Is everything more expensive here?

20260622

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

If you haven't worked out the difference between Foodtown and Countdown, then I'm not surprised that you're finding things expensive. It's like sayin "SuperValu/Lidl (whatever it's called now)".

But if your local shop was that cheap, you musht hve been lookng at organic ones in the supermarket.

It used to be called Foodtown, it's recently been rebranded as Countdown, I got a bit confused when writing the post

Would you believe the organic ones were actually cheaper at $6, but I refuse to pay more than $3-$4 for them as I know I can get them in my local fruit & veg shop for that cheap, it just wasn't open that early on my way to work

Matt Simis

20260622 wrote: »

It used to be called Foodtown, it's recently been rebranded as Countdown, I got a bit confused when writing the post

Would you believe the organic ones were actually cheaper at $6, but I refuse to pay more than $3-$4 for them as I know I can get them in my local fruit & veg shop for that cheap, it just wasn't open that early on my way to work

Isnt it a little weird to be using an exotic and unnecessary fruit as an example of cost of living? I wouldnt have a clue on how expensive they are here so $6 might as well be 60. And as a by the way, the fruit and veg shop closed down in my town here, along with the Hotel, half the pubs and shops.. So while they may have sold cheaper groceries, they arent selling anything at all now.

I gather the essentials are more expensive too; what of milk, bread, eggs, bacon, steak, potatoes etc?

20260622

Matt Simis wrote: »

Isnt it a little weird to be using an exotic and unnecessary fruit as an example of cost of living? I wouldnt have a clue on how expensive they are here so $6 might as well be 60. And as a by the way, the fruit and veg shop closed down in my town here, along with the Hotel, half the pubs and shops.. So while they may have sold cheaper groceries, they arent selling anything at all now.

I gather the essentials are more expensive too; what of milk, bread, eggs, bacon, steak, potatoes etc?

As in your first post:
Groceries Prices in New Zealand are 11.79% higher than in Ireland

Groceries in general are pretty expensive. I was just using the avocado as an example as that's what I happened to be buying the other morning and was absolutely flabbergasted by the price. They and pretty much all fruit and veg are hugely expensive/overpriced in the supermarkets here.

sethasaurus

One thing I miss about NZ is the food - much better than Ireland's! One thing I don't miss are the price tags!

My mother lives in the middle of dairy country, yet she would pay about $6-7 dollars for a pound of butter. The dairy company posted a profit of something like $148m one quarter last year, yet so may NZers have trouble putting food on the table. Meat is also insanely expensive, yet take a look at a huge country with massive screeds of land, sheep and cattle and it doesn't make sense.

If you're not getting good produce, then you're shopping in the wrong place. Try a greengrocer instead of the supermarket.
Also, if you drive the right roads you can get some great produce if its in-season.

I was going to send my sister a dozen roses for her birthday but decided against it when I found the Interflora charge came to just over $100! That was a real shock as I'd just bought a very nice dozen red roses for my wife the day before (Tesco) for 6 euro!
I'm not THAT cheap but $100 for a few flowers? .. Something is wrong.

I'm just constantly surprised that the average NZer doesn't realise how much he/she is being ripped-off.
We have a reputation for being hard workers.. now you know why! (survival).

As for this:
"Groceries Prices in New Zealand are 11.79% higher than in Ireland"
I'd say that figure is a little low. I might pay 40euro for 2 bags of groceries from Tesco. When I got the same amount back in NZ in 2009 they slammed me for $95.

BlackEdelweiss

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You cannot compare renting in Bally-small-town-far-away with renting in a city in NZ. (Yes, I'm making assumptions - but a 2br apartment in Galway city costs E800pcm ... so a 3brm for half that must be in the arse-end of nowhere.)

I come from a fairly large town as towns go in ireland and I moved Bally go sh1thole in the arse end of nowhere New Zealand and I am paying $400 A week, my mortgage at home was €800 a month. If you read all the posts I said the €350 was a low price to try to rent our house quickly,€500 would have been an average price.
I don't understand that in a country the size of ireland with only 4 or 5 major population centres that people still call anything outside them the arse end of nowhere. Do any of you people who know how much it costs to rent a house in dublin, cork or Galway actually know how much it costs to rent a house anywhere else in the country?

