# Average monthly cost for living in Auckland



## Nazir

Hi everyone,

Hopefully soon I'll be shifting a long with my wife and two kids (first one is 3 yrs and second one is 1yr old). I m an engineer by profession with 14 years of experience. 

I'm looking forward for some advice over monthly average cost of living in Auckland such as school fee for toddler, internet services and its fees, avg utility bills, transport advice, best and cost effective rentals for small apartment or house, cheap but reliable mobile phone services and its cost, grocery cost for a small family like us.

Moreover, our CO has said that they will be replying on our case by end of march as all security checks are done just last employers background checks are underway, so as per your expertise how soon you think they will close the deal? And another thing are they issuing 9months work visa first or giving away PRs directly, does anyone has any information on this?

I really appreciate my fellow members guidance here,
Best regards

Nazir

IELTS 8/ EA approval 10-12 / EOI 12-12 (independent sponsorship) / Category 189 / Application filed 11-01-13/ CO assigned 26-03-13/ Med & PCC ?/ Grant?


----------



## escapedtonz

Nazir said:


> Hi everyone, Hopefully soon I'll be shifting a long with my wife and two kids (first one is 3 yrs and second one is 1yr old). I m an engineer by profession with 14 years of experience. I'm looking forward for some advice over monthly average cost of living in Auckland such as school fee for toddler, internet services and its fees, avg utility bills, transport advice, best and cost effective rentals for small apartment or house, cheap but reliable mobile phone services and its cost, grocery cost for a small family like us. Moreover, our CO has said that they will be replying on our case by end of march as all security checks are done just last employers background checks are underway, so as per your expertise how soon you think they will close the deal? And another thing are they issuing 9months work visa first or giving away PRs directly, does anyone has any information on this? I really appreciate my fellow members guidance here, Best regards Nazir IELTS 8/ EA approval 10-12 / EOI 12-12 (independent sponsorship) / Category 189 / Application filed 11-01-13/ CO assigned 26-03-13/ Med & PCC ?/ Grant?


Unsure if you'll pay any more in Auckland but here's a breakdown of our costs in Wellington.
Toddler kindergarden fees are $193 per week for 3 full days 0730-1730. He's now turned 3 years and as we are Residents the kindergarden can claim our 20hrs per week from the government so our costs now are $119 per week.
Were on Vodafone Red for phone and internet. Fixed landline with local calls free and 80gb data $85 per month.
Average power bill around $200 a month but fluctuates between $85 and $300 a month due to useage, the weather and season. We don't have gas just electric and a log burner which we've not used yet but likely to soon.
No water charges.
Decent mobile phones can be purchased cheaply on all networks. Pay As You Go probably cheaper than monthly - all depends how much you use it and purpose. I pay $39 a month plus calls/texts to UK. I get 1gb data with that also. Thats with 2degrees.
Rent and groceries both expensive but all depends where you live, how many in the house, size of house, what you like to eat etc.
NZ is a seasonal place for fresh groceries so you must adapt or pay the price.

No idea on your visa case. Sounds like it could be within the next few months if all goes well with the remainder of the CO's process ?


----------



## Lsung

Hi escapedtooz...you mentioned
That you get 20hrs from government for childcare as you are residents. I assume you won't get this if you only have a working visa?

Thanks
Laur


----------



## escapedtonz

Lsung said:


> Hi escapedtooz...you mentioned That you get 20hrs from government for childcare as you are residents. I assume you won't get this if you only have a working visa? Thanks Laur


Correct. It is only available to people who have permanent status with their visas and obviously NZ citizens.
It either allows 4hrs per day Mon-Fri of free child care at a state kindergarden or subsidises 20hrs at a private kindergarden.


----------



## karibu

Very helpful. Can you tell me if in your eyes/experience if I'm living in Auckland, I'm looking at renting a place for about NZ$350 ish a week and coming out alone but may have my partner and 2 year old daughter join me pending if the finances are livable.
I will be working as a diesel mechanic and wage of NZ$26 per hour working 40hrs a week getting paid weekly.
Would I be able to live a semi decent life?

In the UK I'm getting £14 per hr and do 40hrs a week getting paid weekly, rent £550 per month, car £210 per month and so on ....

I understand that the move is not really about money but lifestyle and that is the main aim of my move as I am tiered of not living out of work I just watch TV.
I am from SA before coming to UK in 2007 and was always in nature and doing activities outdoors and living an exciting full life without to much money.

