iwannagonow

hi, I'm new here!
I really want to emigrate, possibly to New Zealand, although Australia looks very tempting (apart from the snakes & spiders!). Papamoa Nr Tauranga appeals, as does Adelaide!
I cannot decide as I have never visited either country before! There will be myself, my husband, my 2 boys (5 & 10yrs) & our 5 yr old Boxer dog. I think New Zealand has the edge but I would like some advice! I am a theatre nurse & my husband is an electrician-recently turned-postman.
We will be traveling down underfor a holiday-cum-research trip in April so need to decide fairly soon!
Please help us decide!!!! I'm confused!!!!
THANKYOU
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Ray

You may be better posting this in the Dingo or NZ section

From my POV ...Dingo is where all the Chavs go ....
NZ seems to get the better class of person especially if you
like the 1950s ..

Manc

How on earth does someone decide to move their entire family 12000 miles to a place they've never visited?

Ray

Now you know why lots come back ....
but they do say they are visiting ...

iwannagonow

as I said before, we will be travelling to either New Zealand or Australia (probably the former) in April for 3 wks & will be making the ultimate decision after that! I just wanted a little advice ie. pros & cons of each area thats all!
Therefore we wont be emigrating to a place we've never visited!!
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iwannagonow

Thanks Ray......will bear this in mind
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bourbon-biscuit

I don't know your financial situation but it might be worth bearing in mind that Tauranga has the most unaffordable housing in NZ, while Adelaide is one of the cheaper big cities.

Adelaide has scary water issues though.

Wheeler-Jones

All I remember from Papamoa is how much $$$$$ the houses were - bit posh.

All I remember from Adelaide was how boring it was in the city on a weeknight. I hear it has life - I just couldn't find it I hear it's one of the more affordable cities, so probably means it's a good time to get in before the boom comes.

Dorothy

We moved ours over 20000 miles with never visiting before. We have no intention on ever going back.

How on earth does someone judge others so quickly without ever speaking to them before?

I_Will_Freckle

We were in the same position. Took a holiday in 2006 and visited both places and were still undecided. Applied for PR for both and got NZ visa first and moved out in 2007. Then Oz visa came through and we moved here. We are still undecided as to where is best! We are enjoying it here but loved NZ too so may go back yet.

Sorry can't help you decide because we can't decide ourselves!

bourbon-biscuit

Good on you Dorothy! Even if you do come for a look-see, it's only as a tourist so has limited use. More useful is your own determination

JAJ

Assuming you are eligible to migrate to both countries, Australia would normally be recommended.

Why? Generally speaking, Australia has a higher standard of living, better climate and better opportunities.

Also bear in mind that Australian citizens (under current law) get automatic permanent resident status in New Zealand, it's no longer the other way around.

If an excessively hot climate isn't for you, then look at the southern parts of Australia : Victoria, southern NSW, ACT, Tasmania, southern SA and southern WA.

Spellbound

We live in NZ, have been here for just over three years but we are making the move to Australia along with many others. In fact it has been in the NZ news all week. Extract from NZ Herald below.

There is a flood of New Zealanders moving to Australia, with the figure at its highest level in 19 years. Figures released by Statistics New Zealand yesterday showed 27,200 New Zealand citizens shifted across the Tasman in the 12 months ending November.

The number represents a 33 per cent jump from the previous year, and is the highest level since 1988, when 32,700 packed up for the lucky country.

But the trend is picked to continue - unless New Zealand manages an economic transformation to rival Asia's tiger economies.

"The pull factor in Australia remains very strong given the income difference and [expectations] Australia will continue to grow faster than New Zealand in the next 12 to 18 months," said ANZ economist Khoon Goh.

We live in Auckland and our main reason for moving is to be able to afford to buy our own property followed by higher wages/less taxes, better weather, more consumerism/choice and hopefully some friends. Everyone is different but these are huge factors in our decision.

Quite possibly because your children are so young and you sound like you are swinging towards NZ, I would say that you have time to come here to NZ and then make a move to Aus in the future, if you wish to. I have been to Tauranga a couple of times and I did like the evident coffee/cafe culture and the vibe of the place. NZ can be a bit slow though and so not to everyones taste. We are personally feeling a bit stifled and are looking for a bit more buzz and atmosphere and social opportunities. (were in our early 40's by the way but feel way older!)

Incidentally (Manc), we had never visited NZ before and have never visited Aus and for some people I don't see why you would have too. We knew we didn't want to live in the UK anymore and still don't, and in the most part we have been very happy living in NZ and expect to be very happy in Aus. Horses for courses and all that!

Sammy T

HI

We have had a similar dilema, we originally had chosen New Zealand but after doing a bit of online research regarding wages, property prices etc, and also speaking to a friend (in the same profession as my OH) who spent 6 months in NZ, as a single man and couldn't manage on his salary, we choose Oz!

We also went out to Oz last May for a holiday, we didn't have enough time or money to do both NZ and Oz, so had to make a firm choice at that point.
We visited Tasmania, Melbourne and South Australia as these were the areas/climate we thought we would like and have decided on Tasmania (at the moment!) as we feel it could give us all the bits we liked about NZ with the advantage of a (slightly) better economy.

Who knows? we may not have made the best choice, time will tell, we are still waiting for our visa and selling our house at the moment. We have 2 children, aged 9 and 11 so we definitely are not taking this lightly but have decided the time for talking is over and now we need to get on with it, whilst we still have the chance

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Sam

esperanza

I moved here last year having never visited before. Am quite happy!