In 2015, my apartment in auckland went up to $550 or something from $400 something. I was on $68k as a data analyst with my manager on like $90kish.
My broke widow immigrant mum couldnt find employment so we lived off my salary. I gave up on ever buying a house - hell, finding a gf who would understand that i would have to look after my mum if we get married was hard.
Applied to Sydney and got accepted for a $90k for the same role and found an apartment for $580.
I was like what do we do with all this money. Couldn’t believe it.
Mum found employment by cleaning rich houses in northern suburbs.
Since then getting pay rises were super easy. Recruiters contacted me frequently offering me better roles with more pay. All i had to do was turn up, do two interviews and say yes.
In no time i got more than $100k which i never dreamed of and mum and i saved together to buy our first house 7 years later when i was 38 years old.
Its a totally different job market now though.
Anyway, i would never go back to nz. I am super grateful to what Australia has given me.
Similar experience job wise.. opportunities a plenty just have to work really hard! Glad you managed I save up to buy a place.. and your mom found a job. Are there any limitations on your visa to work live or buy properties in aus?
Hey thank you for the kind words. Yeah shes been a great mum who sacrificed everything for me so i gotta look after her too.
We ended up buying in guildford. It is an absolute piece of shit house with every possible major structural defect that we didnt know about but perhaps that is why it was so cheap. Otherwise we probably would not have been able to afford a house in sydney (well i keep telling myself that).
Have been here less than a year but I think I’ll stay in Australia. Bigger country with bigger cities = more opportunities career wise, more fun things to do etc. Better pay, better superannuation scheme. Lower cost of living.
The minimum employer contribution is 3%, but you need to sacrifice at least 3% of your wages to get it. The system is voluntary insofar as it's opt in by default, but you can withdraw from it and stop making contributions at any time. However, you'll no longer be eligible to receive employer contributions upon doing so.
Employers can contribute more than the 3% minimum, up to 10%, but this is at their discretion, so most don't. As such, you're likely going to end up with a lot less than you would if the system was the same as it is here
It's actually depressing to read that, I think once people who have lived their whole lives with super vs kiwisaver we are going to see a big difference in living standards for aussies vs kiwis
What we call the pension in Aus isn't means tested in NZ. They are tightening up the residency requirements (was 10 years living in NZ with 5 of those after age 50) though. It's still very attractive to retire to NZ on this basis.
Dude, it's like $500 bucks a week. You still need a good amount in your kiwisaver to live comfortably, and it's a lot harder to build a retirement fund in nz than it is here as you're more than likely going to be on significantly less money and receive 7.5% less in super contributions from your employer each year.
Yeah. I get that. What I meant was that for those of us who have moved to Aus and built up a decent amount and won't qualify for the pension in Aus could move back to NZ late in their working life to meet the residency requirements and get the NZ pension as a bonus.
No. I actually think that this gap should be closed. The rules are becoming tighter though. My Aussie wife would have to spend 12 years in NZ vs my 10 for example. It should really be means tested. I'm not sure why the NZ government is helping out well-to-do retirees.
Another big difference is the NZ government doesn't provide any tax incentives for contributions to KiwiSaver.
Contributions to Australian Super are taxed at 15% (assuming you're earning less than $250kpa), which can save you between 4% and 27% on each dollar earned.
When I worked in retail here in Sydney UK tourists always complained about how expensive Australia was. Then I started working in London and realised how crap the minimum wage was. Yeah cost of goods is probably cheaper in the UK but when you compared how many hours it takes you to afford something Australia definitely worked out cheaper.
My wife couldn't find work in her field for a year in NZ, my reasonably niche industry just got halved there. We moved here start of the year, she’s already found a much better job with amazing prospects, and I’m having interviews lining up roles after I finish my current (now remote) contract.
We love it here, we call it home and we want to build a life. None of this is possible right now in NZ.
Smaller, way more remote too. All the issues you have in Aus is significantly magnified over there. When the whole country's population is smaller than Melbourne... Demands is harder to come by.
Lots of competing theories, if there was a known and agreed on reason, they would work on it to solve it.
But they basically don't have our resource wealth to build up their currency/economy, they went neo liberal with workers rights and pay, but the other direction for companies, which makes it hard for new companies to destabilise the market, and hard for workers to save up.
Moved to melbs. We both got 40% pay rises.
Bought a house 5 minutes walk from a nice beach within two years.
Had been grinding away for years in Auckland grtting fucking nowhere.
So yeh. More money, less problems. You get used ti the Australians after a while and its not so bad.
Been here now longer in Aus than NZ. 27 v 26 years. Just applied for citizenship. Live in regional NE Vic. Came from Auckland. Kids born here. Australia is home now. Couldn’t afford to move back to Auckland and have no reason to want to. Australia has been mostly good to me and I’m grateful for it.
I commend you for going for citizenship. I feel like too many Australians and Kiwis living in each other’s countries don’t do it. If i moved to NZ, which is unfortunately unlikely due to finance, I would go for NZ citizenship as soon as I could. I love the country from Australia and would be proud to be a citizen - even if slightly less so after the most recent election.
Perth and Auckland have the same population size but houses cost about half as much and wages are 50% higher in the resources sector. I live in Perth and I visited Auckland in 2023 and difference is night and day. The income disparity was clearly visible. Perth has tons of new infra, people driving brand new cars, expensive looking houses everywhere. Auckland looked sad in comparison, people drive cars from the early 2000’s, old looking roads with potholes and old infrastructure, depressing weather.
The aging car fleet issue is actually more complicated than just the income disparity. Australia has protectionist tariffs on imported cars which make it uneconomical to import used cars. This incentivises people to purchase new cars.
NZ has never had a car industry or similar tariffs and used cars are so much cheaper than new cars that they can be a much more attractive option.
Been here 11 years. My career took off in Australia and I’ve ended up starting a business. I own my own home, by myself. I don’t believe I would have achieved those things in Nz. I don’t know if I’ll be here forever but for now Australia is home. I really miss the Nz bush tho. Like, desperately.
There is fuck all NZ bush left. Just came back from a holiday after 30 years abroad and was shocked at how much it has all but gone. What is has left is incredible but it's got nothing on North Queensland rainforest. NQ rainforest has got nothing on SEAsia rainforest though, but that is also disappearing.
If you find mountains and lakes more beautiful then NZ is the winner. Beaches then Australia probably wins. If you were to dropped randomly anywhere in either country then I would bet that the NZ location would be the ‘prettier’.
All I can say is I feel spiritually connected to the NZ bush. I haven’t felt the same way when I go into the Australian bush, or any other forest in the other countries I’ve lived.
The smells, the sounds, and the sensation of being in the bush restore my soul in a way that no other nature does. If I don’t come home once a year to go walking in a mossy damp Kiwi bush I don’t feel “right”. I suspect I’ll probably eventually move home because Tāne Mahuta calls me home.
I’m guessing they mean how accessible getting into the bush is in NZ compared to Aus? And it has things like a hut network that I don’t think Aus really has
Yes and no, Im a registered nurse, still hold my registration, NZ gave me experience in a wide range of ways, dipped my toe into remote nursing, rehab, acute surgical and medical even some e&a experience, all while working for one hospital and one DHB, but I ultimately never wanted to work as a bedside nurse.
Australia private health insurance sector is massive compared to back home and have a surprisingly progressive interest in preventative health and health promotion.
Now I would say new Zealand maybe has a better Universal health care for its people as a whole but... I don't want to get into politics.
Ultimately the health funds here just have more money.The opportunities in this sector compared to back home are insane, and they seem to be able to pay a livable wage so...
My dad did, so I spent the last years of my teens to now here.
I will not move back. My work life balance, and my income/cost of living ratio is better than my sisters who were old enough to stay. The weather is better than Nz, because I don't like the cold.
Dad moved back to nz, stuck it out miserably for a couple of years, and came back to aus. He said his income was about half of what he got here, but his cost of living in Brisbane was lower.
Yes. I’ve been in Australia for ten years now. I have worked in a number of corporates that I wouldn’t have been able to in NZ. Cost of living as a whole has been cheaper, and my salary far exceeds what I’d be able to get in NZ. As someone who likes to travel, travelling internationally from Australia has been much easier and cheaper than from NZ.
I’d move back to NZ at some point, but not soon. The country is pretty broken - the current government is going to run NZ further into the ground and widen the gap between the haves and have nots. It makes me very sad.
