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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / General => Topic started by: X-ray on December 07, 2006, 11:15:15 PM
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Okay here is the deal. In about a year or two I am going to move down south, back to the hemisphere of my birth :-)
I meet the migration requirements of Oz and NZ, and I have the relevant board registrations in both countries.
Sooooo...can you sell me on Oz or NZ? Which is best? Which one has the most Amigas and the hottest chicks :-P
Okay, in all seriousness, what are the pros and cons in terms of standards of living, crime rates, political stability etc
A curious Saffer wants to know ;-)
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Biggest one for me is that NZ has far fewer animals that are liable to bite, eat or otherwise mess you up.
Aus has a more diverse economy and is more right wing US leaning then NZ.
Guess it really depends on what you prefer, a mini america or somewhere in terms of climate and political landscape more akin to the UK.
Personally I'd go to NZ, but that's just me :-)
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I know a chap whos either moved, or is in the process of moving to NZ from here in the Black Country. says its fantastic, and really cheap! he loved it when I saw him, couldnt wait to get back.
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@ the_leander
Well at the moment here are the factors that affect me:
1) There will be more jobs for me in Australia (even though my profession is a demanded skill in both countries).
2) The pay is going to be better in Australia (but I need to find out if this really matters, because I have to factor in cost of living, property prices and things like that).
3) NZ has better firearms laws (from the perspective of a guy who wants to do a bit of forensic stuff on the side).
4) NZ has a better system for sponsoring relatives. In other words if things go sour for my mother in the US it may be possible for me to sponsor her. I can't do that at all in Australia.
As for the Aussie creepy crawlies: they won't bother me as much, because I have had my share of awkward moments with creepy crawlies in South Africa, including one very tense moment when I had a black mamba right under my nose in Tzaneen. You could also say that my ex (an Australian nurse) was a poisonous creepy crawly, but that is a story for another day. Bottom line is: the creepy crawlies aren't an issue.
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Hi X-Ray,
I'm in Oz, and I think what has been posted here is fairly true.
The politics is dominated by a quite right wing group, though many don't support them, and I believe many more don't understand them. The majority of Australian'sdon't vote 'for' anything anyway; they only vote 'against' things. If the economy is fine, the government stays in power, and generally gets away with what it wants to. Our current opposition is pretty poor.
Creepy crawlies just aren't really an issue for most people. If you live near right near a lake, or in the bush, you may have some troubles with snakes. For me, I see them sometimes, but never had any trouble. If you have young kids, tell them to be careful of spiders.
As far as pay and expenses goes, get some real information before you jump in. In Perth, the housing prices are nuts. This is a big issue of you want to settle down. Remote areas can offer some great pay rates (if it's resources related), but the living costs are very high too, and the lifestyle is not so good.
Right now, think WA and Queensland are experiencing the strongest economies. A lot of people are like living in QLD. It has great beaches (really these can be found all around OZ though), good economy, some areas still quite affordable, and it has more ready access to more cities than one has living in the West. Perth is a long way from other cities, and is quite small. A lot of people like that Perth is a fairly quiet and clean.
I've never been to NZ, but everyone says it's a really beautiful country. I know a lot of people in Perth who have come here from NZ, to work. They usually say they each country has it's good points. Many people like to stay in Perth because of the warm climate, and low rainfall. NZ has fantastic mountain ranges though, and lots of people go nuts for them. If you live on the east coast of Australia, you can also visit NZ fairly easily.
If you're bringing money from the UK, then it will probably buy more in NZ. That might be worth thinking about. Also, the immigration laws in Oz are really horrible (experienced this with my Chinese wife).
If possible, can you have a visit of a few places in each country, and then decide? Maybe that's too expensive.
All teh best.
Oli
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@ Oliver
Thanks for tthe info. When you say housing prices are nuts in Perth, how much would it cost for a small two bedroom house with a modest garden? And how much deposit do you usually have to put down?
