One week ago yesterday we got off the plane at Auckland International, and one week later, here we are
It's been a pretty productive week so far and we've managed to get a lot done!
1. Got cellphones
2. Activated bank accounts and moved money around
3. Applied for IRD numbers
4. Applied for and got credit cards
5. My partner got her US drivers license converted to a full NZ one (motorcycle endorsement included)
6. Sat and passed my driving license theory test, waiting for the learner DL to come in the mail
7. Looked at a bajillion flats, got approved for all the ones we applied for and picked and signed for one
8. Went furniture shopping and got it all delivered to the new flat, started moving our stuff over
All this and we're still feeling pretty relaxed. The air smells fresher, everything feels a lot more chill and easygoing, lots of smiling faces, lots of diversity (in Auckland Central at least), people are happy to stop and chat about anything and everything. Nobody seems to be perturbed by us signing for stuff together or by the fact that we're a female queer couple, or if they are they're not showing it, but the general impression and vibe we're getting is that people generally don't seem to care. We've walked and explored most of auckland central and we've used the public transit system a few times, seems pretty decent.
Overall we're really liking it here so far. My partner starts her job in a week or so and will be attending a conference this week, and I'm working on getting things sorted with the Nursing Council. Have to take a course in October to fully convert my nursing license, so looking for temporary work in the meantime and working on getting my web dev business registered.
Of course it's not utopia here and we're under no illusion that it is, no matter how much we're enjoying it. The cons we've experienced so far include:
1. Costs - things are pretty expensive. But we found Target for furniture and The Warehouse for other stuff to be pretty reasonably priced stores
2. Hard to find good housing - we saw a lot of unpleasant to live in places that were asking a lot, but part of that is that we were looking mostly in the CBD which is where we're planning to stay for the first six months at least. We plan to explore outside the CBD once we're more settled and thinking about buying, and once we know the area better.
3. Have to be really careful crossing the roads - not a con per se, just something we've become acutely aware of since we're walking everywhere.
Still exploring, still learning... happy to be here!