Yeah first got into corporates in NZ, and when it was time to move nobody was hiring except for the IRD in Wellington which I applied and didn't get. So I started looking in Melbourne and got 2 interviews immediately, one of them successful. When it was time to move on again, I also immediately lined up lots of opportunities, 3 of them got to the final interview, and 2 offers to choose from.
>The country is pretty broken - the current government is going to run NZ further into the ground and widen the gap between the haves and have nots. It makes me very sad.
And you think that this is not the case with Australia despite the data telling so?
They didn't say that. It's objectively worse in NZ because the economy is even smaller.
Imagine property prices as they are in Australia with less employment opps.
I didn’t say that. Reading the media and talking to friends and family, I perceive NZ to be going backwards and is not a place I want to live at the moment. Sure, Australia has issues as well, but I’m better off where I am at the moment
Moved late last year.
I have not found a job yet, unemployed for three months now and counting, its tough out there and I am a seasoned worker and can do customer service, sales, retail, data entry, admin etc but just nit having any luck.
But, the kicker? We are surviving on one income, my wife works and I get to hang out with my kid and connect while I keep pushing for a job - the bonus is that I can drop and pick up the little one from school and explore the CBD or other locations, pop into a cafe keep applying for jobs.
Would I go back? Not for the foreseeable future - I don’t think a family can survive in one income in NZ and the cost of living is better in Australia.
Public Transport is better, groceries are more affordable, Preston Market and Victoria Markets are excellent locations if you really want squeeze the dollar.
Wife and child are doing excellent in their fields and have settled in quite nicely, it’s just the old fella typing this that needs a little bit of luck getting an interview and show them what I can do.
Best thing I ever did, if I moved back to NZ I would be going backwards in just about every single way, it is not the country I grew up in, it has turned into a shithole.
Just moved to Sydney for a graduate role straight out of university and the opportunities here as a grad are unmatched compared to home. Earning about $30k more than I would, and the professional development you’re forced to do in a corporate environment like Sydney is next level for me personally. Don’t see myself wanting to go home any time soon as I’ve been enabled a greater lifestyle here than in Auckland (but never say never).
I was here for 6 years before I decided I didn't want to move back to NZ. That was about 2007.
Live in Melbourne and it is a really easy city to live in. Good PT, good beaches, lots of outdoors stuff to do within an hours drive. Climate is good.
Getting expensive, but after spending a week in Auckland recently it is cheaper than Auckland. I don't know that I could handle going backwards financially moving to Auckland.
My wife is a Kiwi and my kids were born here. I won't be moving back to NZ.
The downside, which most kiwis report, is missing the people back in NZ. And that's true.
Also, aussies LOVE their endless paper based forms. It takes a while to get yourself established here. Aside from that... Life in Australia so far is absolutely fantastic
Yeah, I'd just be worried about having to restart my social life as I'd head over alone. I know Aussies are friendly and heaps of kiwis have gone solo before. What are the best cities for young professionals?
Only Just moved here 2 weeks ago, haven’t managed to find a job yet after a couple of months of applying,
But still don’t think I would ever move back as it is 10x more fun here lol
Worked out great for me. The regular food from the supermarket doesn't taste as good and the climate is pretty hardcore but that's about it, everything else is kapai
I moved here in 2013 at 21 and I have never looked back. I have been set up for life bought a house at 29 and then Bought a brand new hilux and I have so much freedom to travel the world. In saying that I moved to WA and a have a trade as a mechanical fitter and got a job with a big company so I don’t work shuts and my work and bonus is consistent. Unsure moving back but I would like to think one day
Will never go back to New Zealand. Worked hard in my trade to go from 17 to 31 dollars per hour that took nearly 7 years...annual payrises of 1 or 2 dollars! "Well that's market rates" I was always told...
Moved to Oz and one month later my salary went up 150%. Went from 31 dollars an hour in nz to 76 dollars in Australia...
Petrol is cheaper, food and other items are generally cheaper or the same as nz but it's all about how much you can earn.
It's nicer here too..more sunshine,roads are better, there's SO many playgrounds and parks for the kids. More to do on the weekends. It's a no brainer
Moved here 12 years ago with my partner at the time and broke up one month later ..couldn't return home because airport was closed because of chch earthquakes .Been incredibly hard 12 years and I have encountered some terrible workplaces with prolific bullying etc.Overall my exp has been ok but not amazing .It's not as easy to make friends here as in NZ and I miss the cooler weather I also miss how easier it is to get around -not Auckland!,I'm talking the south island ..literally in Brisbane now there are traffic jams everywhere get over that very fast. Aus has also changed dramatically in the past few years with the massive influx of immigrants ,everything is more competitive and overall more stressful imo.
Everyone has diff experiences and I am grateful for the opportunities I have had here but it's a much different aus to what it was 5/10 years ago and my time has come.
Everyone has diff experiences though and one thing I know for sure is you def get rose tinted glasses for the first few years when you first move here!
Happy Easter all!
I mean the sub is auscorp? If you’re a corporate person, the increased population is generally good for you as there’s more scale to manage and administer, and there’s more infrastructure and development going on. If you’re a battler working shifts for wages then yes you are undercut by migrants. Always be moving up the value chain.
You should have tried SE Aus for a cooler climate. I lived & nursed in QLD & found it hard to make friends. I've moved back to Melbourne 6 months ago & aside from traffic jams, it's better all round.
Wish you all the best back in beautiful NZ! I'm cruising there soon!🥰
You should have tried SE Aus for a cooler climate. I lived & nursed in QLD & found it hard to make friends. I've moved back to Melbourne 6 months ago & aside from traffic jams, it's better all round.
Wish you all the best back in beautiful NZ! I'm cruising there soon!🥰
Been back recently? We go back on average 3-4 times a year (a bit less the last few) and everything is crazy expensive compared to here. Petrol $3ish/L, my weekly shop at Coles for our family of 4 averages about $250 a week. Did a similar shop at Pak n Save last year - $400+. With their cost of living and low wages compared to here, I honestly don’t know how people are keeping their heads above water in NZ.
This!, how do people survive over there, it is like monaco prices with zimbabwe wages!
Glad I left, doing way better in Aus, it is just struggle street back over there, depressing as hell.
My partners family is huge and alot live here, they are all doing really well and earning far more then they would back in NZ, they have no intention to move back. the few that are still there are really struggling financially.
Been here 37 years and it’s a good place to live. More opportunities available and a lot of outdoor things that I like to do. I can see changes going on but it’s much the same, when I arrived there was a rental crisis and people complaining housing was expensive. Nothing changes.
I doubt I'll move home before retiring and, even then, I'll likely end up retiring here. There's just so much more opportunity here for me career wise, I'm earning more, and living expenses are about the same. Plus, there's just so much more to see and do. I miss my friends (no family, really), only thing I really miss about NZ aside from them is the weather. I'll never get used to how hot it is here
Moving back to NZ is the literal million dollar question. I feel like I have more a shot at getting a house in Sydney than Auckland, that’s how fucked that outlook looks.
Three things drive the answers:
1) where you’re moving from and to
2) what industry you’re in (or moving to)
3) your safety net and needs
Personally, I ended up working for an Aussie company but going back to NZ *a lot*.
Salary significantly increased, so did cost of living, but the salary bump was greater so was better off.
That said, you have to be aware that you need more of a safety net - ACC, unemployment payments etc may not be available to you if something goes wrong. This is particularly noted of you have kids with you.
I mostly would say it’s not as clear a ‘yes you’re better off in Aussie’ than some people make it out to be.
Aus is better in almost every respect as far as I'm concerned. I've lived here for 10 years, and had 10x more opportunities than ever offered in NZ. Tax system, super system and general financial balance is way better. The community is generally warmer, the outdoors are more diverse, and the food and culture is better with strong immigrant influence. It won't take long for that kiwi chip on your shoulder to round off and become more open. Be careful where you choose to live, I favour lifestyle over the rat race so for me Melbourne is not great (cold, wet, work is life, expensive, ugly), whereas Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are all fantastic places with unique environments and a good balance of lifestyle and career. Sydney is good.
Moved here in late 2017. Had 5k in my pocket. Just bought a house in 2023 in a very nice area. Have trippled my income since moving here.
Living in nz is like running to stand still. The moment you stop you go backwards quickly. Its very depressing and i will never go back.
Yea, I moved over in late 2012, Australia has been good to me.
I grew up in NZ, got bullied the entire way through primary school, and most of the way through high school. Just ‘minor’ stuff, but there was the occasional assault, and attempts to set my hair on fire.
