Immigration rollercoaster

The only way I can describe is manic/super busy! Although, I was not working that week, it was far from chilling and relaxing time. We obviously went to the hospital to introduce ourselves, face to face, and to see the unit that I am going to be working. I did not take long time. One of the most important things that we had to organise was to find a house to rent. Unfortunately our visa status is not permitting us to buy a house. At least for a now… If you are not a NZ citizen, you have to have residency visa to be able to buy a house.

Hilly City

Mrs Sting organised quite a few viewings across Dunedin. This was difficult without car. We tried to walk for the viewings, however, we gave up pretty quickly as Dunedin is very hilly and spread out. The kids were really tired on the day 2 of viewings. We therefore started using buses and Uber. I must admit that these are not very expensive commuting options. However, if you add multiple rides daily for four of us, this may drain out the pocket quite quickly.

After organising bank accounts and IRD number, another very important issues to sort out when you immigrating to New Zealand, we could finally try to explore the city and surrounding areas. First few days felt strangely “normal”, without the need of wearing face mask in the shops, banks or museums.

Allans Beach

Mrs Sting is very good at making connections online and turning them into a real life connections. Thanks to one of those connections we were taken for a ride around the Dunedin and shown a lovely Allans Beach, partially occupied by the sea lions, which, we have never seen live in their own environment. The sea lions even managed to get on the road and gracefully sunbathing while the drivers simply had to wait for them to get off the road. What an unique experience!

Parks in Dunedin

We were very surprised how many parks there is in Dunedin. During the first four weeks we stayed in one of the Dunedin’s suburbs called Mornington, which is a quite hilly neighbourhood. Just on our doorstep was Mornington Park, and not so far off was another nice Jubilee Park. Both parks offering a great green space and plenty of walking paths. While, the Mornington Park offers more play area for children, the Jubilee offers more walking paths. Both, are great for spending time with family. Especially, during the Autumn. The colours are just amazing.

And the brewery

For more adult entertainment, we visited one of the local breweries and enjoyed some craft ales and ciders over the weekend. The Speights Brewery serves great beer since 1876 and is one of the most popular breweries in New Zealand. We liked the fact that at the brewery shop, you can buy seasonal products straight from the tap. Every week different selection! For more information about brewery click here.

Overall the first week was extremally busy with a lot of necessities that just had to be organised as soon as, before I started my new job following Monday. More to follow…

Check the other posts about our immigration to New Zealand here and second part here.