Discover why Kiwis like Gracen Luka are choosing Sydney for career growth and lifestyle, from Bondi Beach to building communities. Video / Carson Bluck
And by the time 28-year-old Gracen Luka steps outside with her Japanese Spitz named Suki, the pair colour-coordinated in pink, it feels like half the suburb is on their way home.
“You go down to the promenade, and 6am, you’re gettingthere feeling pretty good about yourself, but actually, you’re late. You’re late to your workout because everyone is wrapping up, they’ve all been there since 5am.”
It’s been a year since the residential development manager moved to Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, and if it weren’t for the accent, you’d almost assume she’s a local.
Most of her friends who have come over from Aotearoa also live in Bondi.
Luka and her friends aren’t alone. Stats NZ found there was a net migration loss of 27,000 people from New Zealand to Australia in 2023, making up over 50% of the total migrant departures from Aotearoa.
The main Sydney drawcard for Luka was where it could take her career.
“Sydney is a bigger city, and with that comes more opportunity, larger-scale projects, more responsibility and it was a no-brainer. Kind of next step in my career, and getting some international experience.”
Luka manages land development, preparing ground sites for homes to be built.
Development manager Gracen Luka moved from Auckland to Sydney. Photo / Carson Bluck
Luka has hit her stride in Australia’s workforce, and feels proud of the community she’s helping build in western Sydney.
She says the most rewarding part of her role is showing development customers the finished product.
“We host a community day and they get to meet their neighbours and these are the people that they’re going to build their new homes next to and create a new community with.”
Living so close to a landmark like Bondi Beach has helped Luka feel a sense of place, even when she’s so far away from home.
“It’s actually crazy, I’ve always loved topography and having maunga because I believe that really grounds you.”
She doesn’t believe the cost of living is lower in Sydney than it is back home, but says wages are higher.
In her view, grocery prices are relatively comparable, but some items are more expensive.
“The cost of alcohol is ridiculous here, and there’s a big culture of going to the pub and having a drink instead of buying alcohol and hosting at your own home.”
Although she can see herself in Sydney long-term, she still has family ties drawing her back home.
“I’m just really enjoying being here and all the opportunities I’ve been given.”
George Warren in Newtown, Sydney. Photo / Carson Bluck
George Warren
Also in Sydney, over in the trendy suburb of Newtown, is Kiwi social worker George Warren.
Warren hadn’t planned on becoming a Sydneysider when she first left Aotearoa two years ago to work in the Hunter Valley’s viticulture industry.
“They make really beautiful wine, the people are amazing. I stayed for four months after harvest and that was, I think like a lot of wine regions, [it was] very lonely. And isolating.”
The living conditions were “awful” and Warren was staying in what Australians call a donga.
“They were [shipping] containers cut into thirds, and there was a donga village.
“We had a double bed in them, and that was it. It was so grim... It was definitely the worst living conditions I’ve ever had.”
During that period, Warren spent time with her sister in Sydney on the weekends and later found her home away from home in the city.
After leaving the wine industry, Warren got a job as a social worker and went back to study, working towards a career as a psychologist.
Although Newtown is far from the beach, she prefers the people and culture in the western suburbs.
“I spent a year living in the Eastern suburbs and didn’t really find any friends that I would really cherish and value, and then moving to Newtown, luckily it was instant and I found friends from that.
“Sydney’s really hard socially. I think a lot of people that move here spend a lot of time with other New Zealanders. And I think there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s definitely a hard nut to crack.”
Still, Warren can’t see herself moving home anytime soon.
“I don’t think New Zealand has the same vibrancy.
“It’s so saddening, but I just don’t think there’s anything in New Zealand for me. Obviously my parents and my sister and my brother, but New Zealand just lacks excitement.”
Living in Sydney has also been better for Warren financially.
While finishing her diploma last year, one of the case worker roles she was looking at in New Zealand was offering a salary $20,000 lower than what she earns in a similar role in Australia.
“Life is so much more expensive in New Zealand because I think everyone is relying on cars, and from what I hear food is more expensive and I think rent is the same.”
This reporting was made possible through University of Canterbury’s Robert Bell Travelling Scholarship in Journalism.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
