Me and a girlfriend of mine are looking into moving somewhere near the end of the year. We decided on looking into getting a 12 month visa for Australia. She is in Thailand right now and has heard a lot of good things about New Zealand. Coming from Canada would it be better for us to go to Australia or New Zealand?

depending on how much 'adventure' you would like in your travels and what 'adventure' means to you, sure NZ has bungee jumping and other adrenalin activites. where as Australia is natural adventure land you could climb mountains, be a jill or jackaroo, cruise/sail/speed on the water, climb the harbour bridge, walk the top of centrepoint tower, swim with dolphins, ride a camel, hot air balloon - I haven't even started on any other state than NSW! loads more!


depending on what you seek each country has its own attractions/benefits - this is a personal choice for your partner and yourself. perhaps if you could list a few more things that you are interested in or climate styles you prefer.

adrenalin activities aren't huge on our list, but everything you have mentioned about OZ so far seems amazing! We are however more drawn to New Zealand for its low prices. We have heard Australia is very expensive.. so we have to make sure theres a high employment rate, as well as affordable living.

since we are planning on going for a full year we're aware we wont be sightseeing the whole time, and really enjoy the laid back life on the beach, learning to scuba dive, surf, and most definitely swim with dolphins!! Both of us are in our early 20's and are hoping to meet a lot of new, friendly people.. and lets not forget about a good night life awell!

as for climates, the hotter the better! living in Canada we have enough cold and groggy weather..

Welcome to Fodors. I'd re-post your questions over on the Australia and the Pacific Forum (see the 'change Forum' pull down menu? )

It is a much more active board than this one which is mostly for general 'travel tips'. Tag you new thread for both Australia and New Zealand.

I found both countries to have about the same cost of living. NZ is MUCH quieter than OZ, great scenery, but more sheep than people.

Both the islands are beautiful to the core. We can not compare these places. New Zealand has a beautiful landscape and a variety of cultures. Australia has a large amount of beaches and forests. Most parts of Australia are much warmer than New Zealand. Since you're coming from a cold climate, you might prefer New Zealand climate to the hot Australian summers.