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Hi X,
Of course it varies a lot with conditions, location, etc. I'm not really in the market (it's all too much for me right now). Have a look at some of these (http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=perth+real+estate&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryAU) sites. You can search around the real estate in Perth. In my opinion, location is pretty important in Perth, as it is a very spread out city, and many people have to do a lot of driving to get to anywhere they want to be. This can be a pain in a number of ways. I like to live quite centrally in the city. If you want specialty items, like vinyl records, european car parts, or that curry that's made just the way you like it, you won't find them in most suburbs.
If you see a place you're interested in, you could ask me about the suburb. I may or may not have any useful information, as there are many suburbs I haven't ventured to much (if you don't live there, you may not have any reason to go to many suburbs).
Perth is still a good place to live, though. Most people like the lifestyle, finding it quite easy going, and relaxed, and there's access to a lot of good leisure activities. Many people who have travelled a lot, like Perth. There are good water sports available, most of the year, fresh seafood, etc. If you have particular hobbies (apart from Amigas), then maybe you could ask me if there is much of a scene here for them (btw, I don't know much about firearm sports).
Good luck with your search. Hope you find a place that's right for you.
Oli
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FWIW, I've been one of the gazillion backpackers in Oz and NZ and I hugely preferred the atmosphere and nature of NZ over Oz. Oz just struck me as being too xenophobic and conservative for my liking.
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Man ... there are some ignorant views about Australia!!!!!!
A few years ago there was a common joke about NZ'rs coming here for the dole! Yes, it really was based on the fact that they would come here only to get Australian pensions. (You can actually pretty much freely travel between the two countries. ) Now the rules have changed. NZ'rs must be here for at least two years before they can get dole payments! :lol:
NZ'rs are also likely to come here for employment and business opportunities. Yes, AU really is a better place for living (as opposed to holidaying)
As for spiders and {bleep}... Um, where? Are you going to go camping out in the forrests? LOL
Xenophobic? WTF? Not that I've been to Sydney, but I've heard some pretty {bleep}ty stories about Sydney.
Come to Melbourne, you really wont see any of that ... well, not much. (Not unless you're trying to get in to some of the Chinese restaurants that wont serve Caucasions, or get employed by some of the shops that advertise in Chinese, presumably to discourage non-Chinese? ... but that's another story, and it's the exception rather than the rule)
No, Melbourne's great! You'll rarely hear people complain about the place. It's a consitant international award winner. And people love it. People BRAG about Melbourne!
When discussing Australia, PLEASE keep in mind the sharp contrast between Sydney and Melbourne. They are that VASTLY different that they are almost like two different countries in themselves! I could go on and on about the cultural differences.
I problem I've noticed on many online forums is that people visit Sydney and have too many negative points about what they experienced about its citizens.
TRY ME!BOURNE FIRST!
Politics?
WTF?
I don't mean to get into political arguments on this thread, but politics in AU is fine.
The only odd thing is that federal elections are won by Liberal, state elections by Labor.
The thing is that if you look in the federal governments past, you'll see two governments vastly different way of running the place:
Labor()
{
HUGE (and LONG TERM) unemployment, AND I MEAN HUGE;
HIGHEST interest rates over a long term;
Some of the biggest spending, esp. wasting money.
Some of the worst and most contraversial desicions ... even contraversial within the party.
Worst ecconomy Australia ever had.
Produced the biggest debt ever.
Employed many people to sit around and do NOTHING in gov. run companies in order to artificially reduce the unemployment rate ... even though the unemployment rate only went up!
}
// On the other hand...
Liberal()
{
Cleared the debt. we're now in surplus.
The LOWEST unemployment rate for ... well, decades..
Interest rates are MUCH lower now.
The ecconomy has been GROWING. Even when other countries have have shrunk.
A much better outlook for the country
}
THAT is why even though many people will vote Labor for the states, the will vote Liberal for the federal.
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Screw Australia and New Zeeland. Move to Kergeulen!
Broadband is cheaper in AU I'm told.
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oMgwtfBBq!1 :-o. Somebody's toes have been stepped on it seems.
I've seen big fricking bugs all over the place in Australia, not just while 'camping out in the forrests'.
And the xenophobic bit, well, that was just my impression of the folks I met, mostly in rural areas. Then again, I was only for five months in Australia and it was difficult to break 'free' from the whole backpacking community and get in touch with the 'real' Australia. So my views could very well be skewed.
