What’s driving the exodus of young Kiwis to Sydney?

Saturday, 8 March 2025

Sydney is becoming more attractive for young Kiwis wanting to live overseas.

Flight Centre claims with more one-way flights booked to Sydney than London.

House of Travel data showed demand for one-way tickets to Sydney rising due to high wages and lifestyle.

Close to home, yet far enough away for a whole new lifestyle, Sydney is attracting an increasing number of New Zealanders for their OE.

Auckland Airport’s inaugural The Great Kiwi OE report surveyed 1000 people aged 18 to 65 and found Sydney was the second most popular place for Kiwis to do their ‘overseas experience’, after London. And now, some travel agents say they are booking more one-way tickets to Sydney than to London.

An OE, as it is affectionately called in New Zealand, is defined as a trip longer than a typical holiday.

Sophia Weaver from Auckland is moving to Sydney on Tuesday.

“I kept putting it off, to be honest. I was really enjoying my job, and there was still a lot of growth,” she told Stuff Travel.

“When I was thinking of looking for other jobs in the industry, it's just so limited [in New Zealand], Sydney seemed like the best move.

“I visit there a lot for work, where I do distribution for a lot of Sydney-based companies here in NZ. So I’ve visited so many times over the past couple of years and it kind of just made sense. There are so many more opportunities. Better salary: It's a $30k pay rise for doing the same job.”

The 28-year-old aimed to be in Sydney for two years.

“I do love living in New Zealand. It is super hard to leave, but I’ll give it a go. I might fall in love and it might be a permanent thing, but, at the moment, I’m aiming for about two years.”

Weaver had a job lined up for her arrival and friends who already lived in Sydney, so the move “doesn't feel too daunting”.

“It's almost like we're an Australian. We just get to go over.

“Because I have so many people that have done it before me, I kind of had a checklist of exactly what to do and where to look.

“I was pretty lucky in terms of a flat. A room opened up at one of my friends' places, so I think that would have been the biggest challenge, trying to find somewhere to live or a sublease, but I didn't have to go down that route.

“That's the thing, it's not like this huge investment. It might be for other people, but for me, I just had a room in a flat. I only had a couple of pieces of furniture.

“You hear of people saving for London and they've got to save 10 grand.”

London remained the top destination for Kiwis to do their OE, according to the Auckland Airport report, though interest had waned. The report suggested about 39% of Kiwis went to London on their OE in the past, but only 30% intended to visit long term in future.

Weaver said she was not interested in London for her OE.

“For me, I couldn't have been that far away from my family. The hardest thing about this move is leaving my family, but it's a three-hour flight as opposed to 24 hours plus for London, and also just the weather. I love the sun, I love the beach. I don't think I'd enjoy a permanent move over there.”

Brittany Robson, from Auckland, moved to Sydney in April last year after she and her partner realised buying a house in New Zealand would have to be a longer-term goal.

“We looked at maybe moving to London. We had quite a few friends who had moved to Europe the year before we moved.

“Both of us were really keen to live somewhere with a bit nicer climate… [and] the proximity of Sydney is really nice. It's nice and close to home.”

Like Weaver, Robson also had friends in the city and was able to get a job at her New Zealand’s company’s Sydney office before she moved.

“To be honest, it was very seamless,” the 28-year-old said.

“We had a sub-lease that we managed to get off Facebook Marketplace. So we had a home to go into for a short time. It was about three weeks, I think.

“I think the hardest thing was probably leaving friends and family. We had quite a solid group of friends in Auckland, so it's been different.

“Before we moved things were feeling a little bit flat in New Zealand, and it's been such a positive move for both me and my partner. Sydney, is such a vibrant city. There's things going on all the time. I've been so busy, and for where we are in our lives, it's been a blessing.”

Almost a year on, Robson thought they would stay in Sydney beyond their original idea of three years.

“I really just love Sydney. Being in Sydney over summer has been amazing. The beaches are so good. I love the beaches.”

Flight Centre general manager Heidi Walker said the company had noticed a continued demand for travellers under 40 to go to Sydney, with the Harbour City just sitting below London for the age group.

“However, when it comes to one-way tickets, Sydney reigns supreme, with more one-way flights booked for Sydney, followed by Brisbane and Melbourne before London, as more Kiwis make the move across the ditch.”

“Sydney is also a good starting point for Kiwis who perhaps are planning to do the London OE but want to get some travel experience before making the big move.”

Walker said Brisbane was also performing well, with solo bookings up 70% year-on-year.

“The growing interest in Australia is likely driven by several factors, including its proximity to New Zealand and the ease of securing work opportunities, whilst also reconnecting with friends and family who are now living in Sydney. Feedback amongst our travel experts is that this next generation of travellers see travel as a way of boosting their careers, getting experience working in different markets and making their CVs more attractive for employers.

House of Travel chief operating officer Dave Fordyce said its booking data showed demand for one-way tickets to Sydney was rising each year.

“High wages, a familiar lifestyle, and a quick flight home make it a tempting alternative to London. But Gen Z and Millennials aren’t giving up on the UK, they’re rewriting their OE playbook.

“A recent House of Travel Insights Survey of 4000 customers found younger travellers have more dream destinations than older generations. On average, 18 to 27-year-olds dream of 9.6 destinations, compared to 6.5 for 28 to 43-year-olds. Their top dream destinations are Italy, Greece, Japan, New York and France. But the destinations they are most likely to travel to in 2025 are Australia, the UK, Italy and Bali with 52% planning on travelling for longer than two weeks with an average, trip duration of 4.8 weeks.”

Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s (SCTI) The Future of Travel survey of more than 1000 New Zealanders showed that 75% of those aged 18-44 years would consider living and working overseas for three months or longer, with 29% definitely now thinking about this.

SCTI chief executive Jo McCauley said it had seen a steady growth of sales of its Working Overseas policy, with 80% of those policies taken out by customers aged 18-40, with 11 to 12 months the most popular duration.