Recon

Like I said previously, there's a lot to update. We went down to New Zealand for 3 weeks in July for a bit of reconnaissance. It was winter (note the snow on the Napier/Taupo road below), which wasn't ideal, but we got a lot of stuff sorted in our own heads, and it ended up being a wonderful trip.



So what did we sort out? Well, the biggest thing was deciding where we want to move to. We were divided between Aidan's hometown of Napier in the Hawke's Bay region, and Wellington. We spent a week in Napier, a week in Wellington, then a week back in Napier. And it became clear to us that Hawke's Bay is definitely where we'll go.

Not to knock Wellington. I mean, we totally love it there. But lifestyle-wise, I think Napier is more our speed. And really, lifestyle is the reason we're moving to NZ. Wellington is another big(gish) city. We've lived in the suburbs of a big(gish) city for the past 11 years. It's what we're moving away from. And housing in Wellington is SO expensive that we'd definitely have to live in the suburbs there, rather than close to town, which would defeat the purpose of being there anyways. The downtown is awesome... the suburbs, not so much.

Napier, on the other hand, is technically a city, but I consider it a small town. It feels like a small town, but with most of the city amenities you could want between Napier, it's sister city Hastings just next door, and the adorable village of Havelock North. Hawke's Bay is a gorgeous region.



We'll be able to afford pretty much anywhere we'd like in the area. Where in the end we settle exactly will depend on where our jobs are. And on that front, it doesn't seem like there will be any problem, since Aidan managed to meet with many potential employers, and they all seemed enthusiastic, some even offering him jobs on the spot! He didn't commit to anything. I assume when we arrive in January the situation will be similar.

So that was the major decision we made on this trip. More gleaned info to follow.