CjChris
3rd October 2007, 03:27 PM
Hello, all.
Nathan posted a brief "we're here" thread somewhere already, but I thought I'd post a bit myself.
We've been in NZ nearly 2wks. We have a rental in Karori--a three bedroom, three bath house that gets lots of sun (but lots of wind, too, apparently!!) We have a beautiful view of the mountains, and there are so many pretty colored/shaped houses, too! The first few rentals we looked at were either clinging to the side of a mountain or at the foot of one!! We were beginning to think there wasn't a place to be had where the container could be unloaded properly when it arrives! Then we found the place in Karori. It has been so nice settling in (with a few pieces of rental furniture and the whiteware we bought new).
For the first few days I felt very unsettled. It was just leftover exhaustion from packing up and leaving the US. Trying to get things done here was easy, but walking everywhere and braving the wind and rain was a challenge for this tired old dog! After getting some rest and knowing the rental was taken care of, I immediately felt better.
Nathan is mastering driving on the left. I am not so bold. I wimpily sit beside him and gasp when I think he's going to side swipe a car parked at the left curb or put my hands over my eyes and pray when we approach a busy intersection! :uhoh
He's doing FINE, really, but I can't get over the scared-as-hell feeling that we are going to go careening into something (maybe even nothingness). :eek: Today we went to Levin to see the kitties in quarantine, and I must say being out on the open road was MUCH easier on all of us.
I'm not sure how we decided on staying in Welly. We initially wanted to stay a couple months, get the girls settled in, then go "on tour" and figure out where to live. Being in hotel was just too much to bear after a few days, and not being able to cook meant eating out 2-3 meals a day (expensive, but I must say all the food we've had has been fabulous). There's so much to do here, and Welly is central to visiting the South Island and the rest of the north island, so that's part of our decision. Plus, there are loads of job opportunities here, and the people are friendly and the landscape beautiful. So, we thought, why not give it a go here?
Things I've noted:
Kiwis are pretty tolerant of our blunders. I really do wish I knew how to pronounce place names before having to use them.
Every service we have called about has been easily ordered--power, gas, telephone...no credit card info over the phone, just honor system ("we'll send you the papers in the mail!")
Setting up the bank account was so easy. Love the folks down at ASB on Manners St.
Lots of the women in Wellington wear pointy high heels everywhere! These women must have feet of steel! (but I'm glad I packed my extensive collection on the container!)
People are dressier than I expected overall in Welly City. Lots of black, though--maybe it's leftover winter wear since the weather has been blustery the last few days.
All the food is so yummy. My fave lunch places so far are The Lido, Goblin, and Le Metropolitin.
We found out the hard way that taxis are very expensive. I do not recommend this as a mode of transportation for looking at rental houses unless you have bugeted for it. We blew through a couple hundred bucks in two days on taxis. On a good note, though, taxi's are quick modes of transport and the drivers are suited professionally and very nice.
Buses are everywhere and not too expensive if you don't mind the wait and figuring out the schedules.
Shopping at Woolworths was pretty fun. Some things are pretty expensive though (nearly 6 bucks for a box of Cherrios!) but we have found a good selection of items here, and we've already located a good organic market.
A few questions:
Where can one find Steel Cut Oats?
Any suggestions for how to make do with NO bathroom electrical outlets (and what might one use the shaver outlet for if one does not use electrical shaver? Will I blow up my hot iron if I try to curl my hair by using the shaver outlet for it?)
What is the right turn rule, and do most people observe it? We are unsure about this even though we thought we had an understanding of it before. I remember that on here somewhere, but no time to research now (I'm in internet cafe).
Ok...better log off for now. Thanks to all of you who have written to us since we left the US...I need to seriously catch up but we have to get internet hooked up at home first (and we're told by infogen that will be soon).
:cheers
Christine
Nathan posted a brief "we're here" thread somewhere already, but I thought I'd post a bit myself.
We've been in NZ nearly 2wks. We have a rental in Karori--a three bedroom, three bath house that gets lots of sun (but lots of wind, too, apparently!!) We have a beautiful view of the mountains, and there are so many pretty colored/shaped houses, too! The first few rentals we looked at were either clinging to the side of a mountain or at the foot of one!! We were beginning to think there wasn't a place to be had where the container could be unloaded properly when it arrives! Then we found the place in Karori. It has been so nice settling in (with a few pieces of rental furniture and the whiteware we bought new).
For the first few days I felt very unsettled. It was just leftover exhaustion from packing up and leaving the US. Trying to get things done here was easy, but walking everywhere and braving the wind and rain was a challenge for this tired old dog! After getting some rest and knowing the rental was taken care of, I immediately felt better.
Nathan is mastering driving on the left. I am not so bold. I wimpily sit beside him and gasp when I think he's going to side swipe a car parked at the left curb or put my hands over my eyes and pray when we approach a busy intersection! :uhoh
He's doing FINE, really, but I can't get over the scared-as-hell feeling that we are going to go careening into something (maybe even nothingness). :eek: Today we went to Levin to see the kitties in quarantine, and I must say being out on the open road was MUCH easier on all of us.
I'm not sure how we decided on staying in Welly. We initially wanted to stay a couple months, get the girls settled in, then go "on tour" and figure out where to live. Being in hotel was just too much to bear after a few days, and not being able to cook meant eating out 2-3 meals a day (expensive, but I must say all the food we've had has been fabulous). There's so much to do here, and Welly is central to visiting the South Island and the rest of the north island, so that's part of our decision. Plus, there are loads of job opportunities here, and the people are friendly and the landscape beautiful. So, we thought, why not give it a go here?
Things I've noted:
Kiwis are pretty tolerant of our blunders. I really do wish I knew how to pronounce place names before having to use them.
Every service we have called about has been easily ordered--power, gas, telephone...no credit card info over the phone, just honor system ("we'll send you the papers in the mail!")
Setting up the bank account was so easy. Love the folks down at ASB on Manners St.
Lots of the women in Wellington wear pointy high heels everywhere! These women must have feet of steel! (but I'm glad I packed my extensive collection on the container!)
People are dressier than I expected overall in Welly City. Lots of black, though--maybe it's leftover winter wear since the weather has been blustery the last few days.
All the food is so yummy. My fave lunch places so far are The Lido, Goblin, and Le Metropolitin.
We found out the hard way that taxis are very expensive. I do not recommend this as a mode of transportation for looking at rental houses unless you have bugeted for it. We blew through a couple hundred bucks in two days on taxis. On a good note, though, taxi's are quick modes of transport and the drivers are suited professionally and very nice.
Buses are everywhere and not too expensive if you don't mind the wait and figuring out the schedules.
Shopping at Woolworths was pretty fun. Some things are pretty expensive though (nearly 6 bucks for a box of Cherrios!) but we have found a good selection of items here, and we've already located a good organic market.
A few questions:
Where can one find Steel Cut Oats?
Any suggestions for how to make do with NO bathroom electrical outlets (and what might one use the shaver outlet for if one does not use electrical shaver? Will I blow up my hot iron if I try to curl my hair by using the shaver outlet for it?)
What is the right turn rule, and do most people observe it? We are unsure about this even though we thought we had an understanding of it before. I remember that on here somewhere, but no time to research now (I'm in internet cafe).
Ok...better log off for now. Thanks to all of you who have written to us since we left the US...I need to seriously catch up but we have to get internet hooked up at home first (and we're told by infogen that will be soon).
:cheers
Christine