It's clear we are worse off here. I'm morgage free and we struggle in NZ. That plus the general poor living conditions means that we do not want our 3 year old to grow up here. I love NZ and have visited 9 times over 20 yrs before moving here 1 yr ago. It still shocks me how poor many of my Kiwi friends are,and they are educated professionals. I hate to leave ,but we will ,in around 1 more year . I have to finish doing up the shed first. Generally Kiwis have no idea how poor they are and still seem to think you can buy here for a dollar what you can buy for a pound in the uk. I try to explain and they do not get it.  

Hi I have been here 7 years & prior to that lived in Spain 1 year UK 1 very long year & Australia 32 years.
However I have just returned from a holiday in Dubai & Cyprus & find cost of living has gone up everywhere because of the ever rising price of fuel.
Just this week the ran a program on tv here in Auckland comparing the cost of food in Auckland & Christchurch it was very revealing how so many prices doffered. However i think the answer is to shop around & buy fruit & veg away from the Big Supermarkets with their hefty mark ups.

I bought a cauli for $1 from my chinese fruiterer & New world was selling same for $4.95 !!!!  

Speaking from the point of view of a double-income-no-kids - so can anyone post some comparative prices? Litre of petrol? Loaf of sliced bread? Pair of cotton socks for men? Brand-new Nissan Micra (basic no-frills model)?

I know wages are lower in NZ, but tax is almost certainly also lower (difficult to calculate the overall tax burden in either country).
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shorter of breath, and one day closer to death ...