# Questions about Nelson NZ



## TheBloods

Hi all,

I don't know if this is the right place, but I'm looking to get some info on Nelson, New Zealand working and living costs. I live and work in Australia, so I don't know anything about salaries or cost of living, etc. in NZ and I was hoping for some help.

I'm currently speaking to a company in Nelson about a job. It pays between $100,000-$120,000 per year, I'm hoping for the top end of that. Is this a good salary? Is cost of living (property, food, etc.) very expensive there? Will I be able to save money, buy a house, etc?

I just want to make sure that I'm not going to be getting less in my pocket than I do here in Aus.

Cheers


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## escapedtonz

TheBloods said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I don't know if this is the right place, but I'm looking to get some info on Nelson, New Zealand working and living costs. I live and work in Australia, so I don't know anything about salaries or cost of living, etc. in NZ and I was hoping for some help.
> 
> I'm currently speaking to a company in Nelson about a job. It pays between $100,000-$120,000 per year, I'm hoping for the top end of that. Is this a good salary? Is cost of living (property, food, etc.) very expensive there? Will I be able to save money, buy a house, etc?
> 
> I just want to make sure that I'm not going to be getting less in my pocket than I do here in Aus.
> 
> Cheers


Would be good to know how many people must manage on that salary?

I've always said that $120k is needed for a single child family in Auckland and maybe slightly less in Wellington although many people get by on way less. I say this to cover all the usual costs that families incur - rent, utilities, refuse collection, sky tv, a car, some savings, some socialising, groceries etc.

$120k for Nelson is pretty healthy. The cost of living is definitely cheaper than in the bigger cities with less capital needed to get on the property ladder. Youll still need minimum 10% deposit to get on that ladder. This deposit will also attract an LDF (low deposit fee) of a few grand more likely added on to the mortgage. To steer clear of these fees you'll need 20% deposit minimum but that's nz wide not just Nelson. You need to have a look at the property market on www.trademe.co.nz to get an idea of house prices so you can understand what deposit you'll need and do the math to see if you can save up this fee.
For an idea of the cost in the supermarket do an online shop on www.countdown.co.nz which is probably the middle of the road cost wise. You can then compare with AUS.
Power bills for us in Tauranga are $250 a month in winter dropping to $150 in summer and that's just electric and I'd guess similar in Nelson. Like in Tauranga, Nelson has no mains gas so if you want gas for cooking or a boiler it'll be bottled. I think a big bottle is around $100 delivered on an exchange basis but no idea how long that will last. Basic sky tv around $65 a month. Phone line and broadband maybe $75 a month. Refuse collection around $500 a year for general, green waste and recycling bins collected weekly. Cost to buy a car is expensive. Used cars really have a lot of value in nz even though a lot of them are worse than scrap. The costs to run a car is cheap in my opinion. Fuel is cheap, insurance is cheap, rego and wof is cheap, servicing is cheap.

Have a look on a salary calculator as it'll show you how much tax and acc you will pay. Every cent is taxed and as far as i know youll pay less tax than AUS. You'll also probably pay in to Kiwisaver which takes another 3, 4 or 8% of salary and puts it into a savings scheme for your retirement years but can be used as a deposit on a first home. I had $30k in mine after only 3 years working in NZ.
The calculator will give you an idea of how much you'll earn in a week/fortnight/month so you can work out affordability of life in NZ.


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## inhamilton

Yep $100k is a good salary. It's about twice the average income and Nelson is cheaper for housing than the big cities. You'll be fine on that and be able to save. Well, I would be anyway. Whether you'd be better or worse off depends on your current salary over there and where you are living I guess.


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## TheBloods

Thanks very much both of you for your replies, I really appreciate the time and consideration. Its been very helpful!

It'll be just my wife and I to start with, we don't have any kids, so it sounds like we'll be okay on that income.

Can anybody recommend some good suburbs in or around Nelson to rent and then buy?

Thanks!!


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## escapedtonz

TheBloods said:


> Thanks very much both of you for your replies, I really appreciate the time and consideration. Its been very helpful!
> 
> It'll be just my wife and I to start with, we don't have any kids, so it sounds like we'll be okay on that income.
> 
> Can anybody recommend some good suburbs in or around Nelson to rent and then buy?
> 
> Thanks!!


Hi,

A colleague was born in Nelson. On night shift with him tonight. His direct descendants were the first settlers there in the 1800's 
Best places to live in his opinion are Atawhai, Richmond, Mapua, Motueka. Says Atawhai is beautiful and the best place he has lived around Nelson. Richmond is very much suburbia, you have a chance of some really nice views in Mapua and then on the way out to Motueka it gets semi-rural then more rural as you continue to head out towards the Abel Tasman which is the "local" National Park with beautiful walking, hiking, beaches, MTB riding and everything else. It's a well known holiday destination for Kiwi's.


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## TheBloods

Thanks very much for that info, I really appreciate it! It's. A huge help in trying to plan this possible move &#55357;&#56842;


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## escapedtonz

TheBloods said:


> Thanks very much for that info, I really appreciate it! It's. A huge help in trying to plan this possible move ?003f003f?003f003f


No worries. Anytime.
If you wanna know anything about Nelson and surrounds just holler as my colleague lived there for many years and still spends a lot of time there seeing his family.


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