Oh, and the skiing is better in NZ, which counts for a lot ;-).
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:roflmao:
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Kerguelen :lol:
I think that would suit Blobzie more than me. Apparently there is not much light pollution out there when stargazing.
Back to Oz vs NZ:
Sooooo....no Kiwis wanting to offer an opinion? Miles? Castellen? InTheSand? Hmmmm?
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iamaboringperson wrote:...
The only odd thing is that federal elections are won by Liberal, state elections by Labor.
The thing is that if you look in the federal governments past, you'll see two governments vastly different way of running the place:
Labor()
{
HUGE (and LONG TERM) unemployment, AND I MEAN HUGE;
HIGHEST interest rates over a long term;
Some of the biggest spending, esp. wasting money.
Some of the worst and most contraversial desicions ... even contraversial within the party.
Worst ecconomy Australia ever had.
Produced the biggest debt ever.
Employed many people to sit around and do NOTHING in gov. run companies in order to artificially reduce the unemployment rate ... even though the unemployment rate only went up!
}
// On the other hand...
Liberal()
{
Cleared the debt. we're now in surplus.
The LOWEST unemployment rate for ... well, decades..
Interest rates are MUCH lower now.
The ecconomy has been GROWING. Even when other countries have have shrunk.
A much better outlook for the country
}
Well, that's a pretty simplistic view, but does sum up part of the situation of the recent history. Your summary does have some notable ommissions though.
I also like Mebourne a lot. I haven't been to Sydney, but I can say that Melbourne is very different from Perth, so Sydney could well be very different again. Melbourne has a MUCH better night life than Perth (this is a sad point about Perth).
What I really don't like about Melbourne is weather, whch frankly is just cr@p compared with Perth. Far too many dark, overcast days, and too much rain in summer. May be good for plants, but no fun for me, getting rained on in singlet and shorts, after enjoying a 35 degree sunny morning.
I agree with Odin that remote areas can be very parchial, and certainly there's an element of xenophobia in Oz (feel like a trip to Royston Vasy, anyone? :-P ). However, I'm not sure that it's worse than anywhere else. I can say for a certainty that xenophobia is leveraged for political and commercial advantage here, which I have observed to extend its prevalence throughout the community (just my observation and opinion, but a considered one). This is one of the issues I have with wing politics and commercial media here. Of course this is not unique to Oz in any way. Again, I haven't been to NZ, so don't know what it's like there.
One more thing which probably should be mentioned, is the problem with small scale economies. In Perth, you have to pay a lot more for specialty items, than in big cities, and big countries, and the accessability is much worse. To an extent this is also true for Melbourne and Sydney, though not quite as bad. Extrapolating from this, I guess NZ may be worse in this regard, as it has a smaller, weaker economy. One example I can offer is of an American thermohygrometer I wanted for a project I was doing. It was the best suited item for my purposes. In the States, it cost around $90, and in Oz it cost close to $500 with GST. The American supplier wouldn't ship it directly, as they had a distributer here. So, I got a lower spec sensor, for a more reasonable price, but the project had to suffer.
I would also like to hear from some New Zealander's about this, specially anyone who's also lived in Oz. I was considering working in NZ as well. There seems to be a reasonable demand for electronic engineers over there. I've just started a new job here now, but I may go in a few years.
With respect to dangerous animals, well mostly they're just 'potentially' dangerous. I live just near a lake, and there are many insects, so there are also many spiders. I must have several hundred in my garden. But hey, they're in the garden, and live there quite happily. Good for them. It's only an issue for small children who don't yet have the sense to leave them alone. However, a friend of mine lives 'really close' to the same lake, and he will have tiger snakes in his garden several times per year. This is much more serious, but still manageable. Personally, I just wouldn't live that close to a wilderness environment. Most people in the suburbs just don't have any issues with this stuff. I've been bitten by spiders a number of times (not the bad ones), but most of them just give me a very minor rash. My wife, who is from China, has an uncomfortable reaction to the local mosquitos, though I hardly notice them much more than for the annoying noise they make.
