Why Kiwi couple moved to Australia - and saved enough in a year to travel the world

Kiwis Tim and Eva Mitchell moved across to Australia for better pay, but found many other benefits.

A Kiwi couple has opened up about why they decided to move to Australia for good, citing some reasons New Zealanders may not have considered.

Tim and Eva Mitchell made the move in 2022 in search of high wages and more career opportunities, but there was another major factor that completely changed their lifestyle for good.

Tim was able to transfer to Melbourne for the same engineering company that employed him in New Zealand on higher wages, while Eva worked as a private IVF pharmacist, a job that didn’t exist in New Zealand.

And after 16 months, their higher wages and work perks meant the pair saved enough to fund a full year of overseas travel, an amount they say they could never have achieved while in New Zealand.

“Everyone is struggling all over the world, but in New Zealand, I think they are lagging behind,” they told Daily Mail.

Eva, who has started a travel blog called Make Cents of Travel, highlighted that their ability to explore the world was made easier by not only higher wages across the ditch but also other financial advantages such as tax deductions for job expenses that New Zealand doesn’t have.

Kiwis Tim and Eva Mitchell moved across to Australia for better pay, but found many other benefits.

She also said that you can claim tax back on numerous work expenses.

“What we didn’t realise was the many other ways that living in Australia would present to facilitate our savings goals,’ she wrote.

“Starting with having to pay less income tax.

“An average Australian full-time salary of $95k requires you to pay roughly $21,300 income tax per year.

“In New Zealand, on the same salary (if you can find a job that pays the equivalent), you would be required to pay around $23,200 in income tax per year.”

Some of the tax you can claim back includes things like professional fees, working tools, work clothing, and working from-home costs among a range of other incentives.

More work expenses can be deducted in Australia than in New Zealand, Eva Mitchell says.

Eva wrote that they found Australia doesn’t just pay better, but it “lets you keep more of what you earn”.

“As far as we were aware we were never able to claim back the same expenses in New Zealand, not in normal jobs, perhaps if you had a business.”

With travel the ultimate goal for the couple, Eva said what was even better about Australia was that there was more access to “incredible points credit card offers” from banks trying to undercut each other.

“Credit card churning is something we had little knowledge about before arriving in Australia because NZ banks offer pathetic credit card deals due to the lack of competition.

“Before we left Australia to travel for a year, we had managed to accumulate over 300k Qantas points from credit card sign-up offers, that have ended up saving us thousands of dollars on flights around the world.”

Australian cash money in mans jeans pocket, close up.

Travel aside, the couple detailed that not only were the wages in Australia better, but that there were more roles to secure and be promoted to, and that companies are willing to assist in aiding with relocation costs.

“On top of a pay rise, Tim’s transfer agreement provided us both with flights to Melbourne, and a month of free accommodation in an apartment in the Melbourne CBD until we could secure our own rental property. Not a bad deal if I say so myself,” she wrote.

They also discovered a better work-life balance, saying Australians work shorter hours than Kiwis (38 hours instead of 40), which equates to 100 hours a year less.

The couple also said Melbourne’s size, along with functioning public transport meant there was a lot more to do and that events were easier to get to compared with New Zealand.

Melbourne. Photo / 123rf

Over the past year, Tim and Eva spent 10 months in Europe and are currently in Southeast Asia, where they plan to spend a few more months before returning to Australia to work.

While they miss elements of New Zealand, they cannot see themselves heading back.

“Pay is a big issue. If we could get the same pay we might go back but we are still missing out on the city lifestyle.

“We do feel guilty for leaving, we do miss our celebrations back home so we feel guilty for missing out on that,” but “Australia has given us opportunities we just wouldn’t have in New Zealand.”

The exodus of Kiwis has sparked concern for New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who addressed the situation in his State of the Nation speech last month.

“The median full-time worker in Australia now earns $20,000 more a year than someone in New Zealand,” Luxon said.

“It’s no surprise, therefore, that Kiwis have been voting with their feet. Last year a record net 44,500 New Zealanders left the country.”