Australia

As many others in New Zealand, I got tickets to fly away. Not because New Zealand is a bad place, but because after two years of isolation the experience of taking a flight or living overseas is pure joy.

Coincidentally things in Melbourne, Australia were getting back to normal, with the exception that people got used to work from home so I got a job offer that was 100% remote, anywhere, as long as is mainly within Australia. Without thinking it twice I accepted it, left my previous consulting job and embarked in this new adventure, new country, new job, new life.

I got the job offer late September, resigned the day after, sold almost everything, moved here late October… time has gone so fast that haven’t had much time to process or to look back.

Maybe that way is better, that meaning: sometimes is best not to miss the things we leave behind, but to enjoy the opportunities that lie ahead.

Either way is good to pause and to write down the main experiences.

First thing in my mind is I had so much stuff that was not using, easily double number of shoes and clothing. So many old books and other things, that even after cleaning and giving away much of it still I had to fill a large/industrial bin of things that nobody else wanted and could not move here.

I decided to go minimal since then, in the sense of living in a place not that big, essential items, not to buy so much clothing or shoes or items that I barely use.

Second thing in my mind is the local mindset, I recall creating a petition (local/government process in New Zealand) to facilitate working from home. It got little to no traction, few votes. Here my new job is fully remote, many other jobs also discovered the benefits of working from home. I still can’t understand how or why people in Auckland prefers to be stuck in traffic, to spend half their day at the office instead of having more free time.

That is maybe a consequence of deeper socio cultural traits of the people here, in general it seems nobody is running late or in a hurry, maybe because going anywhere takes 20-40 or more minutes anyway. The metropolis is so large that it involves taking trains or combinations of train, bus, tram typically 40-90 minutes commute.

Social events also tend to last longer, 4 hours social event? That seems to be the norm, is just for us is a bit uncomfortable to be around at any social event for more than 2 hours.

Another nice difference is there is no “tall poppy syndrome” here, at least not as heavy as compared to New Zealand, where if you try to shine you are usually dimmed by the average circle around you. Here being flamboyant or ambitious is fine, nobody gets offended, I love that.

While in New Zealand many times I heard bad comments about the people in Australia, as bad character or racism. So far, even with a weird accent and coming from overseas I haven’t seen or experienced any of it. I would say people here is more laid back and used to good quality of life and service, so maybe while away it could be a different thing.

As an example, airport customs are super slow and understaffed when entering New Zealand, anyone would get grumpy after waiting in line hours just to answer few questions and then having your bags scanned again.

Either way, after working and living for a while here this feels like home and I like it. Maybe is not a permanent or definitive place, but so far I’m happy to be here.