Oli
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X-ray wrote:
Sooooo....no Kiwis wanting to offer an opinion? Miles? Castellen? InTheSand? Hmmmm?
Heh! I'm a Pommy ex-pat! I've only been in NZ since March 2005.
I've never been to Australia (yet!), so can't really comment there...
But as for New Zealand, pros (at least for me, and in no particular order) are:
* Fantastic vast areas of unspoiled countryside, great scenery and outdoor-oriented lifestyle, etc
* Only 4 million people in a country just over the size of the UK - no overcrowding
* Few traffic problems (unless you live in Auckland!) - in the South Island, on a three hour drive during the day, I'll probably only see ten cars outside of the town areas!
* Friendly people (genuinely)
* Good system for buying a house - it's all signed off within days of an agreement, none of the months and months of uncertainty like there is in the UK (and no such thing as gazumping)
* A relaxed and laid-back pace of life
* A reasonable climate (especially in summer - weeks of great sunny BBQ weather!), and not too hot or cold
* No Australians!! (Just kidding, the Aussies I've met have been good fun!)
Cons (again for me and in no order) are:
* Low wages, cost of living is actually fairly high
* Imported items cost a fortune and take forever to get here
* Computer-related goods (e.g. printers, etc) can actually cost *MORE* in NZ (for NZ/Aus models) than in the UK when doing a direct £ to $ conversion... Unfair! But the manufacturers quote small market size, etc...
* IT jobs are hard to find outside Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland
* The resident telecoms operator is a privatised monopoly (think British Telecom in its worst days of the early 1980s and multiply it by a few thousand), resulting in expensive line rental and expensive capped broadband with no alternative (as other ISPs have to buy their capacity from the incumbent)
* No digital telly (though this is set to change in 2007) unless you pay for the rather poor offering from Sky NZ or make do with a handful of FTA channels, and no digital radio (yet)
* Cold houses! Broadly speaking: no double glazing or central heating, no mains gas (aside from a few areas). Heating in most houses is via a fire in the lounge, using either wood or coal. More modern places use electrically controlled heat pumps but electricity prices are quite high
So, in a nutshell: I really enjoy living here and wouldn't consider going back to the UK.
However, beware the cost of living. It's easy to see NZ as a cheap place when you're bringing in pounds or US dollars, but you'll get a shock when you start earning and thinking in NZ dollars.
- Ali
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Thanks Ali, that is good info.
So let me ask you then, do you think a radiographer can earn enough bucks in New Zealand to be comfortable?
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Both of those countries are fab. I love them both. Whichever you choose, it won't be a bad decision!
But if I had to choose I think it'd have to be NZ. I love that it's just like England, but even more English than England, in a funny kind of way. It's what England should be like.
And there's lots of space, hardly any people, they drive on the correct side of the road, amazing countryside, there's subtropical weather up north and there's no nasty animals.
Australia is very cool too of course. It a young, confident nation, and perhaps on its way to becoming a world power. The people are so friendly, the weather is great, and it's still quite Englishy.
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X-ray wrote:
Do you think a radiographer can earn enough bucks in New Zealand to be comfortable?
Err... I guess so, if you stick to one of the larger towns or cities. A good place to check is on the Seek job site (http://www.seek.co.nz/healthcare-jobs/?tracking=googlenz), but often jobs are shown there without a salary range, which can be a pain!
It's good that you have the immigration stuff sorted. Quite a lot of the job ads state that you have to be resident in NZ and with the right visas/permits before you'll even be considered. I'm here on a family working visa at present (my other half's a Kiwi), and I need to apply for residency very soon, currently getting all the evidence together to support my application.
smithy wrote:
I had to choose I think it'd have to be NZ. I love that it's just like England, but even more English than England, in a funny kind of way. It's what England should be like.
I wouldn't say NZ is like England, or that it's particularly English - the old notion that NZ is "like the UK was in the 1950s" no longer holds true. However, people are certainly friendlier to each other and have a lot more respect - imagine how much friendlier people were in the UK in the 1970s and perhaps early '80s, where you could pop down the road and leave your door unlocked, etc, and speak with your neighbours, etc. - it's a bit like that (obviously depending on the area you're in).
