We're from New Zealand, what's the average living cost in Bristol, UK?

Beware of miserable generalisations from disgruntled moaners. Whilst it is true that there are places where you don't want to go out alone at night, and some things (e.g. petrol, diesel, electricity and gas) are expensive, England is not a terribly crime-ridden country (like everywhere, some places are worse than others) and the costs of living are definitely not the same everywhere. Boot up Google Maps and make good use of Street View for Bristol districts and the surrounding suburbs, towns and villages. There is a web site called www.upmystreet.com which gives you the typical dynamics for places in England. On this site you can drill down into various districts in and around Bristol to get the information that you need. You can look at the: housing costs and types - flats, houses, buying renting etc.; crime figures (compare them between areas and national); demographics (type and age of the local population) and their socio-economic group (class); local facilities (hospitals, public transport, railway stations etc); schools, industry types, etc. Your girlfriend will want to be a fairly affluent area of Bristol because her occupation is rather a luxury. She won't get much dog grooming work in the 'lower ends'. There are loads of office-based employers in the city as well as the manufacturing industries around the edges. Most of this is high-technology (aerospace and computer type stuff). I suggest that you look first in the areas - Clifton, Sea Mills, Westbury on Trym, Horfield, Filton, Coombe Dingle, Sneed Park. Avoid: Shirehampton, Henbury, Southmead, Easton, Brislington, St Werburgs, anywhere around City Road or Lawrence Hill. There are other districts but you must read about them and make up your own minds. Look also at surrounding villages which you may find are cheaper to rent in and will be more suited to "middle class" occupations (dog grooming). I suggest you start with Nailsea, Clevedon, Portishead, Almondsbury, Aust, Shipham. Some of these even have a railway station with a good service to the city centre. Eating, drinking and entertainment abound in Bristol. The culture ranges from some of the best theatre in the country down to street buskers. The venues host symphony orchestras to heavy metal concerts. Look up www.colstonhall.org and o2academybristol.co.uk Wetherspoons (www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk) are just one of a number of pub/restaurant chains than will serve you a meal for about £7-£15 depending on your main course and choice of pudding. You should also look up Harvester (www.harvester.co.uk) and Ember Inn (www.emberinn.co.uk) web sites for other examples of this type of "gastro-pub". There are some good ones around Bristol and its hinterland. Whatever you may have heard, drinks are NOT cheap in ANY UK pub. The government taxes, regulations and greedy brewers have seen to that. It's so expensive that customers are deserting them in droves and buying booze from supermarkets. English pubs are closing at the rate of about 60/month nationally. There are dozens of other restaurants and cafes, some of the world's finest chefs have places in the city centre. If you don't want to spend £120 on a "fine dining" meal then you can enjoy England's finest fish and chips in any Bristol chippy for about £4.50. Don't forget to sort out your work visas and other legal stuff before you come.

Ignore jackie on crime rates and ignore tank on areas to avoid I recommend you try and explore all parts of bristol.

Most of your questions have been answered but I'd like to add maybe Redland and Cotham as possible places to rent a flat. Clifton is quite pricey. If you are anywhere near Russell, I have ex-Bristolian friends living there who could fill you in on any other questions. The other thing you could do which might be helpful, is to contact the Bristol Tourist Information Office which is right beside the floating harbour and Cascade Steps, and get loads of information about the City and County of Bristol, What to do and See, Where to go, etc.

I've spent a lot of time in NZ and have now returned to the UK. I can't help you with comparing utility costs from NZ as I was always in hostels, but for the other items: food is CHEAPER in the UK. If you want to pay £1.40 for a loaf of bread feel free, but the big supermarkets sell it for 70p or 50p for a budget loaf which still seems to keep the jam off the plate. It took me a while to stop comparing food prices by doubling the pound price to get dollars; but while I was doing it I found UK food definitely cheaper. Look down in supermarkets for the own brands which are just the same as many of the labels. clothes, household items etc are the same or cheaper; you want to find Wilkinsons or Argos for cheap stuff. Ebay (equivalent to Trademe) is huge here and from Bristol you'll be able to kit yourself out cheaply second hand with a bit of patience. Bristol is a pricey area so you'll need to do some research to get a reasonable rent deal, that is where you might get a shock. Fuel is about £1.16 a litre here so more expensive than NZ. Second-hand cars are cheaper; I sold a 20 year old Honda Accord for $1000, and then bought a 10 year old Mondeo for £500. Tax (registration) is about the same, but what will sting you is insurance; as new immigrants this is going to cost you a lot of money. Think carefully about public transport; which is also pricey due to the cost of fuel in this country. And remember that we have traffic jams too. as for going out, that is also expensive, but there are plenty of things you can do that don't cost a fortune. You are coming from a wonderful country to another wonderful country; ignore the moaning about how the UK is going to do the dogs. It isn't really that bad.

Moving from NZ to Bristol? You cannot be serious Is this a definite plan?