Liv Dainton now works 60-hour weeks and has a smaller home, but insists she has no regrets
Liv Dainton, 27(Image: SWNS)
A Brit who moved to New Zealand says the move was “completely worth it” despite working an extra 20 hours per week and downsizing flats. Liv Dainton and her partner, Cameron Ellenor, originally from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, ditched the UK for Queenstown, New Zealand in February 2025.
The couple, both 27, have been together for over nine years. They made the leap after Cameron was offered an exciting work opportunity as an engineer in Queenstown. Liv swapped her 37-hour working week as a financial accountancy recruitment consultant to work in traffic control in New Zealand – often waking up at 4.30am to work 60-hour weeks.
But despite the long working hours she says it’s how she’s made friends and admits her old recruitment role was “more stressful”. Liv said: “I used to be suited and booted and making money and now I’m wearing a high viz jacket.
“I would say recruitment is much more stressful, but in a positive way. It’s a very rewarding and motivating career. My job is intense and exhausting but it’s how I met most of my friends. I wouldn’t have made the friends I have now without this job.”
The couple have a long history of jetting across the world backpacking, spending time in Thailand and Bali when they were 19 and nine months travelling across Asia in July 2024. The couple spent two weeks in New Zealand and “fell in love” with the country.
Liv and Cameron have downsized since the move. They rented a three-story, three-bedroom brand-new semi-detached townhouse in Northallerton, North Yorkshire for £750 per month. They paid £210 council tax and £40 for Wi-Fi per month. They are now forking out $2490.20 NZD (£1,080) a month for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom studio apartment in the popular tourist spot of Queenstown, Tasmania. Their electricity costs $135 NZD (£60) and Wi-Fi $69 (£30) per month.
Liv says she earns “a little less” than she did back in the UK and is generally left with less money at the end of the month than she did at home. But despite the costs, Liv loves her new home.
She said: “New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places you can ever go to. The beauty is ridiculously insane with all of the mountains and lakes, you don’t get used to it.
“My mum worked for British Airways as cabin staff for over 40 years and she couldn’t get over how amazing it was when she came to visit me.”
Liv has revealed some surprising takeaways she has had since moving to New Zealand. She said: “People walk around barefoot everywhere, in supermarkets and petrol stations. I even saw someone barefoot in a McDonald’s once. Kids go to school barefoot. I’ve given the barefoot thing a go but I’m too worried about stepping on something.”
Liv said Kiwis are more chilled and stress-free than Brits back home. She feels extremely safe when out and about and New Zealanders are a lot more relaxed about security. She said: “I feel a lot safer than I did in some parts of the UK.
“In New Zealand, you can leave your front doors and cars unlocked. I’ve done nine house sits and five of them don’t even have a front door key. You don’t have to legally pay for car insurance, as long as you have the car owner’s permission, you can drive anyone’s car.”
Liv notes there is less of a pub culture than in the UK. She said: “In the north island, nothing is open past midnight. It’s only in Queenstown where I have experienced proper nightlife.”
Liv has been sharing her daily Kiwi experiences on her TikTok page @livdainton which has 26,600 followers and her page has reached over 1.7 million likes. She said: “My top tips for Brits moving abroad are to save up, be open-minded and prepare to be resilient about moving far from friends and family.
“I moved to the furthest place possible from home and in the first couple of weeks, it hit me that I didn’t know anyone here. You miss out on big milestones like friends getting married and having kids so you’ve got to think about the distance.”
The couple see themselves doing more travelling and Liv hopes to one day have her own recruitment company and earn money from TikTok full time from anywhere in the world.
UK vs New Zealand monthly costs
UK
Rent: £750 for three-bed home
WiFi: £40
Council tax: £210
Electricity: £120-£150
Total: £1,120-£1,150
New Zealand
Rent: $625 NZD (£270.50) a week, $2490.20 NZD (£1,080) a month for one bed
Wi-Fi: $69 NZD (£29.86)
Electricity: $135 NZD (£58.43)
Total: $2693.77 (£1,168.29)