Everything you need to know about moving to NZ

The cost of living naturally encompasses the costs of hundreds of goods and services, from petrol to housing. We wanted to do a price comparison to give you some understanding of the cost of living in New Zealand, so we chose to look at groceries.

We took a fairly average trolley of $200 of groceries at Woolworths (www.woolworths.co.nz) in New Zealand, and compared it to the same trolley load at Tescos Online – which cost ₤89. This would be a fairly average week’s shopping for Jeremy's family of two adults and three young children.

So what was in the trolleys?

Fruit: 1kg apples, 1kg oranges, 1kg bananas

Vegetables: 1 head broccoli, 1kg carrots, 5kg potatoes, 1 lettuce, 1 bunch spring onions, 500g tomatoes, 1 cucumber

Deli: 250g bacon, 350g ham

Meat and Fish: 500g lean mince, 750g lamb chops, 10 sausages, 800g salmon fillets, large whole chicken

Dairy: 4 X 2litres of milk, 500g butter, 500g spreadable butter, small brie, 500g edam cheese, 6 small yoghurts, 12 large free range eggs, 1 litre orange juice

Biscuits Crisps and Sweets: 150g bag crisps, 1 pack plain and 1 pack chocolate biscuits, family bar of chocolate

Tins, Packets and Jars: 500g spaghetti, 1 bottle tomato sauce, 1 jar marmalade and 1 jar jam, 1 tin baked beans

Frozen: 500g baby peas, 1kg frozen chips, 2 litre tub of ice cream

Misc: One bottle white wine.

The cost of the above basket will of course be subject to seasonal variations, especially in New Zealand where fruit, vegetable and meat prices definitely reflect what is in season. And there is of course the issue of quality – which is pretty much the same if not better in NZ, although we choose to go to speciality shops for our vegetables, bread, fish and some of our meat, as they are local, fantastic quality and cheaper than the supermarket.

But the main point really is that the cost of living in New Zealand is not especially cheap – some things will cost you more and some less than you are used to paying in the UK, and some things will work out about the same. In terms of quality of life for our families though, New Zealand wins hands down!