# Offer of Employment



## noodles905 (Dec 15, 2012)

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some advice from those of you in the know... My husband was offered a job as an Electrician in Kerikeri - we are both still in Ireland at the moment and the question I have is if anyone knows how much money you would be coming out with at the end of the week if the hourly wage is $26.32?

He doesn't seem to think it will be a lot of money to live on over there but as we have no knowledge of the tax system, we don't even know what his weekly take home will be each week. I will also be looking for work when we move over there - admin office work or something similar & was wondering if anyone knows if it would be easy enough to secure work.

We are unsure as to what to do as we already have our flights booked to NZ and will be leaving Ireland in the middle of September. Ideally we would love to have work secured before we go over there (we fly into Christchurch). We are going over to have a better quality of life, not to become rich but at the same time we'd like to be able to afford to live over there.

Any advice is very welcome


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## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

noodles905 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I'm looking for some advice from those of you in the know... My husband was offered a job as an Electrician in Kerikeri - we are both still in Ireland at the moment and the question I have is if anyone knows how much money you would be coming out with at the end of the week if the hourly wage is $26.32?
> 
> ...


Hi there - welcome to the forum. 
Kerikeri is in the Far North of New Zealand, about 3.5 hours drive out of Auckland. 
And it's just about as far away from Christchurch as you can get. So first thing to be aware of - to get there from Christchurch, you'll have to fly north (probably to Auckland although there are some flights that will go directly there). 
See Directions from Auckland Airport to Kaipara on Wises Maps

Kerikeri is in a beautiful part of the countryside (very close to the Bay of Islands), but the area is quite poor, and there is also a strong Maori culture in the area. So be prepared for some 'typical' New Zealand housing up there - in essence large garden sheds with no insulation! As the Far North is one of the warmest places in New Zealand (after all, it is the closest place in NZ to the equator) you may say this isn't an issue!

Assuming a 40 hour week, your husband's yearly salary would be about $55k. That isn't huge - but looking at Jobs on SEEK - New Zealand's no.1 Employment, Career and Recruitment site that does seem to be the going rate. 
There may be more work in other areas of the country - but sometimes the bird in the hand is better in the short term. Is there any time limit on the job? You can always look elsewhere once you've been here a while. We had friends who found a job in Gisborne (another lovely area of the country but similarly miles away from anywhere else, and with a similar local culture). They lived there a year, loved it, but as a short term option, and have recently moved to Auckland simply because of the job options.

You may find that work for you is seasonal - it's a tourist area up there. Or that you end up with a number of short hour jobs. Unemployment in the Far North is high, but if you're flexible you're more likely to find something.

I would say that generally there will be a larger choice of jobs for both of you in Christchurch at the moment - especially with the rebuild - but it's unlikely that most would initially offer much higher than the figure you've said above. You can but come over and give it a go. And rent in Kerikeri will be less than in Christchurch. From $250 per week for a 2 bedroomed place up to $450 for a 4 bedroomed. (I'd still be looking for rental properties that have been well insulated, even in the Far North!).
See Kerikeri Homes for Rent with 2 to 4 bedrooms - Realestate.co.nz
And I'd definitely rent initially, even if you can afford to buy.

To find out more about NZ tax, go to Individual income tax - there's a tax calculator there so you can plug in the figures and see what's left.


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