A New Zealander who recently moved to Australia says the cost of living isn't actually that much better and has revealed the surprising thing she thinks Aussies don't do well.
Anna Kate and her husband Matt moved to Sydney in September last year to launch a business.
Kate said because she was used to the cost of living here in Aotearoa, she expected things to basically cost the same - and for the most part they are, with a few exceptions.
She told news.com.au she was pleasantly surprised to find petrol and coffees with alternative milk are cheaper in Australia - but that doesn't mean better.
In a recent TikTok, the marketer said the coffee in Syndey was so average, she found herself excited to return to New Zealand - just to drink some "good coffee" for a change.
She described the coffee across the ditch as "fine" when asked about it in the comment section of her video.
However, Kate told news.com.au that one of the more expensive things was secondhand cars. She said secondhand cars and license and registration fees are twice as expensive in Australia.
It's an interesting perspective, especially as more and more Kiwis head across the ditch for better pay and the prospect of cheaper living costs.
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 more and more Kiwis have been highlighting that the grass isn't always greener. One Kiwi couple recently spoke out after moving back to Aotearoa because they were so shocked by the work culture in Melbourne.
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 had 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.
