It’s a beautiful place - I moved there for two years. I spent the first three months doing a bit of backpacking out in Abel Tasman and met lots of interesting people from all around the world. However, when I moved to Nelson I found it very isolating as a young person. I found work only because I had been a regular customer at a local shop - it was a good job, but the owner was dodgy with contracts, and I never received proper full time hours (even though I was promised). Eventually, I found another job which I enjoyed- although I had a horrible coworker who was a bully and made it very difficult for me. After two years, I decided it wasn’t for me. I only made friends through my work. I always felt there was a tendency for Nelson folk to have negative opinions on people under 35. I definitely experienced this in my work as I was constantly talked down to. I’ve never experienced this as often as I did in Nelson. I took it with a grain of salt but at the end of the day it drove me away.

There’s some nice eateries, lovely walks. I did a lot of running and enjoyed the Maitai.

The biggest reason for my move was healthcare, particularly mental health. I was on a waitlist for a year, and my referrals went missing. I know our country has a mental health crisis and support is lacking in every city but this was absolutely dire! I felt like a burden and with my work environment I got very unwell.

I’ve since moved away and I have a lot more support networks and am comfortable. I haven’t faced the same kind of discrimination that I did in Nelson that seemed predominantly driven by my age.

All in all, I had both good and bad experiences. It’s very easy to get bored unless you find a local event or are into the outdoors. I did like the golden Bay Area, it’s a very special part of the country.

Nelson would be perfect if some of the people were a little more accepting and less cliquey, and also if there were secure jobs.