Wellington life; the three minute commute
When we first emigrated to Wellington, the new apartment with a new job were pretty close. Two sets of lifts, two sets of pedestrian traffic lights and six minutes later I’m in the office.
A far cry from the typical 2 hours drive each way, which in some cases took me more than six minutes to walk from one end of the car park into the office. And lets just ignore the 4+ hours it took to get into central London using a car, train, underground & my feet.
Contracting means I’m floating around town a lot now, a different office different months. Right at the moment I’m in an office on Tory St. While we live in an apartment on…
Tory St. 
I’m timed the commute, from leaving my desk, getting into the lift, walking across the road, back into a lift and getting in the apartment door it takes 3 minutes.
Which is kinda nice.
It means I can pop home for a coffee break, some decent lunch or when I’ve forgotten something.
Or when Avalon is about to throw the Laptop out of the window. 
So it’s not far off working from home, I don’t get to wander around in jeans & t-shirt though.
Avalon and Hubby: Making the most of city living!
Employers can look at your immigration status directly???
In theory – I really don’t object too much to employers being able to check your visa status – after all, we would generally have to show them a copy of the visa to prove our eligibility to work for them. But today I read at Visa Bureau that Immigration New Zealand have set up an Online system called Visa View where potential employers can check you out.
Welcome to VisaView
This service allows New Zealand employers to access records held by Immigration New Zealand and to check whether a person who is not a New Zealand citizen is entitled to work in New Zealand.
It will provide a tracking mechanism so that employers can prove they are doing the proper checks – which helps them stay within new (and improved) immigration legislation that will come into force later this year. My only really beef with this is to wonder who INZ can so quickly set up a new online Information Sharing system so easily to employers, and yet cant tell what each of their offices is going yet, or send files electronically between offices yet. The mind boggles.
By the way the penalties for an employer taking on an immigrant that is not entitled to work in New Zealand is oddly enough a fraction of the penalties that can be imposed on an Immigrant for given unlicensed immigration advice.
You don’t say! And agents wonder why I an still so contemptuous of their law?
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Moving back into Wellington.
Filed under: Cost of living, Jobs & Work, Property & General Investing
The one thing you can pretty much be sure of when you emigrate, is that things don’t always go quite to plan.
Hubby’s redundancy has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works, in that he can’t work at home. The contracts he’s on mean he has to be in the office, so it’s getting difficult to maintain a life in the Wairarapa and keep stress levels down. So we have been renting a Studio apartment in town, which he lives in during the week, sometimes with me there as well.
Unfortunately its too small for both of us, so we were stuck with living apart most of the time, and that’s just not exactly the “lifestyle” we were after when we emigrated.
So we have bitten the bullet and rented a full size two bed apartment in the centre of the city. We actually own an apartment in the same block, but its tenanted – and besides – it would actually cost us a lot more to live in our own apartment.
I say full size because New Zealand cities (Particularly Auckland and now Wellington is following) are notorious for “shoe box” apartments. That’s fine if you are renting studios or 1 beds for just a single person, but I saw some brand new 2 bed apartments the other week that were about half the size of ours (and only a bit less in price). It pays to be aware of this if you are renting – don’t rent anything without seeing it first – you will probably get a shock.
So we are going to actually become the kind of “trendy wellingtonians” who live in the city during the week, and descend en masse to the Wairarapa at the weekends. Because I know full well that I cant live in town full time – its too crowded and noisy for me. I intend to make the most of city living – it will be nice to get back to going to the movies regularly for example, but I know I need to be able to get away from it as well.
And to be honest we live in such a stunning place – I just don’t really think giving up the big house in the country with the pool is an option.
So – I may be writing some slightly different blog posts – more stuff about Wellington and less about living in the back of beyond.
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Funnies for Hubby
Both of us are down with the most awful sore throat and colds right now. Hubby is actually a lot worse than me – utterly unable to speak. So heres some humour to cheer him up.
especially as we have less than 2 weeks till we finally get a mediation meeting with IBM, them having refused to do so twice.