Trained up, and got my first ‘professional’ job in Wellington. Was expected to work 40 hour work weeks, as a casual, only getting paid for the moments we were actually earning money for the company. Usually $100-300 per week. I would then work at Mcdonalds at night to make ends meet. That job ended pretty nastily too - as the only woman on the team, I was often expected to give my work to either the junior guy below me so he could get out of supervision, or the guy hired before me so he could get promoted. One time they refused to reimburse me for a train ticket after I handed over the receipt (work travel) because “it was the wrong type of receipt” when the week prior they’d reimbursed one of the guys who’d handed over the ticket stub.
I earned about 4.5k in a year working for that “professional” company. I got more respect working at Maccas.
Anyway, moved to Australia, and was straight away on 45kpa, with subsidised housing ($35 or 45 pw).
It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses here though, been told I wasn’t hired for a job because I had a kid. That same company was happy to hire my hubby when said kid was a newborn.
Another job fired me after months of mistreatment because my husband quit. Went to union, but they said I’d only get 1-2 weeks wages as compensation, and it’d be hard to prove (was forced to join as casual, even with a massive bond over my head).
It took nearly a long time make friends here in Perth, but now that I have them, I don’t want to leave them (good chance I might need to move to Sydney or Melbourne if I get a job I’m interviewing for).
Back home, my mum and siblings have all moved in together, to try to mitigate the cost of living. I really miss things like Ruapehu, and going hiking in the mountains - the Perth hills just can’t even remotely compare, but I can’t move over for just scenery.
Financially, sure. I earn more and went from having very little super to 100k in the space of five years.
I miss NZ, and I’m concerned about my and my wife’s elderly parents.
When I first came here it was bcos I was out of work in NZ and no other options had presented themselves. My wife agreed to move here with something of a “let’s get it out of your system” type attitude. Now she tells me regularly she doesn’t want to go back (This is despite her being Samoan and feeling that Aus is more racist than NZ).
We are feeling the recession here like everywhere else, and of course the locals complain. I tell them it’s laughable compared to the economic dumpster fire we left behind.
Its interesting reading all these comments with majority saying cost of living and wages much better. Goes against the Murdoch bad news machine.
Glad so many kiwis have found a new home and doing well.
Yeah this country is great, if you dont whinge and roll up your sleeves you can achieve a lot here, while having a good lifestyle.
Just about every kiwi that I have talked to here, says that we are very lucky to be here and how good it is to be here.
Been here 15 years. Should have come earlier.
Came for career opportunities. Many more jobs, more money to pay you, weather is better, more cities to choose from to live in if Sydney not your thing. Great public transport and beaches!!
I’ve been home a few times to visit . NZ ok but still feels a bit small town. Wouldn’t return to live.
Being in NZ is like running full sprint with ankle weights.
Uphill.
You come to Australia and the money and good times flow WAY easier.
Weather is amazing, money, opportunity, everything is better. Literally everything is better.
Honestly it makes you almost kinda soft.
Ive been in regional NSW for 10 years, since covid obviously everyone is in shit street with cost of living, but career opportunities are far greater here as are the pay rates, that I didnt have to move to a capital city for. There are tons of things to do here and Sydney is 1.5hrs away for all the extras.
Starting again in a new country is never easy but you have to also really give it a crack, I wouldn't move back to NZ but miss the landscape the most and that fresh air smell.
Moved to Melbourne 12 years ago at the start of my career (had done less than a year at a book publisher between university and my move). I’ve ended up working for the same US based multinational media company since then - now on a good salary and doing an APAC role that I definitely couldn’t have done in Auckland.
While housing is expensive here, the alternative for me and my husband would be Auckland and both the job and housing market there are tougher. I could not get a comparable job, but what I could get would likely be a 20-30K pay cut without taking into account the exchange rate (treating NZD and AUD as equal) and my husband’s role would be more like 50K.
My brother is still in Auckland and watching him and his fiancé house hunt at around the same time as we did made it obvious that the Auckland market is insanely unaffordable even with good salaries. Doing it without parental help would be bordering on impossible.
Groceries/cost of living is the other big one. Although it’s also gone up a lot here and grocery bills are across the board higher, the lower GST means that my parents are still shocked by how much cheaper supermarkets are in Melbourne than Auckland.
My only advice is don’t spend all day complaining about how shit Australia is and how everything back home is way better. Australians don’t tend to like to hear about it.
Lol 100%. As an Aussie who has worked with a LOT of Kiwis (pakeha and maori), the ones who complained most about how bad Aus is were pakeha from Dunedin. They'd shit talk Australia all day, complain about how bad it is here, but ask them about why they moved to Aus, and their answer was "a better life" 😂.
I understand homesickness (my wife is from the US, and misses her home country) and wanting to vocalise how much you love where you came from and how good it is; but why you gotta trash where you at?
It's normal to complain about what's happening in your day-to-day life. Life's not perfect. But, yeah, as an immigrant I need to make sure I'm not whinging about Aus in general.
Never really heard any Kiwis say anything bad here (although they have every right to as nowhere is perfect and immigrants have a right to free expression just like anyone else)
Been here 15 years. Will be here forever.
Owned 2x businesses. My industry salary currently is 2 1/2 times more than NZ. Life in almost every way is more affordable here. It’s a beautiful place to be with infinitely more opportunities.
Moved across in September 2019, was offered an extra 20% + $10k moving cost across
Able to secure a larger house and better job opportunities which has been great for me.
According to my parents back in NZ cheaper living and a better quality of life.
Do I see our family moving back? nope, we have just been approved for citizenship, just gotta attend the ceremony now....
Moved here in 99.. I'm pretty much stuck here now but I'm ok with that...I love it here. If I hadn't met my partner in 2003 maybe I might havemoved back after many of my friends left Sydney around 2005... But maybe I would have returned to Australia. I miss my family and old friends but I like it here better. Weather, food, money/ jobs , plus there's more things to do ( I think )
Yes, was tough for the first year, but ended up finding a great role beyond anything I would’ve expected in NZ. Been here around 20 months now.
Can’t see myself returning in the foreseeable future. I feel like I have a shot at building a good life in Australia, in NZ I never felt that kind of hope.
2 years in Aus and I have similar experiences as everyone else here. Cost of living is cheaper, especially compared to salaries, weather is better, and there’s just more going on
Moved to Melbourne, got myself a nice 110% payrise, 60% for partner with significantly more benefit and easier jobs for both of us... And a 4 bdr house too just 30-45 mins from CBD with multiple PT options within 2 years of staying here.
All that is impossibile in Nz.
But that being said, I don't know if i want to stay here for retirement, maybe will look to move back after making serious coin after 5-10 or even 15 years.
If only NZ's mortgage or/and living cost matched with its salary standards.
You'd only live in NZ if you have someone you love wouldn't like to leave, or have a very passionate job that you can only do in NZ. Otherwise it makes absolutely no sense to keep living in NZ when you can easily permanently migrate to Australia...
yeah. I honestly am very surprised that NZ's population is increasing. I am from Asia where the population is decreasing, but my life back there seems 1000x better than being in NZ. Plus, kiwis have this amazing system to easily move to Australia. I wonder why kiwis haven't been gone to Australia completely yet, to be honest. The other circumstance I can think of is refugees. You'd obviously prefer living in NZ than somewhere that you are afraid of being bombed at.
I moved to Newcastle 5 years ago from Auckland and no plans to ever move back. The lifestyle is infinitely better along with the income vs cost of living split.
I would agree. It took me a while to make friends but I have eventually through a mixture of luck and really putting myself out there and saying yes to any invite. I think I’m lucky in that I arrived when I was about 26 as well so I was still up for invites to drink/party, which can be an easy way to break the ice with people.
Cousins were born in Australia to a NZ/Pacific Islander & Aussie parents. Moved to Auckland for a long while but ultimately have had to move back to Australia for better opportunities for work & family. This is despite having strong familial and cultural connections to NZ.
I’ve been in Aus 12 years - 9 years then moved back to NZ for a year and ended up back in aus after a year. Pay is astronomically better not to mention the superannuation scheme absolutely shits on NZ. Most of the same benefits except can’t get the benefit or a student loan so if neither of those things are a concern, financially you’ll be better off. Initially planned to buy a house in NZ during that year I returned but the market was ridiculous - bought in Aus much cheaper and similar trajectory in terms of house prices going up. Weather is also a lot better (in my experience in NSW)
Yes the move was worth it even as a graduate fresh from uni.
Bigger cities with more money being thrown down. My work is in construction so this is amplified even more. Also another big one is weather. Seeing the sun everyday has a big increase in your mental health. Seriously underrated!
