Compared to the US and most countries in Europe, NZ has a high rank in life expectancy, lack of corruption, public education, businesses, quality of life, freedom and human development.
1 NZD is $0.74 in the US. The cost of living is higher in NZ, because NZ is farther and less accessible. Since I will be a full-time student in NZ, I will only focus on the categories that rank from the most important to the least important to me. My purpose is to calculate how much money it will take to support myself in NZ for five months. It’s no doubt that it will be more than $1000 USD ($1239 NZD).
Restaurants
Of course, food is my #1 category, because the last thing I want to do is starve. Restaurant expenses are much higher in NZ. Inexpensive restaurants normally cost $10 USD, while it is $12.39 NZD. A combo meal at McD’s or similar restaurants are $6 USD and $8.09 NZD.
Since I’ll be 21, I might try their domestic beer as I did in Iceland. I HATE BEER, but what are the chances of me drinking NZ beer in the future? Domestic beer costs $5.66 NZD ($3 USD).
Water: $2.18 NZD ($1.25 USD)
Cappuccino (regular): $3.56 NZD ($3.50 USD)
Grocery
I am a believer in grocery, because it is much cheaper than eating out in my opinion. The best part is that I will have access to a full kitchen in NZ, which I do not have at my home university. To make things less boring and broad, I will just list the grocery items that are valuable to me.
Milk: $1.94 NZD ($1.00 USD)
Rice (1 kg): $2.02 NZD ($2.19 USD)
Oranges (1 kg): $2.43 NZD ($3.31 USD)
Chicken breasts (boneless or skinless, 1 kg): $12.13 NZD ($7.00 USD)
Transportation
Transportation in NZ includes taxis, trains, ferries, and airport flyers. I have several bad financial experiences with taxis, so that won’t even be an option for me. I heard that the transit system in NZ is really nice. It is mainly because NZ is an easy place to navigate and provided at a reasonable price! I’m honestly thinking about renting a car for a day or two. I refuse to live in NZ without experiencing driving on the left side of the road! Gas in NZ is $0.99 USD ($1.74 NZD per liter). 1 gal=4 L, which would make it $4 USD ($7 NZD). YIKES.
Metlink is the Greater Wellington public bus transit.
Ferry (round-trip for students): $19 NZD
It costs $70 NZD to travel from Wellington to Auckland by bus. It is essential for me to travel to Auckland, since that is where Green Star NZ is location. I considered renting a car, and I included gas prices as well. I compared traveling by bus, reaching as far as I can to Auckland and then taking a cab the rest of the way. I also considered flying from Wellington’s airport, and the flight from Wellington to Auckland costs $126.54 NZD ($171 USD).
Rental car (daily): $39 NZD (28.86 USD)
Gas: $208 USD
Resources
Aotearoa 