off the beaten track. Make sure you have a radar detector.
Cheap track-days.
Property prices have gone loopy in the last couple of years. In Auckland in particular for young people just starting out it is practically impossible to buy anything. A nice 4 bedroom house in a nice suburb of Auckland (Mt Eden, Epsom, Remuera, St Heliers etc) is going to set you back $650,000+.
Average salary is somewhere in the region of 30-40k per annum.
Public transport is either non-existant or crap. You'll need a nominated driver.
Good schools in major cities are over-subscribed and there tends to be a large gulf between good and bad - i.e. no better than the UK.
Race issues concerning Moari.
Netball is televised and is like basketball with all the excitment taken out.
Going home to the UK is bloody expensive.
Pubs are generally poor although there are some nicer ones cropping up in the major cities. Very few are geared towards families.
Plenty of 'Pommie' bashing.
The standard of Soccer is laughable.
You can't avoid rugby.
You have to have sky tv!
No Marks and Spencers.
Being referred to as a Pommie!
I'd say on the whole the cost of living is on par with the UK, particularly in Auckland. You get paid less and things like real estate is cheaper. Cars are pretty much the same price the whole world over so they work out to be relatively expensive, particularly at the top-end. The market for cars and most consumer goods is small and therefore choice is relatively limited and prices relatively high. If you have a house to sell in the UK and you have a good amount of equity in it you could be sitting pretty in NZ.
The best advice to give is come over for an extended holiday. If you can manage a month, that would be best. Make sure you look into the job scene for your chosen profession and where and how much it is going to cost you to live.
Currently, you cannot bring your TVR with you.
Hope this helps. If you want more information email me direct.
if you want all the info you could think of try www.uk2nz.co.uk
Theyre most helpful,no bull shit and very useful to any migrant wanna be's
Theyre most helpful,no bull shit and very useful to any migrant wanna be's
That's not a bad effort is it? The only thing I would say is it seems more geared to short-term touring or holidaying more than moving permanently. Most of the information is good apart from the local beer - Steinlager? You've got to be kidding......
>> Edited by jamieheasman on Thursday 15th April 06:33
>> Edited by jamieheasman on Thursday 15th April 06:33
jamieheasman said:
Currently, you cannot bring your TVR with you.
Oh
... forget it then, she's on her own 
No, seriously, thanks for all the info Jamie. I will send the link over to Vicki so her and her bros can look at it as it they that are the driving force in any possible move.
By average salary of 30-40k, is that sterling or NZ dollars, and am I right in thinking there are about 3 dollars to the pound?
Cheers!
al.
And I'll check at that site aswell thanks Joc.
>> Edited by burriana500 on Thursday 15th April 08:18
30-40k sterling here in NZ is a bloody good wage!The average wage here is 35k$nz....and at present i think theres about 37p to a buck$
Getting permanent residency these days for NZ is like trying to win a lottery...so i'm told,which is why everyone coming these days is on visitor/holiday/work visas.Good luck.
>> Edited by pawsmcgraw on Thursday 15th April 08:31
Getting permanent residency these days for NZ is like trying to win a lottery...so i'm told,which is why everyone coming these days is on visitor/holiday/work visas.Good luck.
>> Edited by pawsmcgraw on Thursday 15th April 08:31
pawsmcgraw said:
30-40k sterling here in NZ is a bloody good wage!The average wage here is 35k$nz....and at present i think theres about 37p to a buck$
Getting permanent residency these days for NZ is like trying to win a lottery...so i'm told,which is why everyone coming these days is on visitor/holiday/work visas.Good luck.
I came out 12 months ago with my girlfriend, we are based just up the road from the capital, Wellington. In the UK I was a very senior sales exec on 80K stg pa being head hunted every week.
Over here I cannot get a job anywhere near the same standard. When the odd role does come up, I dont get interviewed as I'm told I have no contacts in NZ business. The typical salary is take your UK wage and expect that in dollars - eg £80k - $80k. Average salary is $35k (eg £ 13K) Living and housing costs are cheap, though, and therefore you can enjoy a good lifestyle, but if you stay for too long, you wont be able to afford to move back to the UK.
Getting a visa is also tough. I don't have a degree so I failed to qualify in my own right! Despite 16 years of solid business experience. If you have over $1m NZD in cash and have a solid business plan you can go for the entrepreneur catagory. For straight work visas you need to have an offer of employment in NZ. The catch22 is no one will interview you unless you are in NZ and have the right to work here. I mean whos going to offer employment and then let you go away for 2 months trying to sort out the paperwork and moving here etc. There are some companies who claim to find guarranteed work, but it is something like fruit picking or hotel cleaning for little or no wage.
Having said all that and sounding mucho depressed, I love this country and have every intention to make it my long term home, I just have to find something different to do to earn a wage and not expect anything too grand. In return, I have a lovely house, 5 mins walk from the beach where I go everynight to watch the sunset over Kapiti Island. Crime is lower than UK, I feel safe, everybody is imensely friendly and I've met some great friends.
Hope that helps - think this through VERY carefully.
Richard
jamieheasman said:but most of them are sheep...
Plus points
A good sheep-to-man ratio.
Fish and chips are really cheap.
Lots of very attractive members of the opposite sex!
jamieheasman said:
Minus Points
Netball is televised and is like basketball with all the excitment taken out.
Plenty of 'Pommie' bashing.
The standard of Soccer is laughable.
You can't avoid rugby.
Being referred to as a Pommie!
Well done Jamie - summed it up nicely. Just need to clean the coffee of my PC screen! My mate rides the train to Welly with a senior guy at the Westpac stadium, he's working on a deal to bring Arsenal and Chelsea out for a game. Hope so!
