Is 3800 NZD enough and how's life in New Zealand?

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yankiwi

Kia Ora,

"Frantic" gave you some good base figures for housing and utilities and the like.

Can you please provide a bit more info about the family size & situation?
Where is she coming from - what country?
If she is the breadwinner of the family ~ is there a partner? How many are in the family?
Are there children involved, and if so are they school aged?
All students except those in elementary grades must wear uniforms,
which are not cheap.

Here on the SI, the 'average' rent for a 2 bedroom place ranges from $270-$400/week
(I just checked the listings in the paper).
Our electric bill is about $125 a month
and we use LP gas for hot water (another $25-40/month).

We mainly use cell phones but have a land line for the Internet connection (about $75/month).
We don't have a water bill.
The rubbish collection and recycling is free
but rubbish must be placed in the approved council trash bags
and the recycling needs to be clean and sorted
or else it won't be picked up.

We bought a used car at auction and it cost us $6000.
Gas prices were $1.79 a liter when I filled the car up last week -
but prices might have gone up since Christmas.
(There are 3.7843 - [almost 4] - liters in a gallon).

It is a real hassle finding a parking space in the city,
and parking can be expensive.
Instead, I spend about $20/month for bus fares to and from the campus.

I was shopping yesterday.
Here's some costs -
loaf of whole grain bread $2.59
2 L of milk $3.19
pack of chewing gum $1
1 dozen range eggs $4.77
1 pineapple $2.99
box of Kleenex tissues $1.99
bottle of Herbal Essence shampoo $7.99
pair of Levis 527 denim jeans $160.00.

Some areas are plagued with gang-related activities that disrupt the community.
Also, youth with no direction, morals, or goals,
(and very little self-esteem) consequently vandalize and terrorize the area
perhaps in order to feel 'big' and 'important.'
But where I live is relatively peaceful
(except on weekend nights
when the boy racers hoon up and down the valley).

I'd like to think it had a low crime rate
but just this month someone robbed 4 banks in succession.

Also, last month we left our car in a DOC parking lot to go on a walking track
and when we returned the side window was smashed in.

Life is pretty good here ~
but there are problems here just like everywhere else.
In many places, good jobs are hard to find --
yet there are always basic physical jobs available --
for example they import people to work in the fruit orchards.

Sorry there are no Krispy Kremes where I live.
But I know what you mean.
Sometime I wish I had the $ to invest in a Dunkin' Donuts franchise.

=)

It's nice of you to help your friend
and a very good idea to research as much as possible before making a move.
It would be even better (if possible) to come for a visit before taking the plunge.

Good luck and hope this helps.

PS - in response to your other items I double checked and the house/flat prices are still in the same weekly figure as I mentioned above.

Grade school/elementary kids don't need uniforms. HS kids do.

Also keep in mind that if you friend decides on settling in a nice peaceful small town, for example, the oldest child might have to board at a high school out of town, since not every place has a high school (or college, as they call them here). However, if she stays in the city then that should be no problem... but with bigger cities come larger rents.

As far as the most peaceful I'd say Twizel or Lake Ohau on the SI - and that is at least until the tourists invade the area with their noisy boats and jetskis!!

Just remember the further you get away from the cities, the more peaceful it is---however it will be more of a drive to work and shops, etc.

frantic

Is $3800 the gross income or after tax? That is just above the poverty line which is considered $30,000 gross. With a family that would be very hard to live on. Rent would be minimum $350 for 3 bed house - about $300 - 2 bed house.
There is very little unemployment in NZ at present so jobs are available. Electricity would be about $90 month minimum - but that can depend on the area in which she lives. Phone rental base rate is $45 - local calls are free. Water rates - about $100 min year - again dependant on area. Groceries all depend on the person - I would think the very least a family could manage to spend would be about $250 week
Houses depend again on the area. The cheapest house in the worst area of Auckland could be $250, 000. Average house price is about $375,000. Other areas of NZ are not quite as expensive and in the South Island much cheaper again. Crime rate is not low, very few areas could be considered safe - doors need to be locked etc. Some areas are very peaceful, again it depends on whether she goes to a city where there is plenty of work, or to a country town where jobs would be hard to find

â€¢ Koala â€¢ uÊop É¹Çpun

Great informed answers so far, I just want to add a couple websites - Calculate Your Cost of Living in New Zealand http://www.emigratenz.org/cost-of-living-in-new-zealand.HTML

.....and the New Zealand Guide: Everything you need to know to get settled in New Zealand http://www.justlanded.com/english/new_zealand/tools/just_landed_guide

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