I would appreciate your and anyone's help as I need to make my decision on Monday, I suppose to start work on 7th April yet I'm still on the fence in UK.
Thanks


----------



## escapedtonz

karibu said:


> Very helpful. Can you tell me if in your eyes/experience if I'm living in Auckland, I'm looking at renting a place for about NZ$350 ish a week and coming out alone but may have my partner and 2 year old daughter join me pending if the finances are livable. I will be working as a diesel mechanic and wage of NZ$26 per hour working 40hrs a week getting paid weekly. Would I be able to live a semi decent life? In the UK I'm getting £14 per hr and do 40hrs a week getting paid weekly, rent £550 per month, car £210 per month and so on .... I understand that the move is not really about money but lifestyle and that is the main aim of my move as I am tiered of not living out of work I just watch TV. I am from SA before coming to UK in 2007 and was always in nature and doing activities outdoors and living an exciting full life without to much money. I would appreciate your and anyone's help as I need to make my decision on Monday, I suppose to start work on 7th April yet I'm still on the fence in UK. Thanks


So $26 an hour x 40hrs = $1040 per week. 
You'll take home $844 a week. The deductions are income tax and ACC.
You are taxed on every cent you earn here and ACC is the 3rd party accident insurance scheme that all income tax payers must contribute to.

If your paying $350 a week in rent you'll have just under $500 left over for everything else - insurance for the house contents ?, travel costs, utilities, mobile phone, other bills, savings, beer money etc.
You'll also need to pay a rental fee to the agent for the property - usually one week plus 15% GST.
You'll also have to pay a bond for the rental which'll be around 3 weeks up front and you'll have to pay rent in advance - at least a week ahead.

The pay is around a bout the same as what you earn now but with more expensive rent and groceries here although some things are cheaper.
For instance, cars are more expensive to buy but heck of a lot cheaper to run when you consider road tax, insurance, MOT and fuel.


----------



## movingWA

*Queries on PR for NZ*

Hello friends,

I am here on this forum to some information on immigration process for NZ. I had few queries if you can help me with :

1. How many months NZ pr process takes from EOI - grant
2. Can I apply on my own or do i need to apply only through an agent
3. I had visited the site for points calculation but I am completely confused. To give detail about myself: HR adviser; 6 years of Experience; MBA - HR; IELTS: 7.5 overall;30 yrs; 


Please help me with these details so I can apply for NZ. 

Regards,

MovingWA


----------



## escapedtonz

movingWA said:


> Hello friends,
> 
> I am here on this forum to some information on immigration process for NZ. I had few queries if you can help me with :
> 
> 1. How many months NZ pr process takes from EOI - grant
> 2. Can I apply on my own or do i need to apply only through an agent
> 3. I had visited the site for points calculation but I am completely confused. To give detail about myself: HR adviser; 6 years of Experience; MBA - HR; IELTS: 7.5 overall;30 yrs;
> 
> 
> Please help me with these details so I can apply for NZ.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> MovingWA


1. Without a job offer I'd say minimum 9 months to many many months depending how the process goes and if your application has any issues.
2. You can apply yourself or by using an authorised agent.
3. Complete the points calculator in the SMC area of the Immigration NZ website and see what you score then post it as a list of questions and answers so we can maybe point out any discrepancies based on experience, baring in mind that we aren't experts or giving you immigration advice.


----------



## movingWA

Thank you for your quick response.

But is it easy to secure a job even if a person is not physically present on NZ land?


----------



## escapedtonz

movingWA said:


> Thank you for your quick response. But is it easy to secure a job even if a person is not physically present on NZ land?


In general no it isn't easy at all, BUT it all depends on your chosen career. If your skills are desperately required you will have a good chance as employers will be looking for candidates further afield, knowing that they cannot recruit within NZ as the skills simply aren't there.


----------



## inhamilton

karibu said:


> Would I be able to live a semi decent life?


No one can say  Going by what you say your income is in the UK and your prospective income in NZ, you will probably find it tougher in Auckland in terms of finances. In terms of outdoorsy stuff, Auckland is a city and to get in tune with nature you will need to drive. There are beaches, but even nicer beaches (like Mount Maunganui) to the north and south. Whether a salary of 55k will allow you, your partner and child to do too much holidaying from Auckland is another story. I think your idea of coming out and having a look by yourself first is a good one. I guess you would need to decide whether 5k for the airfares is a risk worth taking. Also, there are other cities, where rent is cheaper, and also have more of an outdoorsy feel than Auckland, if that is what you are after. (Tauranga is a good example I think).

