# Hello - Possible move to NZ



## NatalieTalbot

Hi everyone

I'm new here so apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place.
Firstly a little background.....

I met my Kiwi partner here in London 15yrs ago. He has now been here in the UK for approx 25yrs. However, For a while now, he's been feeling like he wants to go home. I've holidayed in NZ with him some years ago & loved the country. I am certainly open to the idea of leaving my home country & starting a new adventure 😊 However, I have some concerns, mainly the cost of living & our quality of life. 

If we sold our current home, we would have approx $320,000 to buy a house. We would ideally like to get rid of our mortgage or have a very small one if possible. My partners family are all in Tauranga, so we would look at living in this area.
We have no children, just our dog Kobe. My partner is an electrician by trade. Do you think we could live on just one persons wage to start with? 
I would like to get a part time job but I'm concerned about how long that may take given NZ's policy of always giving jobs to Kiwi's over immigrants. I worry about giving up my very good job here in the UK and struggling to find work over there. 

Any guidance would be much appreciated 😊 

Natalie xx


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## janet9079

NatalieTalbot said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> I'm new here so apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place.
> Firstly a little background.....
> 
> I met my Kiwi partner here in London 15yrs ago. He has now been here in the UK for approx 25yrs. However, For a while now, he's been feeling like he wants to go home. I've holidayed in NZ with him some years ago & loved the country. I am certainly open to the idea of leaving my home country & starting a new adventure ?de0a However, I have some concerns, mainly the cost of living & our quality of life.
> 
> If we sold our current home, we would have approx $320,000 to buy a house. We would ideally like to get rid of our mortgage or have a very small one if possible. My partners family are all in Tauranga, so we would look at living in this area.
> We have no children, just our dog Kobe. My partner is an electrician by trade. Do you think we could live on just one persons wage to start with?
> I would like to get a part time job but I'm concerned about how long that may take given NZ's policy of always giving jobs to Kiwi's over immigrants. I worry about giving up my very good job here in the UK and struggling to find work over there.
> 
> Any guidance would be much appreciated ?de0a
> 
> Natalie xx


Hi Natalie
There may be others that know more than me as I have only been here for 18 months. I would have thought that once you have a partner visa you have as much chance of getting a job as anyone else. We are permanent residents now but when we arrived my partner had a partner work visa and he was offered a job within 2 days of arriving here in Auckland through an agency. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Re the house prices, the money you quote would not go very far in Auckland but should be enough in Tauranga for a modest property
Cheers
Janet


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## escapedtonz

Hi NatalieTalbot,
Welcome to the forum. No worries you have posted the thread in the right place.

I understand your concerns and they are very relevant.

$320k isn't a lot of money when talking property. It would possibly only buy you half an average modest house in Auckland. Property is very expensive in and all around the city due to the high demand for property. It is quite possible also that any house you would go around the $400k mark will need money spending on it. Highly unlikely it would be move in ready for that price.
Although housing and cost of living is cheaper in Tauranga, it's not vastly different. Property across the whole of NZ is expensive although the quality is poor. To say that property here isn't worth the asking price is an understatement, but it is what it is and I personally accept it as I don't want to live back in the UK.
You can get way more for your money in Tauranga but to live mortgage free you aren't going to be living in a desirable area for that amount of cash or you will be living out in the bush many KM's from anything.
We live in Bethlehem, Tauranga which is (apparently) the most desirable sub-division in Tauranga and definitely the most expensive. It is beautiful and we love it here. Just has the right mix of people, shops and location is great. We're only renting for the time being and hope to buy next year when we finally sell up in the UK but we'll not be able to afford the type of property we want in Bethlehem due to the high prices. We can afford the house we are renting and could afford to buy it if it ever appeared on the market - 3 bed and office modest single level home, around 170 sq metres, 6 or 7 years old, double garage, open plan kitchen / diner, small garden, on a section that's probably 550-600 sq metres. Lovely view of The Mount (Mount Maunganui) but I bet it would go for over $500k. Unfortunately it isn't what we want. We want at least 200 sq metres (must remember the size quoted includes the garage space) and we want a decent garden so around an acre of land. In Bethlehem you're talking at least $800-$900K. If you look outside this area, maybe $100-$200k less, but then we wouldn't be in the school zone for Bethlehem which has very good schools so we have a little catch 22 situation going on!
Can vouch that Tauranga is an excellent place to live. We previously spent 2.5years in Wellington and although the place is fine, it is more expensive and the weather not to our liking (too windy).

