Is New Zealand really that expensive to live vs Australia? i want to move there?

Question

ok, i was born in NZ have spent 11 years in OZ, met my kiwi hubby here, went back to NZ last year for 3 months to have our son with my family around me, now we want to move back, we have a house here on a mortgage, my hubby is an electrician.

is it really that much more expensive to live in NZ, is it really that boring or is it that we are all just boring people who dont know how to have fun?

the only bad stuff i have ever heard about NZ are from English upstarts. Australia is like a big brother, they can pick on NZ but no one else can lol

i live in Adelaide, so called country town that just happens to be murder capital of the country, this is not new info. babies getting dumped, people raped murderd, stabbed, shot, car jacked, abducted, and all in the last 2 weeks hmmm.

so people how bout some real honest feed back and advice, all my family live in NZ, thats my main reason for wanting to move back

Answer 1

Trust me, it's cheaper...i lived there nearly my whole life...depends on where you are moving but it's cheaper...

Answer 2

It isn't that it is more expensive in New Zealand, it is that the pay is lower and the tax higher.  On average one can earn about $30,000 more a year in Australia. But is money everything?  I think family takes precedence over a lot of things. We were transferred to New Zealand and had no family here. It meant raising my children with no relatives at all. I believe one of the most important things for children is an extended family. It is much more important than money. It also means support for yourself - and if your husband is a NZer as well I suppose his family is over here too - more relatives for the kids!  Also if your husband is an electrician he wouldn't have to live in Auckland or a major city where house prices are now so exorbitant. You could live anywhere but that would probably depend on where your families live as well. Don't forget you'll get more for your dollar coming back here

What are you waiting for? - Come on back.

If I'd had the choice I'd have gone back to Australia so I could have been near family when my kids were growing up- but there was no choice.

Answer 3

The main issue is that wages are lower in New Zealand than Australia. We Kiwis hear a lot about this as it is a key reason why they move to Australia. However, tax cuts are expected to be announced by both major political parties in 2008 (it's election year!) and that could level the playing field as they say. Buying a house is expensive in NZ cities, but not a lot more so than in Australia. Renting in NZ  is generally considered better value than buying at the moment, though of course you lose some of the freedom of your own home.

Answer 4

Hi I moved to NZ from the US so I'm probably not much help as far as comparing prices between OZ and NZ.  FYI most of the things here are more expensive than in the US, but the trade off is in the excellent customer service you receive (sans tipping).  So, don't get me wrong - I love NZ!

To address the first question you raised. I would never consider living in NZ to be boring. (Don't actually think you can call a country boring).  I don't know where you grew up or where you were the last time you visited NZ.  

I am never bored, on the contrary... I am spoiled for choice and when I am not studying or otherwise busy with work or chores or taking care of things, I sometimes have trouble deciding just how I will spend my free time.

I mean, the selection of activities are endless - at least I think so.  I can go to one of several beaches (all within a half an hour's drive), or one of many walking trails, or take a book and laze around a duck pond in one of the parks.  I can soak up some culture by visiting one of the museums or art galleries, check out what's new in films at one of the cinemas, get tickets to ballet or theatre or concerts.  There are horse riding places nearby, and nature cruises.  I can go swimming or surfing or sailing or fishing.  Sometimes I just like to sit quietly and watch the tourists.

If the weather's lousy I have several indoor pools to choose from, or else we have several very nice libraries.   If I want a change of scenery I can be in a completely different setting in just about an hour.  There are mountains for snowboarding and skiing just a few hours away, and if I'm feeling really brave--bungy jumping.  I belong to a couple of different volunteer groups and clubs so there is almost always something going on....

So I'm not saying that you are boring people... Maybe I was brought up differently.  I was not spoon-fed on television and video games, were you?  I can't understand how anyone would think that living in NZ could be boring UNLESS they have lived here all their life and never left.  Until a person finds out how the rest of the world is, then I guess it would be easy to take NZ for granted.  Got to get away before you realize what a wonderful place this is!

Anyway that's my POV.  I wish you luck in making your decision... but it sounds to me like deep in your heart you've already decided to return to NZ.

