Topic: Migrating to NewZealand

Hi All,

I need some suggestions from all of you. I am working in Singapore as a I.T. Professional. I got a offer in Auckland around a Income of 70K Per Annum.

Is it a good salary to migrate there with my family (Wife & One Year baby).

I am looking for One bed room house. How much i can save from my package with normal life.

Please help me on this.

Cheers,
Anil

Hi there
I'm a fellow Singapore who is already here in Auckland.
Here are some facts.
Your income:
You got a job offer with NZ$70,000 income per annum. That will translate to NZ$53850 after tax or NZ$4,487.50 per month or NZ$1035 per week.
Your expenses:
The weekly rental for a 2 bedroom apartment in the city will be around NZ300 to NZ$500 depending on the quality and size of the apartment, as well as the number of car parking spaces. Car park space in the city does not automatically comes with the apartment as they can be rental out separately. A 2 or 3 beddy house within 30 minute driving time out of the city will cost between NZ$250 to NZ$600 depending on the location. A safe bid will be about NZ$350 for a 2 bedrm and NZ$450 for a 3 bedrm per week if you are looking for a more decent place to stay.
Public transport is expensive here and pretty much non existence. Car ownership is common. A typical family of 3 adults will have about 5 cars. Getting a decent second hand car will cost you less than NZ$10,000. You could check on the auction here ( www.turners.co.nz ). Petrol price are about the same in Singapore but the quality of petrol here is much much inferior. You will feel the difference when you are here.
Water and Electric bills are about the same as in Singapore.
Food. Expensive by Singapore's standard. And not as good. And not as much choice. And not that convenient. If you cook, then the price is similiar to that of Singapore. Things like fresh fish, meat and veg is cheaper in NZ but seasoning cost more. There is no hawker centre in NZ. Eating out will set you back about the same as visiting a regular resturant back in Singapore.
Health care cost more in NZ if you are not a citizen or PR. The fact that you have a 1 year old baby. you will be bringing her to see a doctor at some point in time. A visit to the doctor could cost you about NZ$100 including medicine. If hospitalised, good luck. Having said that, the health service provider here are generally ethical.
Warm clothing. Thanks to the cheap China imports, there are more economic choices around.
Staying warm in winter... a hundred dollar heater and an extra NT$100 a month in power bill will get you thru the cold winter night. NZ$200 a month if you need it for parts of the day as well.
Communication is costly. Forget about the 5 cents a minute charges on cell phone. It cost as much as NZ$1.39 a min here in NZ. Home phone cost NZ$50 + a month and local call is not always free. Broadband is sloooooowwwwwwwwwed and expensive. 5G a month cost about NZ$30-40.
Shopping. Forget about it. Queens st and broadway (main shopping area) in a busy saturday night are not as busy as Jurong point, woodland shopping mall, or northpoint in a quiet weekday during the quiet part of the year.
What have I missed...
Let me know.

Regards and welcome to New Zealand.

anyone coming to live in New Zealand and comparing prices etc. with countries having a far bigger population and economy, is not being realistic.

Moai, that's a very negative view. And I have not seen too many 3 adult families with 5 cars! And surely where the person is planning to live will determine the rental they pay. This person asked about a 1 bedroom flat, you have gone into 3 bedroom house prices - hardly useful to them. I found NZ a great place n my 2 visits and hope to move over to the Canterbury region. I found prices for rent, food, and utilities (I asked everyone I stayed with what they paid) etc commensurate with Australia. Petrol is dearer, though, but used cars are cheaper. And the trade off is a beautiful country relatively free of pollution and lightly populated.

I was watching a British programme on tv on renovating a house, and the prices they mentioned including the cost of food, etc, When you converted them to N.Z. currency, was real expensive.Not the first time I've done some comparisons, and I've come to the inclusion for some reason, people coming to this country expect to get things far cheaper. Strange.

Missed that part.
My reply is that of my view and only mine.
It does not reflect the view of others.
Coming from Singapore, I think I know what my countryman are looking for (in my view).
If it cause offence to anyone, I'm sorry. Truth can hurt.
The facts is, While rental is relatively cheap in Auckland when compared with Singapore, other stull are mush more expensive.
Income tax for one is almost non existance in Singapore for the average income earner but is huge in NZ.

Having said all this, I'm happy that I've actually come over to NZ as it offer me a better quality of life. I got more time to spend with my family as my employer in NZ don't expect me to work overtime which is a daily occurance when I was in Singapore. The air is fresher in NZ, and yes, even the "polluted" air in Auckland is much fresher than in Singapore. The view... spectacular.

It's a big change coming from Singapore to NZ and not everybody will like the change. But Singaporean are adaptable (that's what a kiwi said of themselve too. I guess every country will think that they are adaptable). and I'm sure one will find a lot of positive aspect in NZ.

Oh 1 important things I forgot to add, crime rate are similiar between Singapore and NZ. Only different is the crime is much more vicious in NZ than in singapore and often involve weapons. Prison population is also similiar, only difference is in NZ, the sentence is short to keep the prison population down whereas in Singapore, there are hang. EG, Drug dealer often go to prison for a couple of years in NZ but are hang in Singapore.

Coming from Singapore, I think I know what my countryman are looking for (in my view).
If it cause offence to anyone, I'm sorry. Truth can hurt.

Emigrating to another country, most times means someone is looking for a change in lifestyle for whatever reason, so obviously they are not that happy where they are living. The problem I have is with those emigrants who expect far more than what they had in their country, then complain about it if they don't get it.

Income tax for one is almost non existance in Singapore for the average income earner but is huge in NZ

One thing that springs to mind,Does Singapore have the health system that New Zealand has,? that takes a lot of New Zealand tax payers dollars.

Ouch...