Australia or New Zealand???

Sarahlon

Hi all, I'm planning on heading over to Oz or NZ in March on a working holiday visa, but I cannot decide which to choose. Does anyone have any advice, have done either/ both and would reccomend one more than the other?
Thanks, Sarah

irishh_bob

Sarahlon wrote: »

Hi all, I'm planning on heading over to Oz or NZ in March on a working holiday visa, but I cannot decide which to choose. Does anyone have any advice, have done either/ both and would reccomend one more than the other?
Thanks, Sarah

long time since ive been in either but if it was me , id certainly start with australia , new zealand is a wonderfull country in some ways but its not so great in others

possitives = its extrordinarily beautifull
negatives = wages are very low compared to both ireland and australia
negatives = while beautifull , outside the citys are boring and isolated
negatives = the citys are nothing special , none of the citys have as much going on as even dublin and are completley dead compared to sydney or melbourne
negatives = the economy is new zealand isnt near as healthy as in australia and therefore , thier are a lot less jobs available


new zealand is a terrific country for a holiday but its not really an employment hot spot , australia trumps it by a comfortable distance on every score when it comes to quality of life , job opportunitys and financial reward , kiwis are nice but they ( especially in the south island ) are more reserved than australians , the irish are more recognised in australia as new zealand was traditionally a destination for scottish and northern irish immigrants rather than a place where the paddy irish went

better to begin in oz at least

Tigerandahalf

When it's pissing rain here 90% of the time, Australia even for just the year is very appealing. I haven't been to NZ. Australia has a huge amount to offer. Beautiful cities, great weather and a great lifestyle. There is work there as well.
The negative is that it's becoming an expensive place especially if you are taking your euros over. People are paying $10 plus for a pint in some places. You need good wages or a lot saved to really enjoy it there.

Gingko

New Zealand is beautiful I agree, but the social life is terrible and conservative. There is a general dourness to the culture there. It is possibly wetter then the West Of Ireland and the Economy does not pay well. Good for a visit but not for lifestyle.

Australia is nowhere near as beautiful as New Zealand but obviously the climate is consistently warmer and dryer. On the job front, the money is certainly better in Oz! More options too. Especially in W.A. and Northern Territory. Top dollar at the mo! Good place to go for a year and make some cash in the sun. You will meet plenty of backpackers from Europe, Canada, States and Ireland & U.K. Friends to be made for sure!

Personally I much prefer Europe and the West coast of the U.S. People are more clued in so to speak.

irishh_bob

Gingko wrote: »

New Zealand is beautiful I agree, but the social life is terrible and conservative. There is a general dourness to the culture there. It is possibly wetter then the West Of Ireland and the Economy does not pay well. Good for a visit but not for lifestyle.

Australia is nowhere near as beautiful as New Zealand but obviously the climate is consistently warmer and dryer. On the job front, the money is certainly better in Oz! More options too. Especially in W.A. and Northern Territory. Top dollar at the mo! Good place to go for a year and make some cash in the sun. You will meet plenty of backpackers from Europe, Canada, States and Ireland & U.K. Friends to be made for sure!

Personally I much prefer Europe and the West coast of the U.S. People are more clued in so to speak.

parts of nz are wetter than anywhere in ireland ( west coast of the south island ) but hardly anyone lives there , the east coast of the south island around christchurch recieves less than half the amount of rain dublin does let alone mayo , i only spent a short amount of time in the north island so im not in a possition to comment on the rain , its warmer in the north island than in ireland though , that i do know

as for the dourness of the place , thats the scottish influence and is more apparent in the south island , hate to bring it down to the level of religon but new zealand has a quite a presbyterian culture , bar around auckland , thier are very few mainstream irish going back generations compared to australia , its very much a W.A.S.P place but i mean that in the best possible way

agree about them not being up to date , when i was there at the end of the nineties , the teenagers were more into led zeplin and the rolling stones than the latest dance tunes , thats a good thing in reality but it was purely by accident , thier abit like eastern europe in terms of trends , behind

Gingko

irishh_bob wrote: »

parts of nz are wetter than anywhere in ireland ( west coast of the south island ) but hardly anyone lives there , the east coast of the south island around christchurch recieves less than half the amount of rain dublin does let alone mayo , i only spent a short amount of time in the north island so im not in a possition to comment on the rain , its warmer in the north island than in ireland though , that i do know

as for the dourness of the place , thats the scottish influence and is more apparent in the south island , hate to bring it down to the level of religon but new zealand has a quite a presbyterian culture , bar around auckland , thier are very few mainstream irish going back generations compared to australia , its very much a W.A.S.P place but i mean that in the best possible way

agree about them not being up to date , when i was there at the end of the nineties , the teenagers were more into led zeplin and the rolling stones than the latest dance tunes , thats a good thing in reality but it was purely by accident , thier abit like eastern europe in terms of trends , behind

