i like: travelling time

When I first arrived at the new job in October before we all moved over together, the inevitable questions were politely asked and I was very quickly made to feel welcome and at home (well, as homely as any job can be at any rate). The main query raised however was "where are you planning to live when you get here?"

On our previous trips to New Zealand - and specifically the South Island (or whatever it's real name is meant to be) - we always knew that we would settle in or around Christchurch. We had already decided that the lesser populated island was the one for us, taking the hopefully not unreasonable view that there was little point in leaving the UK to live in another large and busy city such as Auckland or Wellington. We wanted space and a bit of freedom, and most importantly - for our livelihood rather than for quality of life - I needed a job. There are plenty of IT jobs in Christchurch, less so elsewhere on the South Island, and certainly not many in our preferred destination of Nelson. Rest assured, choosing Christchurch was - and has proven to be - no hardship; it's a nice city to be in.

Except we don't actually live in Christchuch, we live in Sumner, a seaside town to the east of the city. Sumner - or Pomner as it's known locally due to the proliferation of British migrants who have made the place their home - is around 11k from Christchurch centre and has a nice village feel to it. We never planned to be part of an ex-pat community (which conjures up images of obscenely tanned essex wideboys on the Costa del Sol), but there must be something about living near the sea - and it's hard to be more than 5 minutes walk wherever you live on the flat (the area not in the hills) - that obviously appeals to many people here.

I'll expand upon Sumner itself at later date, but taking you back to the start of this entry and the question asked by people in work. "Sumner, " they'd reply, "that's a bit of a way out!" And in Christchurch terms I suppose it is. I drive (or car-share) to work each morning as it's too far to walk or cycle, and it takes anywhere between 18 and 25 minutes each way. That's right, it takes considerably less than my old commute from York to Leeds (anywhere between 60 and 80 minutes on a morning commute) and is just the right amount of time for my shell-shocked mind to recover from it's rude awakening and ready itself for a day's honest toil (or cutting and pasting as Cathy likes to disparagingly describe software development).

I really enjoy the drive to work, but it's fair to say that I always enjoy the drive home more.