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The NZ budget what does it mean for you
Filed under: Cost of living, Economics, General Budgeting, Property & General Investing
Well honestly – pretty good things for anyone thinking of emigrating. Because no matter what else changed income tax rates went down which means you get to keep more of the money you worked your butt off to earn. And whether people agree or not- I personally believe that that should be the case.
So lets the good bit out the way now – what are the new Income Tax Rates:
Now that has to be good news for earners.
As for us personally – well using the calculators shows that if we were just earning the same 152k that hubby earned we would be doing quite well out of the new rates.
On current rates – Hubby earns $12,666 a month before tax and loses $4093 in tax. On the new rates he loses $3423 in tax, leaving us a respectable $670 a month better off.
There are some downsides. For one GST is going up in October from 12.5% to 15%. But while that’s not brilliant news for a lot of people for many people this is a tax that you have some control over paying. If you don’t spend you don’t pay it. So for the people who want a less consumerist lifestyle when they come to NZ, and are prepared to send less than they earn this works out really well.
There’s a bit if a hit for us property investors in that we can no longer claim depreciation on the building we are renting out. So this will reduce our tax losses and therefore our tax refund. However this is likely to be outweighed by the fact that we will have less tax screwed out of us in the first place.
I still firmly believe that we would have to pay a huge amount less in tax if governments in general would stop spending like there’s no tomorrow because they see us as a constant source of ready funds.
All in all though- this budget basically seems to me to be a really good thing for almost everyone. I have always believed that NZ was a great place to come if you wanted to get ahead financially. Most kiwis look askance at such a suggestion because they think the taxes are astronomically high here. I guess when you come from the UK 40% plus 11% NI plus the gob smacking plethora of hidden taxes- it seems like a breeze here. But then kiwis think 6% mortgages are cheap!
Perception really does depend on where you are looking from.
Your downside is still going to be the pathetically low wages, but I’ve discussed several times that you can do something about that.
It’s more complicated for us because of our rentals, but that requires a sit down with some coloured pens, a calculator, our last few years accounts and lots of coffee. Basically – we are saving a whopping $8,036 a year in tax on the new rates. But right at this moment I don’t actually know how much extra we will have to find to keep hold of the rentals with depreciation on the building gone. I don’t think its going to be as much as we are saving but I’ll let you know what I find.
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Welcome to the gold coast.
This is the first day of our ten day trip to Surfers Paradise on the gold coast. You may remember us booking this trip just after Hubby was made redundant? He is here to attend AusCERT – an IT Security conference held here every year that he has so far been unable to attend because his employers do not see the worth in professional development.
I do, and as I am now the General Manager / HR Department / Travel Booking Dept / can-I-please-buy-a-shiny-new-laptop-department – getting flight approval and training funds just got a whole easier. Something along the lines of
Hubby: “How about a week on the gold coast?”
Me: Absa-fragging-loutley-dammit! Where do we book?
So I’m writing this sipping a coffee (with DOUBLE cream in it!) on the balcony of the Holiday inn (21st floor) overlooking the beach and the city lights at night.
Its been a good first day – meeting lots of nice people and finding our bearings. Till about half an hour ago – but that’s a separate blog – I’m sticking with the good stuff right now.
We had our first chance to try the new SmartGate immigration booths at Brisbane airport. You no longer get scanned by a human – if you have a New Zealand or Australian e-passport which can be read by the scanners – you can use the system. Actually quite impressive. The cameras recognised both of us and let us in! Which in my case was quite a surprise because my passport photo is a shocker!
We also got the updated entertainment system on the Air New Zealand flight – so no more 1-choice of movie on the flights to Oz. Blessed relief for me – who despite being up since 3am to get a 6.30 flight is just incapable of sleeping on planes. So I got to watch Julie & Julia and commiserate over the pain of blogging. Brilliant movie by the way. If you are a blogger and reading this – please just go see it – you will be in fits of laughter seeing how we sometimes behave from the outside.
Although we were coming to the gold cost, we flew into Brisbane and took an “express train” to Surfers – because t-it was hugely cheaper than flying direct. A bit more awkward – I have to say the train journey wasn’t inspiring as most of it was though industrial areas, but worth the saving which amounted to about $600.
I’m currently watching a couple of people getting hurled round in a fairground ride just outside the hotel. The screams of terror are entertaining.
