Kiwi expat's major gripe after moving to Australia: 'Book me a flight back'
Gabby noticed a major problem with Australia after moving to Sydney recently, and it's a common gripe of many people struggling to pay their bills.
They might be one of our closest neighbours, but many New Zealanders seem genuinely shocked by the skyrocketing costs they have faced since moving to Australia.
A Kiwi woman named Gabby shared a rant on social media of the costs she is struggling to both understand and afford, saying it's enough to give her a "heart attack" — and others agree.
"Someone please book me a flight back to New Zealand because I'm done," she lashed out on TikTok as she laid bare the true cost of living in Australia.
Kiwis rage over cost of toll roads in Australia
Kiwis are the fourth largest migrant community in Australia with some 560,000 New Zealand-born people living here, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data in June, 2021. Many come for the job opportunities, higher salaries and warmer weather.
The average base salary in New Zealand is $73,679 (NZ$78,956), according to Salary Power. Across the ditch in Australia, the average wage was $85,743 (NZ$91,900).
But there are some things not to love, including the cost of tolls on Aussie roads, Gabby explained. More so, the amount of toll roads that exist in major cities.
"You move to Australia, you give the government your address, and bang. You get mail every, every, every f***ing day," she fumed in a video. "And it's always being told that I owe money".
Referring to her latest letter, the Kiwi woman, who is working as an apprentice plumber, said she was told she owed $9.25 in toll fees, but a $20 processing fee had been added on top. "$29 because I went in a tunnel. What do you want from me?" she questioned. People responded that they felt her pain with another admitting "there are toll roads everywhere" and she and her parter "had no idea".
Cost of living in Australia is 'daylight robbery'
The 24-year-old went on to detail other costs she's been hit with since moving to Australia that she found unbelievable, including a reminder to pay compulsory third-party personal injury insurance costing $742.80, due in two weeks' time.
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"Why do I owe you $800 for f***ing nothing?" she raged.
"You think, 'move to Australia, you get paid so much money', but no I move here and get paid less than what I did in New Zealand when you calculate up the conversion rates," she said, noting her expensive $2,000-a-month Sydney rent.
"It's just crook. It's crook. It's dumb," she concluded, calling it "daylight robbery".
'Costs to breathe' in Australia
Her rant struck a never with others responding to her video. One said, "Welcome to Australia. It costs to breathe".
"I wanted to move to Aus, now I am having a second thought that I should just stay here in NZ," another revealed.
Even Aussies admitted the cost of living is rough. "Don’t worry I’m Australian and I feel like this too," one said.
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