Move to New Zealand...part 2

[masterchefMamma]

Hello All,

I have been reading a previous post in this section about moving to NZ and was wondering if someone could confirm or give me some further info please, so apologies if I am repeating some of the questions :confused:

Hubby is being head hunted by a fantastic company in Auckland so we maybe making the move to NZ (yay for me because I am a ruby fanatic!)

In the previous post many of you stated that the cost of living in NZ was high?
Is that really true? I'm in Sydney on the lower North Shore and think that our place is pretty up there in terms of expense.
Here per month we need to cover for $7500 of monthly expenses (this may seem high however it includes child care fees, monthly rent, car lease, all our insurances - private health and personal insurance cover, investment loans, personal loans, and ALL the monthly living bills.

The package that hubby is looking at is fantastic, almost on par with what he is getting here in Sydney.
The catch is that by moving to NZ because he has been with his company for 12 years his payout would clear all our debts and we could start fresh in NZ...debt free.

His company is based in Freemans Bay....I understand that this is near Auckland?
What's Freemans Bay like?
Here we are a 10 min drive from Sydney, (depending on traffic!) So within walking distance to schools, kindy, restaurants etc.

I read that child care is free for the first 20 hours? Is that true for all the centres? Is this means tested?

I spoke to a teacher here who said that the NZ school system is far better then Australia's?

If we make the move it will probably from more then 2 years as we have a 3 year old who will be 4 in Feb.

Are there any sites you can point me to that have things that I should know?

Lastly, I run an on-line kids clothing and toy store, this will obviously move with me as well but in NZ we are hoping to actually open up a walk in store...what's the competition like in NZ?

Thanks heaps !!! :)

[Shepherd]

Good luck with the move - starting over debt free?! Yay!.

I am from Auckland and have lived in QLD only 7 months. One thing I can tell you for sure is Freemans Bay is absolutely gorgeous. 90% of the homes there are what we call villas or bungalows so mostly very old homes that (with Freemans Bay being a wealthier area) have been renovated beautifully. I like to take walks around freemans Bay and look at the lovely, stylish homes. There are lots of parks and playgrounds around that area too. You could walk to the city in about 20 mins from Freemans Bay but it is close/attached to Ponsonby which is a suburb that has loads of gorgeous restaurants, bars and clothing stores so that would be your main shopping or dining area. I would describe Freemans Bay/Ponsonby as fairly wealthy but youngish and trendy.

There are quite a few childrens clothing stores (upmarket) along Ponsonby Road so check those out they will be very close to you. Only some centres have the 20 hours free so check out online ones that are in Freemans Bay, Pt Chevalier, Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, City as they will be close to you. Until 20 free hours started I used to pay $220 for my child full time. Ummmm can't remember what else you asked. I will post this for now and re-read your post, let me know if you have any more questions. Oh yes, well generally Auckland is high in cost but as you are from sydney you won't think so seeing as it doesn't get much more expensive than where you are does it? Especially lower north shore so house costs will be a bit lower probably.

Good luck with the wheather!!!!! sorry had to get that one in seeing as I am now happily residing in the Sunsine Coast :D

[Shepherd]

Oh and here is the best website ever. It is like ebay but only NZ wide and I reckon better. You can buy heaps of stuff on here but it has all the ads for rentals house purchases on it too so go online and go to the real estate section. Everyone uses this and it is really cool.

www.trademe.co.nz (http://www.trademe.co.nz)

[JosieJo]

Sounds like a great opportunity!
For the 20 hours free you don't necessarily have to use a centre - there are public kindergartens which run 5 mornings a week which is great. The 20 hours free is for 3 and overs.
The school system is good, although of course it depends on your local school.
Cars are cheaper to buy petrol is more expensive.
It might pay you to keep your health insurance running here if you are intending to return.
It's hard to know what your costs will be - best to do a budget sheet for rent, utilities, transport etc. That Trade Me site above has quite a few rentals on it - for a 3 brm it looks like they start at around $600/week probably a bit more for something nice. Expect to pay up to $300/month for power (you'll be wanting to use it a lot getting used to the cooler climate). Make sure you get a house with heat pumps (reverse cycle air cons). Phone/Internet around $100/month. Food you will find on par - some things will be dearer some cheaper. So all up you could live quite a lot cheaper if you didn't have your debt, so I'd say go for it!
Sorry, don't know Freemans Bay at all, just thought I'd give a bit of feedback.