nadja31

Hi all,
my Oz husband and I moved to Oz 3 years ago and still I don't feel home or happy here. There is just certain things I dislike so much here namely:
- the spiders, cockroaches, mozzies, sandflies, etc. We had cockraoaches breeding in the kitchen cupboards, ants in the electrics in the walls, infected mozzie bites etc. Yesterday I woke up by a cockr. crawling over my back. I am so disgusted by it all that I feel sick half the time. Spend most of the day spraying and cleaning, but still....
- hate the fact that everything is so far away here, next big city: 1600 km, change of scenery not for 2000 km
- hate the heat
- hate the fact that there is no seasons
My husband and I are both working in hospitality and I don't think it would be a problem for us finding a job in NZ (want to go to Otago/Lakes Area). We realize the salary might be less and Real estate more expensive. We are ok with that. We just wonder what the differences are with regards to holidays, child support, medicare, schools etc. Is there much of a difference?
I know there are many people moving from NZ to Oz (scares me a little). Is that mainly because of the economy/work situation (as that would not really apply to us).
Thanks for any reply.

mlbonner

Hi, sorry to hear you're having such a bad time. Personally I wouldn't fancy moving from OZ to NZ, if you find things here bad I dont think the longer winter, more expensive goods and backward approach in NZ will make you much happier! Also, depending where you are, sandflies and mozzies are still around!

I've been to NZ twice and am on my way again on Tuesday. I think both islands are beautiful, but there's no way I could live there. Have you considered moving to another area in Australia, sounds like you're in quite a remote place at the moment?

This thread may give you some food for thought http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=260048

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

lindseyden

Hi there

Sorry you are not happy where you are and also sorry I can't help with your q's but just out of interest where in Aus are you?

Lindsey

Mel Gibson

Sounds to me like you live in Perth , Australia does'nt consist only of Perth,
Have you travelled to and seen the eastern states of OZ, You want a cooler climate with four seasons, green countryside and a variety of landscapes, Victoria sounds perfect to me. It snows in parts of Victoria during winter.
Why don't you check out Melbourne, Travel along the great ocean road, see the spectacular coastal scenery and green coutryside past Geelong and Warrnambool. The economy and employment opportunities are a hell of alot better in Victoria then New Zealand.

nadja31

In the tropical north. A lot of people have told us to move, but I believe that the problems would not be solved then. I hear that the cockr/fly/ant problems are everywhere in OZ. Also the extreme heat in the summer and the long distances to get anywhere. I have always wanted to live in a small but nice town surrounded by beautiful nature (have been living in Jasper, Kanada and loved the place to death and was hoping I find the same happiness in a place like Wanaka or Queenstown). Australia does not seem to have those sort of places. It is either living in a Mio. people city or leaving out in the bush in a place like Tennant Creek or Gympie or ... (horror). Sorry, am so blue at the moment, as I have been trying so hard to like this place...

mlbonner

Sounds like you're having a hard time. Queenstown and Wanaka both rely quite heavily on the tourist industry (skiing and summer). Personally out of the two I'd chose Q'town, just because its a bit bigger, but neither are too far apart. If you really feel that NZ is for you, would it not be possible to go there on holiday and see it for yourselves?
Sounds like you like the snow/mountains, so perhaps Victoria/ACT would be ideal for you. As previously said, cooler climate and more 'seasonal'. Also, although you will still get spiders etc everywhere, the hotter more humid climates are going to bring them out, especially the mozzie/sandflies which have only 'just' started appearing here in Brisbane in the past week or so as its got warmer.

Hels

Just a thought, but what about Tasmania???

deedee

i too couldn't stand Australia for all the reasons you post.
We live in the South Island, i've lived near Queenstown for a couple of years and for me its far far better.
And i've yet to see any spiders, although by the lake front there are sandflies, but not in abundance like the west coast.
I am not a follower of the hot sun and love the seasons, and its no colder here than the UK.
Tasmania is also a nice place, but i'd still prefere NZ

cresta57

Wow no shit, you've moved to tropical north Qld and don't like the flies cockies and the ants. You don't like the extreme heat or the long distance to get anywhere. What did you expect it to be like? No wonder a lot of people have advised you to move!
Can't speak for Tennant Creek but Gympie is hardly "out in the bush" it's a fairly nice city 40 mins from Noosa same from Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach. We live 20 mins from there and have no problems with ants, no problems with flies [as we have screens] As we always remove our shoes outside we've never even seen a cockroach in the house.
Sounds like your move here was poorly planned and insufficiently researched. Why not go on a long holiday to NZ first and see if you like it. Alternately if you enjoyed living in " Jasper, Kanada" so much just go back.

podgypossum

Regarding mozzies and sandflies... both my arms are covered in scars from infected mozzie and sandfly bites inflicted on me in NZ, and the weird thing is, i was hardly bitten at all here in Adelaide last summer!! We also had cockies in NZ and plagues of cicadas in summer.

