Cost of Living comparisons

[andyainuk]

Check out Mercer at Moscow tops in cost of living; London close behind
Their survey covers ..... "143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world?s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees".

Working through the sums shows that:

Living in Wellington is:

• 57% the cost of Living in London
• 81% the cost of Living in Glasgow
• 82% the cost of Living in Birmingham

Living in Auckland is:

• 59% the cost of Living in London
• 84% the cost of Living in Glasgow
• 85% the cost of Living in Birmingham

The cost of housing is obviously a big factor.

[B-Hall]

That is impressive! I never thought that the difference was so big!
Thanks for that!

[alan&moyra]

The stats are slightly mis leading though, these costs are only for the major cities, we are in Christchurch and I would think the difference would be about 60 - 70 % of glasgow or even less.

In Glasgow we had a nice house and one car, here we will have a nice house with more land and run 2 cars which was never an option in the UK.

If you take dollar for pound then NZ is wayyy cheaper than the UK but bear in mind you cant convert once you are earing $$ a weekly shop here is about $150.00, rent $720, child care $390, petrol $60 (ish) yes if you convert these back in to pounds then it looks aamzingly cheap here but once you are earning $ it gives a better idea of how far it actually goes.

Butttttt in saying all of that we are a lot better off here than in the UK, both financially and lifestyle.

The major cities are always over priced and these stats are generally taken from the median cost of living indexes

[keeweegal]

Originally Posted by alan&moyra

The stats are slightly mis leading though, these costs are only for the major cities, we are in Christchurch and I would think the difference would be about 60 - 70 % of glasgow or even less.

In Glasgow we had a nice house and one car, here we will have a nice house with more land and run 2 cars which was never an option in the UK.

If you take dollar for pound then NZ is wayyy cheaper than the UK but bear in mind you cant convert once you are earing $$ a weekly shop here is about $150.00, rent $720, child care $390, petrol $60 (ish) yes if you convert these back in to pounds then it looks aamzingly cheap here but once you are earning $ it gives a better idea of how far it actually goes.

Butttttt in saying all of that we are a lot better off here than in the UK, both financially and lifestyle.

The major cities are always over priced and these stats are generally taken from the median cost of living indexes

Good post!

[Caz]

Originally Posted by alan&moyra

The stats are slightly mis leading though, these costs are only for the major cities, we are in Christchurch and I would think the difference would be about 60 - 70 % of glasgow or even less.

In Glasgow we had a nice house and one car, here we will have a nice house with more land and run 2 cars which was never an option in the UK.

If you take dollar for pound then NZ is wayyy cheaper than the UK but bear in mind you cant convert once you are earing $$ a weekly shop here is about $150.00, rent $720, child care $390, petrol $60 (ish) yes if you convert these back in to pounds then it looks aamzingly cheap here but once you are earning $ it gives a better idea of how far it actually goes.

Butttttt in saying all of that we are a lot better off here than in the UK, both financially and lifestyle.

Thanks for that info Alan&Moyra. Just what i wanted to hear!

We currently live in Glasgow and are looking to move over next year. We are in a similar situation. We have a house and one car, however we would be stretched to run 2 cars, especially with the petrol costs now.

Also, how do you find Christchurch? We are still looking at areas, but really not sure where to go due to the job situation. Hubby works in IT and it seems hard to get an IT job in certain areas.

Cheers, Caz

[Cliff]

caz

IT is mainly in the big cities (Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton). There isn't much outside of these cities.

If you OH can telecommute then you will have more options outside of the NZ big cities. He may even telecommute back to Scotland and the UK at a better rate.

Cheers

Cliff