Calgary22

why did any of ye decide to go to new zealand then? it seems it has low wages and more expensive then Ireland why would anyone wanna live there:o

Cookie_Monster

Calgary22 wrote: »

why did any of ye decide to go to new zealand then? it seems it has low wages and more expensive then Ireland why would anyone wanna live there:o

Lifestyle & weather

Matt Simis

20260622 wrote: »

As in your first post:
Groceries Prices in New Zealand are 11.79% higher than in Ireland

Groceries in general are pretty expensive. I was just using the avocado as an example as that's what I happened to be buying the other morning and was absolutely flabbergasted by the price. They and pretty much all fruit and veg are hugely expensive/overpriced in the supermarkets here.

I get that, just your choice of example wasnt all that relatable..

BlackEdelweiss

Calgary22 wrote: »

why did any of ye decide to go to new zealand then? it seems it has low wages and more expensive then Ireland why would anyone wanna live there:o

I sent 120 cvs around ireland and the uk and could not get a job. I eventually was offered a job in New Zealand. I had no other option than to move my family down here. The wages are much higher, I don't think anybody said anything about low wages here.
Just because you are living somewhere doesn't mean you like paying too much for the privilidge.
I think it is the fact that the basics which are largely produced in nz are so expensive that is so annoying.
It's a grand country, nothing special. I still wouldn't go back to ireland though.

balkieb2002

Calgary22 wrote: »

why did any of ye decide to go to new zealand then? it seems it has low wages and more expensive then Ireland why would anyone wanna live there:o

As someone mentioned above the lifestyle and the weather, with the relaxed lifestyle my choice. I went there a few years ago on a WHV and ended up staying there for nearly 3 years before coming back home to Ireland.

After a couple of months of being home I got a good job which I'm still in today but missed the NZ lifestyle too much so leaving my job and heading back again later this year. The cost of life, lower salary etc there is a fair trade off for me living where I want to.

pclancy

Calgary22 wrote: »

why did any of ye decide to go to new zealand then? it seems it has low wages and more expensive then Ireland why would anyone wanna live there:o

Well money isnt everything to some people, the lifestlye, sports, the great outdoors, meeting new cultures and having experiences we never would at home totally make up for financial rewards.

Plus low wages only apply to certain occupations, you can earn really good money here in some industries and hence live really well so hence you don't hear anyone complaining about the cost of living that is on good money. If you're smart and able to work hard you can get ahead buy buying or starting a business quite easy.

Living in a country that isnt under the oppressive fist of Austerity right now is quite nice.

Promac

Calgary22 wrote: »

why did any of ye decide to go to new zealand then? it seems it has low wages and more expensive then Ireland why would anyone wanna live there:o

It's rained maybe a dozen days since October and in June, the middle of winter, we'll still be enjoying sun and walking around in shorts.

There's also no real hardman underclass here - not really. You can walk down the street without worrying about being safe or getting mugged. It's pretty much a pleasant experience at all times.

I get annoyed sometimes that it's 10 dollars for a chicken breast and god help you if you smoke (20 dollars now!?).

And this is so not Dublin it's not even funny!

Crumble Froo

Oh god. Just about never ever ever ever buy groceries in the supermarkets here.
But I've found there to be easily enough growers' shops around which are often just a fraction of the price, and regularly far more delicious (e.g. apples in cuntdown $3.79, apples at grower's $1.60).

I've been here about 6 years, so it's difficult to begin to compare to Ireland, but I know I definitely missed shops like Lidl, Aldi and Tesco. It was like Pak'n'Save was cheap, like, Dunnes Stores cheap, but was missing the might of those big German and English chains that could majorly cut in.

Still get socks and undies sent from Penny's... just can't bring myself to pay even Warehouse prices for those.

Milk is so expensive because it's almost all sent to Asia. I've worked in that sector and holy ****, the volumes are just something else. Can't remember the figures off my head, but remember not being surprised at the huge percentage that was sent overseas, mostly as milk powder. Apparently Lidl back home is a good place to get NZ lamb.... I'm a vego, so can't really comment.

sethasaurus

Promac wrote: »

And this is so not Dublin it's not even funny!

