Kiwi open for questions

Hey Everybody,
I'm a kiwi (with family) in Taranaki NZ, and I thought if anybody wanted some honest feedback & possible answers etc from a kiwi, go ahead and ask.
I can't give any feedback regarding immigration issues, but if you want some non tourism B.S from a kiwi who knows our country (warts and all) very well, then feel free to ask.

Cheers
Mike Dunn

I am a student nurse and was wondering if you knew what sort of salary a nurse gets over your way? and also what your health service is like in general, do you have to pay for it? Also, what sort of price would you expect to pay for a second hand house, say 3/4 bedrooms and a reasonable garden? I'm asking because we are considering moving over sometime when i've finished my nurse training. What is the job situation like too? And do you kiwis have the same sense of humour as us Brits?
Ta
Sharon

HI Sharon,
I'll get the info for you soon, my wife is an ICU nurse manager.

yes we do have the same sort of humour, we're just as sarcastic as you are. :)

Talk again.
Mike Dunn

Sharon, to answer what I can, until I get info from "er in doors", the public hospital system is free, and private costs.

House prices like anywhere vary widely depending on where in the country.
For instance in Grey lynn/ponsonby area of auckland the prices go from 500,000 NZ$ up. (3/4 bedm villa and small section/garden).
(Everything is detached, we don't live in "semi detached" houses like you guys.)
At the other scale you could get a 3/4 bdm house on 1/4 acre section in gore (bottom of sth island) for $150,000 NZ$.

We live in a sought after community in taranaki (beside new plymouth- Nth Island). Its a west coast black sand beach (where The Last samurai was filmed), and our place is worth around $350,000. 4 bdm/ 2bthroom, double garage. We're about 400 metres from the beach.
Other houses right on our beach have recently sold for around 700,000 - 900,000. This of course is ridiculous, but thats what people are prepared to pay for the ability to walk ont of the door and step onto the beach.

Jobs? Plenty. Unemployment is fairly low. there is a massive shortage of nurses, as there always are everywhere in the world.

Will let you know on rough salaries for nurses soon.

cheers
mike dunn

new grad nurses at the moment start at about $35k plus penal rates for unsociable hours. In the bigger centres this is up to around $38k or so. At the moment there is a countrywide push for nurses' pay to increase considerably, threatening nationwide strikes etc to get what we want. I think the govt has already put finance aside to fund this so salaries should increase. My nurses who have more than 5 years experience can earn around $55k with penal shifts.
hope this helps

I'm also a nurse-in-training (older male)... coming from a school in the US, what hoops can I expect to have to jump through to get registered in NZ?
Is there a relatively equal demand throughout the country? ...or are there specific areas to consider? I realize the closer to the larger cities, the higher the expected wage... and I'm (at least right now) inclined toward living and working on the North Island.
My immigration is still some time off... but I'm the type that prefers to plan everything out in excruciating detail far in advance (my wife considers it a character flaw... :lol: )
Thanks, in advance, for your reply!
Brian

I have a nurse working for me who didnt seem to have any problems. You just contact the nursing council which is in wellington and my belief is that if you have a visa then the registration is nothing but a bit of time. Obviously there is paperwork but my friend didnt have any trouble. The salaries are about to become equal all around the country and therefore it seems sensible not to work in the most expensive areas to live ie the big cities. We have moved from auckland to new plymouth and the costs are a lot less and I dont have to pay to park at work! There are jobs everywhere, more prevelent in the big cities but sometimes the working conditions are harder there too.
Hope this helps, let me know if there is anything else you need.

Hello,

I've heard that not all houses are automatically connected to water / gas...
Is this true? Can someone please advise what to look for in a property with regards to this? Also, is it really warm in NZ that houses do not come with central heating?

Hafi

Hi Hafi,
Completely depends on what area you live in! Some of the more urbanised areas have mains supplies, and as you go further out they dont. Some houses have water from bore holes, some have water from springs/streams etc and some houses have gas from tanks in the garden.

As far as i'm aware, not many homes have central heating, but they do have fires or solid fuel heaters etc. Its quite easy to obtain the plug in radiators if you miss them!

Hi Hafi

As Taffy has said, it depends where you live. Most urban areas are on mains supply, known as town water. This also applies to many of the small towns, but does vary from area to area. We are moving out to NZ next year and the small town we are going to on North Island ( 6,000 residents) does have town water. With regard to sewage, I am not so sure. Again I believe in most towns houses are connected to main sewage systems, although in rural areas cesspits are more general.

Central heating is not widespread in NZ. Most houses have a wood or coal burnet with a wetback ( water heated via a boiler behind the burner). Heat from the burner can be ducted into other rooms, but generally house temperatures are dependant on where you live. New Zealanders tend to wear extra clothing indoors during the winter. My mother lives south of Dunedin and it gets pretty cold in her house in Winter.

You can have central heating installed via radiators as in UK. The only issue here is the heating source. Natural Gas is not available on South Island, as far as I am aware. Here coal can be used to run central heating systems. It works by coal being automatic fed to a boiler via a hopper. Low Pressure bottled gas is also available, with wood burning being a widely used source of heat

On North Island it is of course warmer and there is some natural gas. However do not expect many houses to have central heating, as we know it, already installed. When we were their last year we looked at several new houses and houses under construction and spoke to a couple of building firms. Wood and coal ( solid fule) burners are still the most widely used form of heating.

Well that is the limits of my knowledge exhausted ( based on a great deal of research). I am sure kiwi readers of this website will correct me where I am wrong.

Where exactly are you going to live? I have travelled most of NZ over the years may be able to throw some more light on the area of your choice. Always available to help others and good luck.

Dave