Hi There,

I know there are several threads similar to mine but as everyone is in different situations i would love to hear your thoughts and advice. My family and I (myself, my husband and our 5 year old daughter) applied for our residency and have recently received our passports back with our visas inside, all ready to go!
Obviously everyone has doubts and second thoughts so we thought by reading every website, book, forum threads we would be re-assured and well prepared. But...the majority of threads seem to be complaints on how expensive everything is and how low the wages are! We were in New Zealand for 4 months in 2008 and we did agree that food prices were slightly higher and clothes were more expensive than the uk but not to the extent that people are making out on the net. I am just trying to figure out if many of these people went to New Zealand not having a clue how much things were going to cost or have prices risen that much? It is obviously a worry. Especially with low wages, My husband is a Civil Engineer and i am a Beauty therapist/make-up artist and i understand that there is a demand for Engineers in Christchurch (where we will be moving) after the earthquake but still worry about getting jobs that will pay substantial wages.
Also, i have read many many reviews on “best places to live” and my husband has made a spreadsheet of where to go and where not to go. We want a good school for our daughter but do not think we could afford somewhere such as Cashmere to live. Can anyone recommend somewhere a little less expensive but with good schools and easy access to the city centre?
We are looking to rent for the first 6 months at least and hope to pay no more than $300 per week, can anyone share any experiences with housing – areas and costs?
I look forward to hearing your views and advice on this, thank you!
JC