In the short time since I set up this blog, I've not really talked about New Zealand much. So i thought now would be a good time to start.
When Bev and I arrived in Christchurch, we didn't really have a clue what we were doing. Other than a bit of cash in the bank and a place to stay courtesy of my cousin Leonard and his wife Fleur (neither of who i had even met before), we had nothing but hopes and dreams. Our entire reason for wanting to move here was based on impressions of the country i had formed when i visited for a month in 1993. Granted, Bev had visited for three weeks in 2007 just to make sure she didn't detest the place, but at the end of the day there is a big, gaping divide between "holiday" and "life".
For the first few weeks we looked in the papers and online for a suitable flat or apartment near the city centre. We went to see some, and they were all pretty dingy. As neither of us had jobs at this time i had insisted that we look only at the cheaper end of the market, and as with most city centres in the world this translated to "a bit crappy". The only area that might have had something appropriate for us would have been Linwood - which Fleur had told us to avoid. With Fleur being a social worker and dealing with the rougher end of society on a daily basis, we were inclined to follow her advice.
So it was with some delight that after an afternoon of looking at some particularly nasty properties that we decided to take a drive out to the beach, and discovered New Brighton. Once a town of its own, it has long since been enveloped by Christchurch and become one of a number of outer suburbs, but its self-contained town roots are plain to see. For starters it has a (partly pedestrianised) high street. In a city of malls and corner shops this was a pleasant change, and probably the closest thing to a typically English shopping centre that we had seen since our arrival. Our property search immediately shifted focus from the city to this quaint seaside town, and shortly after we found a house in South New Brighton, about 20 minutes walk from the town centre - and about 3 minutes walk from the beach.
Just over 2 months have passed since then, and on the whole we're happy with our decision. There are issues however - as New Brighton suffers somewhat from a lack of larger shops and businesses I am probably somewhat further away from employment opportunities than would have been ideal. Also, prior to the introduction of nationwide Saturday trading during the 80s, New Brighton was the only place in New Zealand that was permitted to open on Saturdays. Obviously i never got to see it during those days, but there is a definite feeling of long lost glory days. In an odd kind of way, it reminds me sometimes of Radiator Springs from the film Cars. This is a real pity, as it really is a wonderful place that just doesn't seem to be living up to its potential. And there isn't a McDonald's - a glaring omission for a seaside town in my opinion.
Still, i believe that New Brighton has the potential to become great once more. It's a nice little place as it is, and hopefully sometime soon the rest of Christchurch will turn around and go "hey! there's a great little seaside spot over there that we could do fabulous things with!". Time will tell on that one i guess.
Anyway, be sure to check out New Brighton on Google Maps, as New Zealand has recently been added to their "street view" system. Just drag the little orange dude from the bar on the left hand side to one of the streets on the map, and you can take a virtual wonder around the area made up entirely of real world images... awesome.
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