What’s it like to live in Wellington?

My official one year in Wellington anniversary happened on 20th July, so I am a bit late with this anniversary post, but anyway: Congratulations me! In honor of this spectacular occasion I thought I would share the 51 things I have learnt through living in the beautiful windy city for one whole year! 

Here goes… What’s it like to live in Wellington?

51 Things you learn, if you live in Wellington:

1. Its windy – like, lean on the wind windy, a lot!
2. Rain goes sideways, it is like Scottish mist, but heavier.
3. On a summers day, it is the most beautiful place ever
4. Work, life balance is important to people
5. The views and mountains are as beautiful as the photos
6. The water is crystal clear
7. You cant buy booze without your passport if you are from overseas
8. It is very hilly – No more bicycling around for me!
9. Everyone works for the government
10. People love doing the quiz – the Dominion Post 10 min quiz is the fave
11. Wellington is a food mecca – Everyone is obsessed with food  and it is great!
12. There is this thing called Kiwi dip, 3 ingredients: reduced cream, onion soup mix + lemon juice/vinegar
13. People are from all over the world
14. You need to dress for comfort not style – a posh hair style and heels won’t cut it with the wind!
15. People love their coffee
16. There are so many British people – SO many!
17. Its quite expensive to buy anything (See my blog post, Cost of Living in NZ)
18. The minimum wage is lower than Australia
19. You are never more than a couple of hours from the coast anywhere in New Zealand
20. The houses are all made from wood
21. There are no native land mammals in NZ
22. People love being outdoors
23. You should ONLY buy New Zealand Wine – its a crime to buy Chilean wine when you are in a hub of great New World wineries, I found out the hard way!
24. There are loads of great cinemas
25. It is like a giant village
26. There is only one road out!
27. People are generally quite healthy
28. There are always morning and afternoon teas.
29. At any moment, there could be a massive earthquake
30. You need to say thank you to the bus driver
31. Your warmest jacket is your best friend
32. There actually are not more sheep than people in New Zealand (any more)
33. There is no central heating (generally)
34. Rush hour traffic is crazy, but every other time is fine
35. Its impossible to find a flat in February as all the students are moving
36. There is no Aldi
37. And there is no Ikea
38. There are veggie markets every Saturday and Sunday and the stuff is really cheap.
39. Everyone is rugby obsessed
40. The rugby is really fun
41. Kiwi’s are super friendly and lovely
42. You wont see a Kiwi
43. You can fly to Fiji for cheap and it only takes 3 hours.
44. It is possible to surf in Welly
45. They make jumpers out of possums!
46. Your umbrella will break
47. Sometimes there are dolphins and even killer whales in the harbour
48. NZ was the first country in the world where all women got the vote
49. Flip flops are called jandles!
50. People have holiday houses and they call them Baches (pronounced Batch)
51. Wellington won the most liveable city in the world last year and its easy to see why

I could go on and on with these (sort of) interesting things I have learned about life here but 51 seems nice and roundish so I’ll stop. Through all of this though, the main thing I have learnt, is that life is pretty damn good here. Well done Welly.

Are you moving here? Do you live here? What’s it like to live in Wellington for you? I would LOVE to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to read the following:

Why I left the UK and Moved to NZ

16 Suprising things about Life in NZ

August in Wellington – Monthly Highlights

Thanks for reading and come back soon!

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Josie x