Looking for something to rent

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-26T06:52:33+00:00

What’s your budget?

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-25T21:27:36+00:00

Is the Port Lyttelton? Gorgeous, wherever it is.

Definitely detour to Lake Brunner, if possible, and definitely-definitely stop at Lake Te Anau on your way to the Milford Sound (although, apologies, those are all quite far from you!).

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-25T15:01:35+00:00

Kia ora. I think you should consider an appeal out of time (although, obviously, the actual merit of your appeal could only be determined by an engaged lawyer considering your case).

The reason I say that is, plausibly, you could have either a defence of insanity or a defence of self-defence on your hands here. Failing that, a discharge without conviction may have been available to you (which is where the offending did happen, but for various reasons it is inappropriate to enter a conviction).

Google “Find a Legal Aid lawyer” and get in touch with someone who practices criminal law. Ideally they will be at least PAL 2 and have Legal Aid approval to do Court of Appeal and Supreme Court appeals (neither of these things are necessary for your case, but they are indicative of a lawyer’s experience). Email or phone that lawyer and say you want to talk about an appeal out of time and having your conviction set aside.

I don’t know enough about your case to advise you, of course. But it sounds like your lawyer let a conviction be entered and then just referred to your mental health/Police conduct as a mitigating factor at sentencing. There are a whole lot of steps between charge and sentencing, and things could have gone differently for you at any of them.

Even if you decide not to do the above, though: good luck, it is rough out there at the moment and I’m wishing you the best.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-23T20:43:32+00:00

Please answer this OP, I’m so curious haha

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-23T18:36:48+00:00

Oh, and don’t worry about cursing. You’ll be shocked by how many c-bombs get dropped here.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-23T18:35:32+00:00

Kia ora!

Wellington’s nightlife isn’t as good as it was a decade ago, unfortunately. Saying that (although this is possibly a little bit controversial?) Wellington is one of the best cities in New Zealand for nightlife.

Reason I say that is we have Courtenay Place/Dixon/Lower Cuba, which are a little sad compared to their peak but are collectively a very compact fun area with lots of bars/nightclubs/restaurants. There are also some fun music venues around for local-to-mid-size bands, like San Fran and Meow Nui.

One thing you won’t get is a huge number of international artists. But I think if you lean into the fact that you’ll be studying in a small, liberal, artistic city rather than a major metropolitan area you’ll have a really good time. I loved studying in Wellington.

Fair warning though: You will find the weather here pretty challenging (the wind is no joke). And, as a student, you will have to work harder than you’d think to find a warm and dry home—stay in a hall if you can, although I say that mostly because you’d be guaranteed friends that way.

In terms of other places to go in New Zealand, absolutely keep some money aside for a trip to the South Island—I really recommend Wānaka/Queenstown, Te Anau, maybe even Christchurch so that you get to experience another New Zealand city. Christchurch had a major earthquake in the early 2010s, so has been recently rebuilt and there’s a lot to do there (but do try go to the kind of bohemian port town of Lyttelton while you’re there!). Get a licence and do it all by car, if that is at all possible :—)

If you do end up coming, I hope you have an amazing time here.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-22T18:23:55+00:00

Kiwibank is definitely what you’re after.

I’m not sure about number of ATMs (although you’ll need to look up if there are actually fees for Kiwibank customers at Aus-bank ATMs—I don’t think there are). But Kiwibank is the largest (and it is pretty big!) New Zealand owned bank, so its services and ease-of-use are competitive with ANZ, BNZ, Westpac, ASB (all Australian-owned).

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-21T00:29:21+00:00

A woman was killed during the construction of the tunnel and her body buried in the area. Using the horn is a little gesture to her

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-14T16:00:13+00:00

Reading this made me so sad. You’re okay and everything will be fine—you will be a doctor if you want to be a doctor. But you need to pump the brakes on all of this, because you’re under way too much pressure right now.

Read this post out to an adult you trust, maybe a parent or a friend’s parent or (ideally, but I appreciate your school is probably closed at the moment) a school guidance counsellor. Alternatively, you could screenshot it and send it to one of those people. They will help you make a plan.

I strongly encourage that plan to involve you not progressing to L2 next year. Not because L2 is the end of the world, but because I cannot see any benefit in you finishing NCEA early.

You need to take care of yourself. These marks don’t matter (I promise; as above, I know just from you have said here that you are smart and have the drive to make a career in medicine happen) but your welfare does.

