Moved from Auckland to Brisbane, but still confused whether it was the right decision, please help

Forums › Off topic › Moved from Auckland to Brisbane, but still confused whether it was the right decision, please help

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#3204783 9-Mar-2024 14:02

Sounds like you'd be more at home in NSW, VIC, or SA. Or, give where you are a lot longer to get used to it. Took us a year in Melbourne before we felt settled. Take advantage of the different natural environment compared to the things you get at home. Queensland and NT are amazing places with incredible landscapes. Every community adapts their recreation activities to what is around them - e.g. if you're in Wellington you figure out fun things to do with the wind and hills.... you might find a bunch of new hobbies and interests that you'd never have experienced at home, simply because you're not in that environment anymore. Don't look for what you used to have, look at what you have now.

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#3204801 9-Mar-2024 14:42

Weather wise, you’ve experienced the worst two months of the year in Brisbane. January and February are hot and humid. The trade off is that April to October are just amazing. Also Ipswich is usually 3-4*C hotter than the eastern suburbs.

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#3204879 9-Mar-2024 18:33

In terms of stuff around Brisbane:

Sunnybank - the equivalent of Dominion Road or Botany in terms of Asian eateries or supermarkets.
There are a number of Westfields that give you a larger experience of New Market Westfield, Lynnmail, St Lukes, Syliva Park etc. Parking ~3 hours is usually free.
Gold coast - a decent number of Kiwis down there but also has the theme parks to get your 'rainbows end' experience. You can buy the annual passes which works out to be more cost effective, avoid holidays though.
Mt Coot-tha - good place if you want a BBQ, walk or just a meal with decent views.
Wilson etc offer cheap CBD parking ($7 via the App) if you want to go out on evenings/weekends into the CBD./

I've only lived around South Bank / West End and loving it. You do have some 'radicals'/communists/hippies at the markets but they're harmless.
I spend a fraction of the time commuting compared to what I was spending in Auckland.

Also feel safe taking walks out and about at night, even in the CBD.

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#3204881 9-Mar-2024 18:48

Also if you crave a dressmart experience, DFO is out by the airport (you don't need to take toll roads) and parking is free.
On the toll front, you can get a linkt account (and little window attached RF device) which will save you the photo matching fees.

I trust you've got the medicare, insurance stuff sorted (some of the extras are pretty cool)?

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#3204885 9-Mar-2024 19:38

A lot of responses are focusing on "give the move a chance". Its admirable for sure, however, I think its missing the call for help. You even mention (in a roundabout way) that you might be staring into depression. I think you are. And as such my recommendation is to start with your GP. When I recognised this in myself I was lucky I had a good GP who didnt flinch and sent me on the right path. I wont sugar coat it... it wasnt easy. But that step was by far the best made because every step after that I could attribute to that first step of saying to my GP "I think I'm depressed". So if nothing else, please go into your GP and tell them what you have said here. Dont be embarrassed because you have absolutely NOTHING to be embarrassed about.

And further to that I am more than happy to chat to you about your situation and what I went through. I wont lay it out here as I'm not looking for sympathy or to be any kind of hero at all... but I know how hard it can be to open up about it. Im not going to promise to have the answers or be the fix either (I would totally advocate for professionals here). But this I will promise: I will listen. There will be no judgement. I will understand and I will sympathise. DM me if you need. Dont be afraid to.

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#3204889 9-Mar-2024 20:01

nzkc:

A lot of responses are focusing on "give the move a chance". Its admirable for sure, however, I think its missing the call for help. You even mention (in a roundabout way) that you might be staring into depression. I think you are. And as such my recommendation is to start with your GP. When I recognised this in myself I was lucky I had a good GP who didnt flinch and sent me on the right path. I wont sugar coat it... it wasnt easy. But that step was by far the best made because every step after that I could attribute to that first step of saying to my GP "I think I'm depressed". So if nothing else, please go into your GP and tell them what you have said here. Dont be embarrassed because you have absolutely NOTHING to be embarrassed about.

And further to that I am more than happy to chat to you about your situation and what I went through. I wont lay it out here as I'm not looking for sympathy or to be any kind of hero at all... but I know how hard it can be to open up about it. Im not going to promise to have the answers or be the fix either (I would totally advocate for professionals here). But this I will promise: I will listen. There will be no judgement. I will understand and I will sympathise. DM me if you need. Dont be afraid to.

I have been thinking something similar to this. I'm sorry I don't have any similar experience to draw on but do you have any close friends there you can share with? Otherwise it might be worth getting in touch with the Citizen's Advice Bureau. They may not be able to help you directly but they can certainly point you to other resources. Also the Salvation Army. They don't push religion when someone asks them for advice and they have very good information. There must also be some kind of local Kiwi expat club or organisation where you can meet others who have gone through the same thing. The most important thing is to find people you can share the burden with.

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#3204913 9-Mar-2024 20:28

nzkc:

A lot of responses are focusing on "give the move a chance". Its admirable for sure, however, I think its missing the call for help. You even mention (in a roundabout way) that you might be staring into depression. I think you are. And as such my recommendation is to start with your GP. When I recognised this in myself I was lucky I had a good GP who didnt flinch and sent me on the right path. I wont sugar coat it... it wasnt easy. But that step was by far the best made because every step after that I could attribute to that first step of saying to my GP "I think I'm depressed". So if nothing else, please go into your GP and tell them what you have said here. Dont be embarrassed because you have absolutely NOTHING to be embarrassed about.

