Anyone moved to New Zealand / Australia here?

Soldato
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Has anyone moved from England to NZ/Oz on these forums?

How long have you been there?

Do you regret your decision to move?

Are you enjoying life more?

What's the living costs like?

Any primary teachers there? Any advise for good places to teach/live thats affordable?

How would a singleton fair moving across the world? :p

Just looking to talk to some people that have actually done thie big move!
 
Man of Honour
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Visit first, you may not like it. NEVER do something like this without going there for a bit first.

Personally I loved Australia and would seriously consider moving there in say 10 years time. One thing to remember though is that as a tourist you see and do a lot more than a local and have a great time - most people who live somewhere don't visit half the places you'd go as a tourist, living somewhere is very different!

I met people who were amazed at what I'd seen of the country in just 6 weeks and they'd lived there for an entire lifetime..
 
Soldato
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nah not yet! I'm currently 3 weeks in to my Primary PGCE couse, so can't afford it this year, but in my NQT year I will go.

I just think about New Zealand a lot! I have a Geology degree, going there will make me wee myself or summit :)

It would be wise to visit before moving, my cousin had her heart set on emigrating there but after a visit she changed her mind.
 
Soldato
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Ah yes Fox I remember your thread about driving in Oz in the motors forum. I will obviously go before I take a decision. I certainly appreciate that living somewhere is different to a holiday! You have to have a 5 days-a-week 9-5 job after all!

Oz seems huge, like USA, I went to Orlando in May and enjoyed it, but accepted it wasn't the 'real' USA I was saying, more like a giant Blackpool. Anyway getting off subject hehe :)

EDIT: Oh yeh, If I can't see myself living there then I won't go, theres nothing wrong with the UK & the Key Worker status & NHS is hard to walk away from. Theres a lot of factors to consider, I won't make a rash decision. I'm purely looking for peoples experiences as a taster before I do more research over the summer of 2010. Quite busy with my PGCE atm.
 
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Associate
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I made the move at the end of 2007 with my family. I grew up in NZ but came to the UK for a gap year in 1998. Nearly 10 years later I finally went back with a family in tow :D

Our first year was really tough. I know it was mostly 'the grass is greener' syndrome but there were many aspects of London life that we missed. A lot of it was down to missing friends and family (my wife is a Brit). But every time I thought about moving back, I'd remind myself of traffic jams, rude shop assistants, parking wardens... etc.

There are many a good things about living in Christchurch. It's easy to get to the shops in the car (i.e. you don't have to plan your travels around school runs, rush hour, etc). People in the street are generally friendlier. We had not problems getting to know our neighbours and our kids are often at the house over the back fence as much as their children are playing at ours. There's also the Great Outdoors available on your doorstep. The beach is 10min away - the ski fields are a 90min drive. Sports play a big part in school culture, and we feel the kids are just more active here.

That said, NZ feels like a country suited to summer. In the winter everyone seems to go into hibernation. Central heating is a luxury most can't afford. We had our house insulated and a heat pump installed in May, but we were still wearing jumpers and woolen socks around the house. We also really miss the NHS - every trip to the GP costs money ($10 for school age, $36 for adults). Our youngest had an ambulance trip to the hospital (arranged by our GP) for respiratory problems and I got a bill 3 weeks later for $50. Hospital wait times in A&E are around 6 hrs - you're better off paying a small fortune for insurance and going private.

Cost of living... well, in London I was earning 3 times what I earn now for the same type of work. Taxes are about the same here (20-25%) but rates, electricity, phones are all a little cheaper than their UK counterparts. Food seems to be more expensive and clothing and electronics are almost on par with what you pay in the UK (plus import tax). So I will never get myself a quad core I7 because I can't justify $1200 on a CPU. The trade off is there's a lot of second hand trading. Most of our kids wardrobes are made up of clothes that were given to us by other families who's young ones had outgrown theirs. In turn, we give to others when ours no longer need theirs. I purchased most of our kitchen appliances second hand - couldn't justify paying full retail when I saw the prices.

