A New Zealand father of three has been moved to tears after making a surprising discovery when he visited an Australian supermarket for the first time.
Poreva Kirikava, who moved his family of five from the North Island to Sydney on December 13, couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the grocery prices at Aldi.
His family’s grocery bill totaled $380, a far cry from his home country, where he believes the same items would have cost them $1,000.
Their grocery package included a dozen eggs for $4, a whole raw chicken for $4.99 and a pack of two-minute Maggi noodles for $1.69.
The youth worker felt “overwhelmed” with emotion when he realized he could now afford to feed his family comfortably in Australia, after experiencing times in his life where he feared he wouldn’t be able to put food on the table.
The 33-year-old, who lived paycheck to paycheck, explained how he struggled to make ends meet before moving Down Under to start a new life with his wife and children.
“As a father, it was difficult to think about possible solutions to alleviate the financial pressure we were facing as a family, and that was eating away at me,” Poreva told Daily Mail Australia.
“My wife and I had enough (money), but it was still difficult to get ahead considering the cost of living for basic things like bread, milk and eggs. Even though times were tough, we never went without.”
Poreva Kirikava, a father of three, recently moved to Australia with his wife and their three children
In an emotional video on social media, the doting dad said he burst into tears after realizing how much cheaper groceries were in Australia compared to New Zealand.
The doting dad, who now earns $16 an hour more than he did in New Zealand, said he is in a much better place knowing he can now keep his pantry stocked.
“The pay rise has certainly helped buy a bit more food to keep the cupboards full for longer,” Poreva told Daily Mail Australia.
“Coming to Australia has definitely helped us financially as things are a lot cheaper here. I felt a sense of relief as soon as we moved here.”
He said he couldn’t believe how affordable his family’s cost of living was, despite Australians complaining every day about inflation and the rising cost of necessities.
In New Zealand, the family paid up to $15 for a dozen eggs, while a 3-liter bottle of milk cost $7.50, compared to $4.80 in Australia.
“Everything seems a lot cheaper here than in New Zealand, even if it’s only a $1 to $2 difference,” he said.
The father said he also noticed that petrol was much cheaper in Australia.
“I paid $1.89 here for 98 unleaded, which is ridiculous,” he said, adding that the same fuel would cost $2.72 in New Zealand.
The 33-year-old, who lived paycheck to paycheck, explained how he struggled to make ends meet before moving Down Under to start a new life with his wife and children.
Poreva is confident he can start saving for a family vacation.
“My dream is to take my family to America for a snow-white Christmas, and I think that’s unfortunately more of a possibility here in Australia than in New Zealand,” he added.
In one emotional video Taking to social media, the devoted dad told how he broke down in tears after doing his family’s weekly shopping this week.
“I’m not even kidding. After we did the shopping, I was crying my eyes out because in New Zealand there were times when we thought we weren’t going to eat,” he recalls.
Looking back on one occasion, he remembered one of his children looking for snacks in the pantry but finding nothing.
‘He said, ‘Dad, there’s nothing to eat… There’s no snacks.’ And I would get angry,” Poreva explained.
“Today I realized that I wasn’t angry because he was hungry or because there were no snacks, but because I felt like I wasn’t capable of caring for him.”
The father said he felt ‘overwhelmed’ with emotion when he realized he could now afford to feed his family comfortably in Australia
During a recent visit to an Aldi store in Sydney, the father was surprised to see that groceries were cheaper in Australia than at home.
“It was at the point where my wife and I were speechless after leaving Aldi,” he said.
“I honestly think the amount of shopping we did (here) in New Zealand would probably equal $1,000. And that doesn’t mean Australia is better.
‘I cried because I was having a hard time in New Zealand and I thought I was doing well by everyone’s standards. But after doing some shopping in Sydney today, I thought… man, I feel sorry for the people there (New Zealand).
‘It’s crazy to think that that’s just normal. We were buzzing because chicken nuggets here cost $2.50 a pack, it’s just crazy. Honestly, it’s crazy living here.’
An alarming poll has found more than a third of Kiwis have considered moving to Australia in the past year as the low economic outlook drives record numbers abroad.
An all-time high of 80,000 New Zealanders went abroad in the year to the end of September, with around half estimated to be heading Down Under.
New Zealand is in the grip of a ‘brain drain’ as young Kiwis look for better jobs, livelihoods and wages across the ditch or further afield.