To filipino nurses in NZ

ANnot4me · Feb 22, 2007

Hi there--

I am not Pinoy. I am an American who lives in Auckland, NZ. We do have many Filipino nurses working here, but they are a minority of minorities. You will probably want to live in Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington as you will find the greatest number of Fillipinos in these areas. NZ is a small country and there are only 4 million of us here. There are about 3 million on the North Island and 1 million on the South Island. The Auckland area has about 1 million people and it is the largest city in NZ. You will find it the most diverse city in the country.

According to the 2001 census, there were 240,000 (1 in 15) people of Asian ethnicity (mostly Chinese and Indian) in the whole country and 2/3 of those live in Auckland and a great percentage of the remaining in Wellington (population around 200,000). There are approximately 12,000 people who identified themselves as Filipino in the 2001 census.

There is a high cost of living here. Taxes will be about 1/3 of your salary and housing is expensive (both to rent and to purchase). A house in Auckland would cost you over 200,000 easy and rent would be at least $100 per week plus phone, electricity and water. Food is also expensive here. Nursing salaries in hospitals are the same nationwide (ie, a nurse in Auckland makes the same as a nurse anywhere else in the country) and are low in comparison with Australia, the UK and the US.

A thousand dollars will last you a month, but expect to pay half of that or more for housing. You'll also have to eat as cheaply as possible. Public transport is not cheap either.

NZ is a beautiful country and it is relatively safe. The economy here is strong.

Hope this helps.... Best to you.

angelNZ · Feb 26, 2007

hi everyone, i'll be off to NZ in a matter of weeks. i'm picking a facility in NZ and i want to know what NZ city is good in terms of pay, cost of living, and community of pinoys (guessing i'll be homesick).
what do you guys recommend?
the pay i'm starting with is NZ$22/hr, is that reasonable? will a thousand bucks last me a month? see i have a competency program to go through (no pay, nothing)
appreciate your input:loveya:

Hi there! Kumusta Ka, Am sure that you are already excited and packed up of coming to NZ.Well...... Hosp salary is higher than your supposed pay.All of Chagat input are true.Community of Pinoys...its everywhere in here.I know that it would not be an easy adjustment for you coz it happen to us as well...Naturally nurses has a very strong coping mechanism,Isn't it PINOYS! Welcome to New Zealand and See you around!:welcome:

czarina · Feb 26, 2007

:thankya: thanks chigap and angelNZ! i'm pretty good.. kamusta ka rin?

rn_888 · Mar 15, 2007

hi czarina, pls let me know the procedure like who fix ur papers?? do u have an agency?? how long is the competency program?? thanks hope to hear from u...