Actually, it was more to do with the lack of decent jobs and the fact I was sick of shovelling my car out from under snow what felt like every winter.
Of course, now I’ve moved to sunny, tropical Queensland I haven’t seen ice outside my drinks in years- just how I like it! 
I’ve been in Christchurch, briefly, in an non-winter month when it already felt cold-as with the stuff coming up off the ice shelf. Well before the snows …
I don’t blame you for going to snowless Queensland. Having no snow is one of the reasons I love Auckland. 
That is my kind of weather! Maybe I’ll have to get a summer home in Sydney.