Do you know where about in Tauranga your partners family live ?

Salary wise, your partner is unlikely to earn what he gets now in London. There is a massive difference in pay here than back home in the UK plus he'll earn an appropriate weighting for London over the rest of the country. I took a 40% pay cut to come here and had to seek work for a bigger and more national company than what I was used to in order to earn the most possible for my skill. I've been here 3 years and still haven't achieved the salary I left in the UK in 2012 which says something eh!
You can afford to live on one wage but it all depends on how much that is and how you live. We are all individuals so there may be things you must have that I may think is a waste of money or vice versa. I'd say you'd want to earn at least $80k a year as a couple to be comfortable.
A question I always pose to people is:-
Could you live on the same equivalent single salary in the UK ?
If not then you haven't a hope to live on it here as the cost of living is so much higher - around 15% maybe.

Unsure where people are getting the idea that employers prefer offering work to Kiwi's ? If a person has the right qualities, skills and experience etc an employer will offer the post to the most suitable assuming they have the right to live and work here, regardless of where they are from. I didn't experience any issues. As soon as I had the visa employers where tripping over themselves to offer me work even before I left the UK.
On a similar note my wife didn't experience any issues gaining work as a nurse in Wellington. She's struggled a bit more in Tauranga but only by a matter of a few more weeks. She still hasn't received a permanent position but she's the relief practice nurse at a handful of GP surgeries in the area and as soon as any one of them has a permanent position to offer it will be hers so not a bad position to be in and she only started looking for work from mid December 2014 as she wanted Christmas and New Year off after we moved here early November 2014.
Depending on where you want to work part time, you shouldn't have any issues if you are dedicated to finding work. Kiwi employers love people to take the upper hand in looking for work so I'd recommend researching all the places you'd like to work then just doing a CV and cover letter drop regardless if they have a job vacancy or not. My wife has got work from this each time and from employers who didn't even have a job advert or a vacancy at the time.

It is a big risk, to leave what you know. We had a great life in the UK. We both had excellent jobs that we knew inside out. We were both in Senior positions. There was a lot of money coming in each month, we saved lots, we went away lots and bought anything we wanted any time within reason.......but we wanted adventure and wanted our little boy to enjoy the life we had growing up in the 70's/80's which you can have here.
NZ is vastly different than life in the UK. Takes a couple of years to get used to it for sure but we are very glad we took the risk. It hasn't been easy but we definitely see ourselves staying here for many years. Our decision to leave NZ will be purely based around our childs future decisions, so if he wants to go live in Oz or UK in 15 years (he's only just turned 4) then we'll be following no doubt, but until then I'm staying put.

Any questions just holler.


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## Turk&EnglishWannabie

Hi Natalie, funny enough we are looking to go to Tauranga for our weeks pre-lookie, it does look lovely. 

I'm sure you have done so already, but in case you haven't, look on Realestate.co.nz its where I spend most of my days lol! Renting does look like you get more for your money which is opposite to England I find. We have been looking from 350,000 - 400,000 all around and including Bethlehem and have found three bed properties for sale which some are nice, but like escapetonz says, they might be not as nice as you would like or suitable for what you want or used to. We live in an semi which needs a lot of work, so most look ok to me lol, although, I agree a lot are not very nice and I don't know the areas.

Tauranga is a popular place for Brits apparently, right by the sea, and looks absolutely lovely so its bound to be a bit more expensive.

Good luck on your move/decision, its all very exciting!


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## escapedtonz

Turk&EnglishWannabie said:


> Hi Natalie, funny enough we are looking to go to Tauranga for our weeks pre-lookie, it does look lovely.
> 
> I'm sure you have done so already, but in case you haven't, look on Realestate.co.nz its where I spend most of my days lol! Renting does look like you get more for your money which is opposite to England I find. We have been looking from 350,000 - 400,000 all around and including Bethlehem and have found three bed properties for sale which some are nice, but like escapetonz says, they might be not as nice as you would like or suitable for what you want or used to. We live in an semi which needs a lot of work, so most look ok to me lol, although, I agree a lot are not very nice and I don't know the areas.
> 
> Tauranga is a popular place for Brits apparently, right by the sea, and looks absolutely lovely so its bound to be a bit more expensive.
> 
> Good luck on your move/decision, its all very exciting!