Be careful with looking at houses on open2view, I found loads that looks fantastic, until I found out where they were (ie miles from anywhere down a small dirt track). I agree with Jamie - you need an extended holiday here as your major decision would also need to be where in the country to live.
Alot of people head to Auckland (alot of people think its the capital of New Zealand, including their mayor). Ducks and runs for cover... Jamie has given an idea of costs / benefits to live in Auckland. Wellington is the real capital and I love it - real friendly feel and beautiful bay location. Christchurch is OK, but it didn;t really inspire me. Dundeden and Invercargil I have yet to visit. You need to visit most of these to decide where to base yourself. Remember it looks like a small country, but the roads are nothing compared to the UK and commuting anywhere can take along time.
There are alot of garden centres around me, so I would have thought the market to be quite full already. You might be able to buy into one, which would be a good way into the country. I'll keep an eye in the local paper for commercial business for sale which might give you an idea.
Cheers
Richard
Richard,i find the biggest problem is people want or expect it to be the UK.It isn't,nor should it be or would i want it to be.All the comments you make that you find negative i actually find as positives. Granted i live in the deep south and i could probably earn more money in the UK but i choose not to live there.No one comes to NZ for the weather and very few people come here to get rich.For anyone thinking of migration,NZ is a world away from everything we know and love/hate about ole'Blighty and nothing short of continental drift is going to change that.As for financial benifits,you can't buy happiness and its not a trial run so i suggest try it and decide for ones self if its what your searching for in life.
The one thing i must disagree with is you views on commuting and travel times.I can travel faster,safer and more economically here than i ever could in the England,and rural Scotland!I drove 300km round trip the other day in working hours and saw about 10 cars,overtook no one,and had an average speed of just under a 100kph,without speeding.Thats pretty normal out of town......now i don't ever remember doing that in the UK recently.Yeah,Aucklands different,but if you choose to live in Auckland then so be it.
They say the grass is always greener,well it is here because its all covered in chemicals and fertilizer.....no where is perfect.
PMG,citizen of NZ and loving it.
The one thing i must disagree with is you views on commuting and travel times.I can travel faster,safer and more economically here than i ever could in the England,and rural Scotland!I drove 300km round trip the other day in working hours and saw about 10 cars,overtook no one,and had an average speed of just under a 100kph,without speeding.Thats pretty normal out of town......now i don't ever remember doing that in the UK recently.Yeah,Aucklands different,but if you choose to live in Auckland then so be it.
They say the grass is always greener,well it is here because its all covered in chemicals and fertilizer.....no where is perfect.
PMG,citizen of NZ and loving it.
If you want to know what I think of "poms" living in NZ and whether they are excepted.....well I am engaged to one and getting married next year, so does that help
Now this is coming from a person born and breed in the south island with some red neck values LOL.
We love you lot at the top of my list anyway, youre much better than some of the other breeds out there that are a huge liability to our country, which I will not get into
Now this is coming from a person born and breed in the south island with some red neck values LOL.
We love you lot at the top of my list anyway, youre much better than some of the other breeds out there that are a huge liability to our country, which I will not get into
This is all good input, thanks
Like I said, the decision will be made by Vicki and her two brothers. They currently have a pretty large manufacturing company over here producing horticultural iron work, such as hanging baskets, brackets, obelisks that kind of thing - also do a lot of woodwork birdcare and feeders, oh, and they also manufacture lobster pots! Hey, don't jest, it's big business over here and presumably, as you're also an island (or two) is over there.
So, the financial backing / entrepreneur route wouldn't be a problem as they would be setting up a business over there and become an employer.
It's just which market to go for. How big is the garden industry down there compared to the MASSIVE pastime it is here? For example, we go down to Spain a lot and they are 10 or 15 years behind UK in how they use their gardens. In the UK the garden is now definitely seen as a major part of the house, and as much thought is put into it as say the kitchen or the living room.
once again, I will forward the link to Vic (as you may have gathered, she isn't a PHer and would see non-import of the Griff as a definite bonus )
thanks again.
al.
Like I said, the decision will be made by Vicki and her two brothers. They currently have a pretty large manufacturing company over here producing horticultural iron work, such as hanging baskets, brackets, obelisks that kind of thing - also do a lot of woodwork birdcare and feeders, oh, and they also manufacture lobster pots! Hey, don't jest, it's big business over here and presumably, as you're also an island (or two) is over there.
So, the financial backing / entrepreneur route wouldn't be a problem as they would be setting up a business over there and become an employer.
It's just which market to go for. How big is the garden industry down there compared to the MASSIVE pastime it is here? For example, we go down to Spain a lot and they are 10 or 15 years behind UK in how they use their gardens. In the UK the garden is now definitely seen as a major part of the house, and as much thought is put into it as say the kitchen or the living room.
once again, I will forward the link to Vic (as you may have gathered, she isn't a PHer and would see non-import of the Griff as a definite bonus
) thanks again.
al.
the garden industry is here indeed but its size is not what you might expect coming from the UK.In the south your market is about the size of a population less than Leeds,in total over all the island,and the mail order system as in the UK just is not here.....so quite tiny is an understatement.The north island i'm not to familiar with but its got 3 times as many people in it,3million of which 1 million are in Auckland.Many business ideas from the UK simply don't work here because they over estimate how many people there are here.I've found over the years that business's here quite often employ no one and the owner does eveything,and still has time on his/her hands.If you want more specific info on business visas i have friends here who came over on one,its considerably more complecated than what it appears and they still might have to apply for another type of visa if they're plans fail and want to stay.Also,the 1 million dollars needed to qualify is the bare minimum and aplication are high.Like driving test stations back in the UK,they have a quota.
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