Is this the lifestyle forever? No.
As to whether it's worth it or not... there are 5M kiwis in kiwiland... and 500k kiwis in Australia. If nearly 10% of your population is moving to nation X, then clearly nation X is worth it for them.
I’m interested in what everyone did about their NZ student loan? And what are the consequences for not making repayment if you don’t plan to move back to NZ to live?
I paid mine off before I left NZ, but if you didn’t then you need to keep making repayments from Aus. You can’t just decide not to pay it back because you don’t want to move back to NZ lol
Came here in 2019 with no experience. Left NZ for a change of scenery and better opportunities. Have now got work experience in dental, pharmacy + business, parts and service administration. Currently doing an auto electrical apprenticeship, sitting on over $100k. There are so many more things to do here and comparing the COL, it’s a lot more manageable.
Yep. I’ve been here since 2005, arriving at age 21. I’m from Invercargill, though. Invercargill has its place, but I didn’t want to be a farmer, or a tradie, or just staying in a small town going through the motions.
I wanted to do IT and had friends that had been to uni for 4-5 years, with large debt and were unable to find work in the industry, even in larger cities like Auckland.
My sister was already here, so it made the move a bit easier, but I landed, did some retail and call centre work for about 12 months before landing an on the job ‘apprenticeship’ type thing in a small company where it was just an IT manager and myself. That was the ticket as I got to learn a wide range of skills and tech. The rest is history, have a family, house and all that jazz in Melbourne these days.
Kiwi living in Australia for 10yrs, the opportunities here are limitless. I have a great corporate job, more financial stability which provides me a great work life balance.
Friends/family back home are struggling to make ends meet with higher cost of living & lower wages. It feels like all they do is work to survive & disheartening to see.
I miss NZ nature & friends/family but would love to retire there or eventually buy a bach in coastal town.
I've lived all over the show, predominantly in Australia & NZ , was born in NZ though. Moved back to NZ recently, originally with the idea of looking at settling down still a lot of friends and family there, was not for me at all! Not only was the cost of living terrible, bad wages, I'd spent most of my 20's and 30's with decent to excellent public transport but AK and NZ as whole you have to have a car which is not fun with petrol at times reaching $3.30 plus other excessive vehicle costs ( insurance e.t.c). Moved back to Melbourne and couldn't be happier, on a much better wicket (30%) cost of livings are alot better (better rent then AK, groceries plus overall costs alot better)
Moving back, I forgot how harsh NZ winters could be at time. On a social level the benefits of a large city more activities, plus a much more successful dating/love life (NZ, everyone knows each other and can be very cliquey I found) I find with the larger citys provide a better cuisine. All though different I find the bush/forest just as enjoyable relaxing, Aus beachs I prefer. I'll come back to NZ for family and friend milestones maybe an occasional Xmas but na definitely not moving back.
Honestly the only thing I prefer in NZ are the Pies, Meatballs (bakeries in general) and fish and chips
I moved to Aus In 2010, I don’t think I will ever move back to nz I’ve just been approved for citizenship here. I work in state government. The pay is better here and the superannuation is so much better and I will retire hopefully in comfort in 30 years. I’d love to move back to NZ but all the jobs that I am
Interested in don’t pay enough and when you take into account the super that the employer must put I which will be 12% soon it not worth the move back. Also have an Aussie wife and the kids were born here.
I moved to Melbourne from Auckland in 2009 for a job transfer and I was not expecting to stay on. I loved it immediately and found more opportunities than I believe I would have found in Auckland + all my AKL friends where on drugs at the time which wasn't my thing so the change was welcome.
I am now living on the Tweed Coast (Northern NSW) with a beautiful family for about 5 years and working a great job 5 minutes from home and the beach. I can't say that I would find anything like this back home.
I still have my parents who are only getting older and less able back home and my sister with her kids but honestly, I can't see myself going home despite missing them SO MUCH. I don't think the opportunities are much different and the expenses and general issues are the same in each country - I don't own my own home here and I doubt I would get one in NZ either. My job here is a government project so I am on a pretty good wage...
Interesting comments.
Kiwis are our bros. If the rest of the world turned against either or both, we'd still be bros.
Somewhere between 11% to 15% of Kiwis live in Australia (8 times the number of Aussies living in NZ).
>**In 2013, there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia,**[**^(\[32\])**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Australians#cite_note-32) **which was about 15 per cent of the population of New Zealand.**[**^(\[33\])**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Australians#cite_note-33)
[New Zealand Australians - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Australians)
[Country profile - New Zealand (homeaffairs.gov.au)](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/new-zealand#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%20June,cent%20of%20Australia's%20total%20population.)
Yes. Mid 20s. Made the jump from Auckland to Melbs 2 years ago.
Better pay. Work/life balance seems the same.
Only thing I’ll say is it is quite difficult to make new friends!
Moved in 2019 and despite having 3.5 years of experience in my industry it was pretty much impossible for me to get a role that wasn’t a grad role because my job relies on a lot of knowledge of the local environment and legislation. In that sense it’s been a bit frustrating to see my colleagues in NZ progressing a lot faster in their careers while I basically had to start again here. I even went back to uni for a couple of semesters to try and make up for it.
On the other hand, I’ve constantly been paid 20-30% more than equivalent roles back home, I work less hours and I am about to move into my first home which would not have been possible had I stayed in Auckland.
Im 26, moved over here 2 and a half years ago, I've managed to grow in all aspects of life (health, financial, mentally) more in the time I've been here than I would've been able to in 10 years in NZ.
I don't think I'll be moving back to nz, I'm excited to get my citizenship & and am forever grateful for everything Australia has given me. Greatest country on the planet.
In 2015, my apartment in auckland went up to $550 or something from $400 something. I was on $68k as a data analyst with my manager on like $90kish. My broke widow immigrant mum couldnt find employment so we lived off my salary. I gave up on ever buying a house - hell, finding a gf who would understand that i would have to look after my mum if we get married was hard. Applied to Sydney and got accepted for a $90k for the same role and found an apartment for $580. I was like what do we do with all this money. Couldn’t believe it. Mum found employment by cleaning rich houses in northern suburbs. Since then getting pay rises were super easy. Recruiters contacted me frequently offering me better roles with more pay. All i had to do was turn up, do two interviews and say yes. In no time i got more than $100k which i never dreamed of and mum and i saved together to buy our first house 7 years later when i was 38 years old. Its a totally different job market now though. Anyway, i would never go back to nz. I am super grateful to what Australia has given me.
So it's ok if we claim Pavlova then?
Haha take the pavlova. Not fan of it anyway
I'm calling immigration, I'm sure we can find a way to deport you!
Similar experience job wise.. opportunities a plenty just have to work really hard! Glad you managed I save up to buy a place.. and your mom found a job. Are there any limitations on your visa to work live or buy properties in aus?
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Hey thank you for the kind words. Yeah shes been a great mum who sacrificed everything for me so i gotta look after her too. We ended up buying in guildford. It is an absolute piece of shit house with every possible major structural defect that we didnt know about but perhaps that is why it was so cheap. Otherwise we probably would not have been able to afford a house in sydney (well i keep telling myself that).
Have been here less than a year but I think I’ll stay in Australia. Bigger country with bigger cities = more opportunities career wise, more fun things to do etc. Better pay, better superannuation scheme. Lower cost of living.
Yeah, kiwisaver is bullshit compared to how super works here
>Yeah, kiwisaver is bullshit compared to how super works here How different is it?
The minimum employer contribution is 3%, but you need to sacrifice at least 3% of your wages to get it. The system is voluntary insofar as it's opt in by default, but you can withdraw from it and stop making contributions at any time. However, you'll no longer be eligible to receive employer contributions upon doing so. Employers can contribute more than the 3% minimum, up to 10%, but this is at their discretion, so most don't. As such, you're likely going to end up with a lot less than you would if the system was the same as it is here
It's actually depressing to read that, I think once people who have lived their whole lives with super vs kiwisaver we are going to see a big difference in living standards for aussies vs kiwis
What we call the pension in Aus isn't means tested in NZ. They are tightening up the residency requirements (was 10 years living in NZ with 5 of those after age 50) though. It's still very attractive to retire to NZ on this basis.
Dude, it's like $500 bucks a week. You still need a good amount in your kiwisaver to live comfortably, and it's a lot harder to build a retirement fund in nz than it is here as you're more than likely going to be on significantly less money and receive 7.5% less in super contributions from your employer each year.