Yes Tauranga is popular with Brits but they tend to all be in the same place - Papamoa which is right on the beach and growing in size all the time. There's a lot of money being pumped in to this area. The shopping complex is due a multi millon $ refurb and the roading infrastructure is being upgraded now in the form of the Tauranga Eastern Link Road.
This place doesn't have the nickname Pommiemoa for nothing


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## NatalieTalbot

Hi everyone

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. You've def given us some things to think about.
My partners family live in Bethlehem so we'd ideally look to living near there. We're aware it's an expensive suburb & looking online there are some great properties. My partner is flying back to NZ in May so he'll view a few whilst he's there just to get an idea. It's so hard to judge clearly just looking online. Our current home is a new build with modern kitchen & bathrooms. We would like to move into something similar, although it doesn't have to be a mansion as there is only the two of us & our dog. (We don't want children) 

I have a few more questions (sorry)

1) If we were married, would I still have to apply for a work visa? 

1a) If I do still require a work visa; how long does this usually take/cost? (Approx)

2) Here in the UK, you have to pay a tax called stamp duty when you buy a house over £125k. Are there similar taxes to pay in NZ when purchasing a property?


Many thanks for all your help

Natalie )

Xxx


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## escapedtonz

NatalieTalbot said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. You've def given us some things to think about.
> My partners family live in Bethlehem so we'd ideally look to living near there. We're aware it's an expensive suburb & looking online there are some great properties. My partner is flying back to NZ in May so he'll view a few whilst he's there just to get an idea. It's so hard to judge clearly just looking online. Our current home is a new build with modern kitchen & bathrooms. We would like to move into something similar, although it doesn't have to be a mansion as there is only the two of us & our dog. (We don't want children)
> 
> I have a few more questions (sorry)
> 
> 1) If we were married, would I still have to apply for a work visa?
> 
> 1a) If I do still require a work visa; how long does this usually take/cost? (Approx)
> 
> 2) Here in the UK, you have to pay a tax called stamp duty when you buy a house over £125k. Are there similar taxes to pay in NZ when purchasing a property?
> 
> Many thanks for all your help
> 
> Natalie )
> 
> Xxx


Oh cool. They're in the best suburb for sure 😊
Make sure you or your partner researches property construction. In a nut shell they're either timber or steel framed with a weatherproof membrane then have a cladding to supposedly make them watertight. The cladding can be weatherboard, plaster over brick, brick or monolithic.
Monolithic has caused major problems over the years and is the cause of the leaky home syndrome. Properties clad with this stuff are either leaky or potentially leaky and even though they may be given a pass by a building surveyor it doesn't mean you are gonna be problem free for years to come. The industry advice is to replace the cladding every 10 to 15 years at $100 000 a time - as if!!!
You will find these properties a lot cheaper to buy simply because of the potential risks. Can make them money pits and hard to get mortgages on.
Other types are fine assuming decent materials used.

1) Yes. You will also still have to prove your relationship as being stable etc.
1a) Can be turned around within a week sometimes if you have everything ready at the application stage. If not around a month. Once secured you'll have 3 months to get to nz and activate it.
2) No stamp duty here. Usually youll need to pay a 20% deposit or your mortgage rate will be higher and youll also have to pay an indemnity premium. You can pay 10% deposit or anything in between but as i say youll pay more in the long run.
No council tax. You have to pay rates based on the size and value of the house - average 3 bed probably $2500 per year. You'll have to pay water charges here as Tauranga is metered so around $100 per quarter. You'll have to pay for refuse collection by either buying bags at the supermarket that the council will take or renting a wheelie bin privately. Bag's are $2 each and renting all the bins needed (refuse, garden and recycling) is around $500 a year.


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## NatalieTalbot

@escapetonz

Thank you so much for your reply.