- Ali
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InTheSand wrote:
Heh! I'm a Pommy ex-pat! I've only been in NZ since March 2005.
So you're one of the few "New Zealanders" that can actually say "Fish and chips" :-P
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Oliver wrote:
What I really don't like about Melbourne is weather, whch frankly is just cr@p compared with Perth. Far too many dark, overcast days, and too much rain in summer. May be good for plants, but no fun for me, getting rained on in singlet and shorts, after enjoying a 35 degree sunny morning.
Rain in summer you say? We hardly had any rain in winter, summer has only just started and we've had bugger all thus far. The water storages are running dangerously low at the moment, I wish it would rain.
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I have to admit I would love to retire to NZ. It looks beautiful.
that's some loong way to move, however. well, we will see what happens
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cecilia wrote:
I have to admit I would love to retire to NZ. It looks beautiful.
Indeed it is beautiful, click here (http://www.geoffrossphotography.com/) and have a look at his galleries, there is a whole heap of shots from NZ. He also has a book exclusively devoted to NZ.
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adz wrote:
So you're one of the few "New Zealanders" that can actually say "Fish and chips" :-P
Hehe! Yep, no "chups" or "fush" for me! :-)
It took a bit of getting used to the accent, especially to start with! My girlfriend had been in the UK for around five years when I first met her, so her accent wasn't so strong, but coming from the relatively accent-less southern UK, some words do sound weird!
A quick NZ speaking guide!
Fish = Fush
Chips = Chups
Black = Bleck
Ali = Elli (rhymes with "smelly", much to my girlfriend's niece's amusement!)
Check-In = Chicken
New Zealand = NewZild
Grown = Grow-Un
Shown = Show-Un
Pair = Peer
Bare = Beer
Beer = Beer (just to be inconsistent!)
Air = Ear (always amuses me when people talk about the "earport"!)
Beat = Bet
Auction = Oction (but Auckland is not Ockland!)
And, like Australia, every sentence is a question? Which can get a bit annoying? As the intonation is raised at the end regardless? :-)
- Ali
P.S. Yes, NZ does have fantastic scenery! I nearly always take my camera with me when we go visiting and will quite happily take a few hundred shots in a few days at some places. Glad it's digital, or the cost would bankrupt me!
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The NZ accent alone puts me off.
It's the worst accent in the world.
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adz wrote:
Rain in summer you say? We hardly had any rain in winter, summer has only just started and we've had bugger all thus far. The water storages are running dangerously low at the moment, I wish it would rain.
Yeah, well, haven't been to Melbourne for a few years. I know the whole not having enough water thing is a bit of a downer, but I still don't like bright sunny days that turn into rain storms within half an hour. Perhaps my experience of Melbourne weather is not a good sample, but that's what has happened every time I've been. Still a really good place to be, in many ways.
Actually, the weather in Perth is not so clement now either. Gets more humid every year. Still not much rain to speak of. I liked it in the good old days, where winter was marked by rain storms, separated by fine days, and summer was hot and dry, with the occasional thunder storm, usually at night, and you could see it building all day. Sometimes dry thunder storms. Quite spectacular, and horrendous for starting fires.
oli
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InTheSand wrote:
...
Black = Bleck
...
That's sort of how I hear the afrikaans accent...
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Ja, there are quite a few similarities between Kiwi vowels and Saffer vowels. Of course there is a far greater range of accents in South Africa than in New Zealand, so not all Saffer vowels will match. Wait until you hear a Cape Coloured accent, you might not recognise the language being spoken, even when they speak English
The Kiwi accent is definitely not the worst in the world. I had trouble telling the difference between a Kiwi and an Aussie accent when I first arrived in London, so I used to ask them to say "I bought six packets of fish and chips" so that I could get a clue :lol:
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adz wrote:
Indeed it is beautiful, click here (http://www.geoffrossphotography.com/) and have a look at his galleries, there is a whole heap of shots from NZ. He also has a book exclusively devoted to NZ.
WOW - if someone could invent a Transporter I'd be there right now! just stunning!
and I have always found the accents from that part of the world to be really interesting and even sexy. :-D
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iamaboringperson wrote:
The NZ accent alone puts me off.