=)

Answer 5

I am a kiwi, and personally, i prefer NZ. Yeah sure, Australia is a great destination for a relaxing holiday to get away from bad weather, but New Zealand is a great place to grow up.

New Zealand doesn't have all the fancy department stores and variety when it comes to shops. Also the price of petrol in NZ is very high at the moment, but this is a common ground for many countries. The cost of living is going up, but that seems to be happening everywhere in the world. Food prices are going up, because many of our good quality items are being shipped off overseas, such as our butter, and we get left with the second grade items.

Many NZ'ers seem to be moving overseas to Australia, and i can't seem to understand why.

Sure, people get bored in NZ, but that is when you realise that you need a holiday. But one can never get sick of NZ. There are plenty of things to do in here, we just need to find them, and instead of sitting back and waiting for it to hit us, we need to go out there and find things that make us excited, and allow us to have fun. Getting down to the facts, New Zealand has great wildlife, and wonderful scenery, things that need to be explored, after all people come to NZ because of our 'clean green' reputation.

Despite all this, we have our good times. The rugby sevens, and hey, the next rugby world cup will be hosted here. Everyone is friendly, and helpfull and its a safe and kind environment to live in.

Answer 6

personally i think oz is more expensive then nz, and ok im gonna be honest here but i moved to the gold coast from auckland 3months ago and am finding oz( well where im living anyway) a bit behind the times compared to nz.also the food here isn't that great and a whole lot more expensive then nz.the petrol here is cheaper tho.as for nz being boring, ok yeah i admit it can have it's boring times but usually there is always something to do.and your hubby will be able to get a job as a electrician very easily as it's still highly in demand.

all those horrible things happening in adelaide ofcourse also happen in nz, just like anywhere else in the world but you don't often hear about it happening quite as often, usually in south auckland or some parts of christchurch, so compared to oz, nz is relatively safe, especially out of the city

i say go for it, sounds like you really wanna be closer to your family and i think it'll be a good move expecially now you have a little one, think of all the babysitters on hand,lol

Answer 7

NZ is still suffering from mass export of our brain talent to Oz. Its a long standing debate that many kiwis are looking at and the NZ government are stuffing up.

We have recently had a housing / mortgage rate explosion which has put many people in some questionable situations. Such as paying over 50% of their earnings to maintain a mortgage.

Pay rates are lower and there is less tax back benefits in NZ. But more benefits to non working people.

Some of these things I think may change in the future and whilst we have our share of crime here. The NZ way of living offers its own benefits that can not be measured in wealth.

And boring... no, def not. Some similarites to Oz and kiwi's seem to specialise in originality, creativity and natural beauty.

I've lived a few places round the world. I just had to come back to NZ. I felt everywhere else was far too politically correct.

Answer 8

My family and I have just moved back to NZ (again) after 2 years in Melbourne.

Whilst things have gone up in price in NZ I don't think it's more expensive to live here than it is to live in Australia.  Relatively speaking the petrol prices are the same but the cost of living is just as much (if not more in certain parts of Australia) as in NZ.

What I did find frustrating in Australia is that some of the services are not any better than what you would expect to find in NZ.  For example, it took 10 days to get a telephone connected in Australia and for me to get a phone number.  This time round in NZ, I phoned Telecom and had a phone connected in 2 hours.  Likewise it took minimum of 10 working days for broadband to be connected in Melbourne compared to the 5 days in NZ.

I think the lifestyle is far more relaxed in NZ, NZ on the whole is a far more pleasant place to live, people are more tolerant and you are less likely to be sued for something trivial.  The red tape isn't so red in NZ as compared to Australia and you dont' have to take out personal liability insurance to play sport (in NZ)...NZ atleast has ACC.

I really enjoyed the two times I have lived in Australia but as a preferred place to live it has nothing on New Zealand.

NZ is also adventure capital of the world...if you didn't realise this then I have to ask...where the heck have you been??? <wink> if you think NZ is boring (of all the places in the world?!!) then I have to wonder what in life you find exciting?

That said, it is always nice to have your kids grow up as part of your family.  For this reason I'm really pleased we have come back to NZ.

Good luck with your decision!