Here's a budget I worked out for another thread, based on a family of 2 adults and 3 young children, so you can lower some of the costs if you only have 1 child.

Rent $23400 ($450 per week = average rent in Auckland)
Power $2640
School Fees/Trips $300
Dentists $500
Medical $250
Car Depreciation $1000
Petrol (200kms per week) $4160
Contents insurance $500
Car Insurance $400
Car registration $350?
Clothing $3000
Shoes $400
Phone/Internet $1200
Mobiles $400
Public transport (this could vary greatly) $1000
Car repairs/warrant $1000
Presents/gifts $1500

Groceries $11409

Grand Total : $53409


----------



## kumar21

Hi All,
I would like to know, if i have a frugal kinda living in Auckland and if i am getting 80K NZD per annum. How much would i be able to save for myself per year ? I would be a alone there and just listing out things which would make easy to calculate. If someone can help me in calculating this. 
1) Rent : Would be taking a shared accommodation.
2) Power : in a shared accommodation
3) Medical Insurance will be required.
4) Dentist
5) Mode of transport will be bi-cycle. In case far away then Public mode.
6) Phone/Internet : Shared
7) Mobiles
8) Groceries : Shared or for one.
9) Would be preparing own course of meals except the lunch which i would depend outside.

Thanks a lot !


----------



## escapedtonz

kumar21 said:


> Hi All,
> I would like to know, if i have a frugal kinda living in Auckland and if i am getting 80K NZD per annum. How much would i be able to save for myself per year ? I would be a alone there and just listing out things which would make easy to calculate. If someone can help me in calculating this.
> 1) Rent : Would be taking a shared accommodation.
> 2) Power : in a shared accommodation
> 3) Medical Insurance will be required.
> 4) Dentist
> 5) Mode of transport will be bi-cycle. In case far away then Public mode.
> 6) Phone/Internet : Shared
> 7) Mobiles
> 8) Groceries : Shared or for one.
> 9) Would be preparing own course of meals except the lunch which i would depend outside.
> 
> Thanks a lot !


$80k per year will earn you around $5127 per month after tax and acc.

1. Minimum $900 per month assuming minimum $200 ish rent per week.
2. Guessing around $50 per month.
3. Basic medical cover is around $25 per month.
4. Basic treatment covered with no 3. If you want anything else covering then double the monthly medical insurance payment for cover of major dental.
5. Budget maybe $10 a day for public transport if you're gonna be living out of the city. Around $200 per month.
6. Decent package shared around $100 a month so your share maybe $25.
7. Depends if you want Internet access on the phone with a decent package per month ? We pay $39 per month each. 400 mins which will be useless to you as it's only to nz and aus numbers, unlimited texts, 1.5gb data per month.
8. Depends what you want to buy and which supermarket. $200 a month ?
9. Meals will be cooked out of your shopping budget above. Budget $10 per day for lunch so $200 a month.

You should be safe in the knowledge that half your salary should be free to spend or save as you wish, however there is nothing in that calculation for maybe pension savings, sport/fitness/eating out/pub/socialising/holidaying/travelling etc


----------



## inhamilton

kumar21 said:


> Hi All,
> I would like to know, if i have a frugal kinda living in Auckland and if i am getting 80K NZD per annum. How much would i be able to save for myself per year ?


Alone and with house sharing and living without a car and being careful with spending, I believe you should be able to save at least $20,000 per year from that salary in Auckland, if you wanted to.
A lot would depend on the house sharing arrangement (ie how many other people you would be sharing with to split the fixed costs), and also it's hard to predict if there'll be any unforeseen huge costs along the way.


----------



## Hyden

A person cost of living is entirely depend on their lifestyle.


----------



## kumar21

*Thanks!!*



escapedtonz said:


> $80k per year will earn you around $5127 per month after tax and acc.
> 
> 1. Minimum $900 per month assuming minimum $200 ish rent per week.
> 2. Guessing around $50 per month.
> 3. Basic medical cover is around $25 per month.
> 4. Basic treatment covered with no 3. If you want anything else covering then double the monthly medical insurance payment for cover of major dental.
> 5. Budget maybe $10 a day for public transport if you're gonna be living out of the city. Around $200 per month.
> 6. Decent package shared around $100 a month so your share maybe $25.
> 7. Depends if you want Internet access on the phone with a decent package per month ? We pay $39 per month each. 400 mins which will be useless to you as it's only to nz and aus numbers, unlimited texts, 1.5gb data per month.
> 8. Depends what you want to buy and which supermarket. $200 a month ?
> 9. Meals will be cooked out of your shopping budget above. Budget $10 per day for lunch so $200 a month.
> 
> You should be safe in the knowledge that half your salary should be free to spend or save as you wish, however there is nothing in that calculation for maybe pension savings, sport/fitness/eating out/pub/socialising/holidaying/travelling etc



Thanks a lot for your detailed reply !!