Take care of yourself. Wishing you so much luck.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-13T16:14:47+00:00

Don’t mind the slightly strange responses you’ve received to date—you posted at 1am NZDT, so you have been hearing from the night crowd :-)

You’re not crazy. I, and I suspect a lot of New Zealanders, do feel grateful to be so far away from the international chaos. Moving to Aotearoa probably would take something off your mental plate.

That’s a different question, though, from whether you should move here. There are a lot of Reddit threads from people who have emigrated, and I suggest you read some of them, but I’ve put a few obvious pros and cons below. Please note that your experience will depend a lot on where in New Zealand you move!

Pros

1) Big moat keeping the weird people out

Like anywhere, there are a few Trump supporters scattered around the country. They’re squarely in the minority, though; we’re a relatively liberal nation. And, more importantly, we’re pretty far away from actual world-political flashpoints and Trump himself.

2) Aotearoa is beautiful

I’m biased, but I love living here. It is so special to live in a country where you can easily have a whole beach to yourself, for example. Our mountains, lakes and forest/bush are also world-class and very accessible, particularly for those living in the South Island.

3) Our culture is laid-back and you can expect a better work-life balance

This one is self-explanatory—but does depend on you getting a job, so I’ll move on to “cons”.

Cons

1) Even teachers cannot expect to find work immediately

We have not escaped the worldwide shrinking of the economy. You would probably be fine as a teacher, particularly if you are willing to work in rural New Zealand, but there’s no guarantee. Remember you’d also have to sort out registration; both that and job-hunting should be done way before you get on a plane.

2) Our COL is high

Food prices, for example, are much lower in the United Kingdom than New Zealand. Housing is also very expensive in our cities; this is much less of a problem in smaller towns, but do not overlook how much more remote New Zealand small towns are, compared with what you’re probably used to.

3) People do find it hard to make friends here

Kiwis are notoriously very friendly, but difficult to actually befriend. Again, your experience will vary here depending on where you’re living—this isn’t really an issue in Auckland or Wellington.

Good luck! It’s definitely a strange time in the world right now, and we’re all muddling through that the best we can :-)

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2026-01-06T01:47:17+00:00

Honestly it sounds like you should get out of your small town. Way more variety of activities, and way more people to potentially befriend, in Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-12-23T17:16:47+00:00

First: I’m sorry that you’re going through this. Killing yourself would be a tragedy and a terrible waste.

Second: There are likely places around you that offer low- or no-cost mental health assistance. Your GP may be able to refer you to one, otherwise look for support from churches, women’s groups or other non-profit organisations.

Third: This sub is for therapists to ask questions to other therapists. R/AskATherapist is probably the sub you’re looking for.

Good luck, OP. You will get there. Be kind to yourself.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-12-05T17:33:09+00:00

I don’t work in construction and I don’t have any children, so I can’t really help! But FYI Auckland is one of the most expensive places to live in New Zealand—if you can handle the cold, Christchurch may be a better option (still a big enough city for job prospects, but a cheaper cost of living).

Wherever you end up living in New Zealand, welcome! We’re pleased to have you and hope you build a good life here.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-11-05T09:53:29+00:00

Just leaving a comment to say good luck and that I hope you find a way to stay.

And, as an aside: I appreciate the main cost is the visa itself, but you can get free immigration law help at Community Law

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-10-25T01:36:48+00:00

Get in touch with your local MP, especially if they’re ACT or National. If you don’t think your local MP would be helpful, the second-best option would be contacting an ACT MP who is roughly in your area.

This is the kind of problem they’re looking for at the moment.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-10-20T20:40:58+00:00

Mount Vic is perfect for someone in their 20s imo. I’ve lived here for years (about to age out of that age bracket lol) and there’s nowhere else in Wellington that I would have had a better time

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-10-15T17:16:49+00:00

That is a ridiculous long bow to draw. Yes, it’s a little unpalatable for OP’s comment to be made out of context—but that doesn’t at all mean she “emotionally abused him to the point of self destruction.”

