Expat Kiwis love it
With a brother, sister-in-law and niece in the city and several friends planning to move there, she found settling in relatively easy in some respects.
Like Rodriguez, however, she initially struggled on the work front. She secured a job after a month but it was about a year before she found one she really enjoyed.
‘‘That first year was quite hard, but overall it was pretty easy to settle in. I got myself a little one-bedroom apartment [in Richmond], established my group of friends and made sure I had lots on. I guess it was easy technically but hard emotionally.’’
Sheat says she’s been lucky to work in very social environments, but has also got to know people through existing friends and events organised by a friend who runs a Facebook page for new arrivals.
She’s so settled now, she can’t see herself returning to New Zealand, although her home city will always hold a special place in her heart.
Sheat thinks she’s in a similar financial position as she would have been if she’d stayed in Auckland. While she earns more now, she’s also progressed in her career. Rents and house prices, she says, seem to be fairly similar and eating out is probably a bit cheaper in Melbourne.
Not having to fork out for the company she worked for shut down and her role was disestablished so she thought she may as well give life across the ditch a shot. Melbourne called, she says, as it was a ‘‘bigger city with more opportunities for the area I work in and more pay’’.
While she had friends in London, she didn’t want to be that far away from her mum whom, after eight years in the city, she still finds it hard being separated from.
Albuquerque found settling in ‘‘smooth sailing’’, finding a job in marketing and the community of Kiwi expats ‘‘very welcoming’’.
Initially, she made the most of the surfeit of bars and restaurants but, now that she’s looking after her two small children full time, finds that most of her activities are kid-centric. Still, she feels her weekends are more cultured than they were when she lived in east Auckland.
‘‘The kids love the zoo, Scienceworks and the museum. Now that we live in the city, everything is so much more accessible and you’re not just spending your time at a Westfield.’’
Many of her friends have ‘‘moved out to burbs’’ since having kids, however, and as Melbourne is so spread out, it can be difficult to keep in touch. ‘‘It’s easier to drift apart and feel lonely sometimes.’’