WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW:PART 3!!!!(HOLY SHIT!)

[AngryBeaver]

Can you believe we've finished finished off another thread? Jeez we can talk!!
Just an update..we've found a nice double glazed,4 bed house,with nice garden. So that's one stress off the last.
Hilongwhitecloud

lolly - YANBU at all, why do all men do that?

And I got the job!!! Just waiting for the draft contract now ... oooh feeling a shopping trip in Newmarket coming on ....

Congrats Shelscrape! I think you'll be needing new work clothes....

And Bobbish on the citizenship.

It's it freezing today? Brrrr. Even with our new insulation.

Well done Shels.....

congrats - when do you start?

Awwww thank you! I will probably start on 25th June, looking forward to it but scared shitless at the same time

Well done Shels!

Yep it's scary indeed. I'm day 3 in and I have moments where I think it's fine and familiar and moments where I think I'm never going to learn this stuff.

What's a 'doozy' btw?

Congrats, shelscrape, great news!

I think I remember you saying you were a lawyer too - are you already qualified over here or do you have to sit the CLE exams? I have study notes if needed!

didn't realise you were a lawyer too Scroobious ... what do you specialise in? I've spent the past year doing to NZCLE exams, been exempted from doing profs due to my old fart status thank goodness. Just the silly wig experience at the High Court to go, then I can get on my feet in Court ... been a very long slog!

Ha ha! i quite enjoyed the admittance ceremony as I didn't attend one back in the UK. Be prepared though as some judges like all the 'new' lawyers to make a speech and it's all captured on DvD. Great you got the exams out of the way, they are a faff aren't they.

Public law here, but I'm in-house now which really means a bit of everything. How about you?

lolly-a doozy of something is something that's sort of big or major. For example if someone said "That's a doozy of a bruise" it would mean, wow, that's a big bruise.

We only have insulation, no heat pump ( but use electric heaters)

Any heating without insulation you are going to spend more because the heat will be escaping through the roof etc.

I priced up heat pumps and I think a decent one plus installation is about $3000? I figured it would be many years before it paid for itself in saved electricity bills (they are more efficient than regular electric heaters). If it saved us $50 a month over winter it would be about 15 years before it was worth the 3K iyswim.

Insulation I think can be done cheaper? I'm sure we got ours for about 500 or something.

Don't Aucjland council have something where you borrow money for insulation and pay it back as part of your rates over 10 years or something? Or is that what you're referring to?

How cold has your house been over the last week? Is it uncomfortable? Tbh it doesn't really get colder than this - 3 degrees overnight is about as low as it gets and there won't be that many nights when it gets that low.

Yes there's a council loan of up to 5K for insulation, heat pumps etc.

Younpay it back over 9 years as an additional payment on your rates bill.

It's in addition to the government Energywise grant.

Details are here.

Apologies if you know all this already :)

Don't move to Devonport if you need to drive into the city for work, there is only one road in and out and it's nose to tail in the rush hour.

Are you sure the funding has been pulled? I found some of the companies lied to me. Have a look here:

www.energywise.govt.nz/funding-available/insulation-and-clean-heating

We just got insulation- paid 3300 up front for underfloor and ceilings in a house of 250 m2. But we also got a free econo panel and today they sent me a refund for $400 as they had over estimated!

IMHO it is keeping us warmer. But we are still using our gas vented heaters as you still need to heat your home. The insulation just helps keep it in there.

I had one company tell me I had to insulate the walls in my basement to get the subsidy (not true). Another told me to avoid fibre glass as it was worse for asthma. When I checked, pink batts, which I think are fibre glass, have an asthma foundation accreditation.

Oh that is crap justabout - flipping government

Scroobious - I do criminal law, will be working for the local Crown Solicitors office I have gone back to my notes from the exams to do a bit of swotting again so I don't seem a complete idiot when I start .... On the admission ceremony thing I've been tolday today that a television crew will be there ..... oh feck!

justabout But the council one isn't a grant - it's a loan you pay back over 9 years - according to the Auckland council website it's stlll available and according to the Energywise website the grants are still available too. Unless they re just really crap at updating their websites.

How odd. I'd give Energywise a call. This is what they report in the Herald:

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10808187

I heard on the news they were pulling the subsidy, it was a few weeks ago but I thought there was a window when you had to have applied by, June rings a bell but I though it was next year???obviously heard wrong. I'm also sure though when they bought it in it was for a limited time period 2-3 years to allow everybody to apply. Of course not good if you are new here or if you move to a house that didn't take up the offer. We went ahead and put a heat pump in and I was a bit slack about the insulation, think I may have missed the boat (the insulation we have is old and a bit thin). I love the heat pump, house warm when I get up and when I get home in the evening. Don't know how much it will be to run yet though, havn't had the first bill.