newby and in nz

[dubois]

G'day all,

I've been in NZ for nearly a year and should receive my PR in a couple of months. However, my wife and I have been discussing another move, this time to Oz. Don't get me wrong, I have a great job at a goverment institution in NZ and am earning a fair salary. The kids are happy and all is well, BUT I can't help thinking that with a 4 million strong population the economy wont 'boom' anytime soon - I reckon things will pretty much stay as they are right now. NZ is not big and we miss some luxuries - taking the family to a restaurant surely shouldn't be budgeted for.

We've made heaps of friends and are happy with our move from SA.

I don't quite know how to explain it, but we're not 'home' yet, a good facsimile of home, but with some niggling things, which we can live with no worries, but do we have to?

I'm the IT industry, used to be a country IT manager in SA, but have since fallen back on my technical skills (Snr Enterprise engineer, MS, VMWare, Citrix, some Cisco etc).

What advice do you have? Certainly a lot of people move to NZ then OZ, how did you find it, what enticed you to move (apart from cash) How would you compare the countries? If money was no object would you have made the move to Oz?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, surely this has been covered in the forum before, I didn't spend too much time searching though..

Edited January 5, 2009 by dubois

[AndreaL]

Welcome to the forum dubois.

Mara will probably have lots of advice regarding life both in NZ and Australia.

From my side I have a South African friend who emigrated to NZ in 1999, from what I can recall it was quite difficult then, they had to have a lot of money in their bank account and her hubby had to get his wiremans license before they could go.

I think they were happy enough, she did complain about the cost of houses in N.Z not sure if that is the case now.

They came over to Brisbane about 2 years ago, hubby was a bit unhappy at work but has since settled, her teenage daughters are well settled and they bought a house some time last year.

You are obviously thinking quite seriously about this so good luck, you have settled well in NZ so you would probably settle here too.

Have you had a look at salaries for your occupation, employment opportunities, cost of living etc?

[dubois]

Hi AndreaL,

Thanks for the welcome & quick response !

The house prices has come down a bit, but is still quite steep, and I'm of the mind that your buying power is somewhat limited too. It's a good sign that your friend was able to buy a house 2/3 years since arriving in Oz.

I've had a look at the cost of living and the salaries for my occupation, it certainly is 'better' than what I'm currently on. However I've only really started gathering info, so no I haven't fleshed out the employment opportunities...

Would the fact that I have NZ PR (or will have soon) make any difference to the migration procedure? Or would it be a case of 'start from scratch'? Naturally I'd like to expedite the process and don't want to wait for 5 years for NZ citizenship and then cross the ditch?

Welcome to the forum dubois.

Mara will probably have lots of advice regarding life both in NZ and Australia.

From my side I have a South African friend who emigrated to NZ in 1999, from what I can recall it was quite difficult then, they had to have a lot of money in their bank account and her hubby had to get his wiremans license before they could go.

I think they were happy enough, she did complain about the cost of houses in N.Z not sure if that is the case now.

They came over to Brisbane about 2 years ago, hubby was a bit unhappy at work but has since settled, her teenage daughters are well settled and they bought a house some time last year.

You are obviously thinking quite seriously about this so good luck, you have settled well in NZ so you would probably settle here too.

Have you had a look at salaries for your occupation, employment opportunities, cost of living etc?

[AndreaL]

Hi dubois

I just phoned my friend is Brisbane and she said it was really easy for them to come to Australia, but they have NZ citizenship- they migrated to NZ and got citizenship after 3 years- it is now 5 isn't it?

I found this FAQ's re New Zealanders coming to Australia on the DIAC site NZ to Australia

I just had a quick read but it does look that you either need to be a citizen or as you say " start from scratch" so you may want to look at options.

Processing priorities of visa's have just had a major reshuffle and there may be more changes afoot.

Effectively, people who have an employer willing to sponsor them for a permanent residence visa are first in the queue.

The best thing you can do is visit DIAC and go through the various visa options, see where you are on the modl or if you are lucky on the csl, and start putting feelers out to Australian companies.

Have a good read round there and once you have some more concrete ideas ask any lingering questions you may have.

Happy reading

AndreaL

[Mara]

Mara reporting in!

Hi Dubois, we made the move ten years ago, only because hubby was in an industry that was far greater in Australia than NZ. We were NZ citizens, so the move was easy.

Your NZ PR will not give you any brownie points to come to Australia, it is NZ citizenship or you start from scratch.

Personally, we are contemplating moving back to Auckland when we retire, we loved NZ and still do. I think a lot depends on what you want out of life, the pace is slower in NZ, but sometimes that is also a good thing.

I think you will have to weigh up the pro's and cons and then decide which will suit you better.

[SANZOZ]

Hi Dubois.

We have just done that move. We were in Auckland and both had decent jobs and we weren't UNhappy, we just didn't have the complete feeling of home. We were only there for 4 months when my husband got a job offer from Sydney - we weren't looking around, the job found us through someone my husband used to know in SA. So... we could easily have stayed in Auckland, but I must say, I feel a lot more at home in Australia - I would probably never have believed it if someone had told me that!!

We are however very thankful for our experience in NZ because I'm not sure we would feel as comfortable in Oz right now if we hadn't gone to NZ first. Our NZ PR counted for nothing, we are now on a 457 visa and will be applying for PR here. Also remember that you will eventually lose your NZ PR if you haven't been there for 2 years and gotten your IRRV. So I would recommend at least getting PR first from NZ or getting something like a 457 visa sponsored by an employer.