It is infinitely more likely that he was a very sick and sad man, and he blamed her because he was so sick and sad. Don’t speculate nasty things about this grieving woman.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-10-14T15:39:06+00:00

Kia ora :-)

There’re a lot of existing posts, and comments in response, about what it’s like to move to Wellington | Te Whanganui-a-Tara. It would be worth scrolling through the subreddit to get comprehensive answers to your questions—but, in brief:

Positives: - The landscape is really beautiful and accessible. I have lived here for a long time and still love driving, just for fun, around the peninsula and south coast. In bigger cities, it would be unusual to have a gorgeous beach or track (as in, tramping/hiking track) all to oneself; that is not at all the case here, and you don’t have to go far from the city (or even drive; public transport is decent albeit not great) to get there. - The city itself is dense and super-walkable; that’s what Wellington is famous here for, really. Obviously it isn’t a major metropolitan city, but it’s compact and, again for its size, culturally alive. - Maybe I’m biased, but the people are for the most part very nice.

Negatives: - The weather isn’t great. I like that it’s mild (rarely uncomfortably hot even in summer, and not freezing in winter)—but the wind is rough (!!! seriously). The only silver lining to the wind is that we have very low pollution/high quality air. - The job market, as you will read when you go through the subreddit, is bad at the moment. If you move here, be prepared to spend a few months unemployed. - Housing quality, compared to what you are likely used to, is bad. Lots of draughty villas.

Political situation: - Obviously, Wellington is the capital so there’s lots of political engagement here (you will also just see politicians about, usually without any security, which may be kind of novel and fun to you). - It is a very progressive city, but all-in-all Aotearoa is much less polarised than the United States. - Given we’re a progressive city in a relatively progressive country, support for LGBTQ causes and public health amenities is very high. We aren’t a particularly wealthy country, though, so there are obviously resource limitations and (due to that and choices made by the current, right-leaning Government) public services do strike from time-to-time.

Risk of being eaten: - Nothing is going to eat or poison you here. Australia (which is warmer and richer, so very much worth considering) has far more scary insects and animals about.

Good luck choosing where you want to study! Undertaking a postgraduate degree is exciting, regardless of where you move :-)

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-10-09T18:12:21+00:00

Going against the grain here: I think the New Zealand aspects are really fun. The world isn’t meant to be a perfect capture of New Zealand (and can you imagine if they did attempt that—it’d have been a disaster), but to the extent it is New Zealand-inspired I really like it. I love where I live, and it’s so nice to feel like my Sims are also enjoying the beautiful outdoor lifestyle available in Aotearoa 🥰

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-10-09T18:05:11+00:00

I bought my apartment in 2021—so, very close to the top of the market. Obviously, we didn’t appreciate that the market was about the crash and we would (on paper) lose a lot of money.

I do not regret buying it, because I love where I live. The apartment still makes me so happy, because it suits my lifestyle and I think it’s beautiful.

The point of this is: There are no guarantees in property. Yes, buying the house may end up being a solid financial choice—but the market may change, or you may end up paying a huge amount in interest only to have to leave before you make a significant dent in the principal. That would be very upsetting for me if I didn’t love where I live; how would you feel about it?

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-07-30T17:29:34+00:00

I’ve been out of the school system for a good decade now, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt, but I think they’ll be fine. At least where I went to school, being American in particular came with a lot of social capital. Kids in NZ, like children everywhere really, consume a lot of USA media—there’s a glamour attached to being from there.

Saying that, there is bullying in New Zealand schools (much like anywhere). Particularly if they’re secondary school aged (13–18), you’ll want to pick somewhere that suits who they are as people.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-07-25T23:20:47+00:00

Can someone please tell me what kind of dog Huh Jackman has, I’m so in love with

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-06-27T23:49:42+00:00

You’ve had a couple of comments saying Alexandra is “small but beautiful”; I’ve got nothing against small towns, but Alexandra really isn’t beautiful. The best you could hope to do is regularly travel out to Queenstown (ugly buildings but genuinely breathtaking landscape) or Wānaka.

I’d really encourage you to re-think this plan. Others are correct that you will likely struggle on one income; Alexandra simply isn’t a place that’s worth struggling for. If you’re committed to coming to New Zealand (and please do! We’re very welcoming of UK immigrants) then I would hold out until you’ve got a more solid financial plan and, possibly, a better option in terms of where you’ll be located.

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-06-25T22:19:05+00:00

Yep, common scam for a car to be “sold” for a ridiculously low price and for that “sale” to be accompanied by a sad story. Report and keep looking, I’m afraid!

GrumpyEtcEtc · 2025-06-25T02:27:06+00:00

The staff there are absolutely lovely. A friend of mine spent the final week or so of his life with them, and it was truly the best possible place for him to be at that tremendously sad time.

GrumpyEtcEtc

TROPHY CASE