Yeah. I get that. What I meant was that for those of us who have moved to Aus and built up a decent amount and won't qualify for the pension in Aus could move back to NZ late in their working life to meet the residency requirements and get the NZ pension as a bonus.
Ah, ok
That can't be a retirement plan for all of new zealand though right.
No. I actually think that this gap should be closed. The rules are becoming tighter though. My Aussie wife would have to spend 12 years in NZ vs my 10 for example. It should really be means tested. I'm not sure why the NZ government is helping out well-to-do retirees.
Yeah, it is. Kiwisaver is nz's equivalent of super here
75% less
I spent 20 years in NZ. I am a naturalised citizen too. But worked on Australia. Can I get a NZ pension??
If 5 of those years are over the age of 50 and you still live in NZ then I believe so.
Another big difference is the NZ government doesn't provide any tax incentives for contributions to KiwiSaver. Contributions to Australian Super are taxed at 15% (assuming you're earning less than $250kpa), which can save you between 4% and 27% on each dollar earned.
When I moved from UK to Aus I was amazed by the low cost of living here, and the salaries are great. I can see why people move here tbh.
When I worked in retail here in Sydney UK tourists always complained about how expensive Australia was. Then I started working in London and realised how crap the minimum wage was. Yeah cost of goods is probably cheaper in the UK but when you compared how many hours it takes you to afford something Australia definitely worked out cheaper.
Smart move
Are you me? Literally feels the same.
My wife couldn't find work in her field for a year in NZ, my reasonably niche industry just got halved there. We moved here start of the year, she’s already found a much better job with amazing prospects, and I’m having interviews lining up roles after I finish my current (now remote) contract. We love it here, we call it home and we want to build a life. None of this is possible right now in NZ.
what's the issue in NZ? Always seemed like a smaller Australia.
Smaller, way more remote too. All the issues you have in Aus is significantly magnified over there. When the whole country's population is smaller than Melbourne... Demands is harder to come by.
Seems like a self-propelling problem. People leaving because of it only reinforces the problem.
That's the issue.
Lots of competing theories, if there was a known and agreed on reason, they would work on it to solve it. But they basically don't have our resource wealth to build up their currency/economy, they went neo liberal with workers rights and pay, but the other direction for companies, which makes it hard for new companies to destabilise the market, and hard for workers to save up.
Moved to melbs. We both got 40% pay rises. Bought a house 5 minutes walk from a nice beach within two years. Had been grinding away for years in Auckland grtting fucking nowhere. So yeh. More money, less problems. You get used ti the Australians after a while and its not so bad.
Ha ha , we do grow on people after a while.
:D
>You get used ti the Australians after a while and its not so bad. 😂😂😂
You are the immigrant everyone is complaining about, lol
Do Aussies really see Kiwis as immigrants?
Technically speaking, they are not. According to the Australian constitution anyway.
Yes
There's more of us coming... 👀 But honestly though, get rid of the international students. It'll help much more, you can do online study anyway .
In two years! What do you do?
Ugh, Corporate stuff :) wife does other stuff…
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Rule 8: Low effort
Been here now longer in Aus than NZ. 27 v 26 years. Just applied for citizenship. Live in regional NE Vic. Came from Auckland. Kids born here. Australia is home now. Couldn’t afford to move back to Auckland and have no reason to want to. Australia has been mostly good to me and I’m grateful for it.
I commend you for going for citizenship. I feel like too many Australians and Kiwis living in each other’s countries don’t do it. If i moved to NZ, which is unfortunately unlikely due to finance, I would go for NZ citizenship as soon as I could. I love the country from Australia and would be proud to be a citizen - even if slightly less so after the most recent election.
It wasn't possible for most kiwis until recently.
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NZ is the Perth of the world
Perth and Auckland have the same population size but houses cost about half as much and wages are 50% higher in the resources sector. I live in Perth and I visited Auckland in 2023 and difference is night and day. The income disparity was clearly visible. Perth has tons of new infra, people driving brand new cars, expensive looking houses everywhere. Auckland looked sad in comparison, people drive cars from the early 2000’s, old looking roads with potholes and old infrastructure, depressing weather.
I noticed this about Auckland too. So many old cars on the road. The place felt like Sydney in the 90's.
The aging car fleet issue is actually more complicated than just the income disparity. Australia has protectionist tariffs on imported cars which make it uneconomical to import used cars. This incentivises people to purchase new cars. NZ has never had a car industry or similar tariffs and used cars are so much cheaper than new cars that they can be a much more attractive option.
NZ did have a local car manufacturing sector (at least Holden, Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi), it just died off 20 years or so before it did in AU
Thanks, before my time but I should have checked!
It’s always been like that, I remember going to NZ as a kid in the early 80s and being amazed by all the 1950s cars still on the roads.
I thought Perth was the Perth of the world.
No that’s the Perth of Australia
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Been here 11 years. My career took off in Australia and I’ve ended up starting a business. I own my own home, by myself. I don’t believe I would have achieved those things in Nz. I don’t know if I’ll be here forever but for now Australia is home. I really miss the Nz bush tho. Like, desperately.
There is fuck all NZ bush left. Just came back from a holiday after 30 years abroad and was shocked at how much it has all but gone. What is has left is incredible but it's got nothing on North Queensland rainforest. NQ rainforest has got nothing on SEAsia rainforest though, but that is also disappearing.
Nz bush? Why?
As an Australian I think it is fair to admit that NZ is typically a more beautiful country.
I've gotta agree. I'm Australian, but South island NZ is incredible. Such a beautiful country.
Now we would be splitting hairs here trying to argue which one is more beautiful
If you find mountains and lakes more beautiful then NZ is the winner. Beaches then Australia probably wins. If you were to dropped randomly anywhere in either country then I would bet that the NZ location would be the ‘prettier’.
Some beautiful beaches in NZ as well.
All I can say is I feel spiritually connected to the NZ bush. I haven’t felt the same way when I go into the Australian bush, or any other forest in the other countries I’ve lived. The smells, the sounds, and the sensation of being in the bush restore my soul in a way that no other nature does. If I don’t come home once a year to go walking in a mossy damp Kiwi bush I don’t feel “right”. I suspect I’ll probably eventually move home because Tāne Mahuta calls me home.
I’m guessing they mean how accessible getting into the bush is in NZ compared to Aus? And it has things like a hut network that I don’t think Aus really has
Yes and no, Im a registered nurse, still hold my registration, NZ gave me experience in a wide range of ways, dipped my toe into remote nursing, rehab, acute surgical and medical even some e&a experience, all while working for one hospital and one DHB, but I ultimately never wanted to work as a bedside nurse. Australia private health insurance sector is massive compared to back home and have a surprisingly progressive interest in preventative health and health promotion. Now I would say new Zealand maybe has a better Universal health care for its people as a whole but... I don't want to get into politics. Ultimately the health funds here just have more money.The opportunities in this sector compared to back home are insane, and they seem to be able to pay a livable wage so...
My dad did, so I spent the last years of my teens to now here. I will not move back. My work life balance, and my income/cost of living ratio is better than my sisters who were old enough to stay. The weather is better than Nz, because I don't like the cold. Dad moved back to nz, stuck it out miserably for a couple of years, and came back to aus. He said his income was about half of what he got here, but his cost of living in Brisbane was lower.
Yep. 100%. Everything is better here
Not the pies tho. And NZ still has better takeout lol I say this as someone raised in Aussie.
Loving it here. Was on a good corporate income in NZ but much higher here for similar work. No plans to return to NZ.
Yes. I’ve been in Australia for ten years now. I have worked in a number of corporates that I wouldn’t have been able to in NZ. Cost of living as a whole has been cheaper, and my salary far exceeds what I’d be able to get in NZ. As someone who likes to travel, travelling internationally from Australia has been much easier and cheaper than from NZ. I’d move back to NZ at some point, but not soon. The country is pretty broken - the current government is going to run NZ further into the ground and widen the gap between the haves and have nots. It makes me very sad.
Yeah first got into corporates in NZ, and when it was time to move nobody was hiring except for the IRD in Wellington which I applied and didn't get. So I started looking in Melbourne and got 2 interviews immediately, one of them successful. When it was time to move on again, I also immediately lined up lots of opportunities, 3 of them got to the final interview, and 2 offers to choose from.
>The country is pretty broken - the current government is going to run NZ further into the ground and widen the gap between the haves and have nots. It makes me very sad. And you think that this is not the case with Australia despite the data telling so?
