So many questions ?

[Henriette]

Hi Everybody,

My husband and i are planning to come to NZ but we have so many questions and dont know where to start.

Firstly he got a job offer from an employer in NZ and we must start applying for Visas now. What type of visas do we apply for? I want to stay at home with the kids for a month or two and then work, so what type of visa would i have to apply for?

My husband will be working in Seaview, Wellington. Which are would be the best for us to live in? Taking in consideration that he will have to make use of public transport at first. And then also the area that we live in must have schools available that will be suitable for our 5 year old daughter. We also have a 4 month old baby, do you have daymothers or creches that takes babies from that age and also in the area?

I also wanted to know, which airline would be the best to fly, with kids offcourse.

Would you suggest taking some personal belongings with you or selling everything and starting off fresh?

My husband got offered a salary of 55k and a relocation package of 5000k, would that be reasonable?

Thanks for a great forum.
Henriette

[lou76]

Hi Henriette

I'm afraid I cant help you on the majority of your questions, due to not living in Wellington or having children, but I'm sure someone will come along who can :-)

Regarding your salary, have you looked at the cost of living calculator? Have you got any savings? The answers to these questions may impact whether you bring your belongings with you, or buy here. NZ can be pretty expensive for furniture etc and when you have to re-buy everything it can mount up. Personally I brought mine, but it varies.

$55k is not a large salary for a family of 4 in Wellington, so I would recommend you to look at your budget before you make the leap.

Hope this helps!

[Henriette]

Hi Lou76,

Thank you for your reply.

We have some savings to help a bit, but we dont know how far that will carry us.

I havent had some feedback on my post, but hoping that i do get some answers before we take this big step.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Henriette

[wellywearer]

Hi Henriette,

great news on your husband securing a job.
I guess which visa you apply for depends on how long the company will wait, probably not that long so I'd guess a work visa followed by SMC if possible (but I seem to remember there's a salary threshold as well as other criteria). I guess depending on your ages you might have other choices - I know there are more knowledgeable people than me on here about visas so hopefully they'll chip in!

Like Lou76 I agree $55 K for a family of 4 doesn't sound fun, but perhaps others do it without any problems, we're all different
I'm guessing that's before tax? So you'll be seeing less. However, if it's what the market is offering for his salary at his level then you kind of have to start with that. I've been here a year and changed job once which has helped increase my salary so you could consider he's not going to be on the initial salary for ever if he's got job skills which are in demand. But that's a gamble of course.
The 5k relocation sounds good...though it won't go far.

Wellington is a great city and easy to get about where ever you decide to live.
Depending where you live will depend the schools you can consider. I don't have kids, but friends recently did a recce and part of that was checking out the schools - it's interesting how important that visit was to their decision making. I also remember them saying there are lots of primary schools.
Hopefully some parents will be along to answer soon

On your belongings I think it's tricky to say. Personally we brought everything, we still had to buy a few bits and pieces before the container arrived because we had to wait 3 months. Not sure how long you'd had to wait for yours but I guess you need to consider can you "get-by" for a few months with limited items or would it be better to fresh? Without savings that could be tricky and you'll find you have other "start-up costs" to take into account, like your bond on a rental for example.
Good luck in your decision making