Former banker turns down Australian job to chase Christchurch lifestyle
Saturday, 11 July 2026
While thousands of New Zealanders head across the ditch in search of higher wages, former banker Ujval Patel made the opposite choice.
The 32-year-old was offered a highly paid mortgage manager role with one of Australia’s biggest banks and was preparing to move his young family to Melbourne. Instead, he pulled out, sold his home and bought a Hell Pizza branch in Riccarton, Christchurch.
His decision comes as many Kiwis continue to look to Australia for better pay and career opportunities. New Zealand recorded a net migration loss of about 30,000 people to Australia in 2024 — the largest annual loss since 2012 — with young adults aged 20 to 39 making up more than half of departures.
But after several visits to Melbourne, Patel decided the higher salary was not worth giving up the lifestyle he valued in Christchurch.
“I realised it was the same rat race,” he said.
“If I was living in west Melbourne and working in the city, I’d be commuting about three hours a day. By the time I got home there’d be no energy left to spend with my daughter.”
Patel moved to New Zealand from India in 2013, spending seven years in Auckland before relocating to Christchurch in late 2020 after the birth of his daughter.
He said shorter commutes, a more relaxed pace and a stronger sense of community were worth more than a bigger pay cheque.
“You won’t be able to chitchat with a random person at a supermarket [in Australia], which you can do here.
“My goal is not money. I’m chasing lifestyle.”
Patel and his wife, Radhi, bought the pizza business two months ago. The couple sold their custom-built Woodend home and moved into a rental in Rolleston.
“I knew there were only two outcomes: either we make this business successful or we don’t.”
Patel previously spent more than four years working as a personal banker after earlier hospitality management roles while studying.
The Riccarton store was once among Hell Pizza’s best-performing South Island outlets, but declined following what Patel described as a period of “rough ownership”.
Turning it around has been challenging, he said, but he and Radhi now had six staff.
He hoped to grow the business to the point where he could step back from the day-to-day operations and spend more time with his 5-year-old daughter.
Patel hoped to restore the store’s reputation by focusing on product consistency and becoming more involved in the local community, including supporting the Burnside Rugby Club and FC11 Football Club, and providing “free pizza shouts” to people in need.
“If you give the right product to the customers, they’ll remember it and they’ll come back.”
Patel’s decision reflects a wider trend in why people are choosing to live in Christchurch.
According to ChristchurchNZ’s latest annual brand health survey, after friends and family, the main reasons people move to Christchurch are a better cost of living, better work opportunities and improved work-life balance.
ChristchurchNZ general manager of marketing, brand and communications Steve Backe-Hansen said creating an attractive city was key to retaining skilled workers.
“The most important foundation of a city that attracts skilled workers, professionals and businesses is that the city is vibrant, attractive, and a place people want to live,” he said.
“Tourism, major events and city promotion help make Christchurch a place people want to visit again and a place where people want to study, work, live and invest.”
Infometrics data shows Christchurch recorded net internal migration of about 1700 people in 2025, while knowledge-intensive employment has increased steadily over the past decade, rising from 69,373 jobs in 2015 to almost 89,500 last year.
Patel said he had no regrets about not moving to Melbourne.
“I don’t miss banking at all.”