The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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I live in the UK, and we have a lot of kiwis here. The firm I was working for was perhaps 50% kiwis on visas. They all came off as really nice and friendly, and you talked about how beautiful their country is.
More generally, I've been going through depression on and off for a bit over two years now. I don't know if moving to the other side of the world will fix me or help me but it's worth trying, and might be a good experience anyway. I don't really like the person I am right now. I also have friends who have done similar things (though in Australia), and they seem to have benefited from the time.
Btw, any recommendations for places to go, things to see, jobs to work?
I can't deny the country is beautiful! It's largely peaceful here too, which is great for that environment of trust and friendliness. I'd be interested in reading a follow up post from you on how you feel your mental state evolves throughout your trip. I'm not going to leave the country til mid-2024, so hearing your perspective as someone who's figurative footsteps I'll be following on in could have some valuable insights.
You're here for two years so you have a lot of time to explore! I'm not sure what you would like to do for work, so I'm not sure what to recommend there. If you want to live in a proper city you only really have one option, Auckland. It's a less friendly place than the other cities but it's the business hub of the country and the infrastructure reflects that. Wellington has an arty vibe and prides itself on being kind of quirky, a bit like Portland in the US. It's very very windy though, and can be a bit insular, making it hard to break into a social scene. Christchurch is a great city right now, it's finally recovering from a devastating earthquake a bit over a decade ago. It seems to be the best place to go for your bars, clubs, and restaurant style social scene. Lots of friendly people there who have just come out of some terrible times together. There are loads of smaller places to live, but I have always seen them as kind of sad myself so couldn't really give you an earnest recommendation there.
Apart from that there's a lot of natural beauty so if you like hiking you could be on a different trail every weekend. Your more touristy spots would be Queenstown, Rotorua, Taupo, Waiheke Island, Marlborough. Honestly it's too much to cover in one post. A lot of people show up, get a self contained van or camper and then go on a months long road trip to see as much as possible.
What about Dunedin? Is it a shithole?
Not sure if shithole is the word I would use, but I wouldn't really want to live there. It's kind of a student city; Otago University is infamously known for being a year long party. There's a movie set in the city, Scarfies. Well known locally, but getting a bit outdated these days.
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I've lived in London pretty much my entire life so I think I'd rather be away from a city. Plus, every New Zealander I've spoken to has said not to stay in Auckland.
To be honest I'm not really sure what I want to do either. Farm work sounds interesting and different to what I've done before. Unfortunately I can't drive so that might limit what I can do.
Auckland gets a bad rap, and is actually pretty nice if you're used to city living. You do need a car to live there, public transport is a mess the entire country over. Wellington and Christchurch would both accommodate you well enough without a car as they're small places. In any city you wouldn't have much trouble finding work in hospitality or other service industries. There's a bit of film/television work around that often requires short term contract workers. In my opinion, farm work is probably going to be a big challenge. They're quite far from civilisation and without a car you'll feel that isolation. If you can manage to get a license you can easily run around the country living in a van doing seasonal labour - mostly picking fruit, or working in meat/seafood processing. Otherwise, if you're open to doing tourist work there's a lot of that available in tourist towns, but you'll need good luck to find affordable accommodation there!
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