How does the cost of living in New Zealand compare to the UK?

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Tahini Raving Weirdo

We relocated from Cheshire to southern NZ a few years ago, and our impression is this:

Salaries are about 50 to 75% of what they would be in the UK;
vegetables cost about the same as in the UK, strangely;
used cars cost about 30% more than in the UK;
new cars can cost up to 50% less (for some reason, Mitsubishis cost half of what they cost in the UK here, I don't know why - e.g. Outlander NZ$34.000, which is about 10k Pounds);
the kind of wine you'd pay 5 Pounds for in the UK is about NZ$ 10 to 15 here, thus cheaper;
restaurant meals in Dunedin will be about NZ$ 30 to 50 per person for a two course meal with one or two glasses of wine or beer;
house prices seem low by comparison (bottom end in Otago around NZ$ 140.000, medium around 250 to 300k - that means you'll buy for under 100k Pounds if you splurge a little, and you'll feel well-accommodated (doesn't apply to Auckland, double prices there).

Picola

Currently in the South island (Christchurch anyway) petrol is $1.89 a litre. I don't buy all that much milk but you can get a 2litre bottle of normal trim milk for $3.10, $4.40 for a 2 litre bottle would be more for the fancy brands / ones with added vitamins. Bread you can get a loaf of white, or wheatmeal "basics" brand for $1.09 a loaf but to get a nice grainy loaf your looking at more like $2-$4 a loaf.
Cinema, we have cheap night every Tuesday tickets only $9.50. Also hoyts the main cinema branch throughout NZ offers a great deal called a movie max club card. you pay $24.50 and get 3 free movies (which at the full prices of $14 per adult well and truly covers the initial cost of the card and more!) then for a whole year you can purchase 2 tickets a day at $9 each. A decent bottle of a New Zealand Sauvignon blanc or chardonnay wine would be $15-$20 from supermarket but can often get great specials at the supermarket where you can pick one up for $10. Cheapo sparkling wine can be as little as $6 a bottle.
Meals out, well on average mains could be anywhere from $15 (cheap) to $35ish i don't think I've ever personally been to any restaurants where I've seen main meals priced much over $35 i'm sure restaurants like that exist but there are plenty of nice reasonably priced ones. Desserts would be anywhere from $7.50ish to $12.50ish. Coffee $3.50-$4.00 a cup.
hope this helps :-)

Nikita

I've moved to Auckland a year ago from London and find cost of living here a lot higher. Quality clothing with flair at a decent price is hard to come by, food shopping is very pricey but I do find it very varied - you can get all sorts of food from all over the world here, probably as much as in Tesco's. Any sort of day out to the zoo or tourist attractions are basically the same cost as in the UK. I think you get the idea. Salaries are a lot lower which makes the cost of living higher - families seem to be struggling everyone I know is on a very tight budget and seldom can families afford more than 1 big holiday a year. On the positive side, the best things in life are free - beautiful beaches, wonderful mountain walks and peaceful meadows - they are all waiting for you without major traffic congestion or parking problems. I hardly ever have to pay for parking (except Auckland city centre which costs and arm and a leg!) which is a total pleasure.

Abi

Are you thinking of living there, or just going for a hol? We've just moved back from NZ to UK, and you definitely took home more money at the end of the day over there when we went out 5 years ago. In the meantime, cost of living has gone up there a lot too, but I think all in all, you still end up keeping more of your money over there than you do in the uk. We found that food was relatively quite expensive in NZ, as well as lots of imported things, like shoes and new cars too. There is also an extra charge per km if you own a diesel car on top of the price of the fuel.

ditzybayb

petrol at the moment for 91 is $1.93.9 a litre (don't ask y they put .9 no idea) um adult to go to the cinema is $14. Meals out varys on where you go really. a bottle of wine, u can get cheap ones for $6 and they just go up after that. 2 litre bottle of milk is $4.40 last time i saw and bread can be anything from $1.50 up to $6 depending on what brand you buy.

polly

I find the cost higher where ever you live in NZ.Ive been here from the uk for 2 years now and still sumtimes i am shocked by the cost of living.Some wages can work out the same.I roughly getjust under what i would in uk pound in NZ dollar here but the cost of living is so muxch higher.My shoping bill is usualy well over $150 just for me but at home i used to spent about 100 uk pound for me n my partner.Drinks on a friday night can be $13 + for a vodka cranberry but what would you pay at home?
I find clothes also expensive to.A new pair of boots at the weekend cost $300 but at home i would pay under 100!!
I guess it all evens out because i live in a great country!

Little Miss Sweet As !

I dont live in NZ anymore, but we go home for Christmas every year.....& it's bloody expensive over there...i can not get over the price of food there.

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