To add to this, your GP is fantastically placed to help you with this, because they can write up a Mental Health Treatment Plan and that will get you six (up to 10) Medicare subsidised visits with a psychologist or psychiatrist. If you have any concerns that you may be feeling depressed, it's well worth a shot - trust me on that one.

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#3204980 10-Mar-2024 09:13

If ya play sport or have hobbies….

just get stuck into them. You need to socialise outside of family…. It will be good for you and help your settlement.

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#3205171 10-Mar-2024 22:00

Thank you, no worries mate, you have been kind enough to explain various aspects of the moving :) appreciate the time for the replies.

I went to Perth and Brisbane, and liked the feel and vibe of Brisbane, we visited in September, and the weather was pleasant at that time when compared to Auckland.

I'm trying my best to cope up with the new environment, definitely not as easy I was thinking of it when sitting in the bitter cold weather in Auckland haha...

Feels like no where in the world is perfect and no ideal weather anywhere we go. I have to adapt, I hope I can do. I might visit NZ a few times to make me convince again and again that my move was right, at least for my peace of mind. I also hope I can invest in another new land and home package or something similar whereas in terms of investing, Auckland now seem to be very dull with real estate market.

Wombat1:

jman123:

Family seems to like the place, they say "It was your decision to come here and we are not going back anywhere".

Kids like the school.

Thats all that matter IMO, the main reason we came here was for the kids.

Apologies for my trolling comment, I just thought it was very odd for somebody to sell up and move here without doing proper research first.

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#3205173 10-Mar-2024 22:11

Thank you so much, that is very much reassuring, I am sure your words are from your own experiences on moving here, definitely helps a lot. I am trying to forget the way I lived over there in Auckland, and trying to craft something on my own to get used with. At times, memories pull me back to the beautiful places in Auckland, but I am also trying to find similar places that I can visit. I know, I can't get everything here that I had in Auckland.

It is going to be a fight with myself haha.

Handle9: IME it takes 12 months to feel comfortable living in a new city and 24 months to recover financially from the move.

When you first I’ve everything is hard. It’s like starting a new life. You don’t know what you don’t know and you need help with absolutely everything. After a year you get used to the rhythms of your new home and it gets considerably easier.

We approached our move overseas as an adventure. We didn’t leave New Zealand to have the same life we did at home, we moved to get ahead. That really helped us as it made differences from home exciting rather than dispiriting.

Without being unkind you need to get your head space right and find a way to take pleasure in your new home. Laugh at the stupidity and enjoy the stuff that is better. You moved for a reason and focus on that. If you get your attitude right everything else will fall into place.

Get out there and seek out people. Find clubs to join, invite colleagues to coffee, the pub or to dinner. The sooner you make connections the happier you’ll become. You’ll get knock backs but just move on and try again. It’s exhausting but really rewarding.

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#3205175 10-Mar-2024 22:28

I didn’t move to Brisbane, I moved to Dubai. That introduced some other cultural differences but we also moved here in the middle of summer which is incredibly hot.

It takes time to get used to a new place.

cddt

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#3205215 11-Mar-2024 08:14

jman123:

After having lived in Auckland for more than 7 years, everything was such an easy thing. Cool and friendly people, nice weather although it is cold.

I imagine a few mainlanders are having a giggle at that comment about Auckland being cold.

On a more serious note, where did you move from before Auckland? Are you serially seeking new experiences, or improved quality of life? I have noticed that people who move around a lot as children are more inclined to do the same when they are adults too.

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#3205265 11-Mar-2024 09:38

I think from my limited experience the time taken is not to get used to the place. There's excitement in that right off the bat. It's the time that it takes to make friends and a social circle. Homesickness is quite hard.

boosacnoodle

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#3205278 11-Mar-2024 10:04

jman123: It is in fact Spring Mountain, in Ipswich region. I wanted to live in CBD but no choice , too expensive housing there. So had to move to Spring Mountain. Wife works as a nurse in a CBD hospital, she travels for almost an hour to reach the work place wherewas it is was a few minutes of drive in Auckland. When I visited Brisbane, I visited just the CBD only and some nearby suburbs like Sunny Bank.

So you visited the CBD, liked the CBD and your wife now works in the CBD... so you moved to Spring Mountain instead of the CBD.

A quick check of Google Maps shows is 1hr 42m by car or just over an hour by train and expected this to be similar to Auckland.

I... think I see the issue here.

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#3205314 11-Mar-2024 12:55

Thank you so much for the amazing response, I definitely look forward to seeing some new landscapes and sceneries. If you can suggest some, that would be great.

I was enjoying those hilly areas and green valleys around NZ for most of my time in NZ.

gehenna:

Sounds like you'd be more at home in NSW, VIC, or SA. Or, give where you are a lot longer to get used to it. Took us a year in Melbourne before we felt settled. Take advantage of the different natural environment compared to the things you get at home. Queensland and NT are amazing places with incredible landscapes. Every community adapts their recreation activities to what is around them - e.g. if you're in Wellington you figure out fun things to do with the wind and hills.... you might find a bunch of new hobbies and interests that you'd never have experienced at home, simply because you're not in that environment anymore. Don't look for what you used to have, look at what you have now.

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