# Young Australian couple interested in moving to NZ



## Juhar (Oct 21, 2015)

Hey guys! How's it going? First post here (I apologise if I missed an introduction thread). My fiancé and I are going to be spending two weeks toodling about the North Island on our honeymoon quite soon, and this will be our first time being there (or NZ at all).

Just for a laugh, I looked at 3 bedroom house prices online expecting it to be tbe same as here and my jaw nearly hit the floor seeing how cheap houses are there. I looked in Levin, $115000 to $130000 seemed to bring in a few results. Than I looked in the general Manawatu/Wanganui area and holy cats!! $50000 to $70000 for lovely looking houses?! 



I understand some of those houses are over an hour from Palmerston North, but right now I drive nearly that long to get to work and the same back.

Is there a catch somewhere? I feel naive saying we want to just save up like crazy for a couple of years and pay for a place like those in cash and also have some savings after purchase to live off, to keep us going until we find jobs over there.

I am of the understanding that many old New Zealand houses have no insulation, and that this is something we would have to tackle after purchase. But are there any pitfalls to watch out for?

I've also been trying to research the process if becoming a NZ citizen. Is it really as simple as living there for five years and then applying? Or am I missing something big here? It seems as if it's quite easy for a Aussies to become citizens.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just quite hyped up about honeymooning across the North Island and the idea of moving there!

Any and all feedback appreciated.

Regards

Harry


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Juhar said:


> Hey guys! How's it going? First post here (I apologise if I missed an introduction thread). My fiancé and I are going to be spending two weeks toodling about the North Island on our honeymoon quite soon, and this will be our first time being there (or NZ at all).
> 
> Just for a laugh, I looked at 3 bedroom house prices online expecting it to be tbe same as here and my jaw nearly hit the floor seeing how cheap houses are there. I looked in Levin, $115000 to $130000 seemed to bring in a few results. Than I looked in the general Manawatu/Wanganui area and holy cats!! $50000 to $70000 for lovely looking houses?!
> 
> ...


:welcome:

Going fine thanks 
Excellent place to spend your honeymoon.

Woh! There must be real issues with property prices in Australia if you think property is cheap here 
Levin isn't the nicest place in the world...sorry to all those living in Levin 
The Mrs absolutely hates the place with a passion whereas I don't think it's that bad. Wouldn't live there though as it's miles from anywhere and not the best place for work.
Kind of retirementsville all up that Kapiti coastline and not the place for youngsters, but that said it all depends what you do for a living.
Manawatu/Wanganui although being a very nice place is also in my opinion a little remote...sorry to those living there. Only ever had the need to be there a few times and although it is a lovely place I've only been there because I've been passing through to somewhere else.
I guess a lot of people share my view which is possibly the reason why housing is cheap as there's no real demand for it ?

Pitfalls with housing are many. Yes, many older kiwi homes don't have any insulation or any fixed heating.
There's also issues with what is called leaky homes syndrome. Many houses in NZ were built in the 80's/90's using types of exterior cladding (monolithic cladding) that, over the years has proved to be useless as a watertight material than expected. It's more like a sponge, so many many homes have been labelled as leaky homes whether they are leaky or not and have caused their value to plummet and it can be difficult to get a mortgage on them. They are considerably cheaper than say a brick clad home. There's also issues with a type of flat roofing system also. You really do need to do your research when buying or renting.

If you are an Australian passport holder and assuming you meet the health and character requirements then you'll be given an NZ resident visa on entry to NZ that would expire immediately if you left the country and yes once you held that for 5 years you could apply for citizenship.
If you left the country in between, for example, to go back to Oz for a holiday then the NZ Resident visa would expire and you'd have to use your Australian citizenship to get back in again on your return, BUT this would be a new NZ Resident Visa and as such the citizenship clock would start again.
A way round it is to stay for 2 years on the RV then apply for PR which effectively is the same but does not have any conditions and doesn't ever expire.

So what's the plan for the honeymoon...apart from the obvious


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## Juhar (Oct 21, 2015)

Hi Escapedtonz! Thank you so much for answering my questions!

We're not quite finished planning the honeymoon yet but we're starting in Wellington, where my lovely wifey will indulge in some shopping, then move up to Levin for a short bit and hang around, then move up through Palmerston North on our way to Mt Taranaki (very excited to start seeing some of the natural wonders). After that we want to see Lake Taupo and the town itself, and then move up to Roturua, cycle through the Redwoods, see the museum/old spa house... and that's as far as we've gotten haha.

I've taken mental note of the issues with exterior cladding being leaky, we will definitely keep an eye out for that in future looking at houses (and I'll also look at how much more brick homes command). Sounds like we'd need to install a fireplace too if there's no heating!

On our trip from Wellington to Levin, then Levin to Palmerston North, we should get an idea of whether it's something we could do everyday for a work commute. We figured if there's no work in Levin,we can head nortb or south 45 minutes to getto work.

I've really only mainly done farm work and fruit packing here in Australia, and would be willing to do the same there if I can bring home enough money and my back is up to it (have to be choosey in what I do due to two back incidents). I'm doing a cert 3 in aged and disability care here, no idea if that would qualify me to do that work in NZ (I'm assuming it wouldn't). Done a few months of disability care recently and absolutely loved it. Is the aged care sector a growing industry in NZ?

And with house prices, I guess I didn't think much of them here (all I've ever known), but really you're looking at $190000 absolute minimum, more $250000. This in a rural town of about 5000 people mind you. But they seem depressingly expensive now that I've seen what's available for half/quarter the money over there! Lol. I love the idea of not having to fork out the money for rent or mortgage repayments, and eventually possibly not even needinf to work full time to live, and being able to spend more time with the family we intend to have in a few years.

We definitely will be seeing if we can picture ourselves living in those areas (also different parts of Rotarua), and getting a feel for them.

Th PR idea definitely makes full sense to do after two years! I'll be able to make a trip back to see family in aus again then (biggest worry in my mind is how much my old man will rea?ly miss me if I end up in NZ...)

Thank you again Escaped!

Oh, on another note, does anyone know if nursing is a good firld for work? I originally had a view to do a Diploma of Enrolled Nursing here but not sure if that would be worth chasing in NZ?

Thanks guys!


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