Hello from sunny Nelson, South Island! Ive been here for a few days now, and wow. My life has completely changed for the better since leaving Wellington. Everything about Welly was going against me, no matter how hard I tried to make it work, no matter how much I loved that city. It just plain SUCKED.
Im working at the Tasman Bay Backpackers for 3-weeks as a housekeeper: cleaning rooms, the kitchen, doing the laundry, and odd jobs in exchange for my accomodation. While Im still rapidly running out of money, …

I love Wellington. I love the way the city looks and feels, the people. The cafes and presumably the bars (I say presumably because Ive yet to set foot in one). I love the weather, and the hills and how there seems to be water in every direction. I love pretty much everything about this city, except for the small bit about me not finding work here. In another week I would have run out of rent money, and since Id rather not have to wonder what my options would …

I dont know why I thought moving to New Zealand would be easy. That I would be able to find work relatively painlessly. I had a bit of arrogance, I suspect, in thinking that my experience would give me an edge down here and that there would be tons of work just waiting for me to come in and code away. The plan was that Id get here, live off my savings for a few months, then start working my buns off in about February, after I came back from …

I’ve come to the close of my first week in Wellington. I’ve pounded the pavement in search of work and flat, without much luck in either area. As I can only stay where Im at a few more days, plans need to be made and FAST. Here is what Ive come up with.

It’s morning, Day Four. Ive been in Wellington since Sunday afternoon, and throwing everything Ive got at the city in hopes of finding a home and a job.

Airplane window seats are wasted on newspaper-readers. Really. What is the point in having that primo seat if all you are going to do is read the NZ Herald the entire flight, not only ignoring the beautiful scenery outside, but making it so that no one else can either? Harrumph. Usually I ask for the window seat, but this time I found myself rushing to check in.
Yesterday I flew Air New Zealand from Auckland to Wellington. A very short hop across the North Island, it only took an hour to …

The phone interview went great, but it’s going to be a while before I know if they wish to meet me in person. So now I am back to being full-on excited about the move south. I absolutely LOVED Welly when I was there a few weeks ago, and am pretty chuffed that this is where Im going to try and make a go of things.