Good luck!!!

[dubois]

Again, thanks for all the swift responses - awesome !

AndreaL - I'll investigate our options and then make a decision. We've just spent a bucket on the move, as you do, so we need to plan this one carefully.

Mara - Nz is a fantastic country and a beautiful too, we haven't seen all of it either. I had a high profile job back in SA and am finding the adjustment to the pace a bit frustrating, having said that we do enjoy it! More time with the wife and kids is always welcome. What I'm worried about is promotions and so on - how quick can I climb that ladder again. Sure we've been relegated down a couple of rungs, but my passion for personal progress is far from doused.

Sanzoz - That must have set you back quite a bit? Did you have heaps of paperwork to redo, medicals etc? How about the cost of living, major differences or not?

I guess what I'm getting at is that we'll take a little more time to dwell on the decision, my son is only a couple of months and my daughter has made friends and is adjusting to school/english quite well.

I'll keep you posted on what happens !

Greetings from a sunny NZ (at the moment)

duBois

[SANZOZ]

Hi dubois, I should have mentioned that the company paid for everything so it hasnt set us back at all. We actually earn more now (and I havent even looked for a job yet!) The paperwork for the 457 was not bad - we only had to do xrays and fill in the application form and provide a couple of things like our passports, birth certs, marriage cert, CV, employment references. I think thats it. And an agent did it so I have not been as involved this time as I was when we applied for PR for NZ.

[dubois]

Hmmm...I like it...We do have all of those docs lying around (at immigration) Hmmm...the flights from here to Oz are way cheaper than from SA. Hmmm...

Did you negotiate with the company directly? Did you fly over for an interview first?

Hi dubois, I should have mentioned that the company paid for everything so it hasnt set us back at all. We actually earn more now (and I havent even looked for a job yet!) The paperwork for the 457 was not bad - we only had to do xrays and fill in the application form and provide a couple of things like our passports, birth certs, marriage cert, CV, employment references. I think thats it. And an agent did it so I have not been as involved this time as I was when we applied for PR for NZ.

[SANZOZ]

Well we werent actually looking, the company approached my hubby. All interviews were telephonic but they also flew us over to Sydney for a weekend just to check it out and see if we liked it. So I think our case is slightly different and I am not sure if all companies would do the same.

[dubois]

certainly, it depends from company to company and the circumstances surrounding it. i'll keep it in mind though. Thanks for the advice all !

[Marlene]

We moved to NZ in 2003 - fully sponsored. And we were happy, but knew that NZ is not where would want to settle. Beginning 07 my husband was offered a job in AUS, so moved again, fully sponsored. We had NZ residency, but it does not count for much other than making the process quicker, than leaving from SA. And yes, you have to thgough everything again, it is just quicker.

AUS cost of living is higher. No free land calls as in Auckland. Calls to SA are also heaps more expensive. Electricity and gas is also more expensive. Cars are way more expensive.

In NZ you get free medical for children under 6, no such luxury in AUS. Also, if not a resident, a doctor's visit puts you back $50 - compare to 29 in Auckland. Hospital in NZ are free, not so in AUS.

Aus is better for us. Economy-wise it is better. The people are similar to SA's. Except for the mountains (we're from the Cape) the country-side looks similar.

[De Kat]

Ons het ook nou net geskuif, DB, na 7 jaar in NZ. Ek stem nie saam dat die lewenskostes hier noodwendig meer is as in NZ nie. Ons was in Auckland vir 4 jaar, voor dit in Kaitaia, en is hier meer rural (Bribie) en die huise kos heelwat minder. Natuurlik as jy in Sydney of Brisbane middestad bly, sal dit meer dieselfde wees. Ja, jy betaal hier vir plaaslike oproepe, maar relatief min. Daar is nie ACC of gratis onder ses medies, (weet nie van school dental nie). Medies was tot 'n paar maande terug ook maar nog $60 per besoek in Auckland, so dis nie veel meer hier nie.

In die algemeen vind ons dit sover nie vreeslik duurder nie. Salarisse is meer en belasting minder.

Ek wens ek kon in die toekoms sien, dan het ons soveel vroeer geskuif. Die impak op my kinders sou minder wees. Maar dan sou ons waarskynlik ook nie NZ citizenship gehad het nie. Ja, selfs al was alles finansieel dieselfde, sou ek nog hierheen kom. En ja, ek gaan aansoek doen vir Aus citizenship, maar dual. Ek hou my NZ burgerskap die keer. Wou nie SA hou nie. Se dit vir jou iets?

Ek was nooit "tuis" in NZ nie. Ons het in Oktober vir ons eerste vakansie hierheen gekom, en binne 30 minute het ek vir my man gese, ek het tuis gekom. Na 7 jaar se swerf.

Hierdie keer was vir my moeiliker as 7 jaar terug, in die sin van ons het meubels verskeep, my kat oorgevlieg ens. Die vorige keer was dit net ons en 'n paar tasse. Ook, soos Nilo se, ons is ouer, daarom is die stress meer. Ek mis wel baie dinge van NZ, maar na 3 weke hier, se ek vir jou met my hele hart:

EK IS TUIS!

Jy is welkom om my te PM as jy meer wil weet.