A couple of things about NZ.
(1) The wages are much lower then the UK, we will lose about 40% of our salaries now for the same roles.
(2) The cost of living is high it is not cheap there as all goods are imported the same as the UK, and you earn less.
(3) Rent is cheap, but the rental market is a joke, most properties you would not want to live in, the higher end of the market which would give you a similar property to the UK would be about 1200NZ$ per month about £450/500...approximate figures.
(4) There is no free banking they charge you for everything you do and have with them...including overdrafts...each month they charge you for even having the account at all....
(5) The taxes are lower...
(6) You don't have to have Car insurance....sweet.
(7) There is no NHS, you pay to see the doctor and for prescriptions / medicines....
(8) You can keep your UK accounts for two years and your UK credit cards for 2 years as well after that you must close the UK or the NZ accounts.
(9) Employment law is not as safe as in the UK, your not protected as well as you are here.
(10) The minimum wage is $12.50 cents (£4.25)
Makes you think huh, why leave the security of the UK behind for less....you really need to think about why....its a toughie.
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Where to live in NZ...
We are all over the place with this decision, we have had dreams of living in Dunedin at first then we realised that its the most drizzly place in NZ, not confirmed of course just a rumour ha ha, then we moved further north having dreams of Christchurch which is still on the cards....but then as we are going 12,000 miles why not move to the warmest and highest sunshine area in NZ ? why not I say...
So now our dream area is now in the north of south Island we really need work of course so although we are interested in Picton or Nelson we may need to consider Blenhiem in Marlborough for employment, there are also more schools there....in the centre of the wine making area of NZ.
Its tough though and as we have never been to NZ we wont really know until were there, but were sure that the north Island doesn't really offer us much in comparison to the south as we want access to the Alps and National Parks as well as the stunning sounds around the area. We are also interested in the area as getting to Wellington for the weekend is easily accessible..for those big shopping days for the big ticket purchases...
If you have any thoughts on preferred areas, let us know. I am sure we will change our minds again when things like rental costs and house prices and employment come into the eqaution nearer the time, I say this as to get a gaurenteed place in the country all Stephanie has to do is secure employment which gives her 50 points alone, when she has had her qualifications verefied she can apply for jobs, it may come down to where these job are that will determine where we stay, in reality Christchurch may have more oportunities in this regard.
we will keep you posted.
So now our dream area is now in the north of south Island we really need work of course so although we are interested in Picton or Nelson we may need to consider Blenhiem in Marlborough for employment, there are also more schools there....in the centre of the wine making area of NZ.
Its tough though and as we have never been to NZ we wont really know until were there, but were sure that the north Island doesn't really offer us much in comparison to the south as we want access to the Alps and National Parks as well as the stunning sounds around the area. We are also interested in the area as getting to Wellington for the weekend is easily accessible..for those big shopping days for the big ticket purchases...
If you have any thoughts on preferred areas, let us know. I am sure we will change our minds again when things like rental costs and house prices and employment come into the eqaution nearer the time, I say this as to get a gaurenteed place in the country all Stephanie has to do is secure employment which gives her 50 points alone, when she has had her qualifications verefied she can apply for jobs, it may come down to where these job are that will determine where we stay, in reality Christchurch may have more oportunities in this regard.
we will keep you posted.
Do your reasearch....
We have been since October 2008 been trawling the Internet for information on emigration, to assist you if you are also considering moving to NZ the best advice I can give is this. Use the official website which i will post here later, be very wary of emigration service companies, do go to a Emigration show but take it with a pinch of slat as they are after your money and business at the end of day. We went to one and although it was useful for us, we just used it to pickpocket the information that we were missing, but at the same time you could just call the immigration in London if something small was bugging you that you needed an answer too.
But the best way is to find blog from people who have made the move already, also ask all the people you know if they know anyone who is over there, and get their e mail address, and politely ask them to help you, we found the advice we got from these sources way more useful than any official websites because if gave us a warts and all picture of the reality of living there from British People.
It is the best information you can get, we have made friends with people we, in a sense don't even know, they have been so helpful to us. that's just our take on getting info.