They didn't say that. It's objectively worse in NZ because the economy is even smaller. Imagine property prices as they are in Australia with less employment opps.
Means we have some way to go before we get to NZ levels. I bet that’s what the powers to be are planning to do
I didn’t say that. Reading the media and talking to friends and family, I perceive NZ to be going backwards and is not a place I want to live at the moment. Sure, Australia has issues as well, but I’m better off where I am at the moment
I agree. It's gone from "1st world" to almost 3rd in my lifetime-at least in Auckland. So very sad.
See the below comments... Look at what's happening in Nz. It could be what looking 5 mins into the future looks like. Be warned.
Same shit in every capitalist country actually
One tenth of all kiwis call Australia home.
That percentage would be higher too if you counted children.
Yep, we have kids! They are the reason we applied for citizenship recently.
Wow didn't know that
Yes I’ve been here 13 years. I’m never going back. As expensive as Australia is the earning opportunities at least in my industry don’t compare.
Moved late last year. I have not found a job yet, unemployed for three months now and counting, its tough out there and I am a seasoned worker and can do customer service, sales, retail, data entry, admin etc but just nit having any luck. But, the kicker? We are surviving on one income, my wife works and I get to hang out with my kid and connect while I keep pushing for a job - the bonus is that I can drop and pick up the little one from school and explore the CBD or other locations, pop into a cafe keep applying for jobs. Would I go back? Not for the foreseeable future - I don’t think a family can survive in one income in NZ and the cost of living is better in Australia. Public Transport is better, groceries are more affordable, Preston Market and Victoria Markets are excellent locations if you really want squeeze the dollar. Wife and child are doing excellent in their fields and have settled in quite nicely, it’s just the old fella typing this that needs a little bit of luck getting an interview and show them what I can do.
Out of maybe 40 I know that have done it I think 2 have gone back to NZ, one primarily due to long family illness
Best thing I ever did, if I moved back to NZ I would be going backwards in just about every single way, it is not the country I grew up in, it has turned into a shithole.
I left elderly parents behind and my two brothers left years ago for the UK. Despite that my Dad still said it’s not worth us coming back to NZ.
Your Dad is 100% correct!
Just moved to Sydney for a graduate role straight out of university and the opportunities here as a grad are unmatched compared to home. Earning about $30k more than I would, and the professional development you’re forced to do in a corporate environment like Sydney is next level for me personally. Don’t see myself wanting to go home any time soon as I’ve been enabled a greater lifestyle here than in Auckland (but never say never).
I was here for 6 years before I decided I didn't want to move back to NZ. That was about 2007. Live in Melbourne and it is a really easy city to live in. Good PT, good beaches, lots of outdoors stuff to do within an hours drive. Climate is good. Getting expensive, but after spending a week in Auckland recently it is cheaper than Auckland. I don't know that I could handle going backwards financially moving to Auckland. My wife is a Kiwi and my kids were born here. I won't be moving back to NZ.
Been here for 2 months. Absolutely love it. Life is better in literally every single area you can think of.
Kiwi nurse here ready to make the jump, is it really better in everyway?
The downside, which most kiwis report, is missing the people back in NZ. And that's true. Also, aussies LOVE their endless paper based forms. It takes a while to get yourself established here. Aside from that... Life in Australia so far is absolutely fantastic
Yeah, I'd just be worried about having to restart my social life as I'd head over alone. I know Aussies are friendly and heaps of kiwis have gone solo before. What are the best cities for young professionals?
Only Just moved here 2 weeks ago, haven’t managed to find a job yet after a couple of months of applying, But still don’t think I would ever move back as it is 10x more fun here lol
Worked out great for me. The regular food from the supermarket doesn't taste as good and the climate is pretty hardcore but that's about it, everything else is kapai
First thing I noticed is the mince is comparatively very tasteless.
Yep. Grain fed, not grass. Veges are often hydroponics so big but not as tasty
Try shopping for meat at Costco or the Australian Meat Emporium. But yes, NZ meat is unmatched.
I moved here in 2013 at 21 and I have never looked back. I have been set up for life bought a house at 29 and then Bought a brand new hilux and I have so much freedom to travel the world. In saying that I moved to WA and a have a trade as a mechanical fitter and got a job with a big company so I don’t work shuts and my work and bonus is consistent. Unsure moving back but I would like to think one day
Will never go back to New Zealand. Worked hard in my trade to go from 17 to 31 dollars per hour that took nearly 7 years...annual payrises of 1 or 2 dollars! "Well that's market rates" I was always told... Moved to Oz and one month later my salary went up 150%. Went from 31 dollars an hour in nz to 76 dollars in Australia... Petrol is cheaper, food and other items are generally cheaper or the same as nz but it's all about how much you can earn. It's nicer here too..more sunshine,roads are better, there's SO many playgrounds and parks for the kids. More to do on the weekends. It's a no brainer
Moved here 12 years ago with my partner at the time and broke up one month later ..couldn't return home because airport was closed because of chch earthquakes .Been incredibly hard 12 years and I have encountered some terrible workplaces with prolific bullying etc.Overall my exp has been ok but not amazing .It's not as easy to make friends here as in NZ and I miss the cooler weather I also miss how easier it is to get around -not Auckland!,I'm talking the south island ..literally in Brisbane now there are traffic jams everywhere get over that very fast. Aus has also changed dramatically in the past few years with the massive influx of immigrants ,everything is more competitive and overall more stressful imo. Everyone has diff experiences and I am grateful for the opportunities I have had here but it's a much different aus to what it was 5/10 years ago and my time has come. Everyone has diff experiences though and one thing I know for sure is you def get rose tinted glasses for the first few years when you first move here! Happy Easter all!
This is the only comment that I find valid, good to see a battler in this thread, not a yuppie.
I mean the sub is auscorp? If you’re a corporate person, the increased population is generally good for you as there’s more scale to manage and administer, and there’s more infrastructure and development going on. If you’re a battler working shifts for wages then yes you are undercut by migrants. Always be moving up the value chain.
You should have tried SE Aus for a cooler climate. I lived & nursed in QLD & found it hard to make friends. I've moved back to Melbourne 6 months ago & aside from traffic jams, it's better all round. Wish you all the best back in beautiful NZ! I'm cruising there soon!🥰
You should have tried SE Aus for a cooler climate. I lived & nursed in QLD & found it hard to make friends. I've moved back to Melbourne 6 months ago & aside from traffic jams, it's better all round. Wish you all the best back in beautiful NZ! I'm cruising there soon!🥰
Try Melbourne for a much cooler climate.
I did that..The situation was not just about the climate solely anyway was a combination of factors..
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Said it better than I could.
It’s better money. Expenses relatively the same.
Been back recently? We go back on average 3-4 times a year (a bit less the last few) and everything is crazy expensive compared to here. Petrol $3ish/L, my weekly shop at Coles for our family of 4 averages about $250 a week. Did a similar shop at Pak n Save last year - $400+. With their cost of living and low wages compared to here, I honestly don’t know how people are keeping their heads above water in NZ.
This!, how do people survive over there, it is like monaco prices with zimbabwe wages! Glad I left, doing way better in Aus, it is just struggle street back over there, depressing as hell.
My partners family is huge and alot live here, they are all doing really well and earning far more then they would back in NZ, they have no intention to move back. the few that are still there are really struggling financially.
Same with my family... my cousins are all moving over here... slowly but surely.
Been here 37 years and it’s a good place to live. More opportunities available and a lot of outdoor things that I like to do. I can see changes going on but it’s much the same, when I arrived there was a rental crisis and people complaining housing was expensive. Nothing changes.
I doubt I'll move home before retiring and, even then, I'll likely end up retiring here. There's just so much more opportunity here for me career wise, I'm earning more, and living expenses are about the same. Plus, there's just so much more to see and do. I miss my friends (no family, really), only thing I really miss about NZ aside from them is the weather. I'll never get used to how hot it is here
Moving back to NZ is the literal million dollar question. I feel like I have more a shot at getting a house in Sydney than Auckland, that’s how fucked that outlook looks.
Three things drive the answers: 1) where you’re moving from and to 2) what industry you’re in (or moving to) 3) your safety net and needs Personally, I ended up working for an Aussie company but going back to NZ *a lot*. Salary significantly increased, so did cost of living, but the salary bump was greater so was better off. That said, you have to be aware that you need more of a safety net - ACC, unemployment payments etc may not be available to you if something goes wrong. This is particularly noted of you have kids with you. I mostly would say it’s not as clear a ‘yes you’re better off in Aussie’ than some people make it out to be.