I'm glad you mentioned it first! When I said their not that clued in that was referring more to all the cultural and racial stereotyping that goes on more so in Australia but it goes on a bit in NZ too. And before somebody slates me for saying that, it is not as bad here!!

jank

NZ is a great place to live but so is Australia. They both offer different things.
Lived in both so can compare. The worst thing about NZ are the low wages and high cost of living. Even a good wage will be eaten into by expensive food, clothes, books etc. Some say the place is a little dull but you dont go to NZ for the culture or the nightlife, you go for the outdoor lifestyle which is awesome. Treking, mountain biking, surfing, boating, skiing, camping, climbing. If you like the outdoors then you will love NZ. Such a relaxed place with very friendly people. However it could be a struggle if you were to go and make a life there from scratch.

There is a reason why 400,000 kiwi's are in Australia. To make money and have better oppertunities.

If you are young, hungry to do well, work hard and put your head down for 5 years to save money, then go to OZ. 5-10 years of doing this will set you up for life. Then when you have made your money you can retire in peace to NZ :pac:
In fairness as well, OZ have better cities and weather, Lots more to do I think, more events to go and see, more culture, more public discourse, better media. Also alot more stress! I am way more stressed here than NZ then again that may be cause I work in the Sydney CBD. Think Melbourne may be on the cards. A happy medium for me personally.

You can get a WHV for both, so why not try both? They are very different and you may hate one while loving the other.

Gingko

jank wrote: »

NZ is a great place to live but so is Australia. They both offer different things.
Lived in both so can compare. The worst thing about NZ are the low wages and high cost of living. Even a good wage will be eaten into by expensive food, clothes, books etc. Some say the place is a little dull but you dont go to NZ for the culture or the nightlife, you go for the outdoor lifestyle which is awesome. Treking, mountain biking, surfing, boating, skiing, camping, climbing. If you like the outdoors then you will love NZ. Such a relaxed place with very friendly people. However it could be a struggle if you were to go and make a life there from scratch.

There is a reason why 400,000 kiwi's are in Australia. To make money and have better oppertunities.

If you are young, hungry to do well, work hard and put your head down for 5 years to save money, then go to OZ. 5-10 years of doing this will set you up for life. Then when you have made your money you can retire in peace to NZ :pac:
In fairness as well, OZ have better cities and weather, Lots more to do I think, more events to go and see, more culture, more public discourse, better media. Also alot more stress! I am way more stressed here than NZ then again that may be cause I work in the Sydney CBD. Think Melbourne may be on the cards. A happy medium for me personally.

You can get a WHV for both, so why not try both? They are very different and you may hate one while loving the other.

Most sensible option!

conor1979

Gingko wrote: »

New Zealand is beautiful I agree, but the social life is terrible and conservative. There is a general dourness to the culture there.

Can I ask where you were and what you did?

I have lived in Auckland and Wellington in 2005/6 and 2008/9 and there is as much going on in those cities as anywhere I have ever lived (Dublin,Prague,Melbourne,Sydney)

Plenty of music, live gigs, djs, music and art festivals, museums etc.

As for sports, they are mad for anything!

Gingko

conor1979 wrote: »

Can I ask where you were and what you did?

I have lived in Auckland and Wellington in 2005/6 and 2008/9 and there is as much going on in those cities as anywhere I have ever lived (Dublin,Prague,Melbourne,Sydney)

Plenty of music, live gigs, djs, music and art festivals, museums etc.

As for sports, they are mad for anything!

Lived and worked in Australia for two years, backpacked and part time work in NZ for 6 months. I have been to those places you mentioned.

There is most definitely a spark missing in NZ. Sorry. I think it's an individuals choice and it's a case of "Different courses for different horses". What is for one is not for another etc. Socially I prefer Europe including Ireland, and I also prefer Latin countries and the West coast U.S. They can build stadiums, museums, cultural facilities etc but it won't change Australia having little soul and NZ being dour!! It's the people. But hey that's just me!

irishh_bob

jank wrote: »

NZ is a great place to live but so is Australia. They both offer different things.
Lived in both so can compare. The worst thing about NZ are the low wages and high cost of living. Even a good wage will be eaten into by expensive food, clothes, books etc. Some say the place is a little dull but you dont go to NZ for the culture or the nightlife, you go for the outdoor lifestyle which is awesome. Treking, mountain biking, surfing, boating, skiing, camping, climbing. If you like the outdoors then you will love NZ. Such a relaxed place with very friendly people. However it could be a struggle if you were to go and make a life there from scratch.

