Cost of living comparisons U.S.NZ

On 12 Jul 2005 14:42:10 -0700, "debholland"

If you are buying a house outright then I fail to see why it was suggested you need 100K pa to 'exist comfortably' UNLESS that is, you have some high flying life style!.

From a previous posting you made, are you still taking your car? My advice - leave it in the US. In NZ, you drive on the opposite side of the road; left hand drive is extremely dangerous as most roads including the 'highways' are two lanes - one going each way.

My ex took his to NZ when he was stationed there and quickly parked it up and bought a local car.

Plus, any import needs approval from the authorities IIRC before it arrives in NZ PLUS it most likely will need the seatbelts replaced to those that have pbutted NZ standards AS WELL AS the headlight beams changed. All this **has** to be done before the car will be given a Warrant of Fitness and allowed to drive on the road. Much tougher than the TX inspection!

DVD players - you can buy multichip ones in NZ that will play the various region discs. VCR - TV - the US uses NTSC, NZ uses PAL. Won't work. YOu can buy vcr's that will allow the switch if you want to play a US tape.

Computers - check they have a dual voltage switch most have. I've used mine in both the US & NZ with no problems. Monitor - check to see if yours has a universal label. In both instances, you will need new power cords as the wall plug is different to the US plug. Readily available and not expensive.

Check your printer's manual to see if there is a part # for a NZ style power cord. I took a HP to NZ which had the part # listed, however the cost of the cord was NZ$129 plus shipping. May be worth while to consider just buying a new one in NZ - and getting a warranty that beats the hell out of any US warranty.

My sewing machine had a part # listed for the power cord.

Re your dogs. If you are still relocating to the South Island, there is a quarantine facility in Christchurch. There are direct flights between Los Angeles and Christchurch Air New Zealand. There is no need if you locate in the South Island, to drive to Auckland to pick up your dogs if your dogs are quarantined there. If the facility cannot ship them via Air NZ for you, then I'd check out another facility. It's only a 1 hr 20 min flight between the two cities. My dog had to be at the airport one hour prior to flight departure - certainly not a traumatic experience.

You CAN ship hiking boots, duvets, etc etc etc. BUT things like the boots, camping equipement, planters etc need to be very clean and need to be declared. It will be up to MAF to decide what they want to fumigate. Duvets, and anything containing feathers, bark, wood etc - these will need to be fumigated by MAF.

Warning: if you are taking christmas etc decorations, remove ALL pine cones BEFORE you pack in the US. These will need to undergo a specialised fumigation in NZ which is expensive.

If you have any queries, email MAF directly. No question no matter how silly it may seem, is a bother to them. What we did was email MAF on several occasions and put anything they wanted to check in boxes marked "FOR MAF INSPECTION LOAD LAST"

This included loads of things like American Indian pieces, kachinas, coyote medicine wheels, halloween decs w-straw etc. Where we could, we put things in plastic bags. When fumigated, they just leave in the bags.

Planters - wash well and use a 10% solution of clorox suggestion you use stronger. Buy new and declare - even if you have to pay duty on them it will be cheaper than buying retail in NZ... believe me!

Antiques - yes, you need to document these and provide receipts. Please be aware of items covered by CITIES which need different documentation as well.

I took a new tent and declared it along with a new Charbroil gas bbq. YOu can ship the latter but your shipper will need to inspect the bottle -there is a valve they need to have open. I made a full customs declaration of the items but was not charged any duty.

I bought up large on winter basics clothing in the sales before going down which I didn't regret. Ditto for basic linens, towels etc.

YOu need to make a comprenhensive list of everything that is going for insurance purposes otherwise any claim will be pro-rated.

If you are going to rent initially, be aware that the majority of rentals do not include washer, drier or fridge-freezer - you will need to buy your own. Word of warning, a fridge that may fit one place won't necessarily fit another!

Most homes are NOT centrally heated! You can buy freestanding LPG heaters which use the same size bottle as a gas bbq. I also bought oil filled freestanding fin heaters. I used the latter when I needed to go out in winter due to the ever present earthquake risk. Note: the stores do have charts in NZ for what size oil filled fin heaters & room sizes unlike here where there seems to be just one size to fit all - which are not big enough to efficiently heat larger rooms!

If you are taking a load of valuable china-ceramics etc, suggest you buy some museum putty to anchor them.

Let me get back later today with a bunch of urls for you.

Cath