KEY POINTS:
Dave and Narelle Leach reverse the Australian exodus on two fronts. She's returned home after seven years away, five of them in Sydney, and he's a Sydneysider making Auckland home. The couple made their move in late 2006 shortly after their daughter Grace was born and have just had their second child, Zac.
Trans Tasman relationships are something of a tradition in Narelle's family. Her father, who has lived here 45 years, is Australian. "Narelle is half Australian. Our children are three quarters. We still haven't decided which country they will play for," says Dave.
Weighing up their then and now lifestyles, they feel they're better off in Auckland - better house, more money (thanks to promotions in Dave's IT career ) and more enjoyment of the great outdoors. Dave even reckons the weather here is not too bad. "The rain is great for mountain biking - I love the mud."
The move was prompted by the realisation that to get a family home in Sydney they would have to leave their conveniently located Crows Nest unit and move out to the suburbs - probably the Hills district. It was not an appealing prospect and would mean more than an hour of travel to work each day, whereas, in Auckland, they could afford a house with section in Morningside - 10 minutes from the cbd and just a few kilometres from Dave's work. Narelle could get part time accountancy work and, most importantly, she had had plenty of family support close by. But it was still a difficult decision - Dave's family was in Sydney and Narelle knew he was moving for her. They're both happy with how it's worked out.
"The main things I miss are my family and friends," says Dave. " I don't actually miss Sydney. We're set up pretty good here. Narelle's parents have a holiday house. We go there quite a bit and my brother in law has a boat so we go fishing with him sometimes." Then there's the mountain biking at Woodhill forest, which is much better than what Sydney has to offer.
Comparing the two cities, Narelle says the Auckland lifestyle is a little bit more relaxed than hectic Sydney, which at times could be very impersonal. But she did appreciate the Sydney climate. "The weather is more consistent, so if you plan something you can assume it will happen." But the travelling distances of the big city often made enjoying the sunshine difficult. "It would take 45 minutes to get to the beach and you wouldn't be able to find a car park when you got there. And when you finally found one, you had to pay for it."
Narelle reckons Australians are more patriotic and proud of their country. "Kiwis have got as much to be proud of, but tend to look at Australia and almost worship the place. They tend to forget all the wonderful things about New Zealand."
She was amused and little surprised by the misconceptions Australians had of New Zealand. When they said they were leaving, Australian friends and colleagues were concerned about whether they would be able to get jobs, how they'd cope with the terrible weather and generally felt they were making a backward move. She's quick to point out the Kiwi exodus to Australia isn't always a one way ticket. "A lot of people do come back qualified and go on to have families." Narelle says her time away, which included two years in London, made her appreciate home. "I would have probably said some negative things about New Zealand before I went."
Dave can't understand why Kiwis are so "self deflating" and not more up front about putting New Zealand on the map as world class tourist destination. As for cultural shocks, mostly, he says there aren't any. "When I moved to England, things really were quite different, here it is very similar." One marked difference is the Maori and Pacific Island presence in Auckland. He was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when he rang a medical helpline, because his daughter was sick, to be greeted with a kia ora. "That would never happen in Australia."
As for Auckland weather, for a Sydneysider, Dave is surprisingly forgiving. "A lot of Australians think New Zealand weather is way worse than it is. They compare it to England. It's not like London weather at all." But it is memorable. When Dave and Narelle got married here in 2004, their Australian guests were treated to a gloriously appalling Auckland summer day - 14 degrees, with hail, thunder, lightning and gale force winds.