The barbecues are better too.

NZ BBQ:


Dublin BBQ:


Oh yeah, and keeping it on-topic, the Dublin version is cheaper.. so much cheaper..

sethasaurus

Crumble Froo wrote: »

Milk is so expensive because it's almost all sent to Asia. I've worked in that sector and holy ****, the volumes are just something else. Can't remember the figures off my head, but remember not being surprised at the huge percentage that was sent overseas, mostly as milk powder. Apparently Lidl back home is a good place to get NZ lamb.... I'm a vego, so can't really comment.

That melamine debacle was a big thing for the Chinese. Now they buy our cows, dairy food and even farms to increase production. Quite lucrative for NZ, but the average man on the street doesn't really benefit.
With the sale of more state assets, I can only hope I can make enough dough to buy my own piece before they sell every last little bit.

Palmy

I'm a New Zealander who spent 13 years living in Dublin (trust me I didn't intend to stay that long) from 1998.All my family live back in New Zealand, but I was lucky enough to move to the United States a few years back.
I always get comments from Americans asking why the hell am I living here and not in NZD. To be honest I don't think I could really could afford to move my family back.
From what I hear from my family when they come and visit is the high cost of living in NZ.
For what my father drives in NZD it's around $68,000nzd to buy, when you can get the same spec one here for $26,000usd.
Gas is around $3.60 a gal (3.8ltrs),I go to Publix (like countdown) and buy 12 cans of beer for under $10,Milk is around $2 a gal,I brought Kelvin clein jeans at Macy's for $45 and shoes are like $60 for Nikes.
My rent cost me around $1270 usd a month and that's for a 2bed 2bath apartment in a gated community with tennis court,gym,pool and spa.
Don't get me wrong I love New Zealand and a proud Kiwi,But I don't think I will ever move back.

pclancy

sethasaurus wrote: »

With the sale of more state assets, I can only hope I can make enough dough to buy my own piece before they sell every last little bit.

Vote Green or Labour next election and you won't have to "buy" anything that you already own as a New Zealander.

Electricity costs here are already nearly the highest in the OECD, prices are being held high by these power companies and need to be brought back down to reality. Business pay a fraction of what the average home owner does and this is totally unfair.

Those assets need to be kept for the people and run by a not-for-profit body who can negotiate savings. National are in power to help business, nobody else.

Matt Simis

Palmy wrote: »

For what my father drives in NZD it's around $68,000nzd to buy, when you can get the same spec one here for $26,000usd.
Gas is around $3.60 a gal (3.8ltrs),I go to Publix (like countdown) and buy 12 cans of beer for under $10,Milk is around $2 a gal,I brought Kelvin clein jeans at Macy's for $45 and shoes are like $60 for Nikes.
My rent cost me around $1270 usd a month and that's for a 2bed 2bath apartment in a gated community with tennis court,gym,pool and spa.
Don't get me wrong I love New Zealand and a proud Kiwi,But I don't think I will ever move back.

Well lets be realistic, this thread is comparing Ireland to NZ.. Ireland is not a low cost to live in country making our comparisons less of a "shock" then many immigrants. When I read the UK Expat forums I see them complaining (a lot) about how cheap cars and free the NHS was in the UK, but thankfully that isnt a factor in an IE to NZ comparison.

However comparing the US to NZ in cost of living is pointless, nothing (First World only) compares to the US in its cheapness:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10881413

New Zealand is one of the most expensive developed countries to live in, second only to Australia.

However, there are many idiosyncrasies in our pricing. Pizza Hut pizzas are the cheapest in the world and our CBD office spaces are comparatively inexpensive, but New Zealand's sport shoes, cars and Apple products are among the costliest.

A 3km taxi fare in Wellington is the most expensive in 30 international cities surveyed in a report by Deutsche Bank.

The report, The Random Walk: Mapping the world's prices, has found Australia, New Zealand and Japan are some of the most expensive developed countries. The US was generally the cheapest.

If you want to earn big and live cheap in the First World, US is it.

