New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Ramrod]

Our rent (which is a super small house), water & elec, Layla's school, internet and basic groceries (no alcohol, little meat, no fancy toiletries, etc) costs us R45k a month.

 

That's no fuel, no insurance, no clothes, no going out or away, no haircuts or any other things people usually do. No debt, no car payments etc etc. We live a very very simply life (day to day living), according to Auckland council our average consumption for water a month is at the 50% mark for 1 person, we are 3 in the house.

 

I earn the same in Auckland than I did in JHB. There my monthly expenses (the need to pays) were less than R9k pm (and that included many dinners out).

 

I honestly don't know how people survive in Auckland when only one is working or if they are teachers etc. and want to stay in their own place (renting, forget about buying).

Was one of the reasons i came back. Told the wife that if we are going to get divorced i am coming back because i couldn't afford to live there as a single person.

[patches]

I posted these on Facebook.

 

Early morning flight to CHC for work.

 

Beautiful country this.

IMG_3342.jpgAAAB331F-F296-4906-9C80-A0F976A36031.jpg

 

Damn I love the Southern Alps!

[patches]

I do enjoy this thread. However, no place is perfect. I see only “The Good” being posted. As far as SA is concerned “The Bad” (general statement).

 

So come on guys, where’s the Bad and the Ugly in New Zealand. Can’t be all roses.....

 

Very true. NZ definitely isn't without its bad or ugly.

 

For the most part though, those gripes are "first world problems". If you search "bad" or "ugly" on this thread, you'll be sure to find some of them that hubbers have encountered.

 

There are of course the big uglies too like high domestic violence rates, earthquakes, the Christchurch shootings, etc.

 

No place is perfect, but I guess those contributing here have made the active move to leave SA and live in NZ so they will try defend that choice and focus on the good.

 

 

...and you can be sure that on this end, Saffers are telling kiwis about things they preferred in SA and how cheap things were, hahaha!

[intern]

I do enjoy this thread. However, no place is perfect. I see only “The Good” being posted. As far as SA is concerned “The Bad” (general statement).

 

So come on guys, where’s the Bad and the Ugly in New Zealand. Can’t be all roses.....

Short days and cold weather suck. Given that it is moist and cold, mould is everywhere so you need to take mould precautions. Windy roads make travel a pain if you're in a hurry. Cost of living is very, very high.  Finding a decent restaurant can be difficult if you're in the regions (most have one or another thing missing; don't generally cater for kids unless McD etc, some have everything right but no atmosphere. And you will pay dearly for the experience).

That's got to be some ugly for you, or maybe bad? Hope that helps.

[patches]

General cost of things? Or when comparing back to old SA is it the housing, utilities, food, insurance, schooling etc. that is “expensive” ?

 

 

All of the above!

 

If you're in Auckland (like most on this group are), you are paying through your teeth! Other parts of the country (excl. Wellington, Queenstown or Wanaka), renting can be as low as half (or less) than the equivalent in Auckland.

 

In general, Aucklanders have higher salaries, but they don't necessarily have more disposable income.

 

Some examples of places myself or close friends have lived:

 

1. Christchurch - Garden Cottage (Rent)

• 1 bed, 1 bath
• approx 60sqm
• semi-furnished
• Power, water, gas, internet included (although water is free in Canterbury anyway)
• 6km (10min drive) from CBD
• 2km from bike park
• Upper market area.
• $250pw (approx R10 000pm)

2. Auckland - North Shore Small House (Rent)

• 2bed, 1 bath
• approx 80sqm
• unfurnished
• no utilities included
• 16km (20min drive) from CDB
• Middle class area
• $550pw (approx. R22 500pm)

3. Christchurch - Townhouse (Rental)

• 4 double bedrooms, 3 bath, 1 study
• 2 car garage
• approx 200sqm
• fully-furnished (brand new furniture)
• Water and country club access included
• 12km (15min drive) from CBD
• $620pw (approx R25 250pm).

4. Auckland - Freeman's Bay Apartment (Rent)

• 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath
• 2 basement parking spaces
• approx 150sqm
• semi-furnished
• Water and gas included
• 1km (10min walk) from CBD
• Upper market area.
• $900pw (approx R36 600pm).

