Working holiday - Any suggestions?

[Kristoph]

Hi there,

I've got the summer hols coming up, and I cringe at the thought of working at ASDA all summer saving cash...

I've looked at possibly New Zealand, for maybe 2 months of work. I'm a bit unsure on it though, as flights would cost around £1000 - and I'd probably need £500 back up cash too.

Would it really be worth spending the money, or is it wiser to just work at home.

If I stay at home:

Pros
-living costs are practically 0
-wage is £6 an hour / 15 NZ$
-I'll save more money...

Cons
-I'll probably die from boredom.


If I work abroad in maybe NZ/Oz/Canada:

Pros
-I'll hopefully have a great time/experience.
-Meet loadsa other people like me.
-I won't die of boredom

Cons
-Living costs will have to be accounted for..
-Wages vary from £4-£6 an hour ($10-$15) and tend to be jobs like just picking / packing kiwi fruits etc.
-I might not save as much cash as I would do in the UK.


I'm moving out to NZ nxt xmas so NZ would be the first choice of location.

Has anyone else done anything like this before?

 

[ste_bla]

Flights would be £700 unless you go 2 weeks before xmas

Also the exchange rate is very low at the moment

 

[Vixen]

I'ts pretty obvious that if you're earning roughly the same per hour that you won't make anything like as much money if you go abroad. Working holidays are about experience, if you need to save, stay at home.

 

[Kristoph]

Flights would be £700 unless you go 2 weeks before xmas

Also the exchange rate is very low at the moment

Then you have to add taxes and charges...

£710 to NZ from Heathrow.

£252 charges/taxes.

Unless there's some sort of deal around?

 

[ste_bla]

Dad booked one last week for under £700

Currently on AirNZ i can get one for £674 inc tax + fares (8/06 - 27/10 LHR-AKL) plus $12 departure tax other end

http://www.airnz.co.uk/bookings/web...rch-economy-airfares-specials-from-london.htm

 

[Vtec9k]

Do it with a travel company, I've done a winter season working for one it's a decent way of doing it. Although you won't be as free to travel and work around the country.

Free living, crap work, crap pay, lots of drunkenness, lots of snowboarding. One of the best times of my life

 

[Kristoph]

My dates will be Mid June - Mid August...

Bit confusing those deals.


11 Apr - 13 Jun £657* £692*
11 Apr - 30 Jun
16 Aug - 30 Nov £774* £809*
11 Apr - 30 Jun
16 Aug - 30 Nov £938* £973*
11 Apr - 30 Jun
16 Aug - 13 Dec £1,034* £1,069*
11 Apr - 13 Dec
24 Dec - 28 Feb £1,140* £1,175*

The bit in bold is exactly the same, yet two diff prices.

 

[ste_bla]

My dates will be Mid June - Mid August...

Bit confusing those deals.


11 Apr - 13 Jun £657* £692*
11 Apr - 30 Jun
16 Aug - 30 Nov £774* £809*
11 Apr - 30 Jun
16 Aug - 30 Nov £938* £973*
11 Apr - 30 Jun
16 Aug - 13 Dec £1,034* £1,069*
11 Apr - 13 Dec
24 Dec - 28 Feb £1,140* £1,175*

The bit in bold is exactly the same, yet two diff prices.

Edit i dont know!

 

[Kristoph]

Do it with a travel company, I've done a winter season working for one it's a decent way of doing it. Although you won't be as free to travel and work around the country.

Free living, crap work, crap pay, lots of drunkenness, lots of snowboarding. One of the best times of my life

Hey, can ya explain a bit more? Sounds interesting...

I'd love to go somewhere with all year round skiing / snowboarding and work full time / live in poor accomodation..

 

[Kristoph]

Edit i dont know!

I found this..

1 Adult Fare(s)GBP£615.00*

Base Fare(s)*
GBP£242.00 Taxes, levies & surcharges

GBP£857.00 Total Fare(s)*

*Fares exclude applicable surcharges and airport & government costs, which are shown separately on this page.

 

[Vtec9k]

Hey, can ya explain a bit more? Sounds interesting...

I'd love to go somewhere with all year round skiing / snowboarding and work full time / live in poor accomodation..

heh, it's better than it sounds

Apply to any big travel company (I worked for First Choice) they have tons of jobs abroad for general hotel\chalet staff. I was a waiter\cleaner and it involved about 3-4 hours work in the morning to serve breakfast and clean the rooms, out on the slopes by 11am and board till 3 or 4 then back in to serve dinner for a few hours and out to the pub by 9ish.

The pay was awful but free beds, food and season pass (and free travel out there) means you basically just need beer tokens. You get to know all the other seasonaires and local bar/shop owners so it's a great atmosphere.

 

[Kristoph]

heh, it's better than it sounds

Apply to any big travel company (I worked for First Choice) they have tons of jobs abroad for general hotel\chalet staff. I was a waiter\cleaner and it involved about 3-4 hours work in the morning to serve breakfast and clean the rooms, out on the slopes by 11am and board till 3 or 4 then back in to serve dinner for a few hours and out to the pub by 9ish.

The pay was awful but free beds, food and season pass (and free travel out there) means you basically just need beer tokens. You get to know all the other seasonaires and local bar/shop owners so it's a great atmosphere.

Sounds good, but I'm starting to think working abroad won't really help me save much.

 

[Vtec9k]

oh no way, your not going to save or make any cash traveling and working abroad. Do it for fun and the experience.

 

[Kristoph]

oh no way, your not going to save or make any cash traveling and working abroad. Do it for fun and the experience.

Yeah I think I'll have to save the experience for later...

I think I'll probably do something like this when I've moved out to NZ.

Think I'll have to slave away in asda or find a new temp job here in the UK for now.


(my friend who did chalet work just told me she did 45-60 hours a week and got paid around £85 a week... ASDA would pay £270-360 a week for those hours!)