beg to differ on few things in your post…
First of all, yes, accomodation can be expensive in ChCh but paying $300/wk in Rangiora… …you can get places in ChCh for that price, nothing fancy but still a roof on top of your head. And besides, have you heard of flatting, you can get ‘packages’ (rent+bills) for $180-250/wk anywhere in the city.
Secondly, not every company expect you to work full 70hrs/wk. Yes, there’s lot of them but lot of cases you don’t have to but you can if you want to. In my case, I’ve made it pretty clear that I work Mon to Fri and I’m happy with app. 55hrs/wk and my bosses respect that. Of course, if and when needed, I work more and might even do occasional weekend work but only if being asked nicely. I’ve told my bosses that I’ve got life outside work and they respect it, you can reason with kiwis easily.
And least but not least, ChCh ain’t really that bad. Okay, you’ve lived in London so Auckland might be more your thing but just look at everything that’s happening in ChCh atm, all this development and this opportunity to witness city rebuilding itself and becoming more like us, residents, want it to become. Yes, CBD is pretty messed up but pretty much every week there’s something new coming up, whether it’ll be a new corner pub or just a gap filler but honestly, this city is evolving every day. You just need to get out there and start exploring. And, instead of beers, head out to outdoors, we’ve got such a stunning nature around us, right within our reach. Think about it, you could start you morning surfing in New Brighton and by afternoon you could be skiing in Mt Hutt, only few hrs drive from the city.
In reply to your reply…
I don’t just want a roof over my head in reference to living in Chch, I want a small one bedroom house with a bit of garden and a bit of privacy. This is impossible to find in Christchurch for $300 a week everything included. I am a grown man and definitely do not want to share a place or go flatting . That’s why I live way out in Rangiora.
Re working hours, I have talked to many employers and it does seem to be expected that you work to the maximum hours or close to it. If you’ve found a reasonable guy that let’s you work 55 hours then we’ll done,they are few and far between.
As for my free time… I’ve done exploring. I’ve done nature. I’ve been round the world several times and have no wish to surf or climb mountains. I want a decent pub with a few friends and some live music on a fri/sat night.
Also, some semblance of public transport to get home at night would be good too… But NZ doesn’t seem to really do much public transport.
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