- Brandon Chia and his wife felt like they didn’t have enough time for their newborn in Singapore.
- They are both nurses and when they came across a job opportunity in New Zealand, Chia applied.
- Since moving, their quality of life has improved, Chia said.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brandon Chia, 31, a nurse in the South Island of New Zealand. Chia moved from Singapore to New Zealand in 2022. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2022, my wife and I had our first baby. We were juggling the demands of parenthood while working as ICU nurses in Singapore.
After 16 weeks of paid maternity leave — the standard amount for Singaporean mothers — my wife, Jiar Lin, and I started working alternate shifts to care for our newborn daughter.
I worked the morning shift, and she worked the afternoon. We would hand our baby over to each other and go out to earn money.
When our daughter was about to turn one, we realized we weren’t spending enough time with her. We were always exhausted from work and didn’t have time to enjoy time together as a family.
So, we thought, what other options can we consider? Quitting our jobs wasn’t possible because the cost of living in Singapore was high.
At that time, we noticed many job advertisements on social media from Australia and New Zealand that were looking for ICU-trained nurses. My wife said, “Just apply and see how it goes.” So, I did.
Within two weeks, I heard from the hospital. Two hours after my interview, I received a job offer. It all happened so fast. I remember thinking, “OK, this is getting real.” My wife and I had a chat and then decided we’d give it a go.
Initially, our parents didn’t want us to go. The flight from Singapore to New Zealand takes almost 10 hours. But we told them not to feel like we were abandoning them. Rather, it was a way for us to have more time for our daughter.
At the time, my parents were full-time caregivers for my late grandfather, while my wife’s parents lived in another city. We knew we didn’t want to ask them to look after our daughter on a permanent basis.
Our quality of life increased
In October 2022 — around four months after receiving the job offer — I moved to the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand, a three-hour drive from Christchurch. My wife and daughter joined me seven months later once things had settled down.
The South Island feels like the countryside. There are no shopping centers near our house, and many people grow their own fruit and vegetables. We live in a nice community where people and colleagues often share their produce. I also started to learn gardening and now grow tomatoes in our backyard.
From the beginning, I noticed a big difference in the work culture. The environment is less stressful, and there’s a lot of emphasis on not bringing work back home.
The shift patterns here are more regular. In one week, for example, I’ll work the afternoon shift for three, and then the next week, I’ll work a stretch of night shifts. In comparison, at my previous job, I sometimes worked a morning shift the day after completing an afternoon shift.
In New Zealand, my wife is able to stay home to care for both our daughter, who is now 3, and our 9-month-old son, who was born here. She says it’s a privilege to be able to spend time with the kids in their formative years — that’s the reason we moved to New Zealand. She plans to return to work on a part-time basis to keep her nursing skills up to date in the future.
My annual income increased by around 15% in New Zealand. However, income tax rates can go as high as 30%. In comparison, the national income tax in Singapore is 11.5% for salaries between SG$80,001 and SG$120,000, and lower for those earning less.
Although I make less overall after taxes, I get more cash on hand compared to Singapore. There’s more flexibility because I don’t have to contribute to the Central Provident Fund, a compulsory savings account in Singapore comparable in some ways to a 401(k) in the US. In Singapore, the account is mandatory and run by the government.
I also get more annual leave in New Zealand — around 25 days in total.
We get to spend more time together as a family
With more spare time, we get to take short monthly family vacations. Sometimes, we drive north to hot springs, down south to explore the rainforest, or to Christchurch to eat the Chinese food we miss.
In New Zealand, we can afford to have a car. Our decent secondhand Toyota was around $7,500. In comparison, a car in Singapore can cost more than $100,000. It’s much more convenient than taking buses and trains everywhere.
The drawback is that we no longer have support from family members. We’ve made friends since moving here — most of whom we’ve connected with through our Instagram page. So, if we need help, we’ll reach out to them. But of course, it’s always a lot easier to reach out to family for help.
Raising kids in a less stressful environment
When I was in school as a kid in Singapore, there was a huge emphasis on doing well academically. Even when I was working as a nurse, I remember my colleagues getting together during lunch break to discuss national exam papers and the tutors they needed for their own children. I didn’t even have kids then and was already aware of the stress it could cause.
In comparison, the focus here is more on character-building, outdoor adventure, and being close to nature. Hopefully, our children can pursue whatever dreams they want.
We rent a two-bedroom house in New Zealand for 340 New Zealand dollars, or around $200 a week. We’ve received our New Zealand residency, and our next goal is to buy a house.
Our plan for now is to stay in New Zealand and take trips home regularly to visit family.