You have chosen to live in the most humid and tropical part of Australia. Most of it is not like that at all. Even here in Adelaide, where it gets very hot during summer, it is a dry heat and far more bareable than the humidity up there. We also have distinct seasons here too, with winter getting quite cold (although not freezing)

If you think everything is too far away where you are now, then NZ will be even worse!! Its probably one of the most geographically isolated places in the world.

Don

Quite a few Aussies work in NZ. Summer in inland Otago is quite hot, typically 25-30C most of the time. I spent summer in coastline Otago without any mozzie or sandfly activity (despite being on the deck with a beer most afternoons!), maybe they are more of a problem by the lakes though. Otago sure has 4 seasons (mostly in one day).

NZ moving to 4 weeks min hols 2007, other infrastructure aspects are modern OECD standard. Most people who move to Aus from NZ do so because salaried jobs pay higher in Aus.

Jaykay

We live at the bottom of the Dandenong Ranges in Outer Melbourne.

We don't have cockroach, fly or ant problems here (well not that I'm aware of anyway!!). It only takes 45 minutes (on a good day) to drive into the City Center, it's only 2 hours to the snow (if that's what you like) and it's literally 15 minutes to drive into the Dandenongs for a beautiful view of Melbourne, great places to stop and have Scones and Tea, or just take a nice leisurely drive (lovely and cool in the Summer).

We can drive for 15 minutes and we are amongst all the great Yarra Valley Wineries (so many to choose from), and a further 30 minutes and we are in the country with huge paddocks full of cows and sheep!!

We don't suffer from the heat and humidity very often. There's normally a warm wind blowing when it does get hot, there's normally a cold wind blowing when it does get cold!!

We actually get 4 seasons down here. Last week it was 35 degrees with beautiful blue skies and brilliant sunshine one day, and 22 degrees with overcast skies and rain the next day.

As somebody in a previous post mentioned, perhaps you could try moving to another state before considering the huge upheavel to another country.

Melbourne is a great city to live in, and may be just right for you.

Regards

Young Ones

Hello sorry to hear you dont like Oz and all the wildlife.. remember its a whole continent to itself and has more than four seasons, Its the only place we know that has snowymountains with gum trees on them. you can ski surf dive and eat great sea food, see tons of aniamals that live nowhere in the world. Victoria is totally different to the north, it reminds me of UK with hot summers, but must agree wanaka is a lovely place we lived there for 7 months but is fastly becoming a very populated town. Our friends have lived in Dunedin for years and have seen wanaka change alot. Wanaka is becoming a retirement haven on the outskirts and totally gearded up to build more houses.So the little town you dream of may soom be a big town. There are sandflies in wanaka and it's very hot in the summer. you have a good think as you sound like you havnt seen all that australia has to offer which in our opinion is huge!! take care.

PommieLeague

Then why the heck did you come then???
Im in Perth and love it despite the differences!

JAJ

Are you in Darwin?

As others have noted the climate you're experiencing is _not_ typical of Australia in general.

The southern part of Australia (including Tasmania) would likely be much more comfortable for you. You could either go for a city like Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra or Hobart or pick a smaller regional centre that's a few hours drive away from the big city. There are plenty of these in the south of Australia (eg Albany, Bendigo, Warrnambool, Geelong, Launceston, etc).

I can't speak for NZ in detail but I believe it's fairly similar to Australia - except with a lower standard of living. So salaries are lower and things like medicare are not as comprehensive.

If you are a permanent resident (PR) in Australia you can probably get into NZ to live without needing a visa, at least according to what others have posted. But your Australian PR will expire eventually and it will likely be 5 years before you can become an NZ citizen (they plan to increase the residence requirement to 5 years from 1 Jan 2005 - see http://www.citizenship.govt.nz) so if you'd like a blue passport sooner, it may be better to stay in Australia for a while and only think about a possible move to NZ at a later stage.

Of course, depending on the law of your home country you may end up losing that citizenship - you don't say what that is or whether this is important to you.

Australian citizens (including naturalised Australians) have an unqualified right to live in New Zealand, at least under current NZ law.

Jeremy