Mr Eaqub said that meant that to buy the same amount of goods, for example a shopping basket, on a level global scale it would cost USD$135.30 in New Zealand, USD$100 in the US and USD$38.30 in India.

sethasaurus

Matt Simis wrote: »

Well lets be realistic, this thread is comparing Ireland to NZ.. Ireland is not a low cost to live in country making our comparisons less of a "shock" then many immigrants. When I read the UK Expat forums I see them complaining (a lot) about how cheap cars and free the NHS was in the UK, but thankfully that isnt a factor in an IE to NZ comparison.

However comparing the US to NZ in cost of living is pointless, nothing (First World only) compares to the US in its cheapness:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10881413


If you want to earn big and live cheap in the First World, US is it.

We can see the US has it's advantages, although cost of living varies hugely, as does the geography, the people and the politics (e.g. who is going to bother bombing NZ?).

It's not pointless comparing NZ to US. Ask the average NZer who hasn't really travelled and they will say "Oh yep, it's not too bad, really". But seriously, for example, you go and live in Auckland for a year and you'll change your tune (that is, IF you can afford a roof over your head for a start). NZers just don't realise they are being taken advantage of.

I lived in NZ, Canada and now Ireland, and I can tell you, Canada can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be.
NZ is great if you're a capatilist, otherwise, be prepared for a modest life (or become a stoner).
Ireland just doesn't know how lucky they have it. Let's get real - there wasn't a recession here, just return to normality after a mental period.
Besides, your economy isn't going to fail - just take a look at the tourists that swarm the streets of Dublin, for one thing.

I find a lot of stuff here very cheap, especially food (Customer service is terrible though!).
Of course, if you live in Dublin you have to be aware and watch every 50 euro or they evaporate!

EDIT: NZ customer service is poor too (everyone is so laid-back it makes them a bit dopey/lazy or something!). North America wins on that one!

Matt Simis

Hmm, no recession here? Over half the shops, restaurants and hotels in my town are closed down now. The roads are ruined. An absurd amount of my wages are used to prop up "social charges" and other taxes to try pay for our catastrophically failed economy, a good chunk of my family have already emigrated, both partner and I were made redundant (though after a year got another job), the property I let out is frequently vacant as my tenants (various ones for the past 5 years) keep getting laid off or salaries cut without warning. To say there was no recession here "but a return to normality" either:

- is total horse$hit from someone with little grasp with the issues facing the majority in Ireland and/or understanding of what a recession actually is.
- or the "normality" you speak of is a extremely expensive to live in country with limited opportunities and extremely poor social support and infrastructure/services. Near Second world lifestyle with First world costs.. who wants to live in a place like that?

"NZ is great if you're a capatilist, otherwise, be prepared for a modest life (or become a stoner)." - good cos if I wanted Socialism that worked(ish) I would move to a Nordic country or France and work a 30hr week.


PS: The reason I said the comparison to the US was pointless is because they are the established benchmark for this particular comparison, there is no doubt or competition between the US and NZ, its an uninspired matchup.

sethasaurus

...
Woops, I meant to click the 'unfollow' button.

MrCreosote

sethasaurus wrote: »

EDIT: NZ customer service is poor too (everyone is so laid-back it makes them a bit dopey/lazy or something!). North America wins on that one!

The annoying happy-clappy customer service in the US is just a result of their idiotic tipping culture.

Palmy

I have to stand up for the tipping in the States. It takes a little getting used to but it's good for the employee and employer. The employer has lower operating cost and if your good at your job can make really good money. A good example of this is the servers that work around the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Vegas. They can make between $150,000-$200,000 a year. Where else can you earn that money serving people drinks by the pool. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it's possible to make this kind of money.
The down side to this in customer service industries is that the customer is always right and they treat people like ****. They look down at you here if you work in customer service industry or retail and think everyone working this is uneducated and cant get a job doing something else.

spot_light

Palmy wrote: »

