One of the first things Aislynn Rogers remembers striking her about London was the amount of culture she was hit with, just walking down the street. Having moved over from Auckland in the summer of 2019 after a stint of travel, Aislynn, 33, was living in Brixton while she was looking for a job. She recalls sunny days spent wandering around the borough, taking in the music, the accents and the murals.

“I remember being a bit too nervous to go on the tube to explore because it was just, at that point, a bit too much for me. So I would walk a lot; all around Brixton and around Clapham,” she says. “There was so much to experience that you don’t come across in New Zealand.”

Following high school, Aislynn launched herself into a conjoint degree in property and commerce at The University of Auckland. It was a slight variation on what her engineer dad had encouraged her to get into; urban design. Looking back, Aislynn says he must have had an inkling, as she would go on to end up in the property and construction space.

Arriving in London just as the global pandemic hit might seem like a nightmare to some, but to fire engineer Sacha Holt, it was just all part of the challenge! With a job already lined up at the UK’s leading independent fire engineering consultancy, OFR, Sacha was well prepared for her move to the UK.

Growing up in the rural town of Masterton, Sacha was ambitious to travel; she wanted a career in which she would gain skills that were needed all over the world. She decided to study Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Canterbury and while at university, immersed herself in extracurricular activities. This included taking on the role of President of the University of Canterbury Women in Engineering club.

Upon her move to London, Kiwi marketer Amelia Murray was determined to immerse herself in the new city and all it had to offer - from career development to weeknight pints in the pub.

Despite having moved with a couple of friends and having a Kiwi contingent in London, she launched herself into the hunt for a job and worked on securing herself a spot in a flat with a group of new British friends.

Two and a half years later, Amelia, a 28-year-old seasoned Londoner, speaks of having embraced the challenges that came with these experiences and thriving in the change. She’s now somewhat come back to her roots, working for New Zealand-based company Xero In their customer and partner marketing team, and living in north London with Kiwi friends.