I've several friends who are primary school teachers. One has been in her role for 7 years and is doing very well for herself - I think she earns nearly as much as I do as a system administrator for a medium sized business. I've another friend who was working with special needs kids - she's moved on but has been having trouble finding a permanent role for the last 3 months. Friend number 3 moved up north to a rural town to be principle of a small local school. He's onto his second school up there now but really wants to get back into a role down here. But it's tough getting a job at that level in the cities because they have so many candidates.

Wow - that's a lot of words, and not entirely relevant to your current status as a singleton :p

I should have said - if you haven't been out here yet then you should get a working Visa and test the waters for 12 months first. Some people love it - I know of a couple of families who went back. I also have a soft spot for Australia. From what I hear they pay better wages and have lower taxes - hmmmm maybe the Grass IS Greener across the pond?

Feel free to ask any other questions you may have. I'm here all night, er day...
 
Caporegime
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My wife, daughter and I moved to New Zealand about six weeks ago. Two things I'd flag up before you get ahead of yourelf : definitely visit before you do anything you may regret and be prepared for an expensive and time-consuming process. I got in on a resident's permit as my wife is a kiwi; that took 4 months but it's not uncommon for the other visas and permits to take much, much longer. Total expense on admin was over a thousand quid as the permit and the medical you'll be required to have carried out are both pretty expensive. On that note, you will not get into the country if you have any serious conditions or very high blood pressure. The doctor will not sign off your application.

Having said all of that, it's certainly worth it! We're having a great time although we've found it much easier to adapt as we have a pretty strong infrastructure of friends and relatives to help us settle down. It took 4 weeks for me to get a job and we're moving in to our rented place on Thursday so we're pleased with how quickly the important stuff has worked out.

The dollar is giving the pound an utter kicking at the moment. Four months ago it was 2.8 dollars to the pound. Today it's 2.2 so if you have substantial savings to transfer then be very aware of how this can affect your cash. Food prices are generally slightly cheaper but the wages are typically less than you'd expect to be paid in the UK. Petrol is 1.6 dollars a litre so significantly cheaper than the UK. Our rent is around a thousand pounds a month and that gets us a 3 double bedroomed house in a nice part of Auckland. Auckland is expensive but the other cities are slightly cheaper.

It's an absolutely fantastic country to be in. Whilst it has its issues like anywhere in the world, the people and feel of the place are markedly more upbeat than the UK. There are loads of things to do if you're an outdoorsy kind of person (skiing, hiking, tramping etc) as well as some quite unbelievable scenery to enjoy.

We're very glad we moved and I consider myself very lucky to have been able to consider emigrating as a viable option; for many it's impossible.

Anyway, best of luck with whatever you decide :)

edit : just read the above post which is very informative and perhaps more balanced than my views, given my short time here. I'm actually getting paid more than I was in the UK for doing the same job, and I was quite well-paid over there. This is probably atypical though and I certainly didn't expect it to work out this way.

Christchurch was actually the only city in New Zealand that I didn't really like when I visited 4 years ago. It felt very much like London but on a smaller scale but not the things which make London great, the not so good aspects. Still, that was just my perception based on a week so maybe I got the wrong idea about the place!
 
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Associate
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In one of my first job interviews I was asked - why Christchurch, why don't you want to make real money in Auckland? :p

I know where you're coming from with your feelings on Chch - some parts, particularly the central city can feel like a dump. There's also a real clique culture down here. I think the main reason I chose Chch was because I grew up here. I'll get round to seeing more than Auckland airport one day :D
 
Associate
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Did not move from England but did move from Scotland to Australia in 2005. No regrets and not being too dramatic about it but saved my life (long story).

There is a huge difference between a holiday and living. Where ever you live you need to make money to pay the bills, eat and put a roof over your head. Some things are cheaper here and some things are more expensive, generally I would say that cost of living is comparable to the UK. Depending on where you have come from and where you are moving to, housing can seem expensive (in my view anyway).

Where I live there is a perception of it being a safe place. Serious crime seems to be limited to certain areas and between criminals themselves. There is no where near the youth crime culture seen in the UK.

Cannot comment on teaching but I know that country postings for teachers are easier to get and pay extra. Remember though when I say country I don't mean 5 minutes out of the city, you could end up in the middle of no where.

