Ireland to New Zealand, good move?
Hi there,
I dropped my first message last October in this forum and here I am again albeit a step closer to New Zealand and getting more concerned about what we could actually achieve by moving there.
I read in an article published in The Press last Friday that New Zealand does not fare very well as far as the real average gross domestic product is concerned (OECD report) and that New Zealanders can not afford to have a lot of savings.
This looks a bit daunting for me and my family (2 adults and 4 children under 6 years of age) who are currenly thinking of moving from Ireland to New Zealand.
My qualifications are now being assessed by NZQA (just to show we are serious about our future move). As soon as NZQA sends back its assessment (good I hope...), I am submitting my EOI and will then try to organize a one week trip to Christchurch for interviews and to get a feel of the place. As a senior software developer, it seems I can get a gross salary of around 60,000$/month but is this enough to support the whole family especially when you do not get any child benefit like here in Ireland and when income taxes are higher than in Ireland? I am really starting to think this would not be a smart move. New Zealand would definitely provide a better outdoor life (we live in the west of Ireland and the weather is really too poor for regular outdoor activities: in Christchurch we would get half the rainfall and twice the sun we get here) but would we be able to afford it? Any Irish out there who took the plunge and who could give us some feedback? Is it possible to live in the country and to commute to Chrischurch in a reasonable delay? In view of the low unemployment rate, I suppose salaries are set to rise?