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Thread: Income and Housing (OZ vs NZ)

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Default Income and Housing (OZ vs NZ)

    Today's NZ herald showed the following comparison of average weekly full-time earnings : AP=all people M=males F=females
    OZ - $1059.70 (AP), $1136.70 (M), $906.30 (F)
    NZ - $801.89 (AP), $895.71 (M), $696.96 (F)

    Here are the information on tax rates and house prices in OZ and NZ :

    OZ tax rate
    http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/co...tent/12333.htm

    NZ tax rate
    http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-in...etaxrates.html

    Some of the house prices in OZ
    http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/...834709151.html
    http://seven.com.au/todaytonight/story/?id=19813

    From today's NZ herald, the house prices in Auckland
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?...ectID=10342678
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?...ectID=10342660

    My thoughts................

    I brought up this topic because a few days ago, there is an Aussie MP who mentioned that OZ labour rates are very high and he would like to see it lower to NZ rates.

    I felt that NZ labour rates are too low. I would prefer NZ labour rate move up and OZ labour rate move down, so that both side meet in the middle.

    Having said that, there is still the issue of affordability. This year, Mercer HR Consulting ranked the most expensive cities to live in Australiasia : Sydney is no.20, Auckland is no.69 and Wellington is no.76.

    Utimately, comparision across the tasman is always challenging. I think the decision to live either in OZ or NZ depends very much on the lifestyle that you want.


  2. #2
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    Mar 2005
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    Default

    After 3 years in Nz we are moving to OZ and you are absolutely right in saying it is a lifestyle choice not a monetary decision. Oz offers us:
    Better weather
    Better employment prospects
    Fantastic and diverse scenary
    Better prospects / opportunitiesfor our kids whilst they are babies and right through to adulthood
    Better consumer choice
    A feeling that you are more 'part of the world"

    For us NZ is very much a poor second to it's neighbour in terms of lifestyle.

  3. #3
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    May 2005
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    Hamilton NZ
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    Wink

    I take it you now have a NZ passport?

    I think NZ has great places.

    Having been to Australia also I would rather stay on NZ.

    We both have good jobs and our children are grown up so we do not have to consider them.

  4. #4
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    Sep 2004
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    Default

    If you are in NZ have a read of this weeks Listener, interesting.

  5. #5
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gran
    If you are in NZ have a read of this weeks Listener, interesting.
    Today, I bought a copy of the magazine mentioned by Gran.

    It has a front cover that said : IS AUSTRALIA STUFFED? WHY YOU'D BE MAD TO MOVE TO THE UNLUCKY COUNTRY.

    The article is written by Tim Watkin and he starts the cover story with this introduction.................

    For three decades, thousands of Kiwis have been lured across the Tasman by the promise of more lucre and a better lifestyle. But now the Lucky Country is losing its appeal, as terrorist threats loom large and the cost of living eats up the benefits of higher wages. Increasingly, New Zealand is looking like a greener, safer and happier place to live.

    The magazine has a photo caption that say : Australia, land of contrasts, where "extreme weather and less water are the big issues".

    The 6-page article carry stories about kiwis living in OZ and Aussies living in NZ. The one story that strikes me the most, is about a kiwi lady in OZ............

    Emma Hunt, a 25-year-old Wellington fund analyst lived in Redfern, Sydney, for nearly two years and was shocked by the racism - white Australians being either blatantly insulting or just dismissing Aborigines. Managing a cafe in Darlinghurst, she saw just how different Australians were. "Someone got stabbed outside my work in the middle of the day. The Sydneysiders' reaction was so different. The place was half full and only one table helped. The others just stayed where they were. New Zealanders' reaction is that everyone wants to help. Everyone gets stuck in."

    Sure, Sydney offers more opportunity, but also more stress and competition, she adds. "You can have a good job here (NZ) and have a good life, whereas over there (OZ) you have a good job but no life."

    The article ended with.........................

    Emma Hunt's impression is backed up by research from a recent book, How Australia Compares, which shows that even with four weeks' annual leave Australians work on average 1855 hours a year. New Zealanders average 1817 hours a year.

    Which could be why we're also happier. As New Zealander John McMillan, a Stanford University economics professor, pointed out in June, Kiwis ranked 8th happiest in the world on the Happiness and Human Development Index. Australians were 11th. In the same survey, Kiwis (17th) also said they were more satisfied with their job than Australians were (26th). Given their wealth, McMillan concluded that Australians were simply "whingers".

    Which again prompts the question - do we really want to be more like Australia? What would happen to our "she'll be right" attitude? And we haven't even mentioned Aussie's poisonous snakes and spiders.........Still, no one's claiming that our neighbours aren't good mates. But neither do we have to feel second-rate. We stand on our own feet, side by side. As one Aucklander said to me last week, Australia's like the South Island. Not a place to live, but it's great to know they're there.


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    New Zealand&Romania
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    ...that's relly funny. Yeah I meet many Kiwis absolutely convinced that they live in Paradise... the TV programs are showing wars, civil unrest or poverty this is the picture many of them have about "the rest of the world"...no comment on that.
    ...Also ...the suicidal rate in NZ among the young people is one of the highest in the world...perhaps too much "hapyness".

  7. #7
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Singel
    Utimately, comparision across the tasman is always challenging. I think the decision to live either in OZ or NZ depends very much on the lifestyle that you want.

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