----------



## kumar21

Thanks a lot for your replies guys !!


----------



## mohindnair

Hi Guys..

Mohind Nair here..
I am from India and coming to auckland via Australia.
I will be at Auckland on 22 Feb 2015.
I am coming to do a masters course in mechanical engineering at University of Auckland.
I have got Australian Permanent Residency visa in Jan 2015.
So will enter Australia and meet my friend at Perth. I will be there for 12 hours there.
Then I will take another flight to Auckland..


----------



## mohindnair

This I am doing to validate my PR for entering into NZ..


----------



## nidashahbaz

Nazir said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Hopefully soon I'll be shifting a long with my wife and two kids (first one is 3 yrs and second one is 1yr old). I m an engineer by profession with 14 years of experience.
> 
> I'm looking forward for some advice over monthly average cost of living in Auckland such as school fee for toddler, internet services and its fees, avg utility bills, transport advice, best and cost effective rentals for small apartment or house, cheap but reliable mobile phone services and its cost, grocery cost for a small family like us.
> 
> Moreover, our CO has said that they will be replying on our case by end of march as all security checks are done just last employers background checks are underway, so as per your expertise how soon you think they will close the deal? And another thing are they issuing 9months work visa first or giving away PRs directly, does anyone has any information on this?
> 
> I really appreciate my fellow members guidance here,
> Best regards
> 
> Nazir
> 
> IELTS 8/ EA approval 10-12 / EOI 12-12 (independent sponsorship) / Category 189 / Application filed 11-01-13/ CO assigned 26-03-13/ Med & PCC ?/ Grant?


We are thinking of moving to Wellington, but unsure of the costs. Could you please give us a good idea?


----------



## Jammanu

escapedtonz said:


> In general no it isn't easy at all, BUT it all depends on your chosen career. If your skills are desperately required you will have a good chance as employers will be looking for candidates further afield, knowing that they cannot recruit within NZ as the skills simply aren't there.


Hi escapetonz,

I have been following you in lots of thread here in this forum and feels like you are expert in the matters related to New Zealnd migration. I am also planning to migrate to New Zealand from skilled category. Well I'm a Civil Engineer with about 10 years experience. First three years in my home country and the remaining seven years here in Qatar. Well I want to apply with only six years experience as I don't have proper documents from my experience in home country. Considering my six years experience here in Qatar, I can still score 140 points with extra 20 points from my Wife's qualification (her qualification is on exempted list thus no need of assessment from NZQA). It would be very kind if you could answer some of my below raised queries.
1. Since I'm not going to claim any points from first three years experience, is it necessary to assess those experience from NZQA.
2. I'm working here in this company since year 2009 and have experience letter which is about one year old. Although I can provide bank statement of my salary from 2009 to till date (March 2016), is it really necessary to get again new updated experience certificate from this company as I dont want to request for new certificate since it gives me a big headache due to non-cooperation from Administration Department. And also my last experience certificate from this company was issued on May 2015 which mentions that I am employed from September 2009 to till date. From this mentioned duration my experience falls short of six years by four months.

Hoping some response on this matters from you.

Regards


----------



## escapedtonz

Jammanu said:


> Hi escapetonz,
> 
> I have been following you in lots of thread here in this forum and feels like you are expert in the matters related to New Zealnd migration. I am also planning to migrate to New Zealand from skilled category. Well I'm a Civil Engineer with about 10 years experience. First three years in my home country and the remaining seven years here in Qatar. Well I want to apply with only six years experience as I don't have proper documents from my experience in home country. Considering my six years experience here in Qatar, I can still score 140 points with extra 20 points from my Wife's qualification (her qualification is on exempted list thus no need of assessment from NZQA). It would be very kind if you could answer some of my below raised queries.
> 1. Since I'm not going to claim any points from first three years experience, is it necessary to assess those experience from NZQA.
> 2. I'm working here in this company since year 2009 and have experience letter which is about one year old. Although I can provide bank statement of my salary from 2009 to till date (March 2016), is it really necessary to get again new updated experience certificate from this company as I dont want to request for new certificate since it gives me a big headache due to non-cooperation from Administration Department. And also my last experience certificate from this company was issued on May 2015 which mentions that I am employed from September 2009 to till date. From this mentioned duration my experience falls short of six years by four months.
> 
> Hoping some response on this matters from you.
> 
> Regards


