Lauren Stairmand was one of the 734 locals to pack her bags in 2013 and relocate to Australia.
She made the move a year after her now-husband Lyall left the country to work in the mines in Darwin.
Three years and two 7-month-old babies later the couple have moved back to Rotorua and are loving the change of scene.
"Everyone was going over there a couple of years ago and I had heard it was really good money so thought 'why not' and made the move myself," Mr Stairmand said.
"The only reason we went was because it was great money and we were able to do a lot of travelling but we didn't want to raise kids there."