lisamct

Just saying Hi and having a recce over in this forum.
I recently moved to NZ (Aug '10), here on a 3yr work permit working as a midwife. I did consider Aus at first but I'm a total wuss when it comes to spiders and pathetic as it is, that put me off so NZ it was.

Now I've been here 6 months I'm starting to regret that decision. As a midwife I'm lucky that I earn pretty much the same, if not slightly more, than I did in the UK. However, I knew the cost of living here in NZ would be high but I didn't take into account just how high. I live month to month here and cant afford to save or even be frivolous with the weekly shop as I'm counting every penny.

I'm also beginning to realise that I don't think I'm cut out for the kiwi way of life. I don't want to 'settle' for a cold damp house, not interested in gardening, mountain biking or hiking and cant think of anything worse than going camping on my holidays! I made the mistake of coming to a reasonably small town and have considered a move to Auckland but that still wouldnt address the financial issues.

I'm pretty sure I would get a job and a visa in Aus, lots of midwife vacancies and I have all the eligibility for a permanent visa, just dont want to make another big move and regret it once again.

I now the cost of living in Aus is also higher than the UK but I also know my wages would be higher than here in NZ (minimum wage for a midwife in Aus is still almost 35% more than I earn here)

I don't have any idea where I would go in Aus (where has the fewest spiders! ) just know that small town living isnt for me so would be looking for somewhere with a bit of life about it. I'm 37 and single so would be looking for somewhere I could make friends and rediscover a social life!

Any thought/advice?

Buzzy--Bee

Hi Lisa, there's a lot of us here that have tried NZ and found it to be very lacking. Even my wife would never live there again and she's a born and bred Kiwi!

I reckon Melbourne or Sydney would suit you very well - plenty of life, plenty going on whether you're single or married, old or young, both very vibrant cities. The cost of living here is a lot less than NZ and in most professions the wages are between 1.5 and 2 x what you would earn in NZ, plus you pay less tax here so its win win all round.

We have never seen a snake here but we do get spiders, the big scary looking ones are harmless, its the little red ones that can hurt but its pretty rare for anyone to get bitten.

We have found Melbourne to offer us the best combination of the vibrancy and job market of London and the relaxed laid back lifestyle of NZ.

Please ask away if you have any questions about Melbourne. I have never met anyone who has moved from NZ to Oz and regretted it.

BB

backdoor

Hear hear !! We tried the same thing and I was miserable. We lived in an Auckland suburb and I don't think there was much more going on there. A girl can't live on scenery alone! We really didn't make any friends that felt genuine. My job was attached to my visa and my employer was horrible...

We moved to a town 1.5 hours out of Melbourne. I have to say that the community made us feel very welcome. We are moving to Brisbane next week because of work and I am very sad to leave. We have been here 3 years and it was a great place to transition to life in OZ. The smaller (75 000 in the area) towns have some benefits.

I made more money in NZ that went nowhere... Here you will have leave loading and salary packaging with your hospital position. Which usually takes care of the rent whilst you are here. The government health networks here are a great place to work and offer a lot of professional development.

It was the best move we ever made and I can feel your pain...

Kamie26

I can only speak for Queensland about the spider issue and I would say, if it's a major problem, then don't move there.

I have put my hand on a huntsman when it crawled over the light switch and I was trying to turn it on (the screams that ensued made people think I was being murdered until they realised it was the stupid pommie girl).

I have been bitten by a redback, four bloody times (twice on the back of both legs), luckily it was only a baby but it still painful and made my legs swell up so that my legs felt like they would split. Don't even get me started on the flying cockroaches.

My husband is over there now and has told me that I need to get my tough girl head on because of all of the rain there is lots of creepy crawless hanging about.

eddie007

If you're after the nightlife dont come here to perth... Personally i think its fine, but then im 43 with 4 kids... Plenty of bright young things living in clubs and cafes in perf...

Plenty of midwives here enjoying the sun surf and fun too.... You really dont get too many snakes in cities lol... Its a bit like havung a phobia of foxes and living in manchester... They are there, you may see one once in a blue moon... But they wont be jumping out from every cupboard in your kitchen..

Spiders... Well for six months NOTHING lived on the floor, shoes were shaken and clothes.... Vigorously.... After that we chilled... we had serious redback issues at our first rental, but no one ever got bitten... Now we have the daddy lond lets spiders that keep the red backs away and are really quite delicate and fascinating to watch... Even for an arachnophobe like me...

If you can affors the visa/moving costs Id say go for it...

HelenTD

I'm another arachnophobe, but it didn't put me off moving to Australia. I can't stand cockroaches either, and the flying ones I saw in Brisbane scared the life out of me, plus there were those tiny German ones.

In Perth, I've been bitten once by a redback (on the back of my leg - watch the outdoor seating), but survived. I haven't seen a huntsman for years, but we do have the outside of the house treated once a year.

Perth is perhaps not the ideal place for a single woman, so you might find Melbourne suits you more, rather than Sydney (funnel web spiders ).