Wellington with 22k/year

[Xay]

Thank you nick_nav, chapwithatui. I will take that in mind and I will try to discover whether the tuition fees are included in the scholarship or not.

[bogdabo]

Thank you guys for the reply.

I don't want to get into how underfunded and overworked are PhD "students" (which are actually researchers, some of them teach classes even) all over the world, and that the whole idea of working your ass off for 4-5 years on minimum wage and then struggling to find a post doc or a job in the industry is a bit insane. That's a whole different story.

We just wanted to know if any of you can tell what is REALLY like living on around 20k a year.

[nick_nav]

Living on 20K (Tax free) a year is slightly better than an average NZ student life. In Hamilton rents are like 170/week for a decent home with kitchen, pvt toilet, bed room and living room. Have a look at trademe what sort of apartment you would need and check the prices. wellington is an art city and there are much more to do than in Hamilton. food is like 500 a week for two people. Saturday hangouts movie, bar and eatout like 80 per week. In a nutshell enough to support a girlfriend but not a wife..:P

[newarrival]

Living on 20K (Tax free) a year is slightly better than an average NZ student life. In Hamilton rents are like 170/week for a decent home with kitchen, pvt toilet, bed room and living room. Have a look at trademe what sort of apartment you would need and check the prices. wellington is an art city and there are much more to do than in Hamilton. food is like 500 a week for two people. Saturday hangouts movie, bar and eatout like 80 per week. In a nutshell enough to support a girlfriend but not a wife..:P

Food is $500 for two people? Really.., as a student? I don't spend that for two of us, non- students.., seems pretty high to me. If you have expectations like that, the scholarship won't get you very far, that's for sure.

[nick_nav]

Sorry . 100 per week. not 500. my bad.

[bogdabo]

Sorry . 100 per week. not 500. my bad.

Is it 100 pw for 2? Cause that's pretty cheap compared to what I've read, IMO

[nick_nav]

Yes. we shop at pack and save and asian supermarkets. except for the meat, countdown or New World is recommended.

[Xay]

I got this answer on another thread and I thought I should share it here too...

Hi Xay;

Just as a word of warning, a $21k/year scholarship is NOT sufficient for NZ Immigration to award you a student visa. My first application for a student visa was denied (in jan 2016) because they said the $21k/year scholarship was not enough for "accomodation and maitenence". I had to supply additional proof of income.

But condition of the student visa means you are able to work anywhere, which is good. Pretty much EVERY other phd student here also works (I have a part time job as well), either teaching/proctoring/RA or other jobs through the school, or in their skill (music teacher, english teacher, etc).

21k/year is not enough to live alone. It is sufficient to live in a shared flat is you are frugal with food/phone, and bike instead of drive, etc. Getting a part time job on top of that means you can maybe own a car too or go away for a weekend sometimes, or save a litt.

I hope that helps!

[bogdabo]

Hey Xay,

Thank you for this.

When I was filling in my visa application there was a part where I had to provide proof of income, etc... I was not sure what to do, so I asked the Graduate Studies office and they advise to just attach a copy of the Offer of Place from the Uni.

It's a bit strange they can reject you, even if you have a place offered by a university.

I'd love your thoughts on this.

Thanks.

[Xay]

Maybe I should leave the link to my original thread, as I got a few more very useful answers there...

http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....618#post548618