But the best way is to find blog from people who have made the move already, also ask all the people you know if they know anyone who is over there, and get their e mail address, and politely ask them to help you, we found the advice we got from these sources way more useful than any official websites because if gave us a warts and all picture of the reality of living there from British People.
It is the best information you can get, we have made friends with people we, in a sense don't even know, they have been so helpful to us. that's just our take on getting info.
The UK Ecomony
The economy in the UK is not looking good at present and tough times are ahead for many in 2009, in regard to our emigration dreams this concerns us in a couple of ways, we assumed that by selling the house we would be able to buy over 50% of a new property in NZ and getting a mortgage for the rest....as alot of people do, but with the down turn the house may have lost substantial value, this concerns us...
On a seperate note the pound has crashed, I have a freind who is Australian and is returning in January he has about £35,000 in savings but is not prepared to take the loss being caused by the weak pound...I can understand his concern and he will be doing it bit by bit, he has lost about $10,000 Aus dollars within the last 6 months alone, well hes not lost it, but its valued has been lost....
So although our dream is a year or so off, we are concerned that the house will have lost value and the savings we have will have much less value when converted...we will be watching the economy closely, as it is now, we will have to rent the house and rent in NZ (if we get there) until things settle and the pound regains its strenth..who knows whats going to happen.
Introduction to our NZ Dream....
Hi all,
This blog has been set up for us to have a detailed record of our attempt to start a new life in New Zealand. It is also to be of use to others if they are also going through the same process or are considering it.
We have at this stage done nothing more than fill in half of the online expression of interest form as more detail was required regarding Stephanies Teacher qualifications, but here is a brief background about us first.
My name is Gary Wilson I am 40 years old this year and I am not the main applicant, I myself would not be aloud to enter the country as I alone would not have enough points due to age and qualifications. I am dating a girl called Stephanie Jukes, yep we are not married, we have been together for one year and I have only just moved in with her, this is to assist our application as evidence is required that you are a strong and long term couple for the imigartion service.
Stephanie we think is eligible under the skilled migrant catergory as she is a secoundry head of drama teacher with 12 years experience with exceptional references, teachers at the time of writing are on the highly skilled migrant list.
I would be entering the country as her De facto partner. Currently the points needed to be considered are 140, at present Stephanie is having her qualifications verified by the NZ association of education which has to be done prior to completing the online EOI form...this takes time but is worth it in the end we have been told. In January 2009 she will be posting it off at a cost seperate to the cost of the general application I believe its about £250...(non refundable)
At present Stephaine has 130 points without having her qualification verefied, we dont know if this will add to the points, as 140 points is required to get an automatic invitation to apply we can only hope that we are close enough to be considered, time will tell.
We dont expect to be moving for at least 15 months so there is no rush at present.
This blog has been set up for us to have a detailed record of our attempt to start a new life in New Zealand. It is also to be of use to others if they are also going through the same process or are considering it.
We have at this stage done nothing more than fill in half of the online expression of interest form as more detail was required regarding Stephanies Teacher qualifications, but here is a brief background about us first.
My name is Gary Wilson I am 40 years old this year and I am not the main applicant, I myself would not be aloud to enter the country as I alone would not have enough points due to age and qualifications. I am dating a girl called Stephanie Jukes, yep we are not married, we have been together for one year and I have only just moved in with her, this is to assist our application as evidence is required that you are a strong and long term couple for the imigartion service.
Stephanie we think is eligible under the skilled migrant catergory as she is a secoundry head of drama teacher with 12 years experience with exceptional references, teachers at the time of writing are on the highly skilled migrant list.
I would be entering the country as her De facto partner. Currently the points needed to be considered are 140, at present Stephanie is having her qualifications verified by the NZ association of education which has to be done prior to completing the online EOI form...this takes time but is worth it in the end we have been told. In January 2009 she will be posting it off at a cost seperate to the cost of the general application I believe its about £250...(non refundable)
At present Stephaine has 130 points without having her qualification verefied, we dont know if this will add to the points, as 140 points is required to get an automatic invitation to apply we can only hope that we are close enough to be considered, time will tell.
We dont expect to be moving for at least 15 months so there is no rush at present.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