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Tax refund number two
Having been told a few weeks ago of a Redundancy Tax Credit (refund to the rest of us), we’ve been waiting patiently for the final redundancy payment from IBM. So we can submit our paperwork to the IRD.
While we were waiting, we also submitted a form covering the redundancy from Unisys. While the IRD guidelines indicated that it should be perfectly fine, we just weren’t sure. After all; that was three years ago, and the tax man isn’t normally forgiving if you forget to do something at the time.
So it was a pleasant surprise when less than two weeks after posting the form, a few hundred dollars just appeared in the bank account overnight from the IRD. Yippeee!!
The efficiency of this was also pretty stunning. No referral to the company, no additional proof of redundancy, nor any re-statement of earnings for that year required. Just a refund, right into the bank account.
So now, with even more stunning efficiency we’ve had the IBM related refund. Again within two weeks of posting the forms, more money has appeared in the bank account overnight.
One of the impressive parts of this, is that the money appears before the official letter saying that the money is on the way. Normally when you get a refund (ha!, what am I saying, apply for a refund), there’s some letter saying that a cheque is in the post (yeah right) and will be with you in ten days. Then you have to phaff around actually getting to a bank to deposit it. Which isn’t a trivial thing when you live a half hour drive from the nearest branch. Then the bank sit on it for a few days while they wait for it to clear; like the IRD isn’t going to have stacks of cash sitting in a bank account.
So, kudos to the IRD. They’ve made this a very straight forward, simple and efficient process. Entirely stress free, which is a nice bonus when you’ve not got a job.
Someone give this guy a job :)
You need a stand-out CV. You know that. It’s just not as easy as it sounds.
Well, heres a Kiwi who has done what Kiwi’s do best and gone so far outside the box that he deserves the job of his dreams.
You can see the whole of the CV here: Joshua Drummond, Hamilton.
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Contracting Vs Employment.
The great thing about redundancy is that you get to look with fresh eyes at your options. This is a big mind set change though, and a lot easier said than done.
While I’ve toyed with the idea of becoming a licensed immigration adviser (!), doing some barrista training, or just bumming on the beach for a few months working to improve my currently non-existent surfing skills, a gainful occupation is called for.
So becoming an MP is out too.
Three years ago when I was out of Unisys, the focus was very much on ‘finding a job’. Salaried employment with a company. We’d started looking at property investment at the time, so were fixed on needing a salary in order to get a mortgage. While having read through the Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad series (highly recommended), I wasn’t convinced starting a company was for me. I’d also never been out of work – apart from a couple of months directly after graduating, and the month moving from the UK to NZ. In the latter case, I had a job to come to. Being ‘out of work’ was an unsettling experience for me.
Avalon was used to being self-employed as a locum pharmacist, and used to setting her own hours, working where and when she wanted. But we always felt that one of had to have a “steady paycheque”.
This time round looking at the wider options, rather than just looking at a job, is different. How you may ask?
Three years ago;
There was the allure of a role at IBM to go to. A bit like returning to a childhood home, somewhere I felt was just right. A company I knew well, believed would not have a glass ceiling to potential achievement, where I’d be working with other ‘top talent’ that I could look up to and learn from. It started out like that, unfortunately with a few key people leaving, it changed a lot.
I didn’t know many people in Wellington. Not many people knew me. Or at least it seemed like that.
Plus there was all the stuff about needing a regular income to get a mortgage etc. and feeling that we needed the “security” of knowing how much was coming in each month.
Now;
We’ve got the companies already set up to handle contracting and consulting work, with some good advice from lawyers about ensuring they were flexible. Although they were set up for property investing, one of our companies is set up specifically for trading activites – including selling the book and contracting work.
With five years NZ experience under my belt, I’m more confident about my skills in the market place. To the point where my UK experience is relegated somewhat on the CV.
The networking helps a lot, feedback from people at this point is that senior managers in companies elsewhere in NZ & Australia have heard of the good work I do, (even though I’ve not necessarily heard of them by name) and want me to come in for an interview. So that’s all good. There are options on the table.