1. NZQA don't assess experience, but they do ask for it as supporting evidence when considering a qualification assessment, so I'd say supply the additional years experience if you can as the experience is still relevant to the qualification assessment even though you aren't going to be claiming for those years of experience. It could mean the difference between, for example, getting equivalent Level 6 for a Bachelors degree when you need Level 7.
2. You need to ensure evidence is current, so I'd do whatever I could to update that letter with a recent one as I'm dubious whether Immigration would accept evidence that is a year old.
You need to get evidence of the missing months or proof you have been working there since May 2015 until now. If your experience evidence isn't sufficient to support your 6 years experience claim then you'll be unable to claim the points for those years.


----------



## Jammanu

escapedtonz said:


> 1. NZQA don't assess experience, but they do ask for it as supporting evidence when considering a qualification assessment, so I'd say supply the additional years experience if you can as the experience is still relevant to the qualification assessment even though you aren't going to be claiming for those years of experience. It could mean the difference between, for example, getting equivalent Level 6 for a Bachelors degree when you need Level 7.
> 2. You need to ensure evidence is current, so I'd do whatever I could to update that letter with a recent one as I'm dubious whether Immigration would accept evidence that is a year old.
> You need to get evidence of the missing months or proof you have been working there since May 2015 until now. If your experience evidence isn't sufficient to support your 6 years experience claim then you'll be unable to claim the points for those years.


Dear escapetonz,

Thank you very much for your reply. The reason why I dont want to claim any points for my first three experience is because I dont have any pay slip or bank statement or contract letter for backup. The only thing that I have is only an Experience Letter for my first three years of employment. Regarding evidence for my current experience, although my experience certificate is one year old, I can submit a bank statement with salary transfer till date and also in the bank statement, it clearly mentions that salary transfer is from my current company. Isn't this enough to convince the case officer regarding my current employment. Hoping for your response and thank you very much for all the help.

Regards


----------



## escapedtonz

Jammanu said:


> Dear escapetonz,
> 
> Thank you very much for your reply. The reason why I dont want to claim any points for my first three experience is because I dont have any pay slip or bank statement or contract letter for backup. The only thing that I have is only an Experience Letter for my first three years of employment. Regarding evidence for my current experience, although my experience certificate is one year old, I can submit a bank statement with salary transfer till date and also in the bank statement, it clearly mentions that salary transfer is from my current company. Isn't this enough to convince the case officer regarding my current employment. Hoping for your response and thank you very much for all the help.
> 
> Regards


Sorry I've no idea if that evidence is sufficient as I'm not a case officer and don't know when enough evidence is enough.
If that's all you have and is all you are prepared to supply then all you can do is submit it and await their response.


----------



## Jammanu

escapedtonz said:


> Sorry I've no idea if that evidence is sufficient as I'm not a case officer and don't know when enough evidence is enough.
> If that's all you have and is all you are prepared to supply then all you can do is submit it and await their response.


Dear escapetonz,

Thank you very much for your response and your time. I shall try my best to gather enough documents related to my employment during the ITA. 

Regards


----------



## Jammanu

escapedtonz said:


> Sorry I've no idea if that evidence is sufficient as I'm not a case officer and don't know when enough evidence is enough.
> If that's all you have and is all you are prepared to supply then all you can do is submit it and await their response.


Dear escapedtonz,

I have received an outcome of Level 7 on PAR from NZQA. Is the reference number on EOI form (that needs to be filled) is the same number provided by NZQA as Pre-assessment Number?? Hope you will provide me with an answer.

Regards


----------



## escapedtonz

Jammanu said:


> Dear escapedtonz,
> 
> I have received an outcome of Level 7 on PAR from NZQA. Is the reference number on EOI form (that needs to be filled) is the same number provided by NZQA as Pre-assessment Number?? Hope you will provide me with an answer.
> 
> Regards


Yes. Enter the reference number provided by NZQA and select the Preliminary (Pre-Assessment) box then enter the level.


----------



## Jammanu

escapedtonz said:


> Yes. Enter the reference number provided by NZQA and select the Preliminary (Pre-Assessment) box then enter the level.


Thanks once again escapedtonz.


----------