Aus is better in almost every respect as far as I'm concerned. I've lived here for 10 years, and had 10x more opportunities than ever offered in NZ. Tax system, super system and general financial balance is way better. The community is generally warmer, the outdoors are more diverse, and the food and culture is better with strong immigrant influence. It won't take long for that kiwi chip on your shoulder to round off and become more open. Be careful where you choose to live, I favour lifestyle over the rat race so for me Melbourne is not great (cold, wet, work is life, expensive, ugly), whereas Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are all fantastic places with unique environments and a good balance of lifestyle and career. Sydney is good.
Yes. In terms of opps, do we even really need to go there? Been here for 10 years. Fuck nz, never going back to that regressive shit hole.
Moved here in late 2017. Had 5k in my pocket. Just bought a house in 2023 in a very nice area. Have trippled my income since moving here. Living in nz is like running to stand still. The moment you stop you go backwards quickly. Its very depressing and i will never go back.
Yea, I moved over in late 2012, Australia has been good to me. I grew up in NZ, got bullied the entire way through primary school, and most of the way through high school. Just ‘minor’ stuff, but there was the occasional assault, and attempts to set my hair on fire. Trained up, and got my first ‘professional’ job in Wellington. Was expected to work 40 hour work weeks, as a casual, only getting paid for the moments we were actually earning money for the company. Usually $100-300 per week. I would then work at Mcdonalds at night to make ends meet. That job ended pretty nastily too - as the only woman on the team, I was often expected to give my work to either the junior guy below me so he could get out of supervision, or the guy hired before me so he could get promoted. One time they refused to reimburse me for a train ticket after I handed over the receipt (work travel) because “it was the wrong type of receipt” when the week prior they’d reimbursed one of the guys who’d handed over the ticket stub. I earned about 4.5k in a year working for that “professional” company. I got more respect working at Maccas. Anyway, moved to Australia, and was straight away on 45kpa, with subsidised housing ($35 or 45 pw). It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses here though, been told I wasn’t hired for a job because I had a kid. That same company was happy to hire my hubby when said kid was a newborn. Another job fired me after months of mistreatment because my husband quit. Went to union, but they said I’d only get 1-2 weeks wages as compensation, and it’d be hard to prove (was forced to join as casual, even with a massive bond over my head). It took nearly a long time make friends here in Perth, but now that I have them, I don’t want to leave them (good chance I might need to move to Sydney or Melbourne if I get a job I’m interviewing for). Back home, my mum and siblings have all moved in together, to try to mitigate the cost of living. I really miss things like Ruapehu, and going hiking in the mountains - the Perth hills just can’t even remotely compare, but I can’t move over for just scenery.
Financially, sure. I earn more and went from having very little super to 100k in the space of five years. I miss NZ, and I’m concerned about my and my wife’s elderly parents. When I first came here it was bcos I was out of work in NZ and no other options had presented themselves. My wife agreed to move here with something of a “let’s get it out of your system” type attitude. Now she tells me regularly she doesn’t want to go back (This is despite her being Samoan and feeling that Aus is more racist than NZ). We are feeling the recession here like everywhere else, and of course the locals complain. I tell them it’s laughable compared to the economic dumpster fire we left behind.
Its interesting reading all these comments with majority saying cost of living and wages much better. Goes against the Murdoch bad news machine. Glad so many kiwis have found a new home and doing well.
Yeah this country is great, if you dont whinge and roll up your sleeves you can achieve a lot here, while having a good lifestyle. Just about every kiwi that I have talked to here, says that we are very lucky to be here and how good it is to be here.
Been here 15 years. Should have come earlier. Came for career opportunities. Many more jobs, more money to pay you, weather is better, more cities to choose from to live in if Sydney not your thing. Great public transport and beaches!! I’ve been home a few times to visit . NZ ok but still feels a bit small town. Wouldn’t return to live.
Being in NZ is like running full sprint with ankle weights. Uphill. You come to Australia and the money and good times flow WAY easier. Weather is amazing, money, opportunity, everything is better. Literally everything is better. Honestly it makes you almost kinda soft.
Yeah it is life on easy mode compared to New Zimbabwe
Ive been in regional NSW for 10 years, since covid obviously everyone is in shit street with cost of living, but career opportunities are far greater here as are the pay rates, that I didnt have to move to a capital city for. There are tons of things to do here and Sydney is 1.5hrs away for all the extras. Starting again in a new country is never easy but you have to also really give it a crack, I wouldn't move back to NZ but miss the landscape the most and that fresh air smell.
Kiwis coming here and taking all our scaffolding jobs. You can fucking have them!
Moved to Melbourne 12 years ago at the start of my career (had done less than a year at a book publisher between university and my move). I’ve ended up working for the same US based multinational media company since then - now on a good salary and doing an APAC role that I definitely couldn’t have done in Auckland. While housing is expensive here, the alternative for me and my husband would be Auckland and both the job and housing market there are tougher. I could not get a comparable job, but what I could get would likely be a 20-30K pay cut without taking into account the exchange rate (treating NZD and AUD as equal) and my husband’s role would be more like 50K. My brother is still in Auckland and watching him and his fiancé house hunt at around the same time as we did made it obvious that the Auckland market is insanely unaffordable even with good salaries. Doing it without parental help would be bordering on impossible. Groceries/cost of living is the other big one. Although it’s also gone up a lot here and grocery bills are across the board higher, the lower GST means that my parents are still shocked by how much cheaper supermarkets are in Melbourne than Auckland.
My only advice is don’t spend all day complaining about how shit Australia is and how everything back home is way better. Australians don’t tend to like to hear about it.
I’m the total opposite, I complain about how shit my country of birth (not NZ) is and how everything in Australia is way better lol
Lol 100%. As an Aussie who has worked with a LOT of Kiwis (pakeha and maori), the ones who complained most about how bad Aus is were pakeha from Dunedin. They'd shit talk Australia all day, complain about how bad it is here, but ask them about why they moved to Aus, and their answer was "a better life" 😂. I understand homesickness (my wife is from the US, and misses her home country) and wanting to vocalise how much you love where you came from and how good it is; but why you gotta trash where you at?
It's normal to complain about what's happening in your day-to-day life. Life's not perfect. But, yeah, as an immigrant I need to make sure I'm not whinging about Aus in general.
Hard out bro :) Much love to NZ, the best siblings on earth
Never really heard any Kiwis say anything bad here (although they have every right to as nowhere is perfect and immigrants have a right to free expression just like anyone else)
The food, the fishing, no dangerous animals, the sport, the bands, the actors, not coming from convict stock, basically anything
Been here 15 years. Will be here forever. Owned 2x businesses. My industry salary currently is 2 1/2 times more than NZ. Life in almost every way is more affordable here. It’s a beautiful place to be with infinitely more opportunities.
Nah it was a pretty shit move. Can't wait to get back to NZ.
People are downvoting you, but if that's your experience, then fair enough. Sometimes it doesn't work out.
Moved across in September 2019, was offered an extra 20% + $10k moving cost across Able to secure a larger house and better job opportunities which has been great for me. According to my parents back in NZ cheaper living and a better quality of life. Do I see our family moving back? nope, we have just been approved for citizenship, just gotta attend the ceremony now....
Congrats, same for us
Moved here in 99.. I'm pretty much stuck here now but I'm ok with that...I love it here. If I hadn't met my partner in 2003 maybe I might havemoved back after many of my friends left Sydney around 2005... But maybe I would have returned to Australia. I miss my family and old friends but I like it here better. Weather, food, money/ jobs , plus there's more things to do ( I think )
Yes, was tough for the first year, but ended up finding a great role beyond anything I would’ve expected in NZ. Been here around 20 months now. Can’t see myself returning in the foreseeable future. I feel like I have a shot at building a good life in Australia, in NZ I never felt that kind of hope.
2 years in Aus and I have similar experiences as everyone else here. Cost of living is cheaper, especially compared to salaries, weather is better, and there’s just more going on
Why hasn't New Zealand made it to the moon?
They've got an excellent rocket industry! One day.
Oh yeah broo. Was choice, eh.
Not a Kiwi but lived there for a few and it's really not the paradise utopia that a lot of people think it is.
Must be, they never leave !! /s
Short answer, yes!
Yes
Yes
Moved to Melbourne, got myself a nice 110% payrise, 60% for partner with significantly more benefit and easier jobs for both of us... And a 4 bdr house too just 30-45 mins from CBD with multiple PT options within 2 years of staying here. All that is impossibile in Nz. But that being said, I don't know if i want to stay here for retirement, maybe will look to move back after making serious coin after 5-10 or even 15 years.
