I read up and researched a lot on Australia when we decided to visit. OK, we only spent three weeks in Oz - around the Perth area, Adelaide area and south of Sydney - however, we did not expect to be as 'wowwed' by it as we were.

In our opinion, Perth must be one of the most beautiful cities on earth. We had a great time there looking around up and down the coast getting a feel for the place, visiting the zoo, a wildlife park, looking at the houses and shopping malls. Adelaide was a little 'downmarket' in comparison, but had its charm and outside of the city it was more like the Oz we see on tv - dry, dusty, roaming kangaroos. In comparison, the area south of Sydney was incredibly green - only possible with plenty of rain and humidity - and the towns were modern, friendly and seemed a great place to bring up a family. Sydney itself is massive - we spent two full days there sightseeing and it is (to pinch a Kiwi term) awesome.

There is a lot to see in Australia - it is hard to believe the continent is almost the size of Europe. The people seem very patriotic and there is a feeling of a nation 'going places'. I got the impression (rightly or wrongly) that immigrants were just tolerated in Oz whereas in New Zealand they were welcomed a little bit more. The pay is much better in Oz and the tax system is supposed to be getting better. There is a better standard of living there, that is one of the reasons it is so popular with immigrants. The heat/creepy crawlie issue is one that is overcome after a while - most people acclimatise to the weather and eventually accept and live with the wildlife.

New Zealand is, however, just as awesome, and a great place to live. If however I was an immigrant with bare minimum savings and a job which paid little (for example, nursing or teaching) I would go to Oz.

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