Came here with my wife and kids but it would make no difference if you were single. As long as you don't have 2 heads you would do just fine if you know what I mean.

Some people have a problem when they move here as they expect it to be the UK with sun. In some ways it is similar but in many other ways it is very different, which can throw people. You need to open your mind, stop comparing, accept the differences and move on. I get really annoyed when I hear ex-pats moaning about such and such a thing not being as good here. This is not the UK, never will so put up with it.

In my opinion Australia possesses an optimism, which I did not experience in the UK.

The wildlife can be a bit strange at times but you get used to finding the odd koala or echidna in your garden and dodging the roos at dusk, and avoiding the spiders and snakes.

Unfortunately I am having to return to Scotland at the end of this year for a few years but as soon as I can I will be returning to Australia, which I now consider home.

Ask away if you have any specific questions.
 

Zip

Zip

Soldato
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Any primary teachers there? Any advise for good places to teach/live thats affordable?

Normally id say come to Adelaide:p

But for teachers is New South Wales where you want to go, If im remembering right they have the highest paid teachers in Australia.

And thrash, Those vindaloo pies are good:D:cool:
 
Caporegime
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Some people have a problem when they move here as they expect it to be the UK with sun. In some ways it is similar but in many other ways it is very different, which can throw people. You need to open your mind, stop comparing, accept the differences and move on. I get really annoyed when I hear ex-pats moaning about such and such a thing not being as good here. This is not the UK, never will so put up with it.

I hear that from someone who is Australian, she says the ex-pats often complain that the sky are too blue over there...WTF? If they want cloudy skies, what on earth are they doing in Australia? :confused:
 
Associate
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I hear that from someone who is Australian, she says the ex-pats often complain that the sky are too blue over there...WTF?

You ain't heard someone whinge until you hear a pom having a good old whinge about the Aussie driving, weather (too hot/too cold/too wet/too dry), food, laid back attitude, work, pay I could go on all day. It does seem to be a popular hobby for some migrants.
 
Soldato
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Has anyone moved from England to NZ/Oz on these forums?

Living in New Zealand, lived in the UK all my life before moving here.

How long have you been there?

Coming up to 5 months now, we've just sorted the paperwork on a house (first one for us at the ripe old age of 28).

Do you regret your decision to move?

Not for a second :) we sometimes miss friends and family but never enough to regret the move.

Are you enjoying life more?

We're both happier, healthier, more optimistic and just loving it out here.

What's the living costs like?

We were living in Marlow before, outgoings of about £1800/month. Now living in ChCh and outgoings of $NZ1800/month, probably a bit less, so for us at least it is much cheaper.

As a general rule we have found most house related things to be cheaper (accomodation, houses themselves, bills, etc). Food is about the same as the UK (so quite expensive when you take account of the difference in salary). Petrol is cheaper but works out about the same in terms of earnings.

One thing that is very expensive is dentist treatment so make sure to get your teeth sorted beforehand if you do decide to make the move!

I was earning ~£100k/yr in the UK, I'm now earning a quarter of that out here so we have much less disposable income. That said, we're happy to trade that for the outdoor lifestyle, relaxed atmosphere and people but weigh it up and make sure you bring a decent chunk of money with you if possible.

Any primary teachers there? Any advise for good places to teach/live thats affordable?

Afraid not, I work in IT and my fiancee works in retail. The recession has hit over here so jobs are harder to come by and the jobless total is expected to go up rather than down in the coming months. Check out www.seek.co.nz to get an idea of the number of jobs on offer. Although the job market is a bit different out here, much more is done by word of mouth and networking. It's far from frowned upon to approach companies (or schools) directly rather than waiting for them to advertise a position.

How would a singleton fair moving across the world? :p

I think it's certainly doable but it's worth making connections in advance, there are a few decent forums about which are worth joining like emigratenz and move2nz (the latter are based in ChCh and the forum isn't as busy). There are plenty of clubs and social events out here and if you end up in ChCh then we'll gladly help you get settled in.


As others have said, it's worth visiting first if only so you can see which areas you like and to talk to potential employers.