I have to stand up for the tipping in the States. It takes a little getting used to but it's good for the employee and employer. The employer has lower operating cost and if your good at your job can make really good money. A good example of this is the servers that work around the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Vegas. They can make between $150,000-$200,000 a year. Where else can you earn that money serving people drinks by the pool. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it's possible to make this kind of money.
The down side to this in customer service industries is that the customer is always right and they treat people like ****. They look down at you here if you work in customer service industry or retail and think everyone working this is uneducated and cant get a job doing something else.

when it comes to customer service , usa and new Zealand are polar opposites , americans are big on complaining , new Zealanders cannot stand any form of complaint no matter what the circumstances

my soup has a fly in it = " stop whinning "2

the brakes don't work on my car + " stop whining "

my supervisor is a sociopath who is making me ill = " stop whining "

fasttalkerchat

The one thing I found cheaper was Pizza Hut. Most foods were ridiculous prices!

Here's Auckland vs. Belfast.
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=New+Zealand&city1=Belfast&city2=Auckland

future mrs mckenna

Hi guys I'm moving to New Zealand in 3 weeks FINALLY with the other half,just wondering with regards buying a car are the kiwis reasonable to haggle with?or are there prices set in stone?any help is much appreciated!

pclancy

Dealers will often not budge much from their showroom prices but in the second hand market yeah for sure you can bargain as much as you want. Lots of good quality Jap imports here that you can get for a couple of grand and find cheap parts for.

shedweller

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Lifestyle & weather

Agreed on the weather but i couldn't afford any lifestyle. I started to become very bitter looking at lots of other people enjoying their lifestyles and got extremely tired of hearing this exchange rate argument. That is to say, if something cost 1000 eur in Ireland then it cost 2000NZD in NZ. But that rule didn't apply to wages.
If i earned 500 eur p/w in Ireland then i earned 500NZD in NZ, therefore lots of things were twice the price!
And more too in some instances. My wife worked in a hospital and her boss baulked at the cost of hoists for lifting people in and out of bed. My wife pointed out that she used to get them for private buyers back in Ireland and instead of costing 8000NZD they cost 1000EUR. That's some exchange rate and it cannot be attributed to shipping! No, it's going into somebodys fat pockets and their Bach up the coast, 200k car, 100k boat, 1m house etc etc.

Don't get me wrong, NZ is a beautiful country with warm friendly people. But my wages and a lot of other peoples wages sucked big time. The huge cost of everyday items just made it unbearable for my wife and i. We simply could not enjoy the simple things like the weather due to being so financially restricted.

BlackEdelweiss

I know how you feel shedweller. The cost of things here is just beyond ridiculous. If they can have these crazy sales on in every shop they must be making enough the rest of the year to cover themselves for what they loose in the sale. I am quite disillusioned with NZ to be honest, I dident have any great expectations before coming here but my experience has been largely negative so far. It is a beautiful country and the weather has been great since I landed in February but apart from that it has been a constant battle just to make it to the next pay cheque. We put our kids into a catholic school as that is just what you do if you leave one in Ireland, we thought why not carry it on here. We just got hit with a $1200 bill for the pleasure, all the other schools in town are basically free. Nobody mentioned this to us when we enrolled them from Ireland. Their uniforms cost us an absolute fortune, luckily we were able to get most of it 2nd hand.We had to get a winter jumper for my son last week, $65 for a plain navy jumper, not even an official one with a crest on it. They have to have school raincoats not just any coat like at home. Total bull**** but the kids are settled now and we dont want to uproot them again.
I saw a roasting tin in Mitre 10 yesterday for $127, it was just a roasting tin!
It annoys me the way some people are really defensive about people expressing negative views about this country as if it has to be all rosey and you should shut up and be happy you are here. I cant be happy if I think people are stealing the hard earned money out of my pocket just to let me survive on the basics.
It is also the most racist place I have ever been in my life. I have yet to hear a single positive comment about the maoiri. I was really looking forward to meeting some maoiri but there is such a divide here it is like two parallel universes happening at the same time on the same street, maoiri on one side and the rest of the world on the other. I understand a lot of the peoples grievances but the level of dislike is shocking. I would hate my kids to grow up in a place that had such a view of another race of people.

CatFromHue

Who did you expect to tell you that other non Catholic schools were free?

Just curious really.