We had no idea about the problems experienced with the monolithic clad properties! We both would prefer a new build brick built house, so hopefully there isn't the problems with those. But I assume these are far more expensive. When I visited NZ a few years back, we stayed with his parents in Opotiki. The house was wooden with panelling on the outside. I was freezing  Lol So I def won't be wanting that type of house. Do the new build houses have any form of heating system installed? (We have gas fired central heating in all houses here, but it's far colder here in the UK)

Great news about the lack of council tax  The rates you quote are almost half what we currently pay. 

Anyway, thanks for answering all my questions. I guess I'll have some more as time goes on. 

Thanks again

Natalie


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## escapedtonz

NatalieTalbot said:


> @escapetonz
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply.
> 
> We had no idea about the problems experienced with the monolithic clad properties! We both would prefer a new build brick built house, so hopefully there isn't the problems with those. But I assume these are far more expensive. When I visited NZ a few years back, we stayed with his parents in Opotiki. The house was wooden with panelling on the outside. I was freezing  Lol So I def won't be wanting that type of house. Do the new build houses have any form of heating system installed? (We have gas fired central heating in all houses here, but it's far colder here in the UK)
> 
> Great news about the lack of council tax  The rates you quote are almost half what we currently pay.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for answering all my questions. I guess I'll have some more as time goes on.
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> Natalie


Ha ha i know all about the UK. I'm from wigan in the north west and lived there for 40 years before coming to nz in 2012.

Should be fine with a newly brick built home. Definitely the best of the bunch.
Just need to know that houses aren't built anywhere near as good here as in the UK. Insulation is an after thought and although there are new building codes that requires a minimum thickness of insulation depending on the place the house is built, the requirement in my opinion is inadequate but if you are involved in the design and build you can rectify this yourself and increase and / or add to your own needs.
More than likely your partners parents don't have any or very little insulation which is why the house was cold. Unfortunately there are lots of homes like that here.
Heating is usually in the form of heat pumps which is wall mounted at ceiling level. Does heat and air con. You can have a few dotted around the house. Some homes have a wood burner to heat the main room but having had one in a rental they're a pain and make a mess.
I've only seen a couple of houses here that have had radiators. Built by english ex pats no doubt.


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## NatalieTalbot

Ha! Oh you're from Wigan!! Lol You came across as a born & need Kiwi as you're so knowledgable  
So, do you like living in NZ? You ever regret leaving the UK at all?


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## Liam(at)Large

If you've been with your partner 15 years and can prove it, and he has been living outside NZ for 25 years, you don't need a work permit, you should apply for Residence, it will be fast tracked and likely upgraded to PR. Whole process should take about 3 weeks, as long as everything is OK.


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## escapedtonz

NatalieTalbot said:


> Ha! Oh you're from Wigan!! Lol You came across as a born & need Kiwi as you're so knowledgable
> So, do you like living in NZ? You ever regret leaving the UK at all?


Nope. Im english through and through. Just dont wanna live there!
Yeah love it in NZ.
Not regretted the move one bit and never really been home sick. Talked with the Mrs about a trip back in 2016 but after a few weeks thinking about it she dropped the hint she'd like to go back this year - like in 4 months......aaaarrrrggghhhh! 
I came up with every excuse under the sun not to go back this year so it's still 2016 😊


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## Jennalee

Are there Blacks that actually lives in NZ (just curious) maybe a few Africans huh


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## escapedtonz

Jennalee said:


> Are there Blacks that actually lives in NZ (just curious) maybe a few Africans huh


Yes lots of Maori as you'd expect and a lot of Pacific Islanders so the likes of Fijian's and Samoan's etc. Plus lots of Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lancans / Philippines. Really is a multi national country.
Met a fair few South Africans in my 3 years however all white.


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## NatalieTalbot

Liam(at)Large said:


> If you've been with your partner 15 years and can prove it, and he has been living outside NZ for 25 years, you don't need a work permit, you should apply for Residence, it will be fast tracked and likely upgraded to PR. Whole process should take about 3 weeks, as long as everything is OK.


Thanks for this Liam! I'll check this out. Would be much easier if it's the case  
Can I apply for PR whilst still here in the UK or only once I've arrived in NZ? 

