Big Ideas, Real Impact.
Strategic Moves
Sometimes the biggest progress comes from making the right move at the right time.
Big goals often require more than hard work. They require positioning — making strategic decisions that improve your options, increase your earning power, and create a better platform for the life you want to build.
When the landscape changes
In 2023, when the wave of tech restructures hit, I lost a remote-first role with a Sydney fintech that I had been working in from New Zealand. At the time, I was living in Mount Maunganui, embedded in local sporting and professional communities, and working out how to enable the next investment property on the path toward retirement.
The restructure forced a strategic reassessment. The market had shifted away from fully remote work, competition was higher, and it was clear I needed to think carefully about where the next best opportunity really was.
Evaluating the options
I was faced with three broad options: stay local, move to Auckland, or move to Australia. When I looked at the economics properly, Australia made the most sense — not just for income, but for long-term opportunity, lifestyle, and the ability to keep building wealth while maintaining an active outdoor life.
For me, Perth stood out as the best all-round mix of earning potential, cost of living, climate, and access to adventure. It felt like a strategic move, not just a reactive one.
Backing yourself
Before I moved, I did a reconnaissance trip, met with a recruiter, and put myself out there on LinkedIn and through local networks. Those early conversations led to more connections, more information, and eventually more opportunities than I could have engineered alone.
When I arrived in Perth, I had multiple job opportunities in front of me. I chose the contract path, backed myself to take that risk, and set up Adapt & Improve.
What strategic moves unlock
That move changed more than my location. It expanded my access to work, diversified my sector experience, increased my earning potential and ability to buy assets which have grown significantly, and opened up opportunities I would not have had by staying in New Zealand.
It also reinforced something important: strategic moves often create second-order benefits you can’t fully predict at the start — new networks, new capabilities, new friendships, and sometimes even the right home in the right place.
The role of network
One of the biggest lessons from this move has been the value of putting yourself out there and letting people know what you’re doing. Connections led to accommodation, referrals, work opportunities, and a faster path into the local professional ecosystem.
In Perth especially, network matters. Recruitment agencies are a strong starting point, but over time the best roles often come through relationships, reputation, and staying in touch with the right people.
Building the next chapter
The restructure was a catalyst for architecting a pathway toward maximising income, continuing to build wealth, and still living an active, outdoor life in the present. Perth may not be forever, but strategically it has been the right place for this chapter.
What matters most is that the move was not random. It was a deliberate decision to improve my position and create better options for the future.
A useful question
What move would most improve your future options — financially, professionally, or personally — if you were willing to think strategically and back yourself?
Related reflections
NZ → Perth, three years on
Embracing change - Kiwis in Australia
Swimming up the coast of Perth