It's worth looking at your visa/emigration options, we went for Permanent Residence (PR) as it means we don't have to renew anything and the visa wasn't tied to a job offer. They have tightened up the process a little recently and a few people on 2 year visas have not had them renewed (this has been rare as far as I can tell but has happened).

Drop me a mail if you want more info and whatever you do, don't pay for immigration advice as there is plenty of (better) free advice to be had!
 
Caporegime
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You ain't heard someone whinge until you hear a pom having a good old whinge about the Aussie driving, weather (too hot/too cold/too wet/too dry), food, laid back attitude, work, pay I could go on all day. It does seem to be a popular hobby for some migrants.

mirgrants? I think that's the English in general, moaning is their/our favourite past time.

Sometimes i wish my dad took us to Canada or Australia instead of England lol.
 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;14976712 said:
One thing to remember though is that as a tourist you see and do a lot more than a local and have a great time - most people who live somewhere don't visit half the places you'd go as a tourist, living somewhere is very different!

I met people who were amazed at what I'd seen of the country in just 6 weeks and they'd lived there for an entire lifetime..


I agree - I was a touch embarrased when an ozzie couple said I must have been all over europe when in fact oz was the first time I'd left the british isles!

But then quickly found out they'd never left Victoria either - so they're about the same.

They had seen all of europe and I'd seen all of oz - wierd bunch aren't we :)
 
Associate
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Well, i dragged the family out to Darwin 3 years ago on a 457 visa (4 years).
I had never been to Aus before.

Bit of a risk i know, but it worked out. Love the country and love the Top End

Got Permanent Residency last year and aiming for Citizenship next year.

Great place to bring up a family compared to the UK. I think the only thing i miss is the frosty mornings.... it rarely goes below 15 in Darwin, though it can get into single figures in the local rural area.
 
Associate
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Been in Melbourne for nearly a year now.

Came out on a holiday a few years ago and fell in love with the country. GF got offered a job with a 457 working visa (nurse), so we jumped at the chance.

First 6 months was a bit of a holiday and I struggled to get a job for a couple of months, 2nd 6 months have been pretty hard (missing family and Oz winter etc), but as someone else has said it does get easier with time. We said that if we moved, no matter how much we wanted to move back we couldn't for at least 2yrs so that we have at least fitted in and understood how everything works over here first.

We're now at the stage where we both love our jobs and get out with friends quite a bit.Travelling into the CBD everyday for work is also a bit of a novelty that I'm enjoying as I've never considered working in a large city before and could never have worked in London due to my hatred of the dirty smelly place that it is considered to the rest of the UK. We get out a lot more as the whether is generally a lot better than the UK, although Melb does have it's moments. Money, we're both a fair bit better off than when we were in the UK (which apparently is a rare thing speaking to migrants). Both earning more and spending less. Public transport is cheap and plentiful, so neither of us have a car. In the UK we both had to have cars, so this is where most of our savings have come from. The change in exchange rates since we arrived have only made things better that they already were.

Would I go back to the UK? At the moment no. We're looking to get married over here next year and have also applied for residency (going through as I type), but when we have children then things may change with grandparents being so far away etc. Personally I'd rather bring them up over here as things seem a lot more child friendly and there's no where near as much of the youth trouble as I used to see in the UK.

We're happy with life and thats the main thing :D

Also just got back from a weeks snowboarding in Queenstown NZ. Would I consider moving there? Hell yeah! Loved it and would consider giving up a 10yr career in IT to work on one of the extreme sport setups they have there. Awesome place and hope to back over there soon to do the Milford Track once it's warmed up a bit.
 
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Soldato
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You guys have certainly made me wanna go more!! :)

I'll have a look at the teach nz website and start some research into Oz. I maybe e-mailing some of guys in the coming months with questions!

Obviously need to finish my PGCE first and NQT year in Britian. Better start saving for an oz/NZ holiday - will going to them during the school holidays be rubbish considering its there winter? The trip would be more of a fact finding mission rather than a holiday :p

Can anyone suggest some places for me to look into for oz? How much did the move to oz/nz cost roughly?
 
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