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

[MrJacques]

I've heard similar things about Australia. A friend told me he knew of someone who's wife stayed home to look after the kids as it was cheaper (even with loss of income) than pre-school / kindergarten. Not sure why it's like this.

 

So while some things are better, there are trade-offs and it will probably be a different lifestyle than what you are used to.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Jacquers

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

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

no, just kindergarten until they are 3. $250 per child. 

[Richard29]

no, just kindergarten until they are 3. $250 per child.

[Richard29]

250 dollars a child per week , till 3 ... then 3-5 you get 20 hours sponsored/compensated.

 

5 onwards fall into schooling 180 dollars a year

 

So for two kids 1-3 , 500 dollars a week ,

[intern]

I have a big negative.... Going on maternity leave in NZ.

 

Most companies don't give you a cent in whole time you are away. You get monies from the government now for 22 weeks, but it's easy less a month than I pay tax when working full time... 

 

The biggest thing is how the company treats you when you get back, which like like is now going to be something I'll be taking up further (think discrimination actions). It's a huge loss to a family when the woman use to work a good income job and then take time to have a baby, unfortunately our also seems its a loss year to year the company plans if we don't take actions now.

 

Fortunately for me I have a partner that probably believes more than me in woman equity and rights than myself and he (in my absence at the company as I'm currently in SA) took it up with the HR head and we now have the big ball rolling.

This is a negative of your company, not the country. Generally NZ is very progressive with mat leave etc. Also note that mat leave has to cost someone something and having a baba is a choice.

Source: have 2 kids born in NZ, never got a dollar for the Mrs for mat leave. not even from the Govt.

[intern]

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.

I have enough on my plate worrying about today and tomorrow, 20 years from now is a different country altogether....

[intern]

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.

 

Haha I literally used to do this. Last night in my unlocked house, there were noises because the wind was up. I wrapped my head in my pillow so I could get back to sleep...

[intern]

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.

Bro I know the dogs are part of the family and whatnot, but rehome them if you are serious about coming over. The ~10,000 dollars it will cost you for that exercise will seem worth a lot more after it's gone to the dogs, so to speak, especially when you have 2 kids who are going to keep you super busy ALL THE TIME in the absence of grandparents, uncles and aunts, and kindly Mavis who also did the dishes. Trust me on this - your dogs will be a lot less 'part of the family' when you find yourself having to spend every spare moment on the family. Also note you pay around $70 a year to keep one Fido on the leash - dog licenses are a thing (but TV licenses are not...swing? Roundabout?) And then remember vets are more expensive than doctors and dog tucker ain't cheap either...

[patches]

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

 

hahaha! that would be some effective birth control!

 

At $6500 a month, a household income would have to be around $110,000pa before tax (decently above the median household income in NZ), and that's JUST to send the kids to school. Forget food, rent, breathing, existing.

 

In NZ, they like calculating rent and other costs in weeks, so $250/wk per child. Still not cheap, but doable!

Edited July 15, 2019 by patches

[patches]

250 dollars a child per week , till 3 ... then 3-5 you get 20 hours sponsored/compensated.

 

5 onwards fall into schooling 180 dollars a year

 

So for two kids 1-3 , 500 dollars a week ,

 

aaaand there's the pay-off!

 

In the long run it will be far cheaper than educating children in SA (private NZ schools excluded)

[patches]

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?

 

I remember back in Christchurch, someone said that around $100,000pa or more (for a breadwinner) is where one wants to be...

 

That was a fair whack more than what I was earning at the time, so I started worrying that I was about to starve.

 

When I first moved over (over 3yrs ago) I was completely out of touch with cost of living in NZ and respectable salaries, etc.

 

Simply put, I was low-balled, but didn't know it, plus I was excited at the opportunity, AND the salary was about 30% up on my SA salary, which was fair. I was based in Christchurch though, so rent was affordable. I survived quite nicely. I was just looking after myself and renting a little garden cottage, so expenses were low, but I was nowhere near starving.

 

That said, hard work and strategic moves pay off over here! The Kiwis notice Saffer work ethics. Within 2yrs my salary increased by 50% at the same company. I then moved companies and it increased another 50% from that.

