Move to Auckland?

[cthbell]

Hi all,
Looking for advice really. My boyfriend jas been offered work in Auckland and wants me to move over with him, initially at least for a year or two. It would be a huge undertaking for me, not least because my children's Father may not be too chuffed at me taking the kids so far away!
My boyfriend's work will sort a work visa for him as he will be in skilled migrant category. It looks like I could apply for a work visa as his partner, then apply separately for the kids (7 & 10). I am concerned though about my ability to find work over there. I work in the third sector here, generally as volunteer coordinator / training officer. Its not terribly well-paid here and I am not seeing many opportunities for the same kind of work over there. I'm also worried about housing / living costs. I don't think my boyfriend's salary would stretch to support the kids and I over there (about $72k) and housing looks completely extortionate. It all feels a little undoable just now!
Does anyone have any experience or ideas to offer? If you've made the move, can you help with ideas for affordable areas (with good schooling) to live? Ideas for where to look for jobs etc? Am I being defeatist ?!
Any ideas / info gratefully received.
Thanks,
Cath

Just to add: my boyfriend's work would be in Avondale.

Hi, I live in Auckland so can try to be somewhat useful to you!
$72k is an average salary, definitely ok for one person, but that would be really tight for a family of four. I'm not sure if you'd qualify for any government support to top that up (unlikely), so you will definitely need to look at a job as well.
Avondale is an ok part of town. It's central fringe, heading towards more affordable suburbs in the west of Auckland. Have a look on trademe.co.nz to gauge rental prices. The IRD website has an income tax calculator so you can work out post tax income.
For schools, you go to the one you are zoned for (will tell you what they are on the trademe listing). ERO is the equivalent to Ofsted here so you can look up all school reviews on their website for more detail. Don't get too hung up on the decile number - has nothing to do with the quality of the school, just determines how much funding they get based on the demographics of the school zone.
Public transport here is slowly improving but it's still not great. We'd really struggle without two cars so that maybe something to take into account too.
Expats often bang on about how expensive it is here, you can't get the range of stuff you can back home, blah blah; but it's important to remember we are a tiny country in the middle of nowhere. Economies of scale and seasonality play a huge part in this, so just bear that in mind. It's a great, easy city to live in (not as consistently warm as I'd like), and it would be a fab adventure for you all.

Don’t forget you might have to pay for your dcs to attend school depending on which visa you are granted as all international students are required to pay fees. I don’t know how much this would be but could be another cost to consider. I agree that $72k would be a good salary for one person but very tight for a family of 4.

It is an expensive city to live in with housing being a huge cost, especially to find something nicer (there’s lots and lots of poor quality houses available). For a decent 3 bedroom I would expect to pay around $500/week in rent depending on the suburb of course. I live on the north shore and it’s beautiful. Amazing beaches with a great cafe culture. It’s a wonderful life for kids with a big focus on being outdoors. The weather is pretty nice year round and the people are friendly. If you are realistic about the cost of living and think it would be doable I would definitely recommend it. It’s a great city and a beautiful country.

$72k very tight in Auckland for four people, especially if you want to live centrally. You will need to work too even if just to bring in another $20-30k.

North Shore is nice but expensive, you will probably need to look out West Auckland way for housing if you are not working. Trademe.co.nz best way to find rentals.

Schools here rated by decile. However the decile doesn't necessarily mean it's better as its done on wealth of suburb and means you are asked for a higher voluntary payment as school gets less govt funding. You can apply to get into better schools out of zone but it's done on ballot and only if there are not enough in zone kids.

I think one car is doable in Auckland as long as you are near a bus route. We coped with one in Auckland (back when we were double income no kids living the dream haha). We have one car now in Wellington and it's fine.

But the beaches and the outdoors and the lifestyle make NZ worth it!

You won't qualify for any government subsidies ie working for families, accomodation allowance on his wage.

Thanks so much for responding. I managed to forget to check whether anyone did till just now!

What areas would you be looking at out west for affordability but nice place to live with children?

We would definitely be only 1 car / no cars (!) so transport is an issue, particularly being able to get to Avondale daily without a huge schlepp.

Lastly, where would you be looking for third sector jobs? Just Trademe or somewhere else??

Thanks!
Cath

If you are only going to have one car, then I'd really recommend looking at suburbs that are serviced by the western train line. Have a look at at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/train-services/

Glen Eden could be a good option - reasonably priced and close enough to New Lynn which may be out of your budget.

For jobs, trademe will have some, but also have a look at www.seek.co.nz which is the main employment site.

Seek.co.nz the best place for advertised jobs but recruiters are potentially the best place to start. What does your partner do? Do they have offices in Wellington? Lots of ngo/charity work here as many of the head offices want to be near government head office.

Hi . I found work for NGOs by looking up organisations and then calling for advice, which led to going in for a chat, which soon led to work. People were friendly and casual. Working in Avondale means you could live further out west in a nice area and miss the city commute. Green Bay, Titirangi, even Langholm, rents are cheaper further away from the city too.

Just like UK, in New Zealand the govt takes more tax from people. So, apart from the income you need to consider the tax part to see how much effectively you'll hold for your expenses. You might have to work extra hours to earn more as $72K might not be enough for a family. Try taking a good amount of money and lease a house instead of going on a rented house. This way you can be sure that your money will be back to you when you leave from one house to another.

Again thanks to all who've replied, so helpful. Job offer came in yesterday and partner is moving out in January so it's all got a bit real!
West looks good, very taken with what I've read of Titirangi. Rents seem to be ll $550 lowest for a decent house. Scary money!
Annaharvey I didn't understand what you meant about leasing rather than renting, can you explain the difference?
Thanks, Cath

Auckland is a beautiful city to live but its expensive as well. You might need to earn about $100K to pay for kids education especially if its a private school you want to put into.

Other than that, its almost like UK in terms of system and public transport.