I’ve got it clear in my head that people are going to have a bee in their bonnet about high salaries. And while we’ve joked about doing three days work for the laughable salaries on offer, it was always a bit of a joke. Working part time is an entirely viable option. After all, if I only need to work an average of three days a week at a decent contract rate to maintain my current income level, why would I work five days a week to take home 30% less??? Just to be in a ‘secure’ job, with a ‘good’ company.
Now I should say, I don’t think that a salary of $100k is laughable in itself. Yes I know a number of people who would jump at any job paying that money. However, it’s laughable when you look at the experience, skills & qualifications that companies are asking for. The level of job they are expecting you to do, the amount of work ($$$) they want you to bring in for the company, for which your ‘compensation’ will be a pittance.
You wouldn’t expect any decent brain surgeon to only work for $60k a year. They’re going to have your life in their hands, and you want them highly skilled, with up to date training. To have lots of experience. Not just read a book on the topic, sat an NCEA in anatomy and be pretty handy at sharpening a meat cleaver. If you want that experience, you have to pay for it. Simple really. I may not always like paying money for a plumber, electrician, solicitor, mechanic etc., their skills are just as valuable to them as mine are to me, they’ve invested in training, have experience and fundamentally can do a professional job that I’m not trained to. So I pay. Lots.
Contracting allows me to invest properly in advancing my skills. Now of course, I’m paying for the training, plus travel costs and I don’t earn money while I’m being trained. So you’d think that a big draw back – except it isn’t. While an employer will cover all those costs, and pay you while you’re on the training – that assumes that they understand the need to invest in you, your skills and your career. Which is worth precisely $0 to you if they wont pony up the money.
Contracting allows me to pick and choose a little more what I want to work on, and if I want to work on it. While I had the flexibility originally with IBM, identifying opportunities, working with the client to close them, and then deliver them myself or hand on to a colleague – that was another thing that changed. I’m sure there probably won’t be a constant stream of interesting things to work on when I’m contracting. If I judge things well, keep money aside for any dry work periods, I wont have to accept the first piece of work which comes along when I’ve got nothing on the radar for a couple of months. Which gives me the time to identify something better, discover new clients, or invest in my education a bit more.
Interestingly, while it is the fact that we have come to New Zealand that has screwed up my career from a training and advancement point of view – it is also the fact that we came here that has allowed the huge shift in thinking that means I will now look at freelance work. We have met so many people with what can only be called “entrepreneurial spirit” and a willingness to work outside the box. We know so many more people who are their own bosses, who spend thousands of dollars a year training themselves. It a very odd parallel world sometimes.
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Discussions on LinkedIn
I was recently invited to put forward some blogs to BusinessBlogs and PropertyBlogs, both owned by Marc and Donna who also run the PropertyTalk Forum. As I am a huge fan of PropertyTalk, I was chuffed to bits.
Besides – its always nice to know when someone thinks you are actually worth reading.
Like many Kiwis, Marc and Donna are huge believers and users of social media and networking (and I’m slowly but surely becoming used to it myself – though I still can’t stand Twitter). Marc published my blog about the CV differences and the affect on Hubbies Career, to a LinkedIn group:
New Zealand Business and Professional Network
As a result of that, theres quite and interesting discussion going on about what I said, and one of the posters has formed a sub-discussion about how to try and improve things.
While one or two comments are of the “well if you don’t like it go home” variety, most tend to agree that this is indeed happening, and is a problem we need to solve. I wish I knew how to.
Immigration procedures are something that can be fixed, with enough will and someone in charge who is prepared to make some tough changes. While getting INZ to publish their complaints procedure was in itself a very small change – it was something that got done – and it will make a difference.
Unfortunately – Tall Poppy Syndrome is there because of human nature and personal attitudes, and that’s a lot harder to change.
If you are on LinkedIn, I encourage you to join the group and have a look at the discussion. If you are not on LinkedIn, I encourage you to consider it. I really do feel that willingness to network is one of the things that sets Kiwis apart in a very positive way. It can certainly seem a bit “ott” for us reserved Brits – but it has been hugely beneficial to us since we came here. At the very least – Hubby is getting some interesting options to think about because he takes time to Network.
You can find me on LinkedIn at
http://nz.linkedin.com/in/avalonsguide
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