tp://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10545562
4:00AM Saturday Nov 29, 2008
By Jarrod Booker
Kelvin Lawson left Auckland for Sydney about 10 years ago expecting to encounter the "land of milk and honey".
What he found was the opposite - long working hours, higher taxes, higher cost of living and intolerance and poor attitudes among the people.
He and fiancee Denise Laing moved back to Auckland a couple of months ago to be closer to their ageing parents and friends, and are relieved to be back home.
"I believe a lot of New Zealanders are going to get there and they are in for a shock," Mr Lawson said.
"Australia has been painted out to be the 'grass is greener'. It's not. Unless you are making a simple lifestyle choice as in, say, weather... then there's no other reason to go."
Although Mr Lawson, 48, might have earned more in Sydney "it's not a lot more". And he was hit with a 48 per cent tax rate on overtime he was expected to do working in installing and monitoring communications.
Then there was stamp duty for home ownership and higher costs of car ownership.
Back home, Mr Lawson and Ms Laing were amazed at how much cheaper they found basic food items.
Mr Lawson was also left with an impression of many Australians he encountered not being accepting of other cultures. Being from NZ was not so bad, but "if you're from other any part of the world, mate, they can make it really hard for them".
He was also unimpressed at the lack of sportsmanship shown by Australians, illustrated most recently by their reaction to the Rugby League World Cup loss. "If they win at ping pong, you are going to hear about it. If they lose, it's like it never happened. It's unbelievable
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4:00AM Saturday Nov 29, 2008
By Jarrod Booker
Kelvin Lawson left Auckland for Sydney about 10 years ago expecting to encounter the "land of milk and honey".
What he found was the opposite - long working hours, higher taxes, higher cost of living and intolerance and poor attitudes among the people.
He and fiancee Denise Laing moved back to Auckland a couple of months ago to be closer to their ageing parents and friends, and are relieved to be back home.
"I believe a lot of New Zealanders are going to get there and they are in for a shock," Mr Lawson said.
"Australia has been painted out to be the 'grass is greener'. It's not. Unless you are making a simple lifestyle choice as in, say, weather... then there's no other reason to go."
Although Mr Lawson, 48, might have earned more in Sydney "it's not a lot more". And he was hit with a 48 per cent tax rate on overtime he was expected to do working in installing and monitoring communications.
Then there was stamp duty for home ownership and higher costs of car ownership.
Back home, Mr Lawson and Ms Laing were amazed at how much cheaper they found basic food items.
Mr Lawson was also left with an impression of many Australians he encountered not being accepting of other cultures. Being from NZ was not so bad, but "if you're from other any part of the world, mate, they can make it really hard for them".
He was also unimpressed at the lack of sportsmanship shown by Australians, illustrated most recently by their reaction to the Rugby League World Cup loss. "If they win at ping pong, you are going to hear about it. If they lose, it's like it never happened. It's unbelievable
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