 

So yeah, don't stress too much about salary. Remember that the employer is taking a chance on you so may offer you under the market related salary. take the chance on them, knuckle down, prove yourself. If they don't recognize and compensate you for it, someone else will!

[intern]

Reading Patches' comments, there's something worth bearing in mind for the Kiwi market: they employ overseas people on lower salaries, thus keeping wages (and overheads) low, while claiming 'skills shortages'. You get to come to the country, they get to manage costs. For some, a fair tradeoff, and as Patches has made clear, you reward their interest accordingly, ie buggar off to a new job as soon as you've served your time.

This became glaringly apparent a wee while ago when they ran a compo for the tech sector to fill the so-called 'skills shortages'. While thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world applied for jobs in the sector, I think it was one or two who actually took up employment. The rest of the firms, it turned out, didn't have skills shortages. More like capital shortages and an unwillingness to pay globally competitive salaries.

So ja, know that if you do snag a job, you probably will be underpaid for your edu/skill/experience. But also know that once you hit that PR, you're free to do what you smaak, ekse,

[intern]

May be another ugly for WrightJr ;-)

[WrightJnr]

Bro I know the dogs are part of the family and whatnot, but rehome them if you are serious about coming over. The ~10,000 dollars it will cost you for that exercise will seem worth a lot more after it's gone to the dogs, so to speak, especially when you have 2 kids who are going to keep you super busy ALL THE TIME in the absence of grandparents, uncles and aunts, and kindly Mavis who also did the dishes. Trust me on this - your dogs will be a lot less 'part of the family' when you find yourself having to spend every spare moment on the family. Also note you pay around $70 a year to keep one Fido on the leash - dog licenses are a thing (but TV licenses are not...swing? Roundabout?) And then remember vets are more expensive than doctors and dog tucker ain't cheap either...

I have the opposite view here. Bringing my dogs with me has been the best thing for my family in helping deal with the move. It was like they represented a mate that was left behind. Their common routine, taking them for walks and their general presence has been well worth the expense. I don’t regret bringing our rugrats one bit. Ever time I see my kids spending time with the dogs, just playing, stroking, watching TV, or whatever, I am very very grateful I chose to bring them.

 

For sure, I understand the financial implication but then if your move is based on such a thin financial line I would have bigger concerns. I’ve had to dig deep into my savings for all sorts of things since moving.

 

Just sharing my personal experience and view.

[intern]

I have the opposite view here. Bringing my dogs with me has been the best thing for my family in helping deal with the move. It was like they represented a mate that was left behind. Their common routine, taking them for walks and their general presence has been well worth the expense. I don’t regret bringing our rugrats one bit. Ever time I see my kids spending time with the dogs, just playing, stroking, watching TV, or whatever, I am very very grateful I chose to bring them.

 

For sure, I understand the financial implication but then if your move is based on such a thin financial line I would have bigger concerns. I’ve had to dig deep into my savings for all sorts of things since moving.

 

Just sharing my personal experience and view.

Absolutely fair enough. We brought our dogs before kids and I can tell you that they went from being part of the family to being an additional hardhsit PDQ when dealing with babies and the very young.

That said, when the one died in 2015 it was devastating to me. And now that my oldest is 6, it is a joy to see how he cuddles hugs and loves the remaining pooch (of which I am very fond...damned pest that she is).

10 grand if you are on a budget, though, is a lot of grand! And you can afford any number of dogs over here, or SPCA adoptions, for a lot less over the full lifetime of the petsky.

[hayleyearth]

This is a negative of your company, not the country. Generally NZ is very progressive with mat leave etc. Also note that mat leave has to cost someone something and having a baba is a choice.

Source: have 2 kids born in NZ, never got a dollar for the Mrs for mat leave. not even from the Govt.

 

Unfortunately for the lower income families is a win to have a child. They get their full salary till $560pw plus $60 per child per week. So no loss for them.

 

Not getting a cent from government must be because your wife didn't work according to the rules to qualify for compensation. (I.e. had no job or didn't work at least 20hours a week for 6 or 12 months before having the children).

 

I don't know another woman that work that got any more than the government payments. Quite a few companies that's not supporting it. Unfortunately quite the opposite to what you are saying actually, because NZ when compared to other 1st works countries has done of the worst maternity rules and hence they have started to change it last year slowly but surely