Moving to Auckland; seeking advice for Budget + Temporary Accomodation + Used Car for family of 3

[farfaraway]

Dear everyone

We are moving from Singapore to Auckland with residence visa ( SMC).

We will be based in Auckland since my wife need to complete her Nursing CAP program for two months at Mount Eden Road( close to New Market).
This course costs around $8000 NZ dollars, after which she will be able to work as a Nurse.

I am in IT ( web developer ), I will start job search once I am in Auckland ( as only face to face interviews work in NZ).

We have a 3 year old daughter, and would like to enroll her for Early Childhood Education.

We are thinking of an economic temporary accommodation initially for 2 to 3 months.
Do you have any suggestions for temporary accommodation? We are fine to travel as we will buy a car.
I am considering using Airbnb for this.

After landing in Auckland, we plan to buy an old car within a day or two. That might cost around max $3000 NZD. Car is for dropping wife at CAP study center, and my job search, and dropping daughter at school etc etc. Please share your experience in this, will be helpful for me.

Assuming that we both get a job after 4 months of landing, how much $$ NZD should I carry before traveling to Auckland?

I Appreciate you valuable suggestions, experiences and responses.

Thank you.

[Andy8713]

well, it depends but for an average family of 3,4 i guess you are looking at around NZD $800-1000 weekly spending expenditure

Expenditure type NZ$ per cent
Food 192.50 17.3
Alcoholic beverages, tobacco etc. 29.50 2.7
Clothing and footwear 31.60 2.8
Housing and household utilities 272.90 24.6
Household contents and services 48.80 4.48
Health 27.10 2.4
Transport 158.30 14.2
Communication 35.80 3.2
Recreation and culture 107.20 9.6
Education 18.40 1.7
Miscellaneous goods and services 101.70 9.2
Other expenditure 116.30 10.5
Sales, trade-ins, and refunds -28.80 -2.6
Total net expenditure 1,111.40 100

And there is no guarantee that you will be able to land a job in 4 months, so I guess you should be prepared to have around $4000*6=$24,000 in your saving account.
You can only bring in max $10k when you enter NZ so for both of you(you and your wife) can carry $20k

I guess the most expensive part is rent, for a 2 brs house/apartment you will be looking at ~$400 per week on average

Hope that helps

[Andy8713]

If i were you, i will come to NZ first, get a job, settle down, find a house and then your wife and kid can come after that.
I know it is hard to be separated with your family for a couple of months.
But It is a safe option

[Jerry Maguire]

If i were you, i will come to NZ first, get a job, settle down, find a house and then your wife and kid can come after that.
I know it is hard to be separated with your family for a couple of months.
But It is a safe option

I concur.

[pooh]

You can only bring in max $10k when you enter NZ so for both of you(you and your wife) can carry $20k

I doubt if this is correct. I bought more than $10k per person, the only thing you need to do is declare that you are carrying more than $10k in the arrival card and you have to fill a couple of forms at the NZ customs.

[girlwithanewf]

Money-wise I would just leave it in the bank in the country you are moving from and get it transferred to the NZ bank. Much safer than carrying cash.

[pooh]

I exchanged to a NZD bank draft from my home country and got it cleared here in ASB, it took 3 business days with 0 charges.

[farfaraway]

Thank you everyone for the clear replies.

Is it OK if I open ANZ or Westpac bank account and transfer more than 10K and then activate the account after reaching NZ?

[bulu]

It is so easy to open an account in NZ while offshore and transfer the funds over. I remember carrying very little cash (ie. NZD300) on my first landing. Just enough for basics before I get to the bank.

[farfaraway]

Thanks bulu. Helps a lot.