Live in Australia v NZ

[slipperandpjsmum]

Which one and why?

[BeenBeta]

Well although we havent actually gone yet we chose NZ because we knew we really couldnt stand the weather in Aus. DW is also quite phobic about spiders, snakes and bugs.

Aus is much bigger economy though and NZ we are constantly being told is small, parochial and stuck in the 1950s.

Those that really know better will be along if you bump after 8.00pm.

[nineyearoldsarerude]

Australia is better off financially. For me though it is too spread out (distances between cities etc), too many spiders etc, too much heat, too brown.
NZ is BEAUTIFUL.

[beanlet]

Whisper it - and I speak as an Australian - there really isn't much difference culturally. And Australia is so big you can't really talk about its climate as if it were the same everywhere. Parts of Victoria and Tasmania are almost indistinguishable from New Zealnd scenic-wise. And spiders and snakes are really not that common in cities. I grew up there, half the time in the country, and I've never seen a redback for example.

[nineyearoldsarerude]

It's not just about the poisonous ones though! To have huge (albeit) harmless spiders and cockroaches scurrying about your walls is not good for the old blood pressure! (I understand you can get your houses sprayed with something to keep them out but I didn't have that luxury.)
Mind you NZ has wetas...

[pavlovalover]

NZ for a quiet life.

Australia for a stronger economic future.

[BeenBeta]

NZ has 'wetas'?

Dare I ask what the heck they are?

[nineyearoldsarerude]

not dangerous, just huge!
weta

[BeenBeta]

I just showed DW. Not good.

I reassured her they dont fly.

[slipperandpjsmum]

Not good indeed!!! I am hoping they are more scared of us than we are of them, although I fear thats doubtful!!

[beanlet]

eugh - give me a huntsman spider ANY day!!!

Weta -

[BeenBeta]

Those wetas must jump a looooong way though.

Their legs are enormous.

[AngryBeaver]

beanlet,are you mad??I'd take a weta over a huntsman anyday...it just looks like a giant wood-louse!
Which,admittedly..is not a good look,but at least they don't bite..do they?!!
I'm quite worried about the white-tails myself

[erebus]

I'd choose Australia over NZ. Beta is correct about 'small, parochial and stuck in the 1950s', if you go outside towns or cities of any size. It's lovely to look at, granted, but the economy's 'not in a good place'.

I've never lived in NZ as such, just visited, though that time combined equals a year. I have a lot of friends there but the thing that strikes me as I visit over the years is how their- well, though processes slow down along with their speech. One close friend, previously intellectual and quite ambitious, told me that where she lived, she'd far rather her 12 yr old DS made the first cricket team than got As at school as the former would confer school glory (and stop him being beaten up by the Maori boys!), the latter was meaningless. They seemed to have stopped, basically, valuing education! A weekend away was out in the hills shooting animals... it was all a bit 'hill billy'.

Be aware that you need to be very careful about burning financial bridges in the UK. You'd possibly never be able to buy back into the UK market.

There's a reason why 20% of the NZ population don't choose to actually live in NZ!

Australia has a far bigger population and much more opportunity. State education can be patchy (whatever Australian say!) and also sports driven but there is perhaps more room for the academic. The economy is also in good shape.

[BeenBeta]

erebus - as a soon to be immigrant to NZ there is a question that constantly keeps coming back to me about NZ and is along the lines of your two comments:

"the economy's 'not in a good place'" and "One close friend, previously intellectual and quite ambitious,"

I am always surprised by people saying 'oh you cant get underwear/clothes/shoes/books/furniture/etc'.

I always wonder why NZ people dont set up businesses to meet the obvious needs that are not being met. Is it that NZ just lacks an entrepreneur culture a sort of 'get up and go' attitude? I sort of sensed it on a few forums where New Zealanders were moaning about the state of their country.

I'm just a bit mystified by it really.

[TennisFan]

BeenBeta that has occured to me before too.
I am just back from the best trip to NZ in December, both touring and visitng relatives so getting to do normal everyday stuff too.

I loved it soo much, we are seriousl wondering if there is a possibility we could move there.

We don't have any of their wanted skills, but we run a good business here and maybe we could do it over there instead. I don't know much about the rules for entry in those circumstances.

Actually I thought that they all had a good attitude, well the ones I met anyway. Mostly farming, rural folk.

I wonder if they are kind of glad that its still a bit 'backward' for want of a better word. It reminded me a bit of Northern Ireland when i was a teenager. We never had any of the cool clothing shops here which were in the rest of UK - but now we have them all of course and every teenager is walking around in Hollister as the next best thing to A&F.

Its refreshing that some of the teenagers who I met, at Uni in Wellington, couldn't give a dam what brand of clothing they were wearing etc

[nineyearoldsarerude]

NZer's actually DO have entrepreneurial spirit. I think the point is that it is difficult to create CHEAP goods for a small population that is quite geographically isolated.
Australia has a much bigger population but also all their mining resources.

[BeenBeta]

TennisFan - check out these pages from Immigration New Zealand. The Entrepreneur Entrepreneur/Entrepreneur Plus immigrant categories sound perfect for you.

DW is going in on a Long Term Business Visa so we can look for investment opportunities but I get a full work permit too so I can take a job. It is time limited though. You have to be genuinely looking to set up a business or invest in one - which we are.

[AngryBeaver]

I have heard nz is the land of The Small Business,so find it hard to believe that they lack ambition or drive.
I was also wondering why noone had set up a home bargain/poundshop type business,maybe costs are just to high to import?
There must be a reason!

Does anyone know about older people emmigrating to nz off the top of their heads?
My parents are now considering coming with us,but are worried about healthcare/finances as they get older.
Would they have to be totally self suficient or would they be qualify for any support/pension once they had lived there for the required time?

[WhatSheSaid]

You can get everything here, it's just that some things are more expensive. I'm assuming lack of competition/small market in an isolated location (as nineyearoldsarerude said).

There are poundshops too, usually called "$2 shop" or something along that lines. Usually full of very cheap stuff from China but fine for kids stickers and crayons and stuff like that.

Loads of small businesses here. No idea how many succeed or fail though, there's a limited amount of disposable income in such a small population with generally lower wages.

Angry I think for your parents to come over you would have to sponsor them once you were resident. My friend did it for her parent. Think they ahve to have medicals and be in reasonable health to ensure they won't cost the health system immediately. Not sure if they would need a certain amount of money or not. Immigraion nz website may be able to help if you search for "sponsoring a family member"

[TennisFan]

BeenBeta thanks for that link, I'll browse that today when I am meant to be working!

My DH will take no persuading, but it is just whether we can earn enough to live on over there.

[beanlet]

Huntsmen don't bite; their teeth are too weak, apparently. They just sit there looking ENORMOUS. I had one drop on my head once; completely freaked out But I'm always very nice to spiders because they eat other insects, and I remove them from the house using the upside down glass and piece of card trick.

[AngryBeaver]

I seriously think I'd have a cardiac arrest if a huntsman dropped on my head!

[BeenBeta]

Oh great!

I thought NZ was free of biting, jumping stinging things.

[AngryBeaver]

beenbate have you seen the white tails?!

[AngryBeaver]

sorry beenbeta, typed too fast!