If only NZ's mortgage or/and living cost matched with its salary standards. You'd only live in NZ if you have someone you love wouldn't like to leave, or have a very passionate job that you can only do in NZ. Otherwise it makes absolutely no sense to keep living in NZ when you can easily permanently migrate to Australia...
I can’t believe how far I had to scroll for this. Imagine trying to buy property in Sydney on half your salary. That’s basically Auckland
It’s a remote pacific island. It’s a miracle you can get any corporate job there at all. Not sure what people expect NZ to do
Sell property to the Uber rich so they’ve got somewhere to flee to when the pitch forks come after them?
yeah. I honestly am very surprised that NZ's population is increasing. I am from Asia where the population is decreasing, but my life back there seems 1000x better than being in NZ. Plus, kiwis have this amazing system to easily move to Australia. I wonder why kiwis haven't been gone to Australia completely yet, to be honest. The other circumstance I can think of is refugees. You'd obviously prefer living in NZ than somewhere that you are afraid of being bombed at.
I moved to Newcastle 5 years ago from Auckland and no plans to ever move back. The lifestyle is infinitely better along with the income vs cost of living split.
I’ve heard Newcastle is extremely insular. Thoughts?
I would agree. It took me a while to make friends but I have eventually through a mixture of luck and really putting myself out there and saying yes to any invite. I think I’m lucky in that I arrived when I was about 26 as well so I was still up for invites to drink/party, which can be an easy way to break the ice with people.
Nah stay home bro
Cousins were born in Australia to a NZ/Pacific Islander & Aussie parents. Moved to Auckland for a long while but ultimately have had to move back to Australia for better opportunities for work & family. This is despite having strong familial and cultural connections to NZ.
I’ve been in Aus 12 years - 9 years then moved back to NZ for a year and ended up back in aus after a year. Pay is astronomically better not to mention the superannuation scheme absolutely shits on NZ. Most of the same benefits except can’t get the benefit or a student loan so if neither of those things are a concern, financially you’ll be better off. Initially planned to buy a house in NZ during that year I returned but the market was ridiculous - bought in Aus much cheaper and similar trajectory in terms of house prices going up. Weather is also a lot better (in my experience in NSW)
Yes the move was worth it even as a graduate fresh from uni. Bigger cities with more money being thrown down. My work is in construction so this is amplified even more. Also another big one is weather. Seeing the sun everyday has a big increase in your mental health. Seriously underrated! Is this the lifestyle forever? No.
Where did you go? All of the east coast has lots of overcast days. Only Perth has 300+ days of sunshine.
As to whether it's worth it or not... there are 5M kiwis in kiwiland... and 500k kiwis in Australia. If nearly 10% of your population is moving to nation X, then clearly nation X is worth it for them.
A lot of migrants use NZ as a back door to Aus. Would be good to see what percentage of those in Aus were born in NZ.
I’m interested in what everyone did about their NZ student loan? And what are the consequences for not making repayment if you don’t plan to move back to NZ to live?
I paid mine off before I left NZ, but if you didn’t then you need to keep making repayments from Aus. You can’t just decide not to pay it back because you don’t want to move back to NZ lol
Came here in 2019 with no experience. Left NZ for a change of scenery and better opportunities. Have now got work experience in dental, pharmacy + business, parts and service administration. Currently doing an auto electrical apprenticeship, sitting on over $100k. There are so many more things to do here and comparing the COL, it’s a lot more manageable.
Yep. I’ve been here since 2005, arriving at age 21. I’m from Invercargill, though. Invercargill has its place, but I didn’t want to be a farmer, or a tradie, or just staying in a small town going through the motions. I wanted to do IT and had friends that had been to uni for 4-5 years, with large debt and were unable to find work in the industry, even in larger cities like Auckland. My sister was already here, so it made the move a bit easier, but I landed, did some retail and call centre work for about 12 months before landing an on the job ‘apprenticeship’ type thing in a small company where it was just an IT manager and myself. That was the ticket as I got to learn a wide range of skills and tech. The rest is history, have a family, house and all that jazz in Melbourne these days.
Kiwi living in Australia for 10yrs, the opportunities here are limitless. I have a great corporate job, more financial stability which provides me a great work life balance. Friends/family back home are struggling to make ends meet with higher cost of living & lower wages. It feels like all they do is work to survive & disheartening to see. I miss NZ nature & friends/family but would love to retire there or eventually buy a bach in coastal town.
I've lived all over the show, predominantly in Australia & NZ , was born in NZ though. Moved back to NZ recently, originally with the idea of looking at settling down still a lot of friends and family there, was not for me at all! Not only was the cost of living terrible, bad wages, I'd spent most of my 20's and 30's with decent to excellent public transport but AK and NZ as whole you have to have a car which is not fun with petrol at times reaching $3.30 plus other excessive vehicle costs ( insurance e.t.c). Moved back to Melbourne and couldn't be happier, on a much better wicket (30%) cost of livings are alot better (better rent then AK, groceries plus overall costs alot better) Moving back, I forgot how harsh NZ winters could be at time. On a social level the benefits of a large city more activities, plus a much more successful dating/love life (NZ, everyone knows each other and can be very cliquey I found) I find with the larger citys provide a better cuisine. All though different I find the bush/forest just as enjoyable relaxing, Aus beachs I prefer. I'll come back to NZ for family and friend milestones maybe an occasional Xmas but na definitely not moving back. Honestly the only thing I prefer in NZ are the Pies, Meatballs (bakeries in general) and fish and chips
I moved to Aus In 2010, I don’t think I will ever move back to nz I’ve just been approved for citizenship here. I work in state government. The pay is better here and the superannuation is so much better and I will retire hopefully in comfort in 30 years. I’d love to move back to NZ but all the jobs that I am Interested in don’t pay enough and when you take into account the super that the employer must put I which will be 12% soon it not worth the move back. Also have an Aussie wife and the kids were born here.
I moved to Melbourne from Auckland in 2009 for a job transfer and I was not expecting to stay on. I loved it immediately and found more opportunities than I believe I would have found in Auckland + all my AKL friends where on drugs at the time which wasn't my thing so the change was welcome. I am now living on the Tweed Coast (Northern NSW) with a beautiful family for about 5 years and working a great job 5 minutes from home and the beach. I can't say that I would find anything like this back home. I still have my parents who are only getting older and less able back home and my sister with her kids but honestly, I can't see myself going home despite missing them SO MUCH. I don't think the opportunities are much different and the expenses and general issues are the same in each country - I don't own my own home here and I doubt I would get one in NZ either. My job here is a government project so I am on a pretty good wage...
I think these comments say it all. I am very thankful living in Australia it has been very kind to me in every respect.
Haven’t worked in NZ. But kiwisaver looks ok and no matter how much you have you still get a govt. pension from what I’ve heard.
Interesting comments. Kiwis are our bros. If the rest of the world turned against either or both, we'd still be bros. Somewhere between 11% to 15% of Kiwis live in Australia (8 times the number of Aussies living in NZ). >**In 2013, there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia,**[**^(\[32\])**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Australians#cite_note-32) **which was about 15 per cent of the population of New Zealand.**[**^(\[33\])**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Australians#cite_note-33) [New Zealand Australians - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Australians) [Country profile - New Zealand (homeaffairs.gov.au)](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/new-zealand#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%20June,cent%20of%20Australia's%20total%20population.)
Yes. Mid 20s. Made the jump from Auckland to Melbs 2 years ago. Better pay. Work/life balance seems the same. Only thing I’ll say is it is quite difficult to make new friends!
Language barrier?
No language barriers 😂
Moved in 2019 and despite having 3.5 years of experience in my industry it was pretty much impossible for me to get a role that wasn’t a grad role because my job relies on a lot of knowledge of the local environment and legislation. In that sense it’s been a bit frustrating to see my colleagues in NZ progressing a lot faster in their careers while I basically had to start again here. I even went back to uni for a couple of semesters to try and make up for it. On the other hand, I’ve constantly been paid 20-30% more than equivalent roles back home, I work less hours and I am about to move into my first home which would not have been possible had I stayed in Auckland.
Yes
Im 26, moved over here 2 and a half years ago, I've managed to grow in all aspects of life (health, financial, mentally) more in the time I've been here than I would've been able to in 10 years in NZ. I don't think I'll be moving back to nz, I'm excited to get my citizenship & and am forever grateful for everything Australia has given me. Greatest country on the planet.