Thanks again


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## NatalieTalbot

escapedtonz said:


> Nope. Im english through and through. Just dont wanna live there! Yeah love it in NZ. Not regretted the move one bit and never really been home sick. Talked with the Mrs about a trip back in 2016 but after a few weeks thinking about it she dropped the hint she'd like to go back this year - like in 4 months......aaaarrrrggghhhh! I came up with every excuse under the sun not to go back this year so it's still 2016 dde0a


Aww.. You've really fallen in love with NZ huh? It's great that it's been such a good experience for you & your family. Your positivity for the place makes me feel comfortable about my possible move


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## escapedtonz

NatalieTalbot said:


> Aww.. You've really fallen in love with NZ huh? It's great that it's been such a good experience for you & your family. Your positivity for the place makes me feel comfortable about my possible move


Yeah surely have 😊
Couldn't imagine bringing our little boy up back in the UK now we have experienced life here.
Looking forward to him going to surf school and life savers club on the beach.
Hoping he's going to grow up an easy going surf dude, keen golfer and motorbike fanatic.


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## NatalieTalbot

escapedtonz said:


> Yeah surely have dde0a Couldn't imagine bringing our little boy up back in the UK now we have experienced life here. Looking forward to him going to surf school and life savers club on the beach. Hoping he's going to grow up an easy going surf dude, keen golfer and motorbike fanatic.


Wow! Surf school & life savers club! I wanna do these things too


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## escapedtonz

NatalieTalbot said:


> Wow! Surf school & life savers club! I wanna do these things too


Was kids life savers championships on the beach today


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## ClemClan

I'm sure you'll love Tauranga, I've heard good things. We're in Christchurch and I just thought I'd drop a line about your queries. Sadly you won't be able to buy the equivalent of what you have in the UK and be mortgage free. The modern new built houses are over $500,000 which does in fact leave you with the lower end of the market and that is the houses that are cold! Unless you're able to spend money on a house and put in insulation etc... to be mortgage free with the funds you have, will not give you what you have now in UK. I really miss central heating in the winter! The housing prices for warm, modern and insulated are pretty ridiculous. We've been here for nearly eight years and we're in our second home, both have been the older type properties and the one we're in now we're renovating, but it's not cheap. The cost of building materials, double glazing etc. Is shocking. 

If you ideally want a low mortgage it's best to lower your expectations and focus on the lifestyle and just expand on what you start with as time goes on. You could be in a totally different position after a couple of years of living here and move up to what you'd prefer. 

You would need to apply for a work visa and it doesn't take long. Even if you were not going to work straight away you need one to apply for residency. 

Good luck and all the best in what you decide


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## NatalieTalbot

ClemClan said:


> I'm sure you'll love Tauranga, I've heard good things. We're in Christchurch and I just thought I'd drop a line about your queries. Sadly you won't be able to buy the equivalent of what you have in the UK and be mortgage free. The modern new built houses are over $500,000 which does in fact leave you with the lower end of the market and that is the houses that are cold! Unless you're able to spend money on a house and put in insulation etc... to be mortgage free with the funds you have, will not give you what you have now in UK. I really miss central heating in the winter! The housing prices for warm, modern and insulated are pretty ridiculous. We've been here for nearly eight years and we're in our second home, both have been the older type properties and the one we're in now we're renovating, but it's not cheap. The cost of building materials, double glazing etc. Is shocking. If you ideally want a low mortgage it's best to lower your expectations and focus on the lifestyle and just expand on what you start with as time goes on. You could be in a totally different position after a couple of years of living here and move up to what you'd prefer. You would need to apply for a work visa and it doesn't take long. Even if you were not going to work straight away you need one to apply for residency. Good luck and all the best in what you decide



Thank you 

Yes we've been looking at the properties & a new build 3 bed (brick) house is around the $400 -€450k mark. Getting a mortgage will be fine so long as there is enough work for my partner (he's an electrician) He's due to visit NZ shortly & has appts with firms that were interested in his cv, so hopefully we'll have positive news. Neither of us wants to move to the other side of the world & work even harder! Lol If it comes to it, we have a rental flat we can also sell to release more funds but I'd rather keep that to come back to (just in case it doesn't work out).


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