nfor

Hi everyone

I have posted on here a few times. I am a 23 year old graduate living in the UK. I came to Australia/NZ but succumbed to home sickness in November after losing a family member.

I am now, hopefully, submitting my residence application this month to come back to New Zealand. My dad is a citizen and lives in Dunedin.

I am hoping to work in one of the big cities and was wondering whether anyone had any advice? Are there any good forums to meet people?

Any help would be great and i am sorry if there is already a familiar thread.

Tasha

MrsFychan

this one

snaps

Big City - then I liked Wellington, lots of reason why not Auckland or Christchurch at present. Rotorua a little too small for most big city folk I would guess.

Tom1983

Go to Dunedin, fabulous place

Plus your dad is living there. Settle at first where a family member is, in case you have a wee bit of difficulty in settling.

Then once your settled and feel like your back in a land down under, then look at the other places like Wellington or Auckland.

gazmac

Id say Auckland or Wellington, although Dunedin might be the safe choice if you have family there and have experienced home sickness previously.

Although if the views of some are to be taken into consideration you could rule out Auckland unless your earning 6 figures.

I was contacted via this site when I enquired about joining a football team and have since played regularly so thats a positive "meeting people" story. Generally however id say the emphasis is on the individual to make the effort to build a social circle and i cant see that being done entirely online.

Once you find work and a hobby/sport you will find people.

LauraNotts

Personally I like Christchurch, I haven't lived in any of the other big cities so can't comment on them but here is why I like it:

1. It's flat so biking is very easy and a cheap way of getting around.
2. It's on the up. Lots of big projects opening up in the next few years.
3. Good public transport links.
4. Big enough to have stuff to do without feeling too big.
5. ETA - It's close to lots of outdoorsy stuff, Skiing and Surfing.

Issues with Christchurch at present include:

1. Lack of a CBD/ongoing disruption due to earthquake repairs.
2. HIGH rents but if you don't mind house-sharing (good way to meet people) this is not so much a problem.
3. The traffic is a nightmare. This is why I cycle.


Aside from simple Pros and Cons Christchurch has well over half the population of the South Island and therefore has good links by air to all other cities in NZ including Dunedin. You should still be able to go and see your Dad fairly regularly if you plan your trips.

I hear you on the homesickness front. I think it's really brave and strong of you to try again I think in your situation I'd use the fact I'd been in NZ before to try and mentally plan how I'd cope with the feelings I knew to expect. Second time around can be easier I know it was a heck of a lot easier for me to settle in Christchurch than Timaru simply because a lot of the stuff I needed (visas, IRD number, bank account, knowledge of how the systems worked etc) was already in place.

On a final note after Pom Poming for Chch, Dunedin is an awesome city. I've holidayed there twice and it's a cool little place to go.