There is a reason why 400,000 kiwi's are in Australia. To make money and have better oppertunities.

If you are young, hungry to do well, work hard and put your head down for 5 years to save money, then go to OZ. 5-10 years of doing this will set you up for life. Then when you have made your money you can retire in peace to NZ :pac:
In fairness as well, OZ have better cities and weather, Lots more to do I think, more events to go and see, more culture, more public discourse, better media. Also alot more stress! I am way more stressed here than NZ then again that may be cause I work in the Sydney CBD. Think Melbourne may be on the cards. A happy medium for me personally.

You can get a WHV for both, so why not try both? They are very different and you may hate one while loving the other.

NZ must have gotten very expensive since i was there in the late nineties , back then , someone on a modest wage certainly had a better lifestyle than in ireland , i remember being able to buy a steak and chips for ten NZ dollars in the local pub and i remember the portions being more generous than here , hostels were something like 20 dollars per night , alcohol was expensive compared to ireland and was a lot less strong if i remember correctly , petrol was half the price of in ireland and insurance was litterally optional but since it costs less than a hundred dollars per year for third party , i went with it , one think i do remember about new zealand is that the houses are little better than cattle sheds in ireland , without a hint of charecther , you could throw them up on the back of a lorry and whisk them down the road

irishh_bob

Gingko wrote: »

Lived and worked in Australia for two years, backpacked and part time work in NZ for 6 months. I have been to those places you mentioned.

There is most definitely a spark missing in NZ. Sorry. I think it's an individuals choice and it's a case of "Different courses for different horses". What is for one is not for another etc. Socially I prefer Europe including Ireland, and I also prefer Latin countries and the West coast U.S. They can build stadiums, museums, cultural facilities etc but it won't change Australia having little soul and NZ being dour!! It's the people. But hey that's just me!

for reasons beyond my control ( or so i thought at 20 ) , i was living and working in canterbury , i only travelled in the north island for a few weeks , im in the minority in that i much perfered the north island , the south island is more beautifull to look at but its far too sparsley populated and is much more conservative than the north , you have as much chance of seeing a maori in mullingar as in the south island , i did quite like wellington , thought it has a more liberal vibe than the deeply reserved christchurch , auckland , i didnt see much of at all and as for hamilton , possibley the worst city ive ever been to

Newsite

Have only been to both on hols so take my opinion with a pinch of salt However, I spent time in Sydney, Brisbane, Whitsundays/Airlie Beach and then in Queenstown and Christchurch, and drove around NZ South Island a bit too. Would defo go with Australia (and that is my intention ) Would say that while NZ is beautiful, it's prob wayyyy lower key and less 'liveable' than Oz.

Why go all the way to NZ to have the same rainy weather as Ireland when you can go to Australia!

Defo a good option to do both though, in terms of getting a WHV for each. Remember that the cut-off for the NZ WHV is a year earlier than Oz though...least that's the last I've read.

jank

irishh_bob wrote: »

NZ must have gotten very expensive since i was there in the late nineties , back then , someone on a modest wage certainly had a better lifestyle than in ireland , i remember being able to buy a steak and chips for ten NZ dollars in the local pub and i remember the portions being more generous than here , hostels were something like 20 dollars per night , alcohol was expensive compared to ireland and was a lot less strong if i remember correctly , petrol was half the price of in ireland and insurance was litterally optional but since it costs less than a hundred dollars per year for third party , i went with it , one think i do remember about new zealand is that the houses are little better than cattle sheds in ireland , without a hint of charecther , you could throw them up on the back of a lorry and whisk them down the road

Well for a tourist NZ is good value but if one is working and living there value goes out the window. Cars and petrol are still cheap enough as so is rent but the standard of housing is shocking in the most part but I suppose its all part of the frontier kiwi do it yourself persona.

Thing is though prices around the world has rised over the last 10 years but wages in NZ are still very low. I went from NZ to OZ with the same company and the same role and got myself a 50% wage increase and I was good enough money in NZ at the time! Much easier to save money here even though rent is huge and Australia is much more materialistic.

