A Kiwi couple who moved to Melbourne say they were so shocked by Australian work culture, they came home.
Cassidy Skelton, 28, moved with her partner Nicolas, 32, and their newborn son because the pay was so much better.
Nicolas, who works in marketing, could make double the money across the ditch, allowing Cassidy to be a full-time, stay-at-home mum.
But Cassidy told news.com.au they were shocked by the work culture, including the way bosses spoke to their staff and their expectation of regular unpaid overtime.
"The working culture in Melbourne was the hardest to enjoy. We were shocked at how employers spoke to their staff and just the expectation to work overtime unpaid," she told news.com.au.
She said it was hard to wrap her mind around work-life balance not being a priority, especially because they moved in the hopes of spending more time as a family.
"There was also no focus on or understanding of mental health or work-life balance in our experience," she said.
Cassidy told news.com.au the move made her realise she took Aotearoa's work culture "for granted".
"I think the hustle made us realise how much no amount of money was worth my fiancé being out of the house for 10 hours a day, five days a week," she added.
In the end, they decided to move home.
"We don't like wearing shoes and we just want to chill the f**k out. If the biggest pull in Australia is more money, we just need to make more money at home," Cassidy said.
It comes as an influx of Kiwis head across the ditch for better wages and more opportunities as the cost of living crisis bites.
A recent Statistics New Zealand release showed a net migration loss of 52,500 New Zealand citizens in the year to March - a new record.
That means for every arrival of a New Zealand citizen, there were three departures.
Most of those jetting off weren't going far, though.
"Based on the latest estimates available, just over half of these migrant departures went to Australia," Stats NZ population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.
But while Cassidy didn't find the grass greener, plenty of other Kiwis have.
One woman, who goes by Kiyah Ariana on TikTok, shared a video on the platform about how she moved over with her partner and daughter. She's since had a son in Australia.
"From my own experience it's been the hardest decision of my life because all my family are back home," she said, before adding that "it's been the best decision for us".
"It's been worth it for us because we've been able to experience the exact thing that we move over here for, which is better financial opportunities, to something new - and I've been able to be a stay-at-home mum to both of our kids because my partner makes good money and enough for us to live off one income."
She said living off one person's pay would not have been feasible in New Zealand.
"We've also only been here for a year, so we haven't been here very long, but so far it's been a lot more peaceful for us," Ariana said.
But she added they hope to move back to Aotearoa one day "because obviously home is home", but right now, the family was focusing on building a future they're happy with.
Jesse Campbell also shared a TikTok video praising the quality of life in Australia compared to New Zealand.
"Cost of living is cheaper, you get paid more, the weather is better, there's more going on over there, the beaches are better, there's more opportunities," said the 26-year-old, who has been in Australia for three years.
"Honestly, I just reckon the quality of life it produces over there is just so much better than New Zealand at the moment, and that's why we're losing so many people moving over there.
"Especially when things are so tough here for people in New Zealand, you know, the wages and the crazy cost of living and that. It's just so hard for people to survive and have a good life here."
Meanwhile, for one woman the best part of moving was the cheaper groceries.
"POV [point of view]: you move to Australia and can now afford to have fresh produce every day," Paige Ratcliffe captioned a video on her TikTok.