5. Auckland - Northshore House (Buy)

• 3 bedrooms, 2 bath
• 1 car garage
• approx 115sqm
• 400sqm land
• unfurnished
• no utilities included
• 13km (15min drive) from CBD
• Middle-upper market area.
• House price: $1.22m (approx R11.5m)
• 20% deposit, 80% loan (pretty standard for NZ)
• $1400pw (approx R49 000pm)

6. Auckland - Northshore Townhouse (Buy)

• 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath
• 2 car garage
• approx 180sqm
• unfurnished
• no utilities included
• 24km (30min drive) from CBD
• Middle-upper market area.
• House price: $1.07m (approx R10m)
• 20% deposit, 80% loan (pretty standard for NZ)
• $1400pw (approx R56 000pm)

To put AKL vs CHC into perspective, Townhouses 3 & 6 are pretty similar. The sales price of an identical neighboring unit to Townhouse 3 was about 40% less than Townhouse 6.

 

7. Auckland - West Auckland House (Buy)

• 4 bedrooms, 1 bath
• no garage or carport
• approx 110sqm
• unfurnished
• no utilities included
• 9km (15min drive) from CBD
• Middleclass market area.
• House price: $1.05m (approx R9.9m)
• 20% deposit, 80% loan (pretty standard for NZ)
• $1150pw (approx R47 000pm)

So as you can see housing prices in Auckland are insane.

 

And if you think that a decent 3 bed house in a decent area is going to set you back approx. R10m - R12m, PLUS in most cases the bank requires a 20% deposit, which in itself is the value of a slightly nicer house in SA...

 

...I think THIS (apart from missing friends and family) is what makes it hard for many to move over to NZ.

 

Take an upper-to-middle class professional in their early-to-mid 40's. Living in SA, married, 2 kids etc. They're near the peak of their career. They may have paid off their house (or would be close). They may even have have a couple of German luxury cars in the garage.

 

Ship them across the world to NZ. Their SA house becomes a deposit on an NZ house that's not even as nice. They start the 20 - 30yr mortgage schpiel all over again. And they trade in their German luxury cars for 2nd hand Japanese imports or stretch for an overpriced new vehicle.

 

Also take away domestic and gardening assistance, and add the fact that both parents will likely have to work.

 

I can completely understand why the move to NZ is daunting for many and not to be taken lightly.

Edited July 14, 2019 by patches

[intern]

Oh, here's a pro tip, too, WrightJr, when searching the ole Googler for insights, use negative terms (NZ sucks, etc) to get a better idea of what people don't like. As Patches (I think) said, everyone who has moved here will be trying to justify their decision whether consciously or not. Man is infinite in his capacity for self deception, and all that.

[WrightJnr]

Great posts above. Very interesting. I’m on a different path at the moment living in the UAE but I’m always interested to see the challenges faced for expats no matter where they might go. I’ve got some mates in NZ but mostly in AUS.

 

As Patch says above, reality for “most” places one ends up, your house in SA ends up being a deposit in your new country. Considering that most people don’t contribute more to retirement as what was mandated in SA (again a general statement) many relied on their SA house as an asset when going on pension. Starting a new bond mid 40’s will have a lasting impact 20 years down the line I believe. But we do what we believe needs to be done.

 

While short term we get things in order and sorted. It’s the “20 years from now” that still scares the heck out of me.

[arabsandals]

Our rent (which is a super small house), water & elec, Layla's school, internet and basic groceries (no alcohol, little meat, no fancy toiletries, etc) costs us R45k a month.

 

That's no fuel, no insurance, no clothes, no going out or away, no haircuts or any other things people usually do. No debt, no car payments etc etc. We live a very very simply life (day to day living), according to Auckland council our average consumption for water a month is at the 50% mark for 1 person, we are 3 in the house.

 

I earn the same in Auckland than I did in JHB. There my monthly expenses (the need to pays) were less than R9k pm (and that included many dinners out).

 

I honestly don't know how people survive in Auckland when only one is working or if they are teachers etc. and want to stay in their own place (renting, forget about buying).

Ditto ditto, Sydney, ditto ditto.

[arabsandals]

General cost of things? Or when comparing back to old SA is it the housing, utilities, food, insurance, schooling etc. that is “expensive” ?

I'll just leave this here

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=South+Africa&country2=New+Zealand&city1=Johannesburg&city2=Auckland

[arabsandals]

...

Also take away domestic and gardening assistance, and add the fact that both parents will likely have to work.

 

I can completely understand why the move to NZ is daunting for many and not to be taken lightly.

All of that, BUT... you can literally forget to lock your door and it's likely nothing will happen. You hear a noise in the night and think "Hmm, wonder what that was?" and then promptly fall asleep instead of putting on your Go! face and sneaking through the house with a golf club. Kids are safe, cops are professional, stuff works, blah blah etc.

 

There's a reason it's expensive and it's not because everything's being funnelled into the back pockets of the current coterie of entrepreneurs/politically connected parasites.

