After visiting the beautiful city of Wellington I was enchanted by how idyllic a city it was. For a while i was toying with the idea of moving down to NZ after experiencing the paradise that is Wellington. But I want to know what the reality of making a living in NZ is really like. Does the government kill you with taxes? Are deductions nonexistent? Is the cost for car insurance pretty high? What is socialized and what isn't? I know that it's very hard for foreigners to find work in NZ. What's it like to own a house? What are the financial responsibilities of owning a house like i.e.: property taxes, insurance etc...
New Zealand - 1 Answers
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New Zealand is a wonderful place to live. But if you are coming from the Us you will probably find the cost of food and electronics much higher. It was 2 months before I started working over here and the pay is lower than I received in the US. Health insurance is socialized which means you may have to wait a while for an operation if you can wait. You can also get insurance that would speed that process up. Regular doctors visits are 40-80 dollars. Taxes at the highest bracket are 39%, but you are only taxed at the national level. Most people don't file taxes, they are taken from your pay and there isn't deductions for mortgage interest like in the US. The cost of car insurance is relatively less but car registration is more. There is a no fault policy on accidents where the government handles reparations for accident injuries, see ACC for more information. I am married to a kiwi so getting permanent residency was easy but if you have needed skills you can apply as well. Search for immigrate new zealand skilled migrant for more info. We are in the process of buying a house. Interest rates are low here right now but you can only fix your rate for up to 5 years, then you have to negotiate another rate. Property taxes seem to be less at least compared to Maryland and closing costs seem to be covered by the lender. For moving money I used a company call HIFX. For an immigration bank account I used Westpac. I hope this gives you a start to answering your questions.
