# 3 questions about life in NZ



## kparmar (Jun 3, 2015)

Hi, I want to thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. My wife and I are looking to relocate from Toronto, Canada where I have lived all my life. My wife is from Hamilton NZ and was working as a nurse before she left. There are three things I don’t seem to get a good answer on.

1. Weather – I’m looking to leave Toronto because of the winters. I hear the same of the winter over there but that seems to be a problem only in the south island. Is the north manageable?

2. Jobs – It seems as though it’s really hard to find a job unless you are there on the ground. I work in IT sales and do see quite a few of the big companies there like Yahoo, Expedia. Is the job market reasonable and what do you think is a reasonable salary I should be expecting.

3. Good Family Income – We have a baby and wanted to get an idea of what a middle class family income would be. No one seems to have a clue on that number. $120k NZ dollars to be comfortable?
Thanks in advance!


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

kparmar said:


> Hi, I want to thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. My wife and I are looking to relocate from Toronto, Canada where I have lived all my life. My wife is from Hamilton NZ and was working as a nurse before she left. There are three things I don&#146;t seem to get a good answer on.
> 
> 1. Weather &#150; I&#146;m looking to leave Toronto because of the winters. I hear the same of the winter over there but that seems to be a problem only in the south island. Is the north manageable?
> 
> ...


Hi,

1. You can't compare the winters. Yes the SI is cold in winter but in comparison to Toronto it's tropical!
The bottom 2/3rds of the SI does get cold and has already experienced snow in the last fortnight of autumn with us now being in the first week of winter. 
Lots of snow down in the Southern Alps. Ski season starts very soon.
Unlikely you'll see snow in the NI other than around the Mt Tongariro National Park and Mt. Taranaki National Park. Winters a very mild further up north of the NI.

2. IT job market is big here but it's very competitive and difficult to get a job unless your here. Best places for IT jobs are Auckland and Wellington.
Likely salary could be anything from $60k to over $100k I'd say depending on skills and you may have to start at the bottom as you have no nz experience which is what employers are looking for.

3. Family salary all depends where you'll be living. If in Auckland you'll struggle on an income of $80k for a family. I'd say youll need at least $100k and with that youll probably struggle to save anything and feel like your living on the bread line. Cost of living is high and cost of rent is high.
Little bit cheaper in Wellington but depends how close you are to the cbd. If further out you then have transport costs to factor in.
You must consider income tax and acc contributions and also Kiwisaver which will become compulsory soon. These are all deductions out of salary.
There are salary calculators online that'll show how much you are likely to earn and be paid each week, fortnight or month. Per fortnight is the normal payment duration for salary and rent is normally payable weekly. Rent for a decent 3 bed house in Auckland maybe from $600 a week. In Welly maybe $500 a week. Lower rents will be properties further out - upto 45 mins / 1 hour commute maybe or for properties that are just crap - leaky and damp.


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