Possible move to Auckland...

[putthehamsterbackinitscage]

DH is looking at a potential job offer in Auckland - offices are pretty central near the University...

I'm trying to get my head around everything from visas to moving, housing, exporting pets and also leaving 2 DC behind at Uni in the UK and would welcome any stories of your experiences of the immigration process...

As well as any views on where to look at living (couple in early 50s) - we'll have to rent for a while as we want to keep the house in the UK until DC finish uni and move on...

I am not an Aucklander, in fact I am a kiwi so may not be that much help but did not want to leave you unanswered.

Re Auckland suburbs, tbh avoid South Auckland - my in laws live there, it is a dump to put it frankly. Lots of poverty and crime, not pleasant at all.

It depends what your budget is, North Shore is expensive and very affluent. Transport in both the Southern and northern motorways is pretty testing.

Mount Wellington, Pakuranga, Botany Downs and Howick area in East Auckland (my best friend lives in that area) which is very lovely, very working class, house prices are fairly reasonable and is central.

Cant help on immigration but the newish Labour Government (who are in coalition with a populist party) are trying to reduce immigration so you will have check that out, however so long as you have a skills set you should be right. That said immigration is easier compared to the likes of Canada.

Thanks for replying...

DH expects a job offer that should count as LTSSL so we reckon on around 210 points and a pretty high salary so hopefully a skilled migrant visa to include the DCs as well as they're under 34 and financially dependent (at Uni in UK)

Not sure what's affordable but we were hoping to rent a 3bed home and manage with one car if possible - I'll probably have to stay behind for a few months to tidy up affairs at home and get pets ready for immigration and then I'll be looking for work, so we will be trying to avoid extra costs such as 2nd car until I'm working.

We like the look of Parnell, Mission Bay, Orakei for the longer term but not sure how affordable that might be - at least until we sell up here.

I've been looking at rentals for now - anything from apartments to smaller family houses to try to get a feel for costs.

It's interesting you say avoid South Auckland as that seemed to have the best public transport? I had been looking along the railway - is it ok out to Green Lane? Is the a cut off on the route that you wouldn't go past?

Forgot to say ... traffic won't be so bad to get used to... we previously lived in Essex in the M25 corridor which was always bad and currently deal with Birmingham traffic on a regular basis...

What will you do about seeing the kids, OP?

Those areas are very expensive, OP. We rented a very worn out 3-bed house in Kohimarama (next bay along from Mission Bay) for $850pw two years ago. Don't get me wrong, we loved that house (and its location) but it was no palace! And was considered far under the market rate for a property that size. I guess it depends on what your DH would be earning?

RE Pet relocation, I'd recommend JetPets. Your pet will need a rabies injection 6 months before departure (NZ considers the UK rabies controlled, not rabies free) and a booster 48 hours before flying. They'll also need to do at least 10 days in quarantine in NZ, depending on if they pass their health check.

You might find your money stretches further if you try a newly created suburb like Hobsonville Point, to the north west? It's a 25 minute ferry to the CBD or 45 minute drive at rush hour. Within easy reach of the northern beaches and has its own farmers' market, etc.

The plan at this stage is that I'd still be around till next Spring and that'll see the eldest with just over a year left at Uni and the youngest with 2 more years...

By keeping the UK house till they finish, they can have somewhere to go for the shorter holidays, and come out to NZ for the long summer break (June - September) giving them a chance to sample life in NZ and consider what they want to do ... I only currently see the eldest for holidays in any case and the youngest is expecting to head off at the end of September and be away for around 8/9 weeks at a time. But if needs be they could fly out for a couple of weeks at Christmas or Easter as well.

It means our capital would be tied up / hence the need to rent for the time being.

DH is looking at a salary more than 3 times average wage so it should be affordable - we would aim to have no mortgage or other finance, and his package will include a fully expensed car. I reckon we can afford to live on just his salary but I'll be looking hopefully at roles that offer a salary in excess of $100k if things work out as well.

Hobsonville Point looks interesting... and certainly affordable once we sell up here. DH'd have a few weeks in a hotel when he first arrives and have the job of looking for a rental ahead of me joining him so he'd have to use his evenings and weekends to explore.

I’m in Auckland. If you are only looking at having one car, I’d highly recommend living near a train line. Public transport here is not great, but the trains are getting better and are much faster than buses.

I’d aim for being in the Auckland City region, rather than further afield. Rents will be higher, but offset by quicker commute times. I value my time more than a cheaper house price! Central west is nice - Mt Albert is on the train line, or you could go a bit further out to Avondale or even New Lynn for lower rents. Meadowbank to the east could be good too. South I’d not look further than Ellerslie. Personally I’d also avoid the north shore as the Harbour Bridge is not great.

Things to consider - petrol is expensive, food is also really expensive compared to the UK and is very seasonal. There are loads of farmers markets around and it’s nice to know fresh produce is local. Just means you can’t get strawberries or sweet corn year round.

If you aren’t on it already, look at trademe to get a steer on areas and costs for rentals.

Thanks for the replies... the offer is now a reality so we're going to be getting started on the visa processes and more detailed planning...

1st step will be getting qualifications assessed which could be interesting as DH's degree dates from 1988 and isn't on the list of exempt qualifications ...

Ah how exciting!

I can’t help with immigration advice, sorry, as we used a spousal visa. More than happy to help with locations or anything else you may need though.

It's exciting but a bit scary... we haven't moved house since 1995! A whole lot of sorting to do as well as paperwork and planning....

Going to be a very busy year....

You might want to look at Trade Me for some idea of rentals. And cars, and all the rest of it. . .

www.trademe.co.nz/

It also has a message board where people may be helpful in terms of answering your questions - plenty of British ex-pats and Aucklanders on there!

OP, what pets do you have? If dog/s, the reality is you may find it will be a struggle to get a decent rental anywhere in Auckland. Not ideal but would leaving the pets in the UK until you sell your property there and can buy in NZ be an option? Or leave them there until you can find a rental that allows pets, that way also you could take more time to find a rental in a "good" area.

Average salary in Auckland is, according to our stats dept, $59,000 so at say DH salary of $180,000 plus your $100,000 you would have a healthy income. Housing in Auckland is expensive; most suburbs average price is $1M and you don't necessarily get anything nice for that price. I know people have rightly said to avoid South Auckland but you could look at Pukekohe, esp if your DH is by the uni so he would be able to train in/out. Puke is a nice spot (it was my stomping ground for 25-odd years and I still get an emotional pang when I hit East Street) and you get way more bang for your buck house-wise out there than closer in to Auckland itself.

Make sure you're able to drive the company vehicle; I'm covered insurance-wise in my DH's car and we have it for full personal use as well.

One possibility for central Auckland would be Waiheke. 40 minute ferry commute each way. You really will need to be making great money, though, and I agree with PP who say you might have trouble finding a rental where you would be allowed a pet. Are you an academic, OP? Sabbatical Homes might be a good getting started option if so.

Oh yes, Waiheke would be fab. I had a look at TradeMe just before and saw a house we had looked at in 2002 and realky liked is for sale again; getting all nostalgic now.

The pets are 2 house cats - they would stay with me in the UK till next Spring so hopefully that will allow time to find somewhere.

No not academics - but his new office would be very near the University.

I'll check about the car - it is something I'd thought of - but ideally a company car would mean we don't need to ship our car from the UK and settle finance / take out finance for a new car on arrival...

We'll leave our 2nd small car behind for the DC to use in the UK.

Money wise it sounds positive - his base is over $200k so if I can work here this year then look for work in 2020 we will be fine...

I'll take a look at the islands but I think DH would find it a bit too quiet...