Tax breaks in OZ are much better though, I like their more open free market capatialism. NZ taxes are quite high and you dont get much in return especially if you are on a WHV and single. A much more socialist society. Some may like that, others may not.

irishh_bob

jank wrote: »

Well for a tourist NZ is good value but if one is working and living there value goes out the window. Cars and petrol are still cheap enough as so is rent but the standard of housing is shocking in the most part but I suppose its all part of the frontier kiwi do it yourself persona.

Thing is though prices around the world has rised over the last 10 years but wages in NZ are still very low. I went from NZ to OZ with the same company and the same role and got myself a 50% wage increase and I was good enough money in NZ at the time! Much easier to save money here even though rent is huge and Australia is much more materialistic.

Tax breaks in OZ are much better though, I like their more open free market capatialism. NZ taxes are quite high and you dont get much in return especially if you are on a WHV and single. A much more socialist society. Some may like that, others may not.

NZ must have changed a lot , ive never heard it described as a socilist society , its known to be a very open economy to do business , from a social point of view , people seemed to be quite individualistic even in rural areas , i worked on a farm for a while and unlike in ireland where you know everyone in the entire parish , people didnt seem to mix that much with thier neighbours

regarding its sorry economic state , new zealand is little more than one big farm or one big national park , what does it have other than cows , sheep and pretty tourists destinations , not what you would call a diversified economy

jank

Oh don't get me wrong, its not Cuba but there is definitely a more liberal streak in NZ that is not as evident in mainstream middle Australia, which to me is a lot more right wing than Ireland but also very open and accepting in terms of people in society.

For NZ take kiwi saver for example. The government takes 1% of your pay and puts it away for you for when your retire. Nothing wrong with that per say but it raised an eyebrow for me when the government decided that it knew best on how to invest your money than you do.

The people are quite individualistic but the systems of government they have they have lead to a more socialist economy. Which is I think one of the reasons they are struggling now. With their weak currency and access to Australia and Asia they should be creaming it with FDI and high tech manufacturing jobs. Yet they aren't. Then again they are not the most productive bunch of people in the world. Their best and brightest head off to London or OZ, much like Ireland the past 3 years or so.

NZ can be a hard one to pin down. Quite conservative in some ways yet very liberal in others but compared to Australia more to the left.

irishh_bob

jank wrote: »

Oh don't get me wrong, its not Cuba but there is definitely a more liberal streak in NZ that is not as evident in mainstream middle Australia, which to me is a lot more right wing than Ireland but also very open and accepting in terms of people in society.

For NZ take kiwi saver for example. The government takes 1% of your pay and puts it away for you for when your retire. Nothing wrong with that per say but it raised an eyebrow for me when the government decided that it knew best on how to invest your money than you do.

The people are quite individualistic but the systems of government they have they have lead to a more socialist economy. Which is I think one of the reasons they are struggling now. With their weak currency and access to Australia and Asia they should be creaming it with FDI and high tech manufacturing jobs. Yet they aren't. Then again they are not the most productive bunch of people in the world. Their best and brightest head off to London or OZ, much like Ireland the past 3 years or so.

NZ can be a hard one to pin down. Quite conservative in some ways yet very liberal in others but compared to Australia more to the left.

interesting ananylis , the goverment are nanny statish alright , then again kiwis are a lot more accepting of authority and being told what to do than irish people and as for aussies , thier legendery for not wanting to be told how to live , again , thats the scotts presbyterian influence , austere and draconian ( ish ) , rules orientated , canadians are like that aswell and have the same law abiding outlook , have relatives there who are like the flanders family in thier good two shoes manner

someone once described new zealand to me as the netherlands of the pacific , thier very liberal indeed when it comes to sex , prostitution ( i believe ) is now legal and strip clubs were very visible in every city in the late nineties , like the dutch , thier also incredibly irreligous , i was a mass goer when i was there and i litterally couldnt find a church , i know thier are few enough catholics outside auckland and wellington in new zealand but i remember even sticking my head into one of the local anglican churches one sunday and thier wasnt a sinner ( no pun intended ) inside bar the reverend

new zealanders might be lacking in productivity overall but they work very hard in the rural parts , not surprising as thier isnt much else to do , i used to be up at 4 . 30 each morning to bring in cows with a quad bike , you could count on one hand the number of farmers who rise that early in ireland

ps , i found the maori and pollynesians in general to be much less guarded , i guess thats no real surprise , i found them and thier history to be interesting