Wife Lara, a football widow, probably sees the irony in her husband's daily routine of dealing with 33,000-volt power lines.
"I've been doing this [work] for 15 years now. I work away for 11 days and then spend three days with the family," Cudd explains, his occupation taking him up and down the little towns dotted along a fair whack of Western Australia "to upgrade the system".
He left the Bay as a veteran footballer in 2012 when Northpower made employees redundant in the Bay.
Having discussed emigrating with Lara, the couple decided to give it a go.
"We pretty much sold everything there and moved here and it's great."
While they miss family and friends, the Cudds wish they had made their move across the ditch five years earlier.
"I'd like to come back home one day but the money here right now is unreal," says the former Bluewater Napier City Rovers and Hawke's Bay United player whose parents Irene, a paediatric secretary at the Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings, and Len, a high school caretaker, live in Taradale, Napier.
Lara and Jimmy had another addition to their family five months ago - baby boy Karston.
"He's a slip up but he's just wonderful," Cudd says with a laugh.
Their eldest child, Kauri, 18, is a member of the Western Force rugby academy.
The versatile back, who may ply his trade with the Super Rugby franchise in a few years, lives with Lara's sister in Perth and is a scaffolder by trade.
"He's done very well. He's bigger than me and has pace - something I never had," the father says.
Daughter Ketana, 16, is in her second last year at Comet Bay High School.
A netballer and softballer, Ketana also enjoys extra-curricular activities such as dancing and singing.
Born in Gisborne, Cudd gravitated to Auckland as a 16-year-old where he played for Northshore United.
Coaches Keith Garland and Shane Rufer left an indelible impression on the young man over the nine years.
From there he cut a track to the Bay.
"Soccer brought me there [Hawke's Bay]. I wanted to get out of Auckland because it was getting too big for me.
"I was just a country boy."
He had already signed up as a midfielder with the Rovers.
"We were up against [Miramar Rangers] and I played pretty well in 2000 and never looked back."
Cudd went on to be part of teams that claimed the double - National League and Central League - as well as three Chatham Cup bragging rights.
"I loved the set up at Napier City. It was a good family club. My kids used to always run around there."
He played for Bay United, under then coach Jonathan Gould, from 2000-2008.
Over winter he played for Western Suburbs from 2006-2007 before returning to the Bay.
Among his sources of pride was making the All Whites training squad under then coach Ken Dugdale.
The former New Zealand age-group representative didn't make Dugdale's cull but was thrilled to have had a taste of the experience at an elite level.
He was often caught offside under Gould's regime but it's a part of his career he prefers not to dwell on.
Would Cudd change a few things if he could turn back time?
"Definitely. I loved the game but couldn't [make too many changes] as I was getting a bit older. It was hard for me.
"The past is the past so you can't have any regrets.
"I'm never going to say something on that so [some things] just didn't work out for me for whatever reasons."
Cudd, who also captained the Rovers to a Chatham Cup victory, played a season for Napier Marist in the Pacific Premiership for a winter season before moving to Taradale club to play alongside long-time friends such as Robbie Parker, Chris McIvor, Warren Gilbertson, Perry Cotton and the Gearey brothers of Richard and David.
"We did really well. We were some of the oldest players but we were always at the top," he says of the Taradale team, which had a youth side competing in the Western Premiership.
The significance of family involvement isn't lost on Cudd.
"It's good when the family is there because they also make a lot of sacrifices over the years."
His father was a former Gisborne City striker who competed at the national League level.
"I was always in the backyard playing football with dad."
He includes Cotton, Rufer and Garland among coaches who helped hone his skills.
Last month he watched the Asian Cup staged in Australia.
"It's a great competition," Cudd says but feels New Zealand are not "technically good enough" to foot it with the incumbent countries.
The All Whites may get better in a few years but they need to "standout" in their confederation first before harbouring any desires to compete in the Asian Cup.
An ambidextrous midfielder, Cudd was strong on the ball and possessed good vision in ball distribution.
"I had a good pass - long or short - and I was pretty fit, if not the fastest."
He prided himself in his ability to organise play from the engine room.
He started out as an attacking midfielder but evolved into a holding one as he lost speed over the years.
So what's the secret to a successful career in the beautiful game?
"I reckon you have to have good people around you, decent players and just go out to enjoy yourself."
