Kiwi tech looking to move to Australia. Downsides?

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kingdragonfly

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#212713 8-Apr-2017 16:14

I'm a single Kiwi currently living in Wellington NZ.

I have decades of IT experience, and a number of Microsoft premiere certifications.

I was thinking of looking for a job in Australia and buying a home, in one of these regions (due to real estate prices)

- Brisbane
- Adelaide
- Darwin
- Perth

Beyond real estate prices and intense weather, are there are other downsides that Kiwi professional experience in Australia?

I have heard that Kiwis miss out on some government benefits, but again I'm single.

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meow
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#1759524 8-Apr-2017 16:29

Yes:

- The internet there is terrible.
- Everything wants to kill you.
- The heat.

But...

- The next Taylor Swift concert will be epic.

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mattwnz

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#1759528 8-Apr-2017 16:42

I thought the trend these days was for people to move back to nz from Oz.

It's really comes down to what you want out of your life at the moment. But I would think nz would offer you better opportunities depending on where you live. Maybe the earnings won't be as much, and house prices in some parts of NZ may exceed that of Oz in terms of the income ratio. But moving can have a huge cost in many ways.

Rikkitic

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#1759550 8-Apr-2017 17:45

Welcome to life as a second-class citizen.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

tdgeek

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#1759554 8-Apr-2017 18:08

Its bigger and richer, and better weather. NZ is too small to have an economy of scale. Id go for MEB, its still nice but not that hot. Its the centre of sport. BNE dont got there, they cannot deal with water, and in todays climate thats not going to get better.

I'd look for a small country where you can trade off the not ideal prices, for a little haven away from the global rat race. You can flit to Oz or the islands for holidays really cheaply. Asia and the US too. Perhaps a country that has little if any dangerous wildlife, no real turmoil weather. No -39 in winter or +43 in summer. No Tornado alley, no monsoons, four seasons. I will google for options later :-)

kingdragonfly

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#1759572 8-Apr-2017 18:57

For what it's worth, my next choice would be Canada, but it's too cold.

Vancouver is lovely though

tdgeek

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#1759573 8-Apr-2017 19:12

kingdragonfly: For what it's worth, my next choice would be Canada, but it's too cold.

Vancouver is lovely though

But you cant just decide to move there, unless thats changed now?

Kiwifruta

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#1759577 8-Apr-2017 19:41

If you are up to more of an adventure for a year or two, there is always Uruguay, it's the NZ of South America.

:-)

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jarledb

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#1759578 8-Apr-2017 19:44

Rappelle:

Moving to Canada this year. I'll let you know what negative 20 feels like :P

I can tell you. Its cold, but you can dress for it. I have experienced temperatures below -40C in Scandinavia..

That said, I have NEVER been colder than right here in NZ. Both in Canada and in Norway (where I am from), they know how to build houses that stay warmer than the outside. A skill that seems to have been lacking here in NZ..

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Kiwifruta

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#1759585 8-Apr-2017 20:36

20 years ago I lived in Perth & Esperance for a couple of years.

WA is very hot in the summer, I would look forward to the temperature dropping to 32C. You can have 2 or 3 weeks hitting 37C+ each day. Autumn and Spring were really nice, NZ summer temperatures, but with sunny weather almost every day. Winter is just wet (about the only time it rains there) not much to do in the outdoors. The coastline is stunning as are the wildflowers along the highways.

Probably worth spending a few days in each place to get a feel for them first. Everyone's tastes are different.

networkn

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#1759620 8-Apr-2017 22:57

The main reason not to move, being surrounded by Australians :)

BlinkyBill

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#1759641 9-Apr-2017 04:36

kingdragonfly: I'm a single Kiwi currently living in Wellington NZ.

I have decades of IT experience, and a number of Microsoft premiere certifications.

I was thinking of looking for a job in Australia and buying a home, in one of these regions (due to real estate prices)

- Brisbane
- Adelaide
- Darwin
- Perth

Beyond real estate prices and intense weather, are there are other downsides that Kiwi professional experience in Australia?

