Still Looking Around

With no set schedule, no job or anything, it's amazing how the days just fly by. (And kind of run together - why is it that the less you have to do the longer everything takes?) Mornings we get up and have coffee/tea, read the newspaper, maybe watch a little CNN or BBC. Then we head out in a new direction to explore yet another Auckland neighborhood (or three). We've covered more than half the city so far, and looked at enough places to live that I'm starting to get them confused. But it's a great way to get familiar with our new hometown, adn its characters. (The other day we tried to catch a bus stopped at a light. The driver waved us forward, and stopped after he crossed the intersection. When he opened the door (in a thick Eastern European accent): "Sorry, I cannot take passengers at traffic light," he shrugged, but then his face broke into a big, sly grin. "I can, but is VERY expensive.")

Since I'm planning to start a master's program (Law and/or Planning) at the U of Auckland in the fall (i.e., March!), and Ali's most likely to be working in the CBD, we're leaning towards a close-in neighborhood so we don't have to commute. The north shore is really, really nice, but all traffic has to go over the Harbor Bridge, which is a total bummer. Plus, the central city area is fairly lively, has good access to the waterfront (there's a great bike path that goes for at least 50 kms), and is close to everything. There's a serious building boom going on, so we're "spoiled for choice," as they say. Prices are a bit high, but they don't get much better if you move further out (you just get more space for your money).

Where you do get real value here is seafood. OMG! Friday night we went to the Auckland Fish Market; after living in Seattle, I didn't think anyone else's seafood markets could impress me, but this was awesome. And live mussels were less than $3/kilo. Think US$1 per pound. Everything was incredibly fresh, and there's oodles of stuff I've never seen before. We're both going to have to get a lot of exercise to counteract all the experiementing I plan to do.

Cheers,
Sandie