So what’s it like, this sunny, city life? Very different from anything I’ve experienced over the last year and a half that’s for sure. Safe to say when I first arrived I felt sufficiently overwhelmed. Exhaustion induced from lack of sleep, along a steep increase in temperature, did nothing to help my transition from rural country to big city life. Unimpressed with my grey and brown surroundings I found myself thinking wistfully of mountainous landscape.
But, with the help of caffeine, I pulled myself from my reverie. I was here and I may as well see what the city had to offer before I wrote it off completely.
Within the first couple of days I was seeing the city in a different light. Based across the river from the CBD, I found vegan cafes and quirky shops in the West End and river views, pleasant walks and a mixture of outdoor entertainment along South Bank. Having found myself a flatshare in an area just ten to fifteen minutes walk from both locations my resistance to city life wavered, and then collapsed.
The local outdoor swimming pool and free perks such as outdoor exercise classes, complete with flying bats at dusk, have definitely helped me warm to this life. That and getting to live my life in shorts when it’s not technically even summer yet.
Along with my city exploring and life sorting, I got the chance to catch up with a friend I had worked with last season at Mt Ruapehu. In the outskirts of the city we drove to a mountain you actually had to climb (I made it just past the section named ‘Chicken’s Point’ before becoming said chicken) and ended the day at a less challenging waterfall chill out point.
It seems this city life is pretty grand after all. Now all I need is a job…
