I recently received an offer to work as a software developer in New Zealand. The company have some offices around the country but I think I'll be assigned to their Auckland office if I sign up. I'm just not sure if I should agree to it, or I should try negotiating. I'd also like to understand how much it would take for me to live comfortably there.
First let's talk about the offer. I've been working as a Java developer for around 8 years now. I think my resume isn't mind blowing but my potential employers seemed impressed with me during my interview with them. However, they're offering me just NZD67,000, which I think is below the average rate for intermediate developers in there. I'm quite a frugal person (I think) and somehow I feel like the offer is pretty fair if I really want to move to NZ, however, for the sake of future prospects, I'm considering negotiating for a rate that's within the average, which I think is around NZD73,000-75,000. I hope you can give me some advice on this.
Another thing is the cost of living. I've known for a while that it's quite expensive living around that part of the southern hemisphere, but I'm not sure exactly how expensive it can be. The thing I'm most concerned about right now is housing. I'm an introvert who doesn't really like to share space as much as possible so I'm thinking about getting a 1 bedroom unit. However, based on my initial Web searches, it will cost me around NZD1,400 a month. My net income would be only around NZD3,700 a month if I accepted the offer as it is, which means I'd only have NZD2,300 for other expenses (and savings). How far will that get me? The company told me they can arrange a space for me for around NZD1,080 a month, which I think already includes utilities, so that's the more practical choice of course, but I will have to share with other people.
I hope you can enlighten me on these matters. Thanks.