I have heard that Kiwis miss out on some government benefits, but again I'm single.

Apart from the taxes, cost of medical insurance, and bad education system:

- Brisbane: floods, proximity to GC, rascism, proximity to Pauline Hansen
- Adelaide: heat, plastic grass, rascism, Coopers brewery, conservatism
- Darwin: provincialism, huge salt water crocodiles, humidity, rascism, no proper golf courses or restaurants
- Perth: travel times, rascism, otherwise all good

surfisup1000

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#1759671 9-Apr-2017 08:48

kingdragonfly: For what it's worth, my next choice would be Canada, but it's too cold.

Vancouver is lovely though

If you can afford the average house price of 100 million bucks.

FineWine

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#1759714 9-Apr-2017 10:42

Lived in Aussie for 30 years 1983 - 2014, 7 years in Melbourne, the rest in Sydney as permanent residents. Of course it all changed in 2001 for Kiwis wanting to live in Aussie. We returned home in preparation to retirement in a few years. KiwiSaver loved our Aussie super.

Have a look at this website "Moving to Australia FAQ" it looks like it is kept fairly up-to date.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

macmad

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#1760033 10-Apr-2017 10:21

I returned to Wellington last year after 16 years living in Perth and working in IT sales roles.

You'll need to start from scratch, any credit history you have in NZ will not be taken into account in Australia. Even if you have a printout from NZ credit agency as I did it's worthless,

Even though most NZ banks are owned by Australian banks they don't talk to each other.

Economy currently in a downturn. House prices have been falling for the last couple of years, but still not much different than Wellington.

IT job scene in Perth is not as strong as Sydney or Melbourne as Perth is effectively a branch office for most big IT companies, with a lot using seagulls

for sales roles ( fly in for a couple of days every month or two then leave back to Eastern States ).

You'd need to research WA job scene to see if your decades of experience are even in demand, my salary halved when I first moved to Perth

as not having any local contacts or experience means unless for currently in demand IT skills you'll need to build network again

Mortgage rates in Aus are cheaper by about 1%

Rates roughly the same when you take into account Perth rates will be Council, plus separate Water rates, Electricity and Gas currently about the same

but you have no choice of provider and rates about to go up due to to large state govt debt.

Be aware that any house you buy in Australia will attract stamp duty, last house had $28K stamp duty

No daylight savings so 5 hour time difference to NZ for half the year, also expensive to return home to visit family

Winter not that much different, few degrees warmer and while sort of windy ( perth people think it's windy )

Summer is very hot, weeks of 40 degree plus not fun, air-con is not optional in summer

Groceries a bit cheaper as 10% GST is not levied on everything due to strange rules.

Internet is terrible, I struggled to get 2MB on ADSL where I was 7km from Perth CBD. Check NBN map before renting

Income Tax rates are higher at top end, plus health insurance is basically compulsory if earning a decent income as you'll get taxed another % or 2 if you don't have it.

Petrol cheaper by 70c a litre, Car rego about 4 times more expensive

Mobile phone plans are a bit cheaper and better data inclusions

9.5% Super on top of salary is great, while you can transfer to NZ you can't access till 60. Can't be used towards house deposit like Kiwisaver

Good to have different places to holiday ( nearby in Perth means up to 6 hour drive ), down south ( Margaret River, Albany, Pemberton ) or Bali.

4-5 hour flight to Eastern states, 7-8 Hours to Auckland.

Wildlife not that much of an issue. You'll get used to redback spiders which are not aggressive, cockroaches can be huge. I never once saw a snake in wild other than some shedded skins

but friends have found in backyards so depends on where you live. Summer = a couple of people a year eaten by great whites, usually people surfing round corner from seal colony.

kingdragonfly

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#1760275 10-Apr-2017 14:52

Thanks macmad. I was surprised that at the high-end, taxes are worse than NZ.

I guess I'm staying in New Zealand.

I wish there were more NZ urban centers, to search for jobs. If I owned a home on the NorthShore right now, I'd be set.

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