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Anyone is Wellington?

post #1 of 9
11/4/09 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there! My husband may be getting a job there in Wellington and I was hoping to get some info and make some contacts before we get there, if it works out. He would be working at Te Aro campus of VUW. I've read somewhere that NZ is kind of crunchy as a whole, but would like to know if there are any parts of city that we might look into moving. We would like to be near a natural food store, unless stores carry a good selection of natural/organic foods. Would like to be near parks or a woodsy area. We have 2.5 year old son and 6 month old son and would like to find a flat or house to rent that would be kid friendly. Doesn't have to be big, but want to be sure we find a place that is a good fit. And, how would we do without a car? Is there good public transportation? So, any advice would be appreciated. Feel free to PM me.
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post #2 of 9
11/5/09 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
Oh, some other questions I thought of.....my husband will be the only one earning any money down there and I'm wondering what an adequate income might be for a family with two young boys. We are not extravagant, but would like to be able to travel around NZ and take advantage of interesting things to do there. Its a little tricky trying to figure out if we can afford to make the move or not. Is housing cheaper if you get outside Wellington a little bit. I wouldn't mind a bit more rural place, but I don't want the commute to be too long for my husband, either. I read something about a train wonder if we might be able to find a place somewhere near Wellington near the train line.

Thanks so much!
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post #3 of 9
11/6/09 at 5:34pm
hey Mama,
my family and I are planning on moving to NZ within the year as well... this board seems pretty quiet, I've found a couple of other resources that might be of help to you:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/
I've loved this forum, super helpful.

http://www.emigratenz.org/cost-of-li...w-zealand.HTML
awesome cost of living calculator

http://www.trademe.co.nz/
their version of ebay/craigslist, you can look here for rental prices

good luck!
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post #4 of 9
11/6/09 at 5:34pm
oh, and here is a cloth diaper (nappy!) forum... might help in finding 'crunchy' things
http://thenappynetwork.org.nz/phpBB2/index.php
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post #5 of 9
11/7/09 at 4:07am
Thread Starter 
Wonderful! Thanks for the links! So, are you planning to move there with your family sight-unseen or have you been there before? We haven't been there yet. It would be a great adventure for sure! A little more worrisome for me with a family to worry about than if it was just hubby and I. Do you know if there are any Reggio-inspired schools around? We have been considering homeschooling no matter where we go unless we can find some really incredible schools. also, are you planning to work outside the home? My husband was told most families have both parents earning money in order to make ends meet. I'm not thrilled about that, but I guess it all depends on your spending habits.

Thanks again!
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post #6 of 9
11/11/09 at 4:16am
You're welcome

DH has been to NZ, I haven't... I've seen Lord of the Rings, though, does that count?

Not sure on the schools.

I am planning on staying at home, my youngest is 11 months old. From what I gather, yes, it is a lifestyle shift for a lot of the UK and US people I've heard from on the ENZ forum as cost of living is high in comparison to wages, but I think it can be done on one salary if you live/spend mindfully.

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post #7 of 9
11/27/09 at 5:07am
Hi SariRae,

I live in Wellington, NZ. I'm a kiwi, so can give you a pretty good idea of the cost of living in Wellington (which is in NZ dollars)

For 2 adults and 2 children, living in the central suburbs, you would need about $800 to $900 a week to live on. Rent is the biggest expense, as a three bedroom house in a suburb live Karori is about $350 a week. Food is also a big expense, and helps if you are a veg*n, as the cost of meat is high (due to most of it being exported overseas). We only buy organic, and it costs for 2 adults and one 11 month old child about $100 a week, but then it helps that we are vegans. Power is also another big expense, especially over winter if the place you are renting has minimal insulation and no heat pump. Over summer, our power bills are about $100 a month. Over winter, our highest was $450.

For phone and internet, go through TelstraClear. They have cable network for internet and pay tv. We pay $150 a month for digital TV, phone line, and cable broadband internet (which is 10MBps speed with a data allowance of 20GB a month).

For the trains, they have been a bit unreliable over the past couple of years. The bus is more reliable.

In terms of schools, there are no Reggio-style schools that I am aware of in Wellington. There is a couple of Rudolf Steiner schools in Wellington, with the main one is Lower Hutt (Raphael House) and a kindergarten in Thorndon. There are also a couple of Montessori schools in Wellington, but that go up to the age of 12.

Wellington is quite a liberal city, with all elected MPs in Wellington City from left-wing parties. There is a strong Green Party presence and support in place in Wellington (with the National HQ of the Green Party in Wellington). There are a couple of organic shops and a CSA also operating the Wellington region. Te Aro is quite a 'crunchy' suburb of Wellington. The city council has fantastic services for residents, with the library quite a popular place for families.

If you need any further info, just PM me
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post #8 of 9
12/1/09 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the info. Just found out we will be moving to England instead. Hopefully I will get down to visit beautiful NZ sometime in my life!

Cheers!
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post #9 of 9
7/29/11 at 9:52pm

Thanks for the info about lovable New Zealand.

car alarm

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