Indians from New Zealand are moving to Australia for better opportunities there
The movement of smart people from New Zealand to Australia has been talked about a lot in the past. Former Prime Minister Robert Muldoon once said that the migration made both countries smarter.
Statistics New Zealand said that 13,400 people left New Zealand for Australia last year. This is the most people who left New Zealand for Australia since 2013.
It's a trend that doesn't seem to be going away, with more and more Indian families moving across the ditch as living costs rise and better job chances open up.
Abhinav Manota moved from Auckland to Brisbane in May. He used to be the best badminton player in the country and is now the Oceania winner.
Manota went to New Zealand for the first time in 2014, first to Christchurch and then to the country's biggest city to work as a development officer at North Shore Badminton Association. He was born in Jalandhar, Punjab, and grew up there.
"New Zealand has helped me a lot in my badminton career. I love having the chance to represent my country on the world stage. I am motivated to find a balance between my professional duties and continuing to play for New Zealand in international tournaments.
After living in Christchurch for more than a decade, Noori also moved to Brisbane.
"Some of the reasons are the same for all New Zealanders," says Noori. "In almost every field, pay is better in Australia, and house prices are a lot lower. This means that we can save more money and give our children a better future.
He says that Indians living in Australia also benefit from being close enough to the subcontinent to take direct trips and pay less for airfare.
"A trip to India from here might cost between $1,200 and $1,300 per person, but a flight from Auckland to Delhi costs more than twice as much," he says. "Let's just say that we can go to India more often to see our extended family."
Noori worked in the field of foreign education in New Zealand. In Australia, he tried his hand at event management before getting into real estate.
"Even if you're having problems at work right now, there's always this confidence that you'll do well in the long run," he adds. "It's hard to explain, and maybe it's because of how big things are. The climate is also far more similar to that of India than it is in the United States. Moving was the best option after considering what we've learned over the past seven years.
Karpal Singh, who is originally from Punjab, says the same thing.
"We moved to Melbourne last year after living in New Zealand for more than 20 years, and our only regret is that we didn't move sooner," says Singh, who worked in banking before getting a job in the creative arts. He has two kids who are 10 and 14 years old, and his wife cuts hair.
"Eating fruits in New Zealand, particularly in the winter, is a special treat," he explains. "We don't even think about it before we buy it here. As an example, I bought nice, ripe green grapes yesterday for $2 per kilogram. On the other hand, anyone can look up the price in New Zealand using Google. There are also big price gaps in milk and milk products, which we Punjabis use a lot.
Christchurch-based Suresh Sangwan, who is from Haryana and came to New Zealand in 2010, seems to be going in the same direction. In August, Sangwan and his family will move to Brisbane.
He says that his two kids have better chances of getting jobs in Australia than in New Zealand.
"When we moved to New Zealand, we left our parents behind," he says. "The way things are going, more and more Kiwis are coming to Australia to make a better life for themselves. Our kids won't be any different, so we should move now so we can be closer to them when they're older.
Sangwan doesn't think twice about making the move.
"Many of our friends have done this, and most of them have given us good feedback," he says. "There aren't that many substantial distinctions between the two countries."It is also untrue that Indians in Australia are subject to racism. There have been a few isolated events, but nothing that has affected a lot of people."
Singh agrees, and he says that his kids love living in Australia. The family is also happy that the new way for New Zealanders living in Australia to get citizenship was just made public. "It's definitely a big plus for us recent immigrants," he says.
