good job offer?

[SonyaR]

Hi Mark,

I am a Project Manager (civil) working for Fletcher Contractors in Auckland. Your salary is the norm for construction project managers. The average wage in New Zealand is just $36,000, so you are way above this rather stingy median! I own my own house and can live quite comfortably on this wage.

Before I moved to NZ from Manchester 18months ago, I was lead to believe that NZ was a much cheaper place to live compared to the UK. This may be true if I came from London, but I have realised that most things are similar in price, if not a tad more expensive (compared to the average wage). My partner works as a teacher and is on a lower wage here than what he would be if he were in the UK, so it seems very odd that the cost of living does not quite balance out.

Agreeing with Anthony Long (below), if your job is situated on the North Shore, you most certainly have to live over there! The traffic you would face in the morning to get over the Harbour Bridge would be horrendous! But rest assured, there are some fabulous places to live and great schooling on the North Shore; Devonport, Takapuna and Albany to name but a few. If you are based in and around the city, you will find many nice suburbs to settle. Schooling is quite fierce over here and many people tend to move to the most prosperous school 'zones' which tends to sky rocket house prices too!

You must be quite excited to move out here now? The last 18months for us have been so great, much better than anything we could have imagined. Work is far less stressful that what I was used to in the UK, and at the weekends, we can just pack up our camping gear, and head out and explore every corner of the North Island! Having paradise on your doorstep in all directions is truly the most amazing thing!

Hope everything goes well for you and your family. I am sure you will love it over here.

Regards,

Sonya