 

Also, you can leave your stuff in public places, come back a couple days later and someone will almost invariably have put it somewhere safe but in full view for you to come and collect. People will hand wallets in full of MONEY and new smartphones! IT'S CRAZY!

 

Finally, you have a high degree of certainty around the way society functions on on the things on which life depends. Hospitals are properly staffed, streetlights are going to work, roads will be fixed and water supply will continue to be reticulated.

[WrightJnr]

All of that, BUT... you can literally forget to lock your door and it's likely nothing will happen. You hear a noise in the night and think "Hmm, wonder what that was?" and then promptly fall asleep instead of putting on your Go! face and sneaking through the house with a golf club. Kids are safe, cops are professional, stuff works, blah blah etc.

 

There's a reason it's expensive and it's not because everything's being funnelled into the back pockets of the current coterie of entrepreneurs/politically connected parasites.

 

Also, you can leave your stuff in public places, come back a couple days later and someone will almost invariably have put it somewhere safe but in full view for you to come and collect. People will hand wallets in full of MONEY and new smartphones! IT'S CRAZY!

 

Finally, you have a high degree of certainty around the way society functions on on the things on which life depends. Hospitals are properly staffed, streetlights are going to work, roads will be fixed and water supply will continue to be reticulated.

Don’t panic. Everyone here still loves NZ :-)

 

Majority of the posts above are honest responses to a post I made a few days back.

[Wannabe]

So what would the minimum salary be, for two people to survive? Auckland based.

We are not frivolous, and are used to living sparingly.

 

I provisionally qualify under the following categories, but must still start the process formally. This I will do after the my seminar / appointment with the NZ Shores agency on 08/08/2019, and I have more clarity about the process.

 

1. The Skilled Migrant Category
2. The Work to Residence Category
3. The Essential Skills Work Visa Category

 

What I can gather from my online research, is that I must / should get employment with a minimum salary of NZ$ 39.75 an hour, which to my mind sounds like a decent wage in NZ terms. Or am I mistaken?

[hayleyearth]

So what would the minimum salary be, for two people to survive? Auckland based.

We are not frivolous, and are used to living sparingly.

 

I provisionally qualify under the following categories, but must still start the process formally. This I will do after the my seminar / appointment with the NZ Shores agency on 08/08/2019, and I have more clarity about the process.

 

1. The Skilled Migrant Category

2. The Work to Residence Category

3. The Essential Skills Work Visa Category

 

What I can gather from my online research, is that I must / should get employment with a minimum salary of NZ$ 39.75 an hour, which to my mind sounds like a decent wage in NZ terms. Or am I mistaken?

 

That wage per person maybe.

While I was on maternity leave our income was about 1.5 that and we 'just just made it'. 

[Wannabe]

Hayley, you are bursting my bubble here.....

[Richard29]

Our rent (which is a super small house), water & elec, Layla's school, internet and basic groceries (no alcohol, little meat, no fancy toiletries, etc) costs us R45k a month.

 

That's no fuel, no insurance, no clothes, no going out or away, no haircuts or any other things people usually do. No debt, no car payments etc etc. We live a very very simply life (day to day living), according to Auckland council our average consumption for water a month is at the 50% mark for 1 person, we are 3 in the house.

 

I earn the same in Auckland than I did in JHB. There my monthly expenses (the need to pays) were less than R9k pm (and that included many dinners out).

 

I honestly don't know how people survive in Auckland when only one is working or if they are teachers etc. and want to stay in their own place (renting, forget about buying).

I spent 3 weeks networking , going from town to town, Christchurch, wellington, Hamilton, Auckland, Northshore, all over.

 

lots of opportunity , but I have 1 child that is 2, and one that will be due in January.... just kindergarten for these two till they are 3, 250 dollars a child.

 

then roughly 550 dollars for a decent house to rent, provided you are "chosen" as I have two dogs.

 

so 1050 dollars before ive put food on the table, electricity , cars, fuel, basic needs, toiletries, etc etc.

 

was a helleva eye opener.

Edited July 17, 2019 by Richard29

[Hairy]

I spent 3 weeks networking , going from town to town, Christchurch, Hellington, Hamilton, Auckland, Northshore, all over.

 

lots of opportunity , but I have 1 child that is 2, and one that will be due in January.... just kindergarten for these two till they are 3, 250 dollars a child.

 

then roughly 550 dollars for a decent house to rent, provided you are "chosen" as I have two dogs.

 

so 1050 dollars before ive put food on the table, electricity , cars, fuel, basic needs, toiletries, etc etc.

 

was a helleva eye opener.

is that really $3250 / child, so $6500 for both per month?