It's the worst accent in the world.
Well, that's a bit harsh!
Surely it's not as bad as a Forrest Gump-style accent! Does anyone even speak like that?! :-)
- Ali
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iamaboringperson wrote:
The NZ accent alone puts me off.
It's the worst accent in the world.
Clearly you've never spoken to any Yams*....
(*not the vegetable variety, though given the accent, you could be forgiven for failing to perceive the difference)
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cecilia wrote:
WOW - if someone could invent a Transporter I'd be there right now! just stunning!
Unfortunately, I've not had the pleasure of visiting New Zealand yet. One day I'll get there, once I've got me a big 8x10 view camera :-D
and I have always found the accents from that part of the world to be really interesting and even sexy. :-D
Even us Ozzies? BY CRIKEY!!!!
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InTheSand wrote:
Well, that's a bit harsh!
Surely it's not as bad as a Forrest Gump-style accent! Does anyone even speak like that?! :-)
- Ali
I really think its just an Aussie thing, for some reason we cannot stand the New Zealander accent. It bares the brunt of many a joke. I guess thats the reason we haven't invaded yet :lol:
As far as accents go, my favorite would have to be the Jamaican-English hybrid, Ya Mon! But I guess I'll leave that for another thread at another time :-D
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adz wrote:
I really think its just an Aussie thing, for some reason we cannot stand the New Zealander accent. It bares the brunt of many a joke. I guess thats the reason we haven't invaded yet :lol:
I don't think Kiwis fear an invasion from the West Island! :-)
Besides, your feesh and cheeps wouldn't go down so well!
In any case, to most people outside of Australasia, you all sound like Aussies anyway!
- Ali
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iamaboringperson wrote:
The NZ accent alone puts me off.
It's the worst accent in the world.
We do not have a accent, every body else does! :-P
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InTheSand wrote:
adz wrote:
I really think its just an Aussie thing, for some reason we cannot stand the New Zealander accent. It bares the brunt of many a joke. I guess thats the reason we haven't invaded yet :lol:
I don't think Kiwis fear an invasion from the West Island! :-)
Besides, your feesh and cheeps wouldn't go down so well!
In any case, to most people outside of Australasia, you all sound like Aussies anyway!
- Ali
Yet we find Aussie accents annoying (re Steve bloody Irwin, can't stand 5 seconds of that!) and yes we can tell if someone is an Aussie even if they have been here for years (been told Aussies can tell a Kiwi accent in the same way)!
;-)
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cecilia wrote:
adz wrote:
Indeed it is beautiful, click here (http://www.geoffrossphotography.com/) and have a look at his galleries, there is a whole heap of shots from NZ. He also has a book exclusively devoted to NZ.
WOW - if someone could invent a Transporter I'd be there right now! just stunning!
and I have always found the accents from that part of the world to be really interesting and even sexy. :-D
That's the kind of view I get out of my window while I'm typing this! I live in the country with a bit of land and a couple of horses, even have a old Nuffield tractor!
I have travelled the whole country and it is very nice, did not like the citys though.
Oh and just for you we do have an accent :-)
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I have no problem with the NZ accent. Sounds quaint. heh. I don't really care for a strong Aussie accent though, particularly on girls. The Aussie accent just sounds a bit too shrill when spoken with a high pitched voice.
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@ Miles
Come on my good man, sell me on NZ, tell me all the good points and all the bad points.
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@ Oliver
I must say, an Australian woman is hardly likely to sound sexy. It just doesn't happen (well not for me and not for most of the people I work with). I suppose if any antipodean accent is going to be sexy, my vote for the women would be a South African English accent (Natal area) and for the blokes the mildest of the Australian or Kiwi accents.
Maybe we will all have to make a few recordings for Cecilia so she can choose the best :-P
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Karlos wrote:
iamaboringperson wrote:
The NZ accent alone puts me off.
It's the worst accent in the world.
Clearly you've never spoken to any Yams*....
(*not the vegetable variety, though given the accent, you could be forgiven for failing to perceive the difference)
do you mean Yamyams ? (as in: yow am, shortened) ie: the Black country accent ? personally I think Brummie is even worse...
I quite like the canadian accent, eh? ;-)
back onT: as for the NZ scenery, one only has to cop a load of the Lord of The Rings trilogy (just watched 2towers again last night) the words 'smacked' and 'gob' in reverse order!
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But that's a CGI-fied version of NZ =).
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So where are the Orcs?!
In Orcland of course! :crazy:
(Sorry!)
- Ali
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I may be in a unique position because I've lived in both places. I'm from Adelaide originally and now live in Canada, so you may want to factor that in.
New Zealand is nice, wages are low, but most stuff is inexpensive (rent, etc) so you'll get by fine. The accents are really grating to an Australian and I found that while I was there I could not stand listening to the radio. The people in general are nicer and more helpful than in Australia, I would say it's like Australia used to be 20 years ago. I lived in Christchurch. They like their Rugby (Union) and for some reason Coronation Street.
That guy bagging out Sydney is from Melbourne, and everyone knows there's a rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. I've lived in both places, and I prefer Sydney, but both are very nice. You may say I'm biased coming from Adelaide, but then my missus from Canada also likes Sydney more.
Immigration for New Zealand was much easier than Australia, I don't know if that's still true. There was a time a while back where immigrants would do their stint in New Zealand, then use the Trans-Tasman Agreement to get into Australia because of the easier immigration. As someone noted earlier, you can't do that as easily anymore.
Frankly I got out of Australia for a number of reasons, one of which was the housing prices, another, the fact that almost all IT work is contract based, meaning I had no chance whatsoever of settling down. New Zealand is still more reasonable for housing, and if you have a bit of money with you when you go there, you'll probably start quite well off.
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I have a cousin who married a South African bloke and they settled in Capetown if I am not mistaken. They lived there for a few years got 2 little ones etc. Even her grandparents bought a house near them so they could spend more time with them. However they got fed up with the crime and insecurity and moved to Christchurch. Also the grandparents sold the newish house they had and are building a house in NZ too now.
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@ uncleted
I think some things are easier for people migrating to NZ, but in my case it is Even-Stevens because of my profession being on the demand list in both countries. The problem with NZ is that there are much fewer jobs for me than in Oz.
But looking at the rules, it seems that NZ is a better place to go if you have dependants.
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@ Odin
Ja, there are a lot of Saffers leaving South Africa, and quite a few going to Australia and New Zealand. They are probably tired of us by now :lol:
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@uncleted:
Hi dude,
Just wanted to ask you: what's your experience been of going to Canada from Aus/NZ? The reason I'm asking is because my wife and I are also priced out of the job market in Perth. Do you know if there's much call for electronic engineers in Canada? I'm only a graduate now, but I may like to move in a couple of years, when I have some experience.
@X-Ray: So, which looks more appealing to you so far? Are there any other pertinent facts you've found out about the two countries which haven't been mentioned here yet?
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do you mean Yamyams ? (as in: yow am, shortened) ie: the Black country accent ? personally I think Brummie is even worse...
There is no difference.
/me runs!
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@ Oliver
I think so far it is still even. Oz has the jobs (and probably better career prospects as a general radiographer) but NZ has great potential for me if I can get a specialist position. If I dabble further in forensics, NZ is going to suit me better.
Generally speaking, I have found it easier to get on with the Aussies than the Kiwis, but that only applies to people I have met here in London.
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CannonFodder wrote:
do you mean Yamyams ? (as in: yow am, shortened) ie: the Black country accent ? personally I think Brummie is even worse...
There is no difference.
/me runs!
yer alright with me, I only live in the WM. I'm actually from the East Midlands. its taken me 8 years to get the difference!
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Agafaster wrote:
CannonFodder wrote:
do you mean Yamyams ? (as in: yow am, shortened) ie: the Black country accent ? personally I think Brummie is even worse...
There is no difference.
/me runs!
yer alright with me, I only live in the WM. I'm actually from the East Midlands. its taken me 8 years to get the difference!
Why is it that the Leicester accent sounds sooooooooo